Ghost

0502

"Why do you keep calling her Raven?"

Alfred, Josephine, and I were sitting on the dusty attic floor, a game of B.S. sprawled out in front of us.

"She couldn't remember her name, so I gave her one."

"Well don't," he said. "It's strange hearing her called anything else. Her name is Josie."

I made a face as I put down my card.

"What was the word, again?" he asked. "Bullshit?"

"Yes."

"Bullshit."

"Pick it up."

He reached for the heavy stack, griping the whole way. He seemed like the kind of person who griped a lot. Josie just rolled her eyes.

That's when I heard footsteps coming up the ladder. I dropped my cards and started jamming them into a messy pile, my company already dispersed.

When Audrey's head poked up from the hole, I flinched. "What the hell are you doing up here?" she questioned. "And why are you talking to yourself?"

"Uh..." I'd been so caught up in putting the cards together I hadn't even thought up an excuse. I looked down at the deck, rattling my brain.

"Never mind," she sighed impatiently. "I don't even want to know. Just get your chores done before Mom gets home."

And like that she was gone.

I sighed in relief, picking up all the cards and stuffing them back into their box. 

"She seems lovely," Alfred's voice remarked. I didn't bother holding back a smirk.

When I got downstairs and into the living room, I pulled the vacuum out of the coat closet and started unwinding the cord. Audrey was at the kitchen counter, flipping through the newest edition of some gabby-looking magazine. 

Right  as my finger was pressing the on-button, the phone started ringing. Aubrey and I exchanged glances before she realized how absurd it was to think it could possibly be for me. No one ever called me. Still, a hopeful feeling swirled through my stomach as she answered the phone.

"Hello?" I held my breath.

"Oh hi, Darren. Nothing much." She started twirling her fingers around the cord before disappearing behind the kitchen wall. Her voice lowered, but my ears were too trained not to hear her. "Yeah, of course I would love too, it's just...my parents."

I could feel the heat rising on the skin of my ears, as much as I hated to admit it. The first week of school and she already has some guy asking her out. 

I turned on the vacuum.

Her head immediately popped out from around the corner, her hand cupped over the phone. "I'm on the phone, Gnat. Turn that off."

I pointed at my ears and shrugged. 

"Turn that off!" She tried again. I continued vacuuming, ignoring her completely. "Bitch," she spat before stomping into the bathroom and closing the door as much as she could, the cord stretched into a straight line.

I snickered, but perked my ears as she continued murmuring. She must not have realized how much the bathroom amplified noise. "Really? You mean a real party?" I barely made out. "With booze and everything?" The vacuum wasn't even moving anymore, my whole body leaning in the direction of the bathroom door. "Yeah, I'm sure I could find a way. I'll just go out my window or something-"

I stopped listening after that, as she exchanged our address and left the bathroom humming. I didn't even look at her. I couldn't believe she was doing this. 

 

Again.