Not Quite Dead

Chapter Six - Not Quite Single

Dawn

I watched Artemis as he slept.  It wasn't as creepy as it sounded.  He was almost peaceful.  He wasn't trying to refute any possibilities about anything, wasn't being an overprotective older brother, and he most certainly wasn't having a nightmare. 

His chest moved slowly up and down, synchronized with his breathing.  I floated over to his bedside.  He had some feminine features if you asked me, but somehow, he managed to make them look more masculine than they actually were.  Artemis's lashes were a dark blanket over his eyelids.  His nose was - it was a nose, and that was all I could say about it.  His lips were full like a girl's. 

But I was only looking at his features individually.  Together, Artemis wasn't that bad of a guy, physically speaking.  Artemis had some great hair, I'd give him that.  He wasn't too bulky, a little on the slim side, but he was cute if you were like Avery and liked that type of guy. 

I wondered around a hundred years ago if there was someone who could see spirits.  I knew now that there were, but I only knew of Artemis.  Who else could see us?  Maybe it was the people who needed to believe the most. 

I bet my mother's grave (not that that's really a good thing to bet on) that Artemis still doesn't fully believe.  He's seen, like, four spirits and, via my own observations, he's scared to go to anywhere, even the bathroom, without making sure there were no floating glowing people flying around his house. 

Reading the clock I saw it was around eight o'clock in the morning.  At least it was a Saturday, and the Alexanders didn't have school or work.  Artemis stirred and little mumbles escaped his lips.  It was all gibberish. 

His door opened ajar, and through the crack I saw all the twins and the triplets peeking in.  They opened the door fully and tiptoed in. 

What could this be about? I wondered. 

The five children started whispering among themselves, and Serena set a plastic bucket of water above Artemis's head, on the little stand of his backboard.  Attached to the handle was a string, which Darien was holding.  Damien and Samantha had several bags of ice, literally just ice cubes in Ziploc bags.  I was confused until I saw Seraphina's hand on the switch of the light nearest to her brother's sleeping head. 

They were going to wake him up.  The funny way. 

The little siblings looked at each other, and the girls covered their mouths to keep from giggling too loud.  This was the most rebellious I had ever seen Seraphina.  Absently, my hand slipped to my mouth to hide my smile, but only out of habit.  Who was actually going to see me other than Artemis?

Serena hid behind Artemis's dresser, and put three fingers up, then two, then one, mouthing the numbers as she did so.  On "one," Seraphina turned the light on and it blazed in her brother's face.  Darien pulled the string, and the bucket of water tipped and fell on Artemis's face.  His eyes shot open as Damien and Samantha pulled his blanket off of him and dumped the bags of ice on his body. 

Artemis stood up and pulled his blanket back around him.  His hair was drenched, and his teeth were chattering terribly.  Meanwhile, his little siblings were laughing their heads off.  Then they tackled him into a hug. 

"Happy birthday, Arty!" they shouted at him, and all six of them fell onto his bed.  Artemis was surprisingly happy and hugged them back.  I had no idea it was his birthday. 

"Happy birthday, Artemis," said Seraphina in her small voice, and the other four repeated it again in their louder voices. 

Artemis looked at them, and smiled.  "You know, normally, I would have killed you guys for what you did.  But because it was for my birthday, I'll let it go."  They stood up.  "Now let's go have some breakfast."