Free Beyond - Volume 1 (YA Paranormal Romance) by S.P. van der Lee Page B

what! I can decide f or myself what I want to wear.”
    “That’s true,” I say.
    Lillian seems to brighten up. “You know what I did?” She asks me with a cheeky smile.
    “What? ” I ask.
    “When she told me I was emo, I just threw my can of Coke at her.” She bursts out laughing. “It was hilarious. You should’ve seen it!”
    Emma grins and the two girls bump fists together.
    “That naïve floozy immediately ran to the bathroom, crying. I just laughed and laughed. She won’t say anything to me again anytime soon,” Lillian says.
    Her prank makes m e laugh a bit, even though I think she was kind of mean to the girl. She doesn’t let anyone mess around with her. Maybe I’d do the same myself if someone was bothering me about my looks. I admire her fierceness.
    When we arrive at our classroom the other students are at their seats and the teacher wants to begin. We apologize for coming a bit late. I sit down at a large table alone, because Emma and Lillian share one. Nowhere in class do I see Damian.
    So he left after our brief conversation. If that was even a conversation. I don’t know if those ghost appearances are real, but Damian’s absence is suspicious nonetheless. It’s like he has much more important stuff to do. And I intend to find out what that is.
    I get my cell phone from my bag and start texting under the table.
    Where are you? Why aren’t you at school? We have to talk.
    I wait and wait, but it takes forever to get a response.
    There’s nothing to say.
    Is that the only thing he’s going to say to me? Damian’s being so rude. I know I turned him down at Billy’s, but I was so overwhelmed by emotions that I just didn’t want to be near him. It just felt dangerous. There’s got to be a reason for all of this, and Damian’s behavior is making it worse. He’s avoiding me, ignores my questions and acts like nothing happened. But I know there’s something going on. I don’t care what he says. First he was nice to me and now he’s not, and I want to know why. There has to be a good reason.
     
    ***
     
    The next two days Damian doesn’t come to school, and I don’t even see him anywhere around town. It’s like he suddenly ceased to exist. My hallucinations about the blue ghost have also stopped. However, I keep seeing the other ghosts.
    Daily life goes on, even if it’s not normal for me. Working at Mr. Cheng’s is kind of fun, even though the man has a bad temper. Simon Pierce makes it entertaining.
    “So, are you used to your new home yet?” He places the last couple of candles on the shel f.
    “It’s okay . I’ve had to move a lot, so I’m used to it,” I answer.
    “ Well, there’s lots of fun stuff to do around here, you know. You’ll have a great time.”
    “What’s there to do then?” I can’t imagine this town having anything interesting.
    “Well, we have a movie theatre and a river.” He clears his throat. I get the feeling he knows it’s not a lot.
    “Oh, I didn’t know that. I haven’t had time to look around yet,” I say.
    “Well, if you need a guide to show you around town, I’m available.” He smiles, but when I smile at him, he blushes.
    After we’re done working, I walk out of Cheng’s with Simon, and I get a phone call.
    “Hey Raven!” a voice blares through my cell phone. It’s Emma Harper. “Want to come to the fountain?”
    “The fountain?”
    “The park. There’s a fountain there. It’s the place we hang out. We go there every week to swim in the pond or play soccer.”
    “Who else is coming?”
    “Lillian, Joey, his brother and me. So, you want to come?”
    “S ure. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” I could use some distraction. Besides, I should think about something other than Damian for a while.
    “It’s close to the town center. You just have to go a few blocks from Cheng’s and you’re there. It’s hard to miss. Call me if you can’t find it though, okay?”
    I gl ance at Simon, who’s listening to my