The Seven Unconventional Friends of Daniel Ezra Raine

13

From his time alone with the three men, Daniel learned a bit more about them. For example, in life, Terrance was a science teacher at his local middle school, Sam was a singer and songwriter, and, get this, Jasper was a librarian!

Terrance said that biology was his favorite branch of science, closely followed by astronomy. He would have gone into one of those specifically if he didn't have a fear of being trapped in a stuffy office all day. He used to be an elementary teacher, and his only regret from moving up in grades was not being able to keep butterflies. He quickly took it to his principal and made sure that all eighth graders once again had the pleasure of nurturing caterpillars into butterflies and releasing them into the wild.

Samuel could play the guitar, piano, trumpet, cello, drum set, bass, harmonica, mandolin, and ukulele. He was forced by his parents to play piano until he was fourteen and picked up the rest when a friend of his asked him to join his band, Interiors of Stone. Once, he toured the country opening for Swedish House Mafia. His favorite thing about being a musician was being able to write lyrics that represented his "take-it-slow state of mind" instead of listening to other people's music.

Although it was difficult to get him to talk about it, Jasper eventually admitted that he enjoyed being a librarian. He found the ever-quiet building and the methodical nature of the Dewey decimal system therapeutic. His favorite book, much to Daniel's surprise, was Jane Eyre, and he confessed to having read The Series of Unfortunate Events several times over.

"What about you, Daniel?" Jasper was anxious to move the focus of the conversation from himself. "What's your job?"

"Well, I actually work for a corn chip manufacturer. I'm a- uh- salesman. I call restaurants and tell them why our corn chip brand is the best for them. The hours are pretty long, but I get to work from home. And they gave me a week's leave to 'mourn my grandmother'," he said in air quotes.

"Long hours are the worst." Sam scrunched his face.

"Is the work..." Terrance paused. "fulfilling?"

"I mean, I get paid, so I guess so. But I don't make a difference in the world or anything if that's what you're asking. I honestly just wish I had a couple of friends at work. Or... friends in general." Daniel cringed at how pathetic he must have sounded to the three men.

Standing around the kitchen island, they looked at each other awkwardly. "We'll be your friends," commented Jasper. "We aren't alive or anything. I don't know how important that is to you..."

"Guys like you?" Daniel asked softly. "Not important at all."

Just then, Adrienne returned, Caleb trailing after her. "I have your list!" she announced triumphantly. She was waving two pieces of notebook paper in the air. They were dark with pencil scribblings.

"Are those... back and front?" gasped Sam. Not seeing an issue, Adrienne nodded with satisfaction.

She placed them in front of Daniel, who gazed in wonderment at the papers. "How can you even write?"

"We can interact with most objects." Terrance clarified. At Daniel's puzzled look, he expounded, "We can't interact with objects that have to do with our sin. For example, if Jasper were to try to touch something with the intent of hurting someone with it, it would pass right through him. Harrison basically can't touch food at all."

"That can't be all, can it?" Caleb interjected. "'Cause I see Adri snogging Jasper all the time."

Jasper made a face and scratched his neck. Adrienne blushed. "We, uh... can't have sex."

Sam and Caleb protested loudly to their recent acquisition of information. Terrance laughed. Daniel rolled his eyes, smiling. He turned his attention to the papers in front of him while the ghosts continued to talk.

Berries, kale, oranges, asparagus, whole milk, chicken, bread, toilet paper, toothbrush... The list went on with things Daniel would never have even thought of.

"Um, Adri?" She looked up at Daniel. "I don't really drink whole milk. Or eat kale... or any of this stuff."

"Well not yet, you don't. But, once I teach you to cook, really cook, you won't be able to eat anything but the good stuff. And the milk is for fat accumulation." She circled her wrist with her thumb and middle finger.

"So, you're a health guru then? Is that what I'm hearing here?" Daniel smiled, choosing to ignore her comment about his weight.

Caleb snickered, and Adrienne responded, "Eating right helps with endurance and flexibility."

"Alright. I'll walk to the store once the rain clears up."

As Daniel reached to stack the papers on the island, Finn and Harrison entered. "We found a garage," said Harrison.

"No," Finn corrected. "we found cars. The garage has always been there." He straightened his suit jacket and said, "There's a '77 Volkswagen Beetle—"

"It's yellow," interrupted Harrison.

"Yes, Marino Yellow to be exact." Finn's lip curled slightly in frustration.

Daniel perked up. "Those are the convertible ones, aren't they?"

"They are. There is also a baby blue," he frowned at Harrison. "vintage Vespa."

"Oh, I've always wanted a Vespa," Daniel sighed, chin in his hands. "But they can't carry groceries, so I think I'll take the car." He stood up and began to walk out, waving to the ghosts in the kitchen.

"Have fun!" called Sam.

"Be safe!" said Terrance.

"Don't forget anything on the list!" exclaimed Adri.