Occupation: Ghost

Chapter 2

When James walked into the school hallway, everything went silent for a moment, then everyone started whispering to the person next to them. It didn't bother her at all. Everyone knew that she wasn't affected by the opinion of anyone else. Everyone knew that James was independent.

She didn't need anyone's approval. James did what James wanted. She didn't care what anyone thought, and that's just how she liked it.

When she got to her locker, she quickly put in the combination. When she got in, she immediately stepped out of the heels and shoved her feet into the Vans she had been waiting for. Once the shoes had been tied and she got all the stuff she needed for the day into her bag, she picked up the heels and walked into the large group of cheerleaders. She picked out the captain.

"Do you want these? I'm never going to use them again. They look like they would suit you." James was speaking her language.

"OMG! Totally! Thank Jamie!" She squealed.

James just rolled her eyes and walked away. Even twenty feet away, she could hear the cheer squad giggling and squealing.

Suddenly, everything got morbidly quiet. Everyone started whispering again. This time, even quieter than before. Before she had a chance to ask what was going on, someone pulled her to the side. She looked over and saw her best friend Stevie.

"You almost gave me a heart attack. Don't fucking do that again." James spat out.

"Sorry, Jamie." Stevie giggled. 

"Jesus. What crawled up your ass laid eggs and died." Stevie asked.

"Parker was at my house this morning. It was really weird." 

She spoke the words louder than she had expected, because the next thing she knew, everyone was staring at her.

Stevie pulled on her arm. "Let's go. I'll explain in a sec."

"What's going on, Stevie?" James asked, sounding scared.

"Well, I don't know for real, I only know what people are saying" She said in a warning tone.

"Well...?"

"Well...I heard that Parker and his friends had a bet...that he could..you know...?" Stevie asked, not wanting to finish her statement.

"Ummm...oh my god. Was he going to try and sleep with me!?" James exclaimed loudly.

Stevies eyes went wide. "WHAT! NO! If anything, that's better than what people are saying." She said timidly.

"Stevie..." James started slowly.

"Now, now listen to me. People are saying he was going to try and kill you."

"WHAT!?" James shouted.

"I know. That was my reaction too. But, I'll protect you, I promise." Stevie said, looking directly into James' eyes.

"Thanks, Stevie. You know, you're the best friend I've ever had." James said, laughing lightly.

"I know. I'm the only friend you've ever had." Stevie said laughing. They both turned a corner and started into another hallway. James was watching her feet, only placing them on the white tiles of the black and white checkered floor. Stevie suddenly stopped and pulled on James's arm, turning her around.

"Wha-" James started.

"Don't fight it, just follow me and don't turn around." Stevie warned sternly.

James didn't argue. She just did as she was told. She remembered what Stevie had previously said: 'I'll protect you, I promise.'

"Thank you, Stevie."

"You're welcome, you ungrateful little shit." Stevie replied whilst giggling.

Suddenly, a hand clamped down on James' shoulder, causing her to tense up. Noticing, Stevie turned to face James. She saw Parker. She saw the rigid form of James. She put two and two together. Letting go of James' arm, she stepped between James and Parker.

"You need to go. She doesn't want you here. She wants nothing to do with you. Go away." Stevie said sternly, her voice raising a bit with every syllable that effortlessly slipped past her red lips.

Parker just let out a scoff that was accompanied with a smirk.

 "And what are you? Her guard dog? I think she's old enough to speak for herself." He stated obnoxiously.

Stevie turned to James. "Are you ok? If you don't want to talk to him, we can just walk away." She said so only James could hear.

"No. I need to do this...for myself. Trust me. Just stay next to me and there won't be an issue." She replied in the same volume Stevie had spoken only moments before.

"Look here ladies and gentlemen! The solitary mute is going to speak!" Parker shouted to the whole hallway.

James tensed up, and took Stevies' hand for a small bit of support.

"That's right! I have something to say! Parker Lotman. You have no effect over me. You don't scare me. You can try and kill me, but I will never go away. I will always be here. You know why? Because now I'm in your head. Now, you'll have my voice replaying over and over and over again in your head until it drives you crazy enough to pound your head on the wall, just to try and get rid of me. But you will never get rid of me. You may be able to kill my physical form, but my soul and spirit will live on forever. So bring it. Bring your worst. But you will never kill me." James said with a stone cold look on her face.

She then turned on her heel and walked away with Stevie in tow. James' face wouldn't give anything away, but her heart was beating faster than it had ever done before. James turned a corner and went into the nearest girls' bathroom. Not even a second later, Stevie was behind her, rubbing her back as she leaned over the bathroom counter, breathing deeply and hard.

"You did good kid! I'm so proud of you!" Stevie spoke with as much glee and admiration as she could muster out of her small frame.

"Thanks. That took so much out of me! I don't know how you can do that to people all day, every day." James said tiredly.

"A large lung capacity and a very strong self-esteem." She said thoughtfully. 

James just laughed a breathy laugh. She then proceeded to rush to the toilet and empty the contents of her stomach, large intestine, and small intestine. 

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Well, there you go. The lovely Hayley Williams will be serving as Stevie Shaw. I hope this is good. If it's not, and it's going nowhere, let me know!