The Ghost Guard

Chapter 4: A Cruel Intention

Carmen awoke to a sudden bang coming from downstairs. Her first inclination was to blame her little brother. He was well-known for causing a raucous.

"Pablo!" she shrieked and rushed down the hallway in her pajamas with one eye still shut from her slumber. She stomped down the stairs, almost tripping on the last step. Carmen entered the kitchen where flour covered the walls.

Pablo's face was barely visible through a cloud of white dust. He coughed and looked up at Carmen.

"Oh hiya, sister. I was just, um, practicing my baking skills. Home Ec sounds real interesting this time of year so figured I'd get a jump start," he said, weaving together a story of lies.

"Yeah right, Pablo. Are you building bombs again? What is all this mess about?" She began combing through pieces of wiring and battery within the flour.

Pablo was always up to some kind of trouble. He was fascinated by spy gear and wanted to be a detective when he grew up. He picked up the walkie-talkie and spoke, "Jackson, abort mission! Abort! Attempt failed!"

Jackson lived directly behind Carmen and Pablo. They were both in the sixth grade and the same class. Jackson was intelligent, loyal, and loved a good joke just like Pablo. He lived with his grandparents and never talked about his actual parents. He was lanky with a full head of dark black hair that he didn't quite know how to style. His glasses made him look like a mad scientist.

Pablo and Jackson met on the school bus on Pablo's first day of school. Jackson was sitting alone in the middle of the bus. He wasn't, by fifth grade standards, "cool enough" for the back. Pablo never agreed with what others thought was cool though. He walked down the aisle of the bus searching for the best seat. He saw Jackson's Indiana Jones lunch box and stopped, now standing awkwardly in front of the unoccupied seat.

"Uh hi, where'd you get that lunch box?"

"My grandpa gave it to me. It's pretty much a family heirloom," Jackson said, still staring at the lunchbox in all its glory.

"It's so cool," Pablo said. "I wish I had one." He looked around the bus. The kids in the back were laughing and pushing each other.

"You, ah, mind if I sit next to you?" Pablo asked.

"If you want to," Jackson said surprised. He wasn't used to kids talking to him or asking questions. Pablo sat down and began telling Jackson why he loved Indiana Jones. Jackson agreed with everything Pablo said and thus, their friendship was born. They had become inseparable ever since.

"Okay, Pablo," Carmen said. "I don't care anymore, just clean this up. You're going to be in the seventh grade next year so growing up a little bit may not be a bad idea." She filled a glass of water from the kitchen faucet tiptoeing around the flour.

"And start getting ready for school. You're gonna miss your bus!" Carmen yelled as she rushed back up the stairs.

It was the week of Halloween and Carmen felt that everything was finally going well for once. She was fitting in and doing well in school. She thought losing her mom and moving would be the death of her, but she felt a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She had been tasked with the care of her sick mother and the overall well-being of Pablo for many years. Her mom's death had been terrible, but she felt she was in a better place now. At least there was no more pain.

Her phone went off and it was a text from Brad. It read: "Good morning ;)"

She beamed with accomplishment. She managed to have the most popular guy in school like her after just a month or so of living in a new town. She put the phone down to make him wait a bit before responding and finished getting ready for school. She was just about to exit her room but spotted last night's clothes on the floor. She picked them up to place in the dirty laundry hamper but caught the tempting scent of coconut and patchouli. Dominik's scent still lingered on her red and black checkered flannel long-sleeve button-up. She flashed back to him spilling the hot water and the way he flushed with embarrassment. She chuckled to herself and tied the flannel around her waist throwing the other items into the hamper.

"Pablo, you better be heading out that door for school!" she yelled as she grabbed her school bag and folder.

"I'm going, I'm going!" he replied with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in his right hand and his backpack dragging off his left. Carmen came down the stairs as Pablo was walking toward the front door.

"And don't drag your backpack, dude! Take care of your stuff. It's not like you have a lot of it," Carmen drilled. She always took on the parental role with him. She felt he needed to know that life wasn't fair, and nothing would ever change that. Pablo wasn't like the other more fortunate kids in the neighborhood and special treatment was not something he was ever going to get. He was more likely to be bullied and misunderstood than asked over for a cool kid's sleepover party. Carmen felt she had to toughen him up so that he could handle whatever came his way.

Carmen locked up the house and turned around, her dark hair glistened in the bit of sun peeking through the clouds. Brad's Jeep was idling at the curb. She walked down the stairs confidently and hugged Pablo goodbye. Pablo stood as still as a statue. He didn't want her to know how much he cared but secretly he loved her more than anyone else in the whole world. He ran off down the street to meet Jackson so that they could walk to school together. Carmen turned toward Brad and walked toward the passenger side door.

"And what exactly are you doing here?" Carmen asked.

"Listen, I'm sorry for being a douche last night," he said. He reached his hand across the car towards hers that was resting on the windowsill.

"Don't apologize to me. You're the one who makes fun of people with intellectual disabilities to make yourself feel better," she retorted.

"Intellecta what now?" Brad asked in a funny voice.

"It's not a joke," Carmen said, pushing away from his Jeep and continuing walking to school.

He put the Jeep in drive and began to slowly follow her. "Come on, let me take you to school. You can even have control of the radio. We can listen to your bumpin' Mexican music," he said.

She walked slowly toward his Jeep passenger side door. "It's called reggaeton and it's better than that my dog died, girlfriend left me, drinking beers stuff you like." She grabbed hold of the roof and climbed in through the window area without opening the door. He let out an overdramatic gasp. This was exactly why he liked her. She put on her seat belt, plugged the AUX cord into her iPod, and played "Move Ya Body," by Nina Sky, Jabba.

She got comfortable in her seat and looked deep into his eyes. His face grew excited, and he leaned in as if he might get a kiss.

"And I'd also like a coffee before school," she said without acknowledging his kiss.

"See this is exactly why I like you," Brad said. "Keeping me on my toes."

She turned up the radio with glee and began slightly bobbing her shoulders from side to side to the beat.

Brad and Carmen arrived at school and walked toward Tod, Brittany, and the others in their group. They had their own spot in the school's quad where they congregated during breaks. Tod was napping in Brittany's lap, lying on his back and Brad kicked him as he arrived.

"Dude, wake up! Don't be such a pansy. You only had like two beers last night," Brad laughed. Tod rolled off of Brittany still half asleep and face down on the floor. He lifted his head and said, "Woah, I dreamed we actually pranked that special guy, and the world ended when you kicked me!"

"Like Frankie could actually save the world," Brittany said. "We really should prank him. I can get the keys to the old house from my dad's office. Tod and Brennon, you grab him on Halloween night before sunset right as he's leaving that Bernardo's store that he stocks cereal at. He gets off at four." She had lived in this town all her life and specifically decided to mispronounce the name of Berdaldo's Grocer.

Brennon interjected as he chewed his breakfast burrito. "How do you know all this? It looks like you have a crush on him or something." He nudged Tod.

"Brennon, you're so ugly you wouldn't even know what a crush is," Brittney lashed back. She paused for laughter, but no one did. "I'm just observant and know everything that happens in this god-forsaken town."

Brittany couldn't wait to get out of Berrymount. Her dad was developing a drinking problem over the heartache of her mother's departure. Brittany needed to stay strong for the both of them.

"Sounds like a fun night to me," Brad confirmed. Carmen turned away fromthe group and put on her headphones. "Pon de Replay," by Rihanna was now allshe could hear. She had no desire to be a part of this conversation.