Vanilla settled himself on the living room floor for a nap. Ethan's mother dismissed us while she worked on the cookies and other household chores, much to Ethan's protests.
"I mean… you know how moms can be. It's pretty embarrassing…."
I led the way up the stairs. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure my mom would do the same thing—although no one's been around to prove it." I stopped at a door and turned to Ethan, not wanting to just barge in without being formally invited in.
He was frowning. "How'd you know this was my room?"
Again? "Lucky guess?" What the heck was going on?
He still frowned as he opened the door and led me in.
It was a relatively small, but it was mostly the giant desk that dominated a fourth of the room. It faced outward… towards Cheshire. Looking through the window felt like standing guard from a watchtower. The room was also neat and organized, so either he was always neat, or he cleaned up before picking me up.
The computer stood out the most. "Is this brand new?" I asked. It was black and sleek…. It made my mom's laptop look like a little old lady.
He was rooting through his backpack. "Yup. Employee discount got me that bad boy." Ethan took out the notebook he used for biology. I sat on his bed and looked for my notebook as he went to the computer and turned it on. "So," he said, "why don't you tell me everything? We can get that out of the way."
I blanched. He'd said it so casual. I was still thinking about his kickass computer.
"If you're worried my mom'll overhear," he said, misinterpreting my face, "don't worry. She spends a lot of time in the kitchen, or in the living room, reading. She rarely comes up here during the day."
"Uh… no, that's not the problem. I want to work on the project first, and then I'll tell you… everything."
"Why can't you tell me now?" Ethan looked impatient.
"Because it's going to all sound incredibly crazy and I'd rather get some work done before you start thinking that I'm crazy. Open up PowerPoint and let's finish this."
*
Ethan took orders really well.
He let me decide everything, from the outline of the PowerPoint to the theme and design. Once we'd put in all the information, I made us look for some pictures to add… and then I decided that we should take turns speaking with each slide. None of this took as long as I hoped it would. It wasn't even half an hour. Mrs. Walker's cookies were probably still baking.
"Okay," said Ethan, exiting out of the PowerPoint after saving, "now you're just stalling."
I sighed and got to my feet. "It's all going to sound crazy, and I'd rather you save any questions till the end." I went to my backpack and found the diary. I handed it to him.
"Is this your journal?" he asked, already flipping through it. "You write really neat."
"Charlie thought it was mine too."
YOU ARE READING
Cheshire Girl
Paranormal"There were three things about which I was absolutely certain. First, I didn't have my cell phone. Second, my hands hurt from gripping the trunk lid closed. They would probably be useless to put up a fight. ...
