•To Kill a Raven•

3. The Friends

     Alex finally went back to her room and set down her book bag, staring at the floor as she ate the waffles that were left. Binx rubbed against her leg as she stood still.

     "Hello Binxy Winxy." Alex looked down at the black cat, who meowed. "Hello my Binxy Winxy Minxy sugar baby little boy."

     Binx meowed again and Alex sighed. "You want food, don't you?" the cat, in response, bolted to the bag of cat food on the table. Alex walked over, tearing open the bag and pouring some onto the table. "Eat it all, I don't want to have to clean it up." the cat began chomping down the food as Alex walked back to her room, sitting down in the (messed up) blankets.     "So, you thought today was Friday?" a familiar voice asked. Alex screeched, looking up to see the same ghost that was in her room last night.      "What the heck?! You're supposed to be, like, gone! A dream!" she accused, pointing at him.      "Nah. Those ominous one-time visits aren't for me." he shrugged, sitting down. Surprising, since he was a ghost. "So anyways, I can't blame ya. I once skipped school for an entire week because I kept thinking it was Saturday, and I was taking weird naps." "How does someone- you know what, I won't ask." she stared at the ghost for a second, then pointed to his shirt.      "Does that mean 'Sanity's Fall'? The SF I mean. My dad used to listen to them."      "This? Nah, it means Sally Face." the ghost grinned for a second, seemingly to himself. "Uh- Actually yeah, it means Sanity's Fall. Pretty good band."     "Cool. I listen to indie rock mostly, though." Alex nodded, then snapped her fingers. "Wait, what's your name?"     "Larry Johnson. I used to live around here. I still do, but like, as a ghost."
     "You mentioned Sally Face. Is that another band or something?" Alex instantly changed the subject. Larry opened his mouth to speak, but the door slammed open and he vanished. Her little brother stood their, wielding a knife.      "I heard talking, is there someone here to kill you? he pointed the knife threateningly at the wall and Alex sighed.      "No, it was just a video on my phone." - - -     For the next few hours, Alex played games on her phone, ate, and played with Binx. When she heard a commotion in the hallway, she peeked outside and saw two things that sent two different emotions through her. First, she was happy when she saw the moving people things to their room. She politely stepped aside so they could get by, and looked further down the hallway. Jocelynne stood there, with two other girls holding bags. Alex became quite nervous and focused on the floor.     "Oh yeah, and there's the new girl." Jocelynne said and pointed to Alex, who looked up and waved.      "That's a girl?" came a snobby voice from behind them. "I couldn't tell from the short hair."     One of the girls, a short-ish one with long black hair turned around. "Oh my gosh, shut up Drool-ian." she said.      The boy that had spoken looked like a small Mr. Phelps, but with rounder eyes and wearing a smirk. He wore a dark (yet somehow soft) purple hoodie and jeans, as well as a cross necklace.      "Shut up, alien." he snapped, and a girl with brown hair and highlights sighed.     "Julian, can't we ever get a break from you? This is supposed to be a girls night, not a four girls and one bitch night." she walked over to Alex, who had been standing there awkwardly. "Ignore my cousin. He's rude. He also lives here as well, I'm surprised he hasn't been shot yet. I'm Caroline Sullivan." she held out her hand and Alex awkwardly shook it.      "Uh, Ale-"      The girl with black hair waved her hand. "Oh, we already know you, Alex. Jocelynne told us you would meet us. I'm Stephanie."      "I'm Julian, even though if you ever try to talk to me I'll ignore you."      "No one asked, Drool-ian."     Alex nodded, sticking her hands in her pocket. "I've never gotten to meet new people so quickly. What do all of you do when you get here?"     The three girls shared a smirk. Jocelynne stepped forward. "Well first, you a tour of the apartment. And then, a tour of the town. Then, we're going to show you the murder spots."      "The what now."     "Nothing, come on."     The group went to Jocelynne's apartment. Julian also followed, and when questioned, he said it was fair for Caroline because he was her cousin. The apartment had pictures of family members, and black tufts of fur everywhere. There were dirty dishes in the sink, and the entire home smelled like lavender and lemons. The tray of melting candles explained that.      Then the dog showed up.     It looked blacker than anything Alex had ever seen and a wave of fear instantly washed over her. She found the nearest counter and jumped up onto it.     "GET YOUR DOG! GET IT! GO! SHOO!" she yelled, picking up a banana and throwing it at it. The poor dog whimpered, backing away. Julian tugged on its collar until it ran from the room.     "Oh, if you're scared of dogs, I should've told you about Sirius."     "You named it Sirius?"     "It fits."     Alex got down from the counter, breathing heavily. "Sorry, normally I love dogs, but that one.. It just.. I don't know."     The group chatted for awhile, Julian in the other room keeping Sirius at bay.     After a few minutes, Jocelynne grinned. "So."     The group looked at her.     "Let's show Alex around."