Since They

upon a children's rhyme

"Dream?"

"Mmf." Lucika inspected Coralie's elaborate script. "We need something with more oomph. You know, like whaaaa!"

Four. Four friends, Lia counted. They sat in the quiet music room of Whitwaters, beside the storage room rumoured to be haunted. Lia had four friends, then.

Her gaze crept across the room. 

"'Dreams'" is so... poof! Their eyes will glaze over like zombies and bleed rose-tinted memories. No, we're not doing dreams. I want to shock them." Lucika was sparkling with enthusiasm, waving her arms around as though conjuring rainbows. She hopped from foot to foot like a sparrow. Coralie laughed, mimicking her. The paper fluttered down from the battered leather chest she'd been using as a table. It caught the watery light and shivered.

"What about murder?" Olive took up the paper, raising her eyebrows at the ideas already on there. "Murder's interesting to people."

"Anne would like that," said Sayeh. "Murder."

Something stilled. Lia's eyes darted the other way. Coralie was no longer laughing. "You know we can't do anything on death," she said. "Not so soon. People would be upset. She only... Well." She dusted something invisible from the piano keys.

"It was only a month ago."

Lia couldn't see why they were that bothered by  'It'. 'It' was not such a big deal when they found out, and Lucika had been so excited to be publishing an obituary in the magazine for the first time. It had hung, swung in the bitter breeze.

"Murder it is then! The Obsidian could focus on differing views on murder. Or murder cases close to Whitwater. Oh - we could interview people, research about psychopaths and - "
"The teachers won't like it."
"We're not writing to please them! That's the point. Olive, you can still do your nature thing. What's it this time, frogs? Spiders? Lizards?"

Olive wasn't looking at them and Sayeh suddenly grinned. "Aww! Olive-Olive-Olive! Are you gonna write about Leeeleeeeee...?"
"Shhhh!"
"LEEEEELEEEEEE!"
"Oh my god, shut up!"

But later, when they'd left Lucika and Coralie spraying music from the piano, it was Olive who kept talking. Worrying, hoping. They caught a glimpse of Lily as they entered the library. Olive was in raptures.
"Did you see? I've seen her four times today, I'm so happy! But she looked sad..."
"Well, of course. It was only a month ago."

Lia found the ghost in the corner of the library, and petted it.