NECROMANTIC

ten.

I took such a sharp step backward from the board Mae held out to us that I stumbled, and would’ve fallen hard on my ass, had Rob not acted quickly (I swear if it weren’t for his freakishly fast, cat-like reflexes, I would’ve sustained way more bruises and cuts and possibly knockouts in my life) and caught me, righting me back on my feet.

“No,” I shook my head sharply, saying the word with a harsh vehemence. “No way, no.”

Mae’s grin wavered, and a small frown puckered her brow as she looked down at the board, then back at me. “What?”

I gritted my teeth, and cast my eyes away from her, from it. Looking at it made me feel the cold sweat I’d broken out in, the scary pounding of my heart, the bubbling uneasiness and fear inside my stomach. “I said no. I’m not going anywhere near that thing. Not a chance on this earth.”

“Sarah?” she asked in confusion, at the same time Rob asked, just as confused “What’s wrong?”

“I… no, okay?”

“Sarah, it’s just… it’s just a stupid Ouija board, what’s the problem?” Rob put a hand on my upper arm in questioning, and I was that upset he wasn’t agreeing with me, no matter how irrational I was, so I shook him off sharply.

“I don’t… I don’t like it. Them. Okay. I don’t wanna mess around with it, y’know? You don’t fuck around with these things.” I jabbed my finger at it, though I still kept my eyes firmly averted.

Mae laughed, though it was a laugh of confusion – but as though she was confused to why I was acting like I was having a tantrum Which I wasn’t. I mean, my reaction should be entirely understandable, right? Well… not to them, obviously, but… “Uh, that’s exactly what they’re for. To dick around with and have fun and frights.”

“Yeah,” Rob nodded his head. “It’s nothing serious, y’know. It’s not like it’s real or anything.”

Oh my god. If only they knew.

I swallowed hard, and shook my head again. “Real or not real, I don’t like them.”

I watched Rob and Mae exchange looks – and that ate me right up, consumed by a petty upset and jealousy. I knew what they were thinking, too – Sarah’s acting a little bratty, huh? Carrying on like that. She’s being ridiculous, it’s just a stupid board with letters and numbers on – and I resisted the urge to point my finger at them and tell them I wasn’t being bratty or ridiculous, instead folding my arms around my chest, pinning down my hands which I’d balled into petulant fists, swallowing back the lump in my throat, and looking away from both of them.

A moment passed, as though they were waiting for me to say something, reveal my reaction had been a hoax, or come to my sense, and when none of that happened, Mae sighed softly. “Ok. Fine. We can just go back to the house and watch the Scream boxset, or something, I guess.” She said, and she had her sad, defeated and heart-wrenching pouty tone that always made you feel terrible, which just wasn’t fair. I refused to look over at her, too, knowing she’d have the big eyes, and pouty, dejected lips to match, shoulders slumped, head hanging.

I heard Rob mutter something like ‘hold up’, before he put his hand on my shoulder again, a gesture so gentle, but firm it made me want to either burst into tears or bolt away. Both. “Sarah…” he said softly, coaxingly.

“What?” I snapped, sounding exactly like a child.

“Sarah.” He said again, this one a lot less understanding, and more firm, the question evident in it – why? Why are you acting like this? “Look at me. Please.”