text: Abigail Livinghouse Abandoned 
   
   
   Summary 
   “A school building?” Tessie Porter asked her parents at the dinner table. They had just informed her that they had bought an old school building from a few years back. “Why?” 
     
   Mr. Porter grinned, twirling spaghetti with his salad fork. “Why not? It was the elementary school me and your mother went to. It’s full of memories. Plus, they were going to tear it down. We just had to save it.” 
     
   Tessie’s dark red eyebrows came together in a scowl. She knew her parents were dying to spend some of their lotto money on something. But an old school building sounded like such a waste to her. That was certainly not what she would’ve done with the money. 
     
   She sighed, playing with the untouched food on her plate. She ate little, considering the hefty breakfast she had had earlier. Her mother was a good cook, and believed that the way you showed your family you loved them was with a big, hot meal. 
     
   Mrs. Porter looked up at her daughter, her blue eyes warm. “You’ll like it Tessie. We’re going to remodel it into a beautiful home. By the time we’re done it’ll be a mansion.” 
     
   Tessie didn’t understand why they didn’t just buy a house. Or better yet, with the money it would take to restore a large school building, they could build their own house. 
     
   Her mother seemed to sense Tessie’s next question. “The place is filled with history. You can’t build history.” 
     
   “Why can’t we stay here? I like our house.” 
     
   “Sweetheart, we are running out of space. Besides, the contract is signed. It’s a done deal.” Her father said, taking a sip of his water. 
     
   Tessie excused herself, picking up her plate from the table and dumping the majority of her food in the trash. She headed up to her room, closing the door maybe a bit too loudly.          
   
   
   
   Chapter 1 
   They pulled into the large parking lot of the school that was now owned by the Porters. 
     
   It was a modest brick building. A flag pole with the American flag flapping in the wind greeted them as they pulled up. The school was built on a hill, with about fifty steps leading up to the building. Engraved above the doors was Chester Elementary School 1879, reading in big, proud letters. 
     
   The Porters got out of the car, slamming their doors. Mr. Porter held up his hand to shield his eyes from the sun as he stared up at the huge school. 
     
    “Isn’t she beautiful?” He said as he hugged Mrs. Porter. 
     
   The building had many windows. Some of the bricks seemed to ooze black from age, staining the surface. Mr. Porter touched one of the bricks. His finger came back the color of ink. 
     
   “Nothing a good cleaning won’t fix.” He said, wiping his hand on his pants. 
     
   Tessie didn’t think much of the school. It was just a school to her. 
     
   “Let’s go inside.” Mr. Porter said, pulling jangling keys out of his pocket. 
     
   They made the climb up the stairs, where he stuck the key in the hole, turned it, and they entered the foyer of the building. There was another set of doors to unlock before they were actually in the school. 
     
   The air was stale with the moisture and smell of chalk. The closed windows did not help with the smell. Tessie wondered if there was mold. 
     
   She looked around, her eyes wide. Papers and pencils littered the concrete floor. Some of the walls were spray painted profanities, the empty cans on the floor. Most of the windows were either cracked or shattered. The place was in shambles. Tessie could not possibly see how they could ever live there. 
     
   Her parents seemed to feel the exact opposite. Her father lovingly touched one of the faded walls. 
     
   “I almost don’t want to remodel it.” He murmured. 
     
   Mrs. Porter linked her arm through his, resting her chin on his shoulder. “I know.” 
     
   She turned to Tessie. “You can look around, honey.” 
     
   Tessie nodded, then began walking through the halls that hadn’t been explored in years. She passed glass cases of old trophies and black and white pictures of long-dead classes and staff members. 
     
   There were cork boards with papers still pinned, others scattered across the floors. Some of the paint on the walls was peeling, some sections of the ceiling were also cracked. Tessie shoved her hands in her pockets, her steps echoing down the barren halls. 
     
   Why would her parents buy this place? She preferred it ripped down. She walked by classrooms with desks cluttered around the room, along with erasers, papers, and other writing utensils. She passed by each room, not bothering to peek inside. Each one was the same. 
     
   She had explored most of the building when she stopped at a classroom. Room 15. Tessie didn’t know why she found this classroom different. It was just a feeling she had. It was an uneasiness that she only got when something was wrong or off. 
     
    Once, when her parents had gone out, the stove had not been completely shut off. She was only about eleven at the time, but she had sensed that something was not right. Something just told her to go to the kitchen, something was pulling her there. 
     
   When she arrived flames were licking up from one of the gas burners. She quickly shut it off but grabbed the fire extinguisher anyway, spraying the whole kitchen with foam. When her parents got home they were furious, but at least the house was still standing. Tessie had saved her home from burning down. 
     
   That odd feeling was back now, something was just attracting her into that room. She felt she must go in. She stepped into the classroom. It did not look special. There were about six windows in the room, with the same desks, papers, pencils, and erasers. There was also a chalkboard taking up the north wall. 
     
   She leaned against the wall where the air vents were. She shivered, rubbing her arm, moving her hand over the vent to feel if the air conditioning had been turned on. No air came out. The windows were open though, maybe that was why she was cold. Even though it was only late September. 
     
   Tessie’s skin prickled, the hair on the back of her neck standing up. She looked over her shoulder, staring out the window at the schoolyard where a rusty swing-set sagged sadly on the yellowing grass. She studied every corner of the playground. No one was there. 
     
   She still felt odd, like she was not alone. She felt the urge to call out. Her eyes darted around the room, still searching. There was someone in here. There had to be. How could there not? 
     
   Tessie felt like she was in an auditorium, onstage, and all eyes were on her. It was an uncomfortable feeling, which increased further when a rat scurried across the floor and over her foot. 
     
    She clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle her scream. Tessie’s heart thundered loudly, she placed her hand over it, and felt the erratic pulse.  Calm down, Tessie,  she told herself.  There’s no one else in here. You’re alone. 
     
   But no matter what the facts, she felt that she couldn’t be alone. The feeling of watchful eyes seeing Tessie’s every move would not recede. It became so terrible that she broke out in a sweat. She had to leave the room. She could no longer stand to be in there. 
     
    She took a few steps toward the door, but halted at a desk. Her eyes roved over the wooden surface. It was scratched, curses forever engraved in the wood. Tessie ran her hand over it, feeling the rough texture of the scrapes of many unruly children sitting in the desk. 
     
   She walked over to the side of the desk, where the chair opened up, welcoming her to sit down. She did. Tessie studied the desk a few more minutes, then looked up at the chalkboard. 
     
    A rush of ecstasy washed over her, so much that she felt that she would fall out of the chair. Memories that were not hers flooded her mind. Teachers writing on the board, the chalk scratching against the black surface. Educators rambling on about things the children didn’t care about. 
     
   Some other students hurriedly scribbling notes while others doodled aimlessly. Writing, writing for hours at a time. Ignoring everything the teacher said. Writing in a notebook, drawing, dreaming . . . 
     
   The visions abruptly stopped, cut off suddenly as if the film had been ripped away before the ending could be revealed. Tessie bent her head forward, her forehead touching the top of the cool desk. 
     
    This had happened before, it was not a surprise to her. When Tessie was about six, she had been on a plane going home from California where she had visited her grandmother. She had known nothing about the plane, which had once crashed, killing about twenty people. It had been retired to the junkyard before being remodeled so that it could fly again. 
     
   Tessie was just a little girl, she had been playing with her Barbie dolls when it happened. It was like she was daydreaming, moving pictures just came to her. She felt like she was watching a television show that only she could see. She saw breathing assistors come down from the ceiling as the pilot called for them to remain calm. She felt her hands clutch the seat cushions as alarms beeped and the plane spiraled out of control. 
     
   The vision stopped when the plane crashed, suddenly engulfed in flames. Her mother was shaking her, Tessie had been screaming and crying. Her mother had been terrified, and had even called the flight attendant over, giving her water to splash on Tessie’s face. 
     
   When she woke up, tears were streaming down her cheeks and her throat was sore from screaming. She had been afraid of planes ever since. It was the last time she stepped foot in an airplane. 
     
   The vision Tessie had just had was odd. Usually, the vision continued until there was no more to be seen. This one just fell off suddenly. It was like there was something she wasn’t supposed to see. 
     
    She placed her hand over her clammy forehead, trying to catch her breath. Of course, she should’ve expected this. It was such a historic building. 
     
   Tessie took a deep breath, staring down at the desk. There was a small arrow drawn near the bottom. She scowled, looking down, and reached into the desk. Her hand touched a smooth surface which she grasped and pulled out. 
     
   Tessie’s eyes widened slightly. She placed the notebook on the desktop. Should she open it? Tessie’s heart skipped as she held the page with her quivering fingers. She laid the cover gently on the desk. 
     
   The faded page was taken up by a handwritten story, in calligraphy. Tessie blinked, staring at the paper in surprise and awe. A child could not have written this. 
     
    The story had no title, but as Tessie read the first paragraph, which told about an ailing girl who would not survive the year and wished to live to her eighth birthday, she felt that it did not need one. It was strange, the page was not signed, but the girl in the story was named Cynthia. 
     
   Tessie swallowed, closing the notebook and sitting back in the chair. Whoever had written this, she found no reason why it had not been published. If it was a true story, than it was even more amazing that a child had written it. 
     
   Thump!  A book smacked loudly on the floor, causing Tessie to jump. She really couldn’t take the anxiety of this room any longer. She got up, and left the room quickly, taking the notebook with her. 
   
   
   
   Chapter 2 
   She slipped the notebook into her backpack as her parents drove home. They were too busy discussing what walls they were going to tear down and what materials they were going to pick out to notice. 
   “So what did you think, Tessie?” Her mother asked, looking over her shoulder. 
   Tessie shrugged. “It’s a school, Mom. It’s not that special.” 
   Mrs. Porter looked aghast at her daughter’s comment. 
   “Tessie, this school is special to your father and I. It should be special to you too.” She scolded, turning around and crossing her arms. 
   Tessie rolled her eyes. It was nothing special to her, if not a bit strange or creepy. She wasn’t sure if she was happy that the place would be remodeled or not. 
   She headed up to her room once they got home, where she shut the door and sat down at her desk, taking the notebook and placing it on her desktop. She opened it up and read the rest of the first page. 
   The little girl Cynthia grew up with her mother, father, and little sister. She was born in 1881, but it said nothing more about when she was born except that it was in July. 
   Her little sister’s name was Lily, but she died from pneumonia when she was only two. She told about how the pain of losing her sister had affected her and her family so much. The girl said she felt so terrible, so heartbroken, but her parents had it worse. 
   Her mother and father became so depressed they rarely got out of bed at all. They were fired from their jobs for missing so many days, and soon Cynthia was no longer welcome at the school she was currently going to for all the absences she had. 
   Her parents never had truly gotten over her sibling’s death, but they had to join the rest of the world eventually. They were able to retrieve their old jobs, however Cynthia was not allowed back at her school. 
   Her parents searched for another place to give their daughter an education, and they found Chester Elementary School, a new and shiny school at the time. It was the only school in the area, plus, it was very appealing to her parents to have their child go to a new and very highly talked about educational facility. 
   Cynthia started the school when she was six, she was in first grade. She was known as the new girl, and most of the children disliked her. She had very little friends, and was often bullied for her stick straight blonde hair and clear blue eyes. 
   She told later about how when she was seven she came down with leukemia, lung cancer that made it very difficult for her to breathe. The doctors told her that she wouldn’t live to eight. 
    She wished that she could just live to her eighth birthday, hell, she wished she could live way past her eighth birthday. Cynthia just wanted to live period. 
   Her parents had been fighting a lot, they wanted a divorce. She wanted to help them. She had to live to help them. They said that when she turned eight they would split up, and decide who kept her. 
   Maybe she could help them. She thought that she could help them. That was the end of the book. The other pages had small drawings of unicorns, fairies, and bunnies. The rest of the pages were blank. 
   Tessie sat back in her chair, taking a breath. Cynthia must’ve died from the disease before she turned eight and could try to help her parents. 
   A single tear rolled down Tessie’s cheek. She wished that Cynthia had been able to live, she was so young. She did not deserve to die.  
   
   
   
   Chapter 3 
   Tessie stood in the middle of Room 15 where all the desks had been removed, the chalk board stripped off the wall, and the floors reduced to dirt. It had been turned into an even worse state than the previous one. 
   The whole day she had felt sick, dizzy, and very lightheaded. She had a feeling that it was not a normal ailment. There was something about the room, whoever or whatever was in it did not want it changed. 
   “This is where the kitchen will go.” Her mother instructed, wearing a white hardhat. 
   They had all been told to wear them, Tessie’s was too big, and slumped over her eyes. She sighed, lifting the hat up once again so that she could see. 
   Her mother gave Tessie a one arm hug. “It’s going to look gorgeous. What do you think?” 
   Tessie shrugged, looking around with more disgust than awe like Mrs. Porter. “I suppose.” 
   Her mother patted her on the back before she returned to the contractor, electrician, and plumber. The plumber stooped down near Tessie, examining an area on the wall where the sink would go. 
   “What do you think, little lady? You excited for the remodel?” The man spoke with a sort of Southern drawl. He looked up at Tessie with lazy green eyes. “Eh?” He asked her. 
   She shrugged again. “Sure.” 
   Tessie headed out the door, away from Room 15. All the floors were hard-packed dirt, marks had been spray painted on the walls where they were to be ripped down or repainted. The whole place was reduced to shambles. Tessie never thought she’d say it, but she wished they hadn’t even touched the school. Why not just leave good enough alone? Whatever is in this building was content, before the Porters came along and ruined its peace. 
    A sense of dread slowly washed over Tessie as she walked down the destroyed halls. The uneasy feeling was back again, telling her to get out, and get out now. She quickened her steps, scanning the halls for the nearest exit. Her heart thundered in her chest. As she hurried along, her breathing quickened. Tessie’s chest was starting to tighten, it was getting harder to breathe as she began to sprint. 
   An exit sign that her parents had not ripped away shined like a beacon of hope down the hall. Tessie slammed into the door and burst into the midday sun, where she gasped for breath, taking huge gulps of blessed oxygen. She placed her hand over her heart, feeling her thundering pulse. She doubled over, her hands on her knees, trying to get her breath back. 
   “Hey!” A voice called, causing Tessie to jump. 
   One of the demo guys had called to her from a window. He waved. “Hey you! Girl! You okay?” 
    Tessie straightened up, wiping sweat off her brow. 
   “I’m fine!” She shouted back. 
   The man ducked back inside the school, a few seconds later, he poked his head out the window again. 
   “Your mama wants you in here girlie!” He yelled. 
   Tessie rolled her eyes, brushing herself off. 
   “Tell her I’ll be there in a few minutes!” She shouted. 
    The man went inside hopefully for the last time. Tessie refused to go back into that building. There was something in there that did not want them there. It terrified Tessie. She could not imagine what it would be like when the remodel was done, she just hoped that things would calm down with whatever was in there. If things didn’t relax, then there would be hell on earth. Tessie just knew it. 
   *          *          * 
          “It’s definitely an improvement from its previous condition. I’m just afraid that you might’ve downgraded your profits rather than increased them. Are you planning on selling this building?” The realtor, Mr. Houston spoke with Mr. and Mrs. Porter six months after they had bought the school, which was now completely remodeled. 
    With six bedrooms and four bathrooms, the house was now the Porters’ dream. At least, it was Mr. and Mrs. Porter’s dream. Mrs. Porter shook her head, grabbing Mr. Porter’s hand. 
   “Oh no, we’ve invested so much in this property.” She looked around lovingly. “It’s our dream.” 
   The realtor nodded, his face expressionless. “It’s never smart to become emotionally attached to a home.” He chided. 
   Mrs. Porter stared at him coolly. “I’m terribly sorry, but we do love this home. It’s ours, and we’ve done everything we’ve ever wanted to. It’s perfect.” 
   Mr. Houston nodded again. “Yes, I see.” He touched one of the dark wood cabinets. “It is very taste specific.” 
   Mr. Porter cleared his throat, getting the realtor’s attention. “Mr. Houston, with all due respect, we are very much attached to this property. It was our old school, and we love it very much. We could not bear to part with it.” 
   Mrs. Porter nodded, her expression a bit smug. “Yes.” 
   Mr. Porter hesitated, seeming to not want to upset his wife. “We would however, like to know the value of the home.” He said. 
   Mr. Houston observed the kitchen, tiled floors, and the pastel walls. “How much did you pay for the home?” He asked. 
   Mr. Porter jumped in, suddenly animated. “A bit over three hundred thousand dollars. It was in very poor condition.” 
   The realtor considered before answering. “Well, I should say, if my estimate is correct with the market here in Chester, your home is probably worth, after the remodel about two to three million dollars.” 
   Mrs. Porter clutched her chest where her heart was, gasping. Mr. Porter looked equally surprised. Mr. Houston did not bat an eye at the high price tag of the newly redone home. After they shook hands and said thank you Mr. Houston left, leaving the Porters ecstatic with the value of the old school. 
   “This is wonderful, Jane! Just wonderful!” Mr. Porter exclaimed. Mrs. Porter was nearly jumping with joy. 
   “It’s just perfect, Matthew! It’s amazing! I never would’ve thought we would be able to attain our dreams. This is a dream. Oh goodness, this is amazing!” She squealed, repeating herself often because she was so flustered. 
   Tessie leaned against the old chain link fence in the yard, watching the realtor get in his car and drive off. She knew that the assessment had gone well. She could see her parents jumping through the window. She had almost hoped that it would not go well, so that they wouldn’t want to stay there. At least they would be able to sell the home and get it out of their hands. But no, Tessie had a feeling this would happen. 
   The house had gone up in value, and considering the softened market, the price of the old school would just skyrocket even further with time. Tessie groaned inwardly. Throughout the remodel things had gotten worse. Tessie felt sick every time she set foot inside the home, and she developed breathing problems whenever she entered the kitchen, which did not surprise her. 
   She kept the notebook she had found there. She had read the story at least ten times. The style and the hand that the story was written in did not add up with the characteristics of a child. Tessie wished more than ever to know if it was a true story, if the little Cynthia really did exist at a time. 
   “Hello”, a voice whispered in her ear. 
   She gasped, spinning around and clenching her fists, preparing for a fight. 
   A tall, lean blond boy with eyes the color of the sky on a sunny day leaned against the fence, his expression teasing. 
   “Hey”, he waved, grinning. Tessie scowled. 
   “Who the hell are you?” She nearly shouted. 
   He laughed. “Chill girl, I live next door.” 
   He jutted his thumb over to a house about two miles away from the school. The home was barely noticeable, you could hardly see it from where they were standing. 
   “That’s not exactly next door.” Tessie said, eyeing the kid suspiciously. 
   He looked about her age. He waggled his eyebrows jokingly. She rolled her eyes. 
   “I’m Chip”, the boy said, extending his hand through the fence for her to shake it. 
   She grasped it, “Tessie.” 
   His hand was rough, probably from working on the expansive house and all the land around it, which required hours of manual labor that probably was his responsibility. 
   “I haven’t seen you around. You just moved here?” He asked. 
   Tessie nodded. Her parents had bought the place months ago, but had just finished the renovations a few weeks ago. “Yes. We just moved in last week.” 
   Chip nodded, looking impressed at the large building. He shielded his eyes from the sun as he gazed up at the old school. 
    “Chester Elementary. My parents went there.” He said. 
   Yeah, yours and everyone else’s. Tessie thought. Chip’s eyes returned to Tessie. 
    “You going to Chester High in the fall?” He asked. 
   “None of your business.” She responded defensively. He chuckled again. 
   “Feisty. Ah well, see you around Tessie.” He said, jumping away from her fence and sprinting back to his house. 
   Tessie’s eyes narrowed. He was one odd kid. Or maybe he was just annoying. Probably. 
   
   
   
   Chapter 4 
   The Porters were very untraditional, they ate dinner in the living room. Tessie sat on the sofa, where her parents lounged on the loveseat. 
   “What do you think of the renovation, Tessie?” Mr. Porter asked her, sphering a piece of meatloaf and popping it in his mouth. 
   Tessie played around with her food, not really eating anything. Her appetite always deserted her when she was in the school. 
   “It’s fine.” She responded flatly. 
   Mr. Porter scowled, observing Tessie’s clammy skin and dull green eyes, which were usually glowing. 
   “Are you feeling okay?” He asked her. 
   She looked up at him, her lip curling as her temper shot up into the danger zone. 
    “Of course I’m not okay. I hate it here. I wish we had never moved. I absolutely loathe this place.” Her tone was harsh, even though she spoke calmly. 
    She could tell that her words had stung her parents. They both looked at her with wounded expressions that quickly turned into furious ones. 
   “You do not speak to us like that, young lady.” Her mother said, placing her half eaten food on the coffee table and standing up. 
   Tessie carelessly dropped her plate on the table, where some of her food toppled over onto the floor. 
   “Punish me, send me away to boarding school. I don’t care. In fact, please do send me away to maybe a military school. Anything to get out of this hellhole.” Tessie said with venom. 
   Her parents both stared at her in surprise and anger. She threw her napkin down. “You know what. I’ll see you later. I’ll be in my room.” 
   She left calmly, climbing the staircase to her bedroom. Tessie’s room was painted midnight blue, and dark curtains repelled any light that tried to seep into her bedroom. All the furniture was dark wooden, even her bed sheets were black or dark blue. 
   Tessie groaned as she fell onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She had a terrible headache, she knew, that no drug could take care of. This place was draining the life out of her, and she hated it. She hated the building. It had such a large and terrible influence on her that if she had it her way, she would’ve had it torn down the moment anyone would tell her it was ready for demolition. 
   Tessie sneered, her dark red hair sticking to her face from her sweating. She absolutely hated it here. Ever since she set foot in the building, she had felt a strange electric charge in the air, which had progressively gotten worse over time. But what could she do? 
   Something brushed her shoulder. She immediately sat straight up, alert as her eyes darted around the room. She appeared to be alone, but she did not feel like she was. Something was tugging at her, telling her to go to her desk, which rested in the corner of the room. 
   She got up, and with the guide of the invisible force encouraging her, she walked forward until she was standing over her desk. She realized what was in the desk that had drawn her to it. 
   She reached inside and pulled out the notebook where Cynthia’s life story was written. She swallowed, her fingers shaky as she gripped the cover. She felt as if a spotlight was shining down on her, waiting for her to make a move. 
   Tessie opened the notebook, and what she saw made her heart leap. The pages were blank. Completely untouched, not even worn from time. Tessie dropped the notebook, a small scream escaping her lips before she covered her mouth with her hand. This could not be happening. 
   
   
   
   Chapter 5 
   Tessie gripped the edge of the desk, trembling from fear and shock. Was she crazy? The words had been there. She could not have imagined such a sorrowful story. 
   What if she was crazy? No. She refused to think she was insane. That story was not made up from Tessie’s imagination, it could not be. She just wished she knew who the little Cynthia girl was, and if she was real. She also would like to know who wrote the story. 
   Tessie shut the notebook, pulling a laptop out of her desk and stetting it on top. It was time to do some research. 
          Tessie scrolled through the many online articles about children who had died during the 1880s. There was one little girl, Cynthia Evans. The name caught Tessie’s eye since it was a Cynthia, and the date of birth was 1881, which matched the birthday in the story that had mysteriously vanished. 
   Cynthia Evans was born here in Montana not far from Chester. Her younger sister whose name was not mentioned, had passed away only a few years after her birth. Her parents weren’t really mentioned, except that their names were Theresa and Jonathan Evans. The article was focused mainly on Cynthia herself. 
   At the age of six she knew how to play the violin and piano. She had wished to become a musical protégé when she grew up, but those dreams were thwarted when she turned seven and was diagnosed with lung cancer. 
   Tessie’s heart pounded at the words typed on the screen. This story was almost an identical copy to the one that had been written in the notebook, aside from a few missing details, it was nearly exactly the same. 
   Tessie was at the public library, afraid to do the research in the building. She tapped her foot nervously on the linoleum floor as she read. The rest of the article talked about Cynthia’s date of birth and death, July 17th, 1881- January 6th, 1888. Cynthia had died just a few months before her eighth birthday. 
   Tessie exited out of the page and got up, taking an armful of books with her. She had checked out  Modern Hauntings, Visions: A Psychic’s Guide to Coping and Helping Others , and a few other stories about haunted spots in Montana and just how to deal with spirits.  
   She zipped the books up in her backpack, and then threw it over her shoulder, getting on her bike and beginning to pedal. She had to work her legs fiercely in order to get up the hill that led to the school, but once she was up there and shining with sweat, she threw her bike down and headed inside. 
   Her parents had gone out, which was strange, usually they liked to make arrangements to have people come here to show off their wonderful investment, oh well. Tessie dropped her backpack in her room and removed the books, throwing them on her bed. She grabbed a small notebook and pen before heading outside. 
   Tessie enjoyed artwork and drawing, she loved drawing nature. Maybe drawing would get her mind off of things. She sat down on the ground, beginning to sketch a detailed picture of a dandelion when she saw Chip in the cornfield behind his house, removing good and bad stocks. 
   “Chip!” She called, dropping what she was doing and running over to him. 
    He looked up at her and a grin spread across his face. He was wearing jeans overalls and was shirtless. He had a straw hat on. Tessie would’ve laughed at his appearance any other time. He was the picture perfect country boy. Chip leaned against his plow as he looked at Tessie. 
    “Hello, what can I do for you?” He asked. 
    She hardened her tone, her eyes cold. “I want you to tell me everything you know about Chester Elementary School.” 
    He scowled, his blond eyebrows coming together in confusion. “I thought your family would’ve known all about the place, considering you bought it. If not, then it’s going to take time to tell you everything about it.” 
   “I got time.” Tessie said. 
   He shrugged, walking over and setting the plow against the side of his large farmhouse. He wiped his hands on his jeans. “Alright. Do you wanna come in? I’m sure Mom won’t mind.” 
    Tessie nodded. “Sure. Thank you.” 
   She followed Chip inside the house, which was just as old fashioned country style as it was on the outside. With wooden furniture, flowered wallpaper, and even a rocking chair. They entered the kitchen where a plump woman scrubbed dishes in the sink. The kitchen was bright with whitewashed cabinets, curtains the color of sunshine, and fruits and vegetables wallpaper. There was a cookie jar on the counter in the shape of a rooster. 
   “Mom”, Chip said, and the woman turned around. 
    She looked a lot like her son. She had short blond hair, and blue eyes. She looked at them kindly, grabbing a dishtowel and drying off her hands. She smiled. 
   “Hello, I apologize I’m in my work clothes, such a mess. How do you do?” She greeted Tessie, reaching out her hand. 
   Tessie shook it, smiling kindly. “Hi, I’m Tessie.” 
   Chip’s mother nodded. “Very nice to meet you. Chip, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were going to have a friend over.” 
    Chip rolled his eyes but said nothing. His mother placed the dishtowel on the counter and wiped her hands on her apron. 
   “Well, I’m just going to go change. There are some cookies on the table. Help yourself.” She said, leaving the kitchen. 
   Tessie noticed a plate of chocolate chip cookies on an oak table shoved against the west wall. Chip gestured with his arm. 
    “Have a seat. You want some milk?” He asked, already opening the fridge and pulling out a carton. 
   Tessie nodded, pulling out a chair and sitting down. “Sure.” 
   He placed glasses on the table, pouring the milk for both of them and handing one to her. Tessie clutched her glass, taking a cookie. 
   “So”, Chip said, biting off some of his own cookie, “What do you want to know about the school?” 
   Tessie decided she’d come right out with it. There was no point in beating around the bush. “The children that went there. Did any of them die?” 
   “You mean in the school?” 
    She nodded. Chip shook his head. “I don’t think so. I mean, out of all the stories I’ve heard about the old place, only one told about a kid who died there.” 
   “What was that?” Tessie asked. 
    Chip paused to take a sip of milk before continuing, taking another cookie. “Her name was Katie Lee. Rumor has it she was beaten to death by kids who bullied her. She was only ten when she died. The kids who supposedly killed her by accident were sent to the Juvenile Detention Center, but it’s said that Katie never really did move on.” 
   Chip shrugged. “I doubt that’s true. But that’s the only story I know of kids who died there.” 
   Tessie took a bite of her cookie. It was still warm and the chocolate was gooey, and melted in her mouth. She took another. “What else can you tell me about the school?” 
   He pursed his lips, considering. “Well, the school was notorious for hauntings. It’s said that a teacher went insane there and killed herself by jumping out the second story window. Another is a kid was playing near the swing-set when they jumped the fence and disappeared. The kid’s body was never found. There are other stories of children disappearing in the detention room.” 
   That caught Tessie’s attention. She set down the milk. “What room was that?” 
   “Room 15.” 
   Tessie gripped her glass, trying to keep her hands from shaking. Chip could see the change in her. Her lips had turned pale white, and her skin was chalky. 
   “Hey, you okay?” He asked her. She shook her head and swallowed. 
    “I’m fine. Tell me more about the detention room.” She urged. 
   He hesitated a moment, seeing her sudden change in mood, but he told her anyway. “It was where children were punished when they disobeyed the teachers. They were to write over and over on the chalkboard, sometimes smacked with rulers, or just told to sit there for hours at a time. It was never fun for the kids. Some considered it torture, for children to do nothing for such a long period. The detention time was eventually reduced to about an hour or two instead of the length of six to eight, but it was still a hated and feared room.” 
   Tessie pushed her milk away from her and got up. “I think I’d better go now. Thanks for the cookies. I’ll see you later.” She turned to leave. 
   “Wait.” Chip stood up and walked in front of her, blocking the doorway. 
   “What? Let me go.” She tried to push past him but couldn’t. 
    “Why are you asking about the history of the school?” He asked. 
   Tessie glared up at him when an idea came to her. She smiled sweetly. 
   “What’s my business is my business.” She leaned closer until she was breathing in his face. “And not yours.” 
   She then stomped on his foot, hard. He grunted in pain and she jumped past him, opening the door and stepping onto the porch. 
   “Thanks for all the help.” She called behind her. 
   Chip limped to the door where Tessie stood, grinning. 
   “That wasn’t very nice.” He said, rubbing his sore foot. Tessie laughed. 
   “You should know by now that I’m not the nicest girl around.” She scowled, any sweetness wiped clean from her features. 
   “I suggest you keep your nose in your own business. Trust me, you don’t want to get tangled up in anything that has to do with that school. Thank you for helping me, really. Goodbye.” She turned on her heel and headed back to the school.  
   
   
   
   Chapter 6 
   It was for Chip’s own good that Tessie was keeping him in the dark. The less he knew about Chester Elementary School the better. 
   When she got inside she found her parents sipping wine in the kitchen with a few of their friends. Tessie was careful to stand a few feet away from the doorway. Her parents smiled when they saw her. 
   “Tessie, c’mon in!” Her mother said, waving for her to come into the kitchen. 
    She refused. She was already getting on odd vibe from the place, the feel of  get the hell out of here or else  was very strong. She hesitated, her foot inches away from the tile floor. One more step and she felt she would literally enter hell, because that’s what it felt like it was. She had begun to sweat, her hair sticking to her neck and forehead. Her mother gave her a funny look.  
   “Tessie, come in and say hello to our guests. Don’t be rude.” Mrs. Porter chided her, but she refused to budge. 
   “I’ll be in my room.” She said, and turned abruptly to leave. Mrs. Porter gasped. 
   “We do not treat our guests this way. I am so sorry, she’s usually not like this.” Tessie’s mother apologized to her friends but Tessie was already up the stairs and in her bedroom. 
   The books she had checked out were still in a pile on her bed. She walked forward and picked up,  Visions: A Psychic’s Guide to Coping and Helping Others.  Tessie laid back on her bed, opening up the book and reading the introduction. 
   You may feel singled out at times, and you might even wonder, as well as question your sanity at others. But trust me, you are no crazier than I am. I am a licensed psychic, I help people and spirits on a daily basis. I love being a psychic, and I know you may hate it now, but believe me, it will get better. You just got to hang in there. Enjoy! 
   Sheri Wilde 
   The book spoke about living as a psychic, and about how even though you are different from society, you are not a freak. 
   Tessie read the book with rapt attention, and had finished it in one hour. She sighed when she was done reading it, hopefully understanding more about her visions. Tessie was not sure if she was a true psychic, but she knew she had visions, and that was enough. 
   In the book, it said that when having a vision, you are supposed to pay as much attention to it as possible, let it suck you in so that you can absorb as much as you can. That was what Tessie was going to do the next time she had a vision. 
   Now there was  Haunted Spots of Chester , a book detailing the spirits in Chester, Montana. Tessie was nearly positive there would be at least one insert about Chester Elementary School. She looked in the table of contents, and sure enough, Chester Elementary School was listed as number five. She flipped to page twenty where two pages told about the school.  
   Chester Elementary School, founded in 1879 by William Michener, was one of the most well-known educational facilities in the state of Montana. It was a new school, which attracted parents to enroll their students there, and had fabulous records for being dedicated to teach even the most stubborn student . . . at first. About five years later a teacher supposedly committed suicide by throwing themselves out a second story classroom window, in the middle of class. Some say a child pushed the teacher as a joke while they were straightening the blinds on the window and the teacher slipped. There are many versions of the educator’s death. About two years later a young girl died during a lecture from her lungs shutting down. Ten years after a child escaped from the playground and went missing. Another tragedy was a young woman was stabbed to death by an intruder in the building who had broken in, planning to steal, but ending up murdering the girl. Two years later the school was shut down from the terrible incidents and crimes that had occurred there. About another decade went by and the school was vacant, until it was put up for sale. Many went through it, but were plagued by strange noises and shadows lurking the halls and abandoned classrooms. Time passed, the school remained empty. The most reported haunt in the school was in specific classrooms, and in the detention room where children were punished for their misdoings. In the room, Room 15, people reported seeing children in odd clothing sitting in desks or on top of them, yelling soundlessly.  Others heard children laughing and running footsteps through the halls. It kept people away for years, and to this day, it remains vacant. 
          Tessie shut the book in frustration. Damn her parents. Why in hell did they have to buy this damned school? 
    She threw the book in the corner, picking up another.  Spirits, Deal with Them, or get rid of Them. 
          Tessie spent the rest of the day reading, she fell asleep with  Modern Hauntings  over her eyes. 
   A loud crash bounced off the walls, waking Tessie up with a start. She sat straight up, the book toppling to the floor with a soft  thump.  
   She jumped out of bed and sprinted down the hall, her breath coming quicker as she ran down the steps and down more halls. The sound came from the kitchen, and just the feel of everything put Tessie on edge. 
   She ran straight into the kitchen, seeing her mother in her bathrobe and father in his modern day suit but with slippers on. Her mother had her hands over her heart, staring down at the floor, where the shattered remains of Mrs. Porter’s fine china lay about. Her mother looked up at Tessie, Tessie’s eyes tired and a bad case of bedhead ravaging her hair. 
   “Tessie”, Mrs. Porter breathed, her voice almost a whisper, “Did you do this?” 
   Tessie’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard. “What? How could I have done this? I just got here!” 
   Mrs. Porter shook her head, getting down on her knees and picking up a few of the bigger chunks of the china she had loved so much. 
   “Oh, oh my.” She murmured, tears sliding down her cheeks. She seemed too heartbroken to speak. 
   “My great-granny used to only use this china to serve thanksgiving, or for afternoon tea.” She clutched some of the pieces in her fists. 
   “I inherited this when she died when I was five.” She seemed to be talking more to herself than to anyone else. 
   Mr. Porter placed his hands on his hips and stared at Tessie through his spectacles, which sat loosely on the end of nose. 
   “I didn’t do this!” Tessie gestured to her mother. “Why would I do this?” She shouted. 
   Mr. Porter shook his head, kneeling down next to his wife who was weeping softly. 
   “We’ll discuss your punishment later. For now, just go to your room.” He said to Tessie, trying to console Mrs. Porter while she sobbed onto her husband’s good shirt. Tessie threw her hands in the air. 
    “But I didn’t do it!” She yelled. 
   Mr. Porter glared at her, telling her that she was already screwed, and that she wasn’t helping herself, she was hurting herself. 
   She dropped her arms, her fists clenched at her sides. She was fuming, blood pounding in her temples as she stood there, her face beat red. 
   Tessie’s chest was tight from the foul vibe pulsing in the room. She breathed in and out quickly, feeling the pressure of the walls closing in on her. She had never been claustrophobic, and the room was not small. It was actually quite large, but length and width did not matter when it came to this room. Tessie knew that the only cure for this would be to leave, so she did. 
   She headed up to her room, slamming the door in her frustration. What the  hell  was going on? She spun around and stared up at the ceiling. 
   “Do you think this is funny?” She shouted at nothing. “Do you really want to mess with me?” 
   She stopped, her eyes scanning the room and spotting the notebook that had held Cynthia’s story. Tessie picked it up, staring at the black cover. 
   “You want to play hard ball?” Tessie asked, looking around. “Game on.”  
   
   
   
   Chapter 7 
   Tessie hit a dead end. She had cross referenced all the books she read about the school. She had exhausted all research sites she could find on the internet and she had checked the notebook over and over again to see if the story had somehow magically returned like it had disappeared. 
   Tessie decided, against her better judgment, to consult once again in Chip. She might leave him thinking she was crazy, but it would be worth it just to hear what he thought she should do. 
   Tessie headed over to the old style farmhouse and knocked on the door. Mrs. Kyle greeted her, smiling when she saw Tessie. 
   “Well hello, it’s nice to see you again. I’ll get Chip. Please come in.” She gestured with her arm and Tessie smiled. 
   “Thank you.” 
   She came inside, where the smells of a cake baking in the oven wafted over to her. She inhaled the delicious scent. 
   The room next to the foyer was the living room, where an old rocking chair leaned proudly against the wall. A flowered couch sat on the west wall, with a green cover thrown over the arm. There was no television like most modern homes. There were numerous TVs in Tessie’s home. Even though she did not really consider the school her home. The house they moved from, that was her home. 
   “Chip! Chip! Chip Timothy Kyle get down here! Tessie’s here!” Mrs. Kyle smiled at Tessie. “I’m so sorry. He’s a little hard of hearing.” 
   Chip came down the stairs, in a white T-shirt and jeans. His hair was wet from a shower. “I’m not hard of hearing Mom. I choose not to listen to you.” 
   She snickered. “Oh of course.” She went to pinch his cheek and he batted her hand away. 
   “Mom!” He said, shooting a glance at Tessie. Mrs. Kyle laughed and waved her hand. 
   “Oh, sorry for embarrassing you sweetie. I have a cake to ice. You two are welcome to the living room.” She said, and headed into the bright kitchen. 
   Chip shoved his hands in his pockets, his face red. He looked thoroughly embarrassed. Tessie smiled, a pang of envy hitting her. Chip had such a wonderful, natural life. The life a fifteen year old should have. Why couldn’t Tessie? 
   “What are you doing here anyway?” He asked her as they took seats in the living room. 
   Chip settled into the sofa, while Tessie sat on the very edge of an armchair across from the couch. She leaned forward, and Chip noticed the seriousness in her eyes. 
   “What’s wrong?” He asked her. 
   “I want to know your opinion on spirits.” Tessie expected him to burst out laughing, but instead, he sat there, without a trace of humor in his features. 
   “Why do you ask that?” 
   “You didn’t answer my question.” 
   He sighed and sat back, shrugging. “I’m not sure. I never really thought about ghosts much. Never ran into one. Of course, I’ve watched movies. But they were always versions with tricked out special effects. Nothing real. Why? What’s your opinion on spirits?” 
   Now it was Tessie’s turn to answer a question with a question. “Do you think they’re real?” 
   “You didn’t answer my question.” He said, but Tessie ignored him, waiting. He finally answered after about a minute. 
   “I don’t know. Like I said, I never ran into one to determine if they’re real or not. Now, answer my question.” 
    Tessie knew that she would just go around in circles with Chip if she did not let him get some answers out of her too. 
   She sat back in her seat. “I suppose I do believe in spirits.” 
   Chip snorted. Tessie’s eyes snapped to his face, surprised. “Excuse me?” 
   He shook his head. “Nothing. Except how could you not believe in ghosts? You’re living with them.” 
   
   
   
   Chapter 8 
   Tessie started, staring at Chip with wide eyes, which were bright from the lack of off vibe in the room. “What?” 
   He laughed. “Oh please. Don’t act so surprised. How could the school not be haunted? Of course there are ghosts. And there’s also your interest in the history of the school, and coming to me for info.” Chip gestured to himself and Tessie laughed. 
   “My parents bought the school. I should be able to ask about it.” 
   Chip rolled his eyes, which were as clear a blue as the sky on a cloudless day. “Don’t bullshit me, Tessie. I’m not as stupid as you may think I am.” 
    Tessie’s face had gone white with surprise and shock. She wet her lips before responding. 
   “I don’t think you’re stupid.” She whispered. 
    He laughed again. “Clueless then, but let’s be serious Tessie. A place with that much history, and a violent history at that, is bound to be filled with roaming spirits. Have you read the book,  Most Haunted Spots of Chester ? It’s number three on the most haunted list.” 
   Tessie could’ve kicked herself. Of course, out of all the books she had read the one that held valuable information was the one she had overlooked. It must’ve been pretty obvious how the place was haunted, and how she had been desperate enough to go to Chip for information on Chester Elementary School. 
   There was just one thing. Chip must’ve been researching the school, or else he wouldn’t know all of this. Tessie gazed at him quizzically. 
   “Why do you care?” She asked him. 
   He scowled. “What do you mean?” 
   “Well, you know all of this about the school. Why do you care?” 
   Chip shrugged. “I’ve always been interested in the supernatural. It’s fascinated me since I was young. I’ve read so many books, the one about Chester Elementary School kind of stuck since I live right next door to the place. To me, the school is like the White House, as valuable as a national monument.” 
    Tessie laughed bitterly. “I wish your family had bought it then, so that way we wouldn’t be saddled with the little piece of hell sent to us personally by Satan himself.” 
   Chip’s scowl deepened. “What do you mean by that?” 
   “I mean it’s hell on earth. And I am not the least bit kidding.” 
   “I don’t understand. I knew the place was haunted, but–” 
   “Try possessed.” 
    “Cake’s done!” Mrs. Kyle suddenly came into the room, a plate with a large chocolate cake resting on her palm. The arrival of Chip’s mother made them both jump. 
   “Thank you Mom.” Chip said, a bite of sarcasm in his tone. Tessie shot him a look. He kept quiet. 
   “You may slice it yourself, I’m going to tidy up the kitchen.” She said, wiping her hands on her apron and then heading back into the sunlight kitchen. 
   Tessie sighed. “I’d better go.” 
   She went to stand but Chip objected. “Wait! What were you saying earlier? The place is possessed? Do you believe the spirits there are evil?” 
   Tessie settled back into the chair, shrugging. “I wish I knew. But the fact is, I don’t.” 
   Chip calculated. “Do you have any proof that the spirits exist in the home? Or do you have any that can prove the souls in the house are evil?” 
   Tessie hesitated, thinking of the notebook that once had Cynthia’s story written in it. 
   “I did.” She said. 
   Chip’s eyes widened with interest and a spark of excitement. “Really? That’s amazing. After so many years of paranormal research, no one has come up with true evidence of spirits.” 
   At that moment Tessie weighed her options. She could use Chip’s help, because her alone didn’t seem to be cutting it. Then again, it was a risk pulling Chip into this, a risk for her and him. She took another moment before she made her decision. 
   “Would you like to come over?”  
   
   
   
   Chapter 9 
   “Are you sure you want to do this?” Tessie asked. 
   They were on the doorstep of the school, Tessie’s hand wavered above the doorknob. She was giving Chip a chance to back down, a small part of her wished he would. But to her dismay he shook his head, excitement and expectation glowing in his blue eyes. 
   “Totally. Let’s go in.” 
   Tessie opened the door, even though every nerve ending in her body was screaming to get out of there, and refuse to let Chip in. They entered into the foyer, where a table with a vase with a dead rose slumped in it greeted them. 
   “Wow”, Chip gazed around, at the high ceilings that Tessie’s mother had gotten an artist to stencil in beautiful drawings and illusions, at the long hallways, the paintings on the walls, the wooden floors, and the long, winding staircase that led upstairs, the banister old fashioned oak. 
   “It’s beautiful here.” Chip breathed. “And you said this place is evil?” He asked. 
   Tessie took a look around. The place was beautiful in its own way. But she could not decide whether it was evil or not. “I don’t know.” 
   Chip took a deep breath, still staring around in awe. “Where’s this proof you were talking about?” 
   “I’ll go get it.” 
   Tessie headed into her room and looked around, spotting the notebook on her desktop where she left it. She picked it up but before she left she took a second look at the cover. The left corner was bent, like someone had gripped it too hard and had nearly ripped it. Tessie’s eyebrows came together in confusion. Had her parents gone in her room? She didn’t think about it much longer. She went back into the foyer, where Chip was still looking around like he was in a trance. 
   “Here”, she handed it to him. “It was here before my parents cleaned the place out. It was the only thing that was saved from the school. Everything else they took to the dump.” 
   Chip held the notebook like it was very delicate, opening the cover gently. His eyes widened when he saw the pages. 
   He looked at Tessie. “Did you write this?” 
   She scowled. “Write what?” 
   She moved next to him and gasped when she saw that the page was filled with elegant handwriting. Cynthia’s story was there like it had never disappeared. 
   “I didn’t write that. The pages were blank the last time I opened it.” 
   Tessie’s heart pounded erratically. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Chip read a few sentences and looked at Tessie in surprise. 
   “Is this girl real?” He asked. 
    She sighed, shaking her head. “I wish I knew.” 
   Chip finished the story and closed the book, handing it back to Tessie. “Did you research her?” 
   She laughed bitterly. “I didn’t have much to go on. No last name, no true date of birth. But, I did find a little girl named Cynthia Evans who died in the same year and the same month as the one in the story. Also, the biography I had found was fairly similar to this.” 
   She tapped the cover of the notebook. “Only a few details were missing. However, that doesn’t prove that the girl in the story and the girl who died are the same person. I can’t tell you how much I wish I knew if this was real or not, or who had written it.” 
   Chip looked at the book in Tessie’s hands, a look of deep concentration on his face. He sighed after a few seconds of calculation. 
   “I don’t know.” 
   “I think I’ve hit a dead end.” Tessie said with a bit of resignation. 
    She had wanted to know who or what was in this place, but she had done all she could. She set the notebook on the table in the foyer when suddenly a feeling of dread came over her. Tessie’s pupils dilated, the greens of her eyes barely noticeable. She gripped the edge of the table to keep from falling over as her knees buckled. 
   “Tessie?” Chip gasped, reaching out and grabbing her arms to steady her, but she was already gone, everything began to spin. 
   The blaring of sirens in the distance pounded Tessie’s eardrums. The feeling of no control over what was happening swept over her. All the while, she was engulfed in blackness. However she knew that this was not herself who was experiencing this, it was someone else’s memories and feelings, not her own. 
   Cold hands touching her face and her wrist, also her neck, then an ear resting on her chest, searching for a heartbeat. They could find none. 
   She felt herself slipping away, farther and farther away. She could no longer feel the touch of human hands, what she did feel were the cold tendrils of death reaching out to her, embracing her. She screamed out in fear and protest. 
   I will not go with you! I refuse! She jerked away from the hands trying to grip her, to take her with them. She lurched backward, away, she didn’t know where she was going, only that she had to get away from the unseen creatures lurking in the suffocating darkness, trying to drag her down with them. 
   She felt herself falling, plummeting, her clothes and hair whipping in the wind that slapped at her face and body. She screamed again, over and over. She felt that she would never stop falling.  
   If felt like hours passed until she made impact on a solid surface with a hard slam. She didn’t feel any pain, which was odd. She would’ve expected some sort of spasm from the fall. But no, no pain. 
    She no longer felt the hands, cold or otherwise, probing her anymore, for which she was glad. She realized that her eyes were closed, she opened them and saw people gathered around something or someone on the floor, shouting frantically about what they should do and how to help. 
   She moved closer to get a look at what was going on. Tessie recognized the one woman, with short brown hair and loving brown eyes, which were bloodshot and damp with tears. For some reason she recognized the woman as her mother. This was not Tessie’s mom, but no matter, she felt that it was her mother. 
    She moved behind the woman and barely stifled the scream that threatened to escape her lips at the sight of the sprawled figure on the ground. 
   The girl on the floor was her. Not Tessie, but the girl whose memories she was experiencing. The body was still, her skin drained of all color. Her eyes were closed, and her blonde hair was laying limp on the floor. 
   Tessie shook her head, feeling all too horribly that this was her who was dead. The memories were so strong, it was as if they were Tessie’s. She could not be dead. She refused to believe it. 
   “Wake up!” She shouted at the girl on the ground. “Wake up!” She was sobbing, tears dripping from her face. 
   “Please! Wake up! Please!” She begged, falling to the ground on her knees. 
   Suddenly, the room around her dissolved, reality rushed back to her, and her sense of herself, of Tessie Porter came back, and Tessie was herself again. 
    She was on the floor of the foyer in the school. She was in somebody’s arms, she could feel the warmth of this person next to her. A hand went to her face. 
   “Tessie? Are you okay? Tessie?” 
   Tessie’s eyes snapped open, and she saw that she was in Chip’s arms. He must’ve caught her as she fell. His face was stricken with worry and alarm. He lowered his head when she looked at him. 
   “Damn, what happened to you?” He asked, looking exhausted like he had just come back from a run that had taken his breath away. 
   Tessie sat up, her face flushed with embarrassment and because she was tired herself. The energy in the vision had drained the life out of her, no pun intended. That vision had been terribly potent. It had sucked her in, and Tessie had felt that she had actually been there, and that she was the girl herself who had given her that memory. Tessie swallowed and shook her head. 
    “Chip”, she whispered, “I have something to tell you.” 
   
   
   
   Chapter 10 
   “Okay, but you have to lie down.” 
    Chip helped Tessie to her feet, and she let him lead her into the living room where he sat her down on the couch. He took a seat next to her, keeping hold of her hands. 
   “I’m fine.” She said, but it didn’t help that her voice broke. He rubbed her palms with his thumbs. 
   “Your hands are freezing, and shaking.” He said. Tessie jerked her hands away. 
   “Sorry, look. I have to tell you something, important.” 
   He nodded, his face stony serious. “Okay. I’m listening.” 
   She took a deep breath, thinking about what to say. She knew that after what she told Chip, how much he knows about the school, and what she just put him through with her vision, he deserved to know. Tessie looked Chip directly in his eyes. 
   “I’m psychic.” 
          For a moment, Chip just stared at Tessie, trying to see if she was joking, but he could find no trace of humor in her features. All the blood drained from Tessie’s face as her palms grew damp with anticipation. Why isn’t he saying something? She wondered. If he’d just say something, it would be better than just sitting here deciding whether or not I’m mentally stable. Chip scowled. 
   “Are you okay?” He asked her. She uttered out a laugh. She should be the one asking him that. 
    “I’m fine. Wondering if I’m insane or not, but otherwise fine.” 
   Chip laughed which caused Tessie to jump. 
   “What?” She asked with a hint of irritation. “It’s not funny.” She snapped. 
   His laughter died away. He was now totally serious. “I know. I’m sorry. I just don’t really know what to say. But you’re not crazy. After what just happened in the foyer, I believe you. But”, he leaned forward. “What did you see?” 
   Tessie shook her head, rubbing her temples. Her head was pounding, she knew, from the recent vision that had overtaken her. Chip touched her arm. She looked up. 
   “What did you see?” 
   Tessie took a deep breath. “It was like I was in the body of a girl who had just died. But, it was like she came back, and was staring at her dead body on the floor. Everyone was gathered around her, wondering what they could do to help, not knowing that she was already dead.” 
   “When the vision ended I was crying, or, the girl was crying. Anyway, I don’t know what happened exactly. I was fine, until I . . .” Tessie trailed off, suddenly comprehending. 
   “I’m such an idiot.” She whispered. 
   Chip scowled and shook his head. “I’m confused. What are you talking about?” 
   Tessie didn’t answer, she was already on her feet and into the foyer. 
   “That.” She said, gesturing to the notebook when Chip came in and stood next to her. He couldn’t have looked more lost. 
   “What is it? Tessie, what the hell were you talking about?” He was getting angry, but Tessie was in the middle of realizing the most important detail. 
   It had finally dawned on her when she was recalling her most recent and powerful vision. The last time she touched the notebook and it held Cynthia’s story she had a vision. This time, Chip had the notebook, and it had Cynthia’s story written down, like it hadn’t for weeks, and Tessie hadn’t had a vision in weeks. But when she touched the notebook now, with the story, she had a vision, one that had overtaken her. She had nearly passed out. Tessie feared that the next time she would. But she wasn’t going to think about that now. She pointed to the notebook which Chip held. 
   “That’s the key.” 
   He cocked one eyebrow. “Which means?” 
   Tessie rolled her eyes. “It means that if we want to annoy whatever’s here enough to show itself.” She gestured to the notebook. “Then we use this.” 
   Both of Chip’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “You want to provoke the spirits here?” 
   Tessie grinned. “Exactly.”  
   
   
   
   Chapter 11 
   “What should we do first?” Chip asked. 
   Tessie and Chip were in the kitchen, Room 15. The former detention room. Tessie figured that if they were going to piss off the spirits, they might as well do it thoroughly. 
   The notebook was open on the table. She had had Chip open it for her. She was afraid to touch it, worried that a vision would leave her incapacitated again. 
   Tessie pointed to the notebook. “I want you to rip out a page and crumple it up. Then throw it in the trash.” C 
   hip’s eyebrows rose. “And why do I have to do it?” 
   Tessie smirked. “Because I can’t touch the thing. Just do it.” 
   He walked forward and gripped one of the pages, giving it a good jerk. It ripped off easily, but with the tear Tessie winced. Her head throbbed, and she placed a hand on her forehead, shutting her eyes. 
   “Tessie?” Chip asked, about to set the page on the table. 
   She shook her head, her eyes snapped open. “No! Crumple it up and throw it away! Now!” 
   He was surprised at the sharpness in her tone, but he also seemed to understand not to screw with her, that she was in no mood for any kind of crap. He rolled the paper up in a ball, then pulled out the trash can from one of the cabinets. He let it drop. It fell into the can like Tessie expected it to. But what she didn’t expect was the sudden swell of dizziness that crashed in her head. She swayed on her feet. Chip moved to help her, concern showing on his face. Tessie’s eyes widened, staring at the notebook on the table. Her voice seemed to have left her, so she merely pointed. Chip jumped back a step. 
   “Holy hell.” He muttered. 
    The notebook was glowing a florescent white, like it was bathed in moonlight, even though it was two in the afternoon. Not only that, a gust of wind shrieked through the room, causing the pages of the notebook to flap like it was alive. 
    Suddenly, it was as if a tornado had entered the kitchen, tearing up the whole place. Pots and pans ricocheted off the walls, one flew near Chip’s head. He had to duck to avoid getting hit. Drawers flew open and the contents flew about the room. 
   “Whoa!” 
   Knives, forks, spoons, all of them whipped past Tessie. 
    “Get down!” She yelled as she and Chip dropped to the floor. They were on their stomachs to avoid whatever was ripping through the kitchen. 
   “Let’s get out of here!” Chip yelled through the screaming wind. Tessie shook her head. 
   “Wait!” She shouted, and began to get to her feet. Chip gripped her arm to stop her. 
   “Are you crazy? Do you notice what’s going on here?” He asked, looking around at the rushing wind and cutlery flying about the room. She considered that for a moment. 
   She was just about to stand up in the middle of a hurricane tearing through her kitchen. Well, maybe she was crazy. But she wasn’t crazy enough to let this go on any longer. 
   “Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.” She said, breaking away from Chip’s grasp. 
   “Tessie! Don’t be stupid, you’ll get killed with all the shit flying around! Get down here and let’s get out of here!” He shouted but Tessie ignored him, and stood up in the middle of the kitchen. 
   Her hair whipped around her face, blocking her vision, and the terrible screaming of the wind was pounding in her eardrums painfully. She didn’t pay any mind to this though, she began to yell. 
    “You think you can screw around with me? You are wrong! You are below me! I am your master! You are dead! You are a spirit, and you are nothing!” She screamed. 
    In response, the tornado just seemed to increase its speed and destructive course. 
   “Tessie! Get down!” Chip yelled, and Tessie ducked just in time for utensils and a pot to fly over the spot right where her head had been. 
   She swallowed but did not show her fear. She knew that she had to be assertive and take control of this thing that was haunting the school. It was not theirs. It belonged to the Porters, and Tessie intended to make that clear. 
    “You do not belong here! This is my house, not yours! You are a coward! Show yourself, if you are so great!” 
   At that moment, everything became still. The cutlery clattered loudly to the ground, and the wind disappeared. Tessie’s hair fell limply at her sides. She sighed. Chip was still on the floor, but got to his feet as soon as he saw that the storm was over. 
   Tessie wasn’t sure what was to come next, but what she certainly didn’t expect was the little girl that came forward, seeming to walk right out of the walls. She wasn’t ghostly at all, in fact, she looked very much alive. She had skin the color of a peach, with rosy cheeks and dimples even when she didn’t smile. She was a skinny little thing, with long honey blonde hair and intelligent blue eyes that were much too focused for a child. She wore a simple plaid dress with a white shirt underneath. She clasped her hands in front of her. 
   “Hello.” She said. Her voice was very friendly. Tessie’s eyebrows rose. 
   “Who are you?” She asked the girl. Chip looked just as interested in who the child was as Tessie. 
   The girl smiled. “Cyndi.” 
    Before Tessie could react, the child bounded forward and leapt into Tessie’s arms. She stumbled, surprised, but found that the girl was as light as a feather and actually very easy to hold. Cyndi buried her face in Tessie’s shoulder. 
   “It’s great to finally meet you.” She murmured. 
   Tessie looked at Chip for help but he just shrugged. Cyndi pulled back and smiled at her. 
   “Do you know who I am?” She asked her. Tessie shook her head. 
   “No, I’m sorry. Who are you, sweetie?” She asked kindly. 
   Cyndi’s smile widened. “You’ve read my story. You should know me quite well.” 
   All the blood drained from Tessie’s face. Her arms felt too weak to even support the light little girl. Cyndi seemed to sense this. She jumped out of Tessie’s arms just as they fell at her side. Cyndi held Tessie’s hand. 
   “I knew you’d recognize me. And I know you can help me.” She said, and hugged Tessie around the waist. 
   
   
   
   Chapter 12 
   “Wait a minute, how can you be Cynthia? You’re not dead. You’re obviously alive.” Chip said. 
   Cyndi turned around and smiled at him. “Oh, my full name is Cynthia Connie Evans, but please, call me Cyndi. And no, I may look alive by I am deceased.” 
   Tessie’s eyes widened in shock. “You’re Cynthia Evans?” 
     
    She looked warmly at Tessie and nodded. “Yes. You’ve done your research. Tell Chip about me please, Tessie.” 
   Tessie had trouble keeping her jaw from dropping to the floor. “How do you know my name?” 
   Cyndi trilled out a laugh, shaking her head. “I know all about you Tessie Lea Porter. Your family bought Chester Elementary School one and a half months ago. When you all came to check the place out after the purchase, you found my notebook here”, she gestured to the wrecked kitchen. 
   “In Room 15. You read my story and even got a good idea about what my classroom was like.” She squeezed Tessie’s hand and lowered her voice. 
   “You also understand what my death was like. I’m sorry. I did not mean to frighten you. But you were the only person I could speak to. Trust me, telepathy is not my favorite form of communication, but it was the only way I could contact you without completely freaking you out. You have had visions before, I understand.” 
   Tessie swallowed and uttered out a shaky laugh. “You’ve done your share of research too.” 
   Cyndi laughed joyously again. “Oh, no. I’m more of an observer. But, does Chip know about me?” 
    Chip scowled. “And, how do you know my name?” 
   Cyndi rolled her eyes, seeming to get annoyed. “Were you not listening Chip Timothy Kyle? I said, I am an observer. I know just as much about you as I do Tessie, thank you.” 
   He seemed to realize that the girl was getting irritated with him. He nodded. “Okay.” 
   Cyndi sneered. “As I was saying, Tessie, why not tell him about me?” 
   Tessie was about to speak, when Chip beat her to it. “I read your story. Did you write it?” 
   Cyndi’s face brightened. She seemed to enjoy this topic more than the last. “Oh, why yes I did. I wrote it a week before I died.” 
   Tessie swallowed. The way the girl spoke was like an educated adult giving a lecture. Very proper and sophisticated. She did not sound like a little girl. 
   “So you know enough about me to know that I died here?” Cyndi asked, addressing both Tessie and Chip. Both of them were surprised. 
   “Um, actually we did not know that.” Tessie said. 
   Cyndi looked embarrassed, she played nervously with a strand of her corn silk hair. 
    “Oh, sorry. I did not mean to alarm either of you with this whole debacle, but I was getting a bit irritated. I apologize.” Cyndi said sheepishly, staring up at them with big blue eyes. Her eyes were so large they reminded Tessie of doe eyes. Cyndi kept ahold of Tessie’s hand, giving it another gentle squeeze. 
   “You can help us.” She murmured softly. 
   Tessie’s eyebrows rose. “Us?” 
   
   
   
   Chapter 13 
   Cyndi nodded, her face lighting up once again. 
   “Yes, I would love for you to meet them, however”, she looked uneasily at Chip, Tessie did too, and was taken aback at his appearance. 
   His face was chalky white, his eyes glazed over like he was daydreaming, and he was gripping the countertop for support, his legs wobbly and looking like they would not support him much longer. Tessie moved forward and gripped him by his arms, looking sadly at the sweet young girl. 
   “I’m sorry, but I have to get him home.” 
   Cyndi smiled sympathetically. “I understand. There is plenty of time for introductions. You must take him to his house before he swoons.” 
   Tessie nodded, shuffling the woozy Chip out the door. She struggled over the distance between his house and the school, stopping a few times to catch her breath. But eventually she got him there, telling Mrs. Kyle that he felt lightheaded while they were playing a 3-D video game. It was a weak excuse, Tessie knew, but the motherly woman was too concerned with the state of her son to worry. She thanked Tessie and took hold of Chip. 
   He seemed to come through right when Tessie was about to leave. He touched her arm as his mother went to get a thermometer. 
   “Hey, sorry. I just began to feel a little sick in there. Did you see that girl?” He asked, serious. 
   “Who Cyndi? Yes, of course I saw her. You weren’t hallucinating Chip, trust me. You’ll be fine. Get some rest.” She gave him a smile before she headed back to the school. 
   When she got inside she saw Cyndi waiting in the foyer. She smiled when she saw Tessie. “Welcome back. How is Chip? Is he feeling better?” 
   Tessie shrugged. “I’m not sure. I think so, he’ll be all right. Now, who are the others that you’re talking about?” 
   Cyndi took hold of Tessie’s hand once again, leading her into the living room. “There are many of us who have died on this property. But there are only few of us who will show ourselves to the living.” 
   Cyndi sat Tessie down on the sofa while the little girl rested next to her. 
   “Why did you wait to introduce yourself to me? Why leave all the little clues? You were making me think I was going insane.” Tessie said angrily. 
   Cyndi patted Tessie on the arm. “You are not insane, Tessie. I was unsure of showing myself at first. Can you blame me? It’s been years since humans had ever trodden on our sacred ground, this was as much a surprise to you as it was to me.” 
   I seriously doubt that, Tessie thought. But she didn’t say anything. Instead, she asked a question. 
   “Who are the others?” 
    “Be patient.” Cyndi said calmly. “You will meet them. In fact,” She stood, Tessie stood along with her. “I do have someone who is most anxious to meet you.” 
    Cyndi took Tessie’s hand and guided her down the hall and into the library that used to be where the old school’s library was. It was the only part of the house that was used for the same purpose as Chester Elementary had used it for. Cyndi released Tessie’s hand. 
    “Who is it that you want me to meet?” Tessie asked. 
   “You will know him when you see him.” Cyndi said simply. 
   Tessie did not quite understand, but before she could ask, Cyndi walked forward and placed her palm against a bare wall that had only a painting of a lake on it. She shut her eyes. Tessie new better than to disturb her, instead she stood back and waited. 
   A few moments later, Cyndi’s eyes snapped open and she backed up until she was once again standing next to Tessie. Tessie opened her mouth to ask the girl what was going on, when a boy seemed to come out of the walls, just as Cyndi had done. 
   The child had shaggy black hair, and intimidating black eyes. He wore tan slacks and a white shirt. He glared at Tessie as he spoke, even though his words were directed at Cyndi. 
   “Who is she?” He asked her, his voice surprisingly deep for such a young boy. 
   Cyndi smiled sheepishly. “You have but to touch her to know who she is.” 
   Mild surprise registered to Tessie, but she wasn’t that surprised. With what was currently going on nothing could surprise Tessie. The boy stared at Tessie a few minutes longer, seeming to size her up. 
   He looked to be about eight years old, maybe a year or two older than that, but he still looked incredibly young. But, the power and intelligence in his eyes showed that he was much older than he looked. The knowledge in his eyes reminded Tessie of Cyndi’s eyes. He seemed to decide as he stared deeply into Tessie’s glowing green eyes. He walked forward and before she could react, took hold of Tessie’s hand in a swift but gentle grip. Tessie immediately was affected. 
   The walls around her swirled until she was no longer standing in the library, but in a classroom, the smell of chalk and ink in the air. A teacher stood in the front of the room and slapped the board with a ruler, barking at the students. Tessie–or maybe it was the boy–cringed at the educator’s yells. 
   Kids around the boy sucked in terrified breaths of anticipation. The teacher had a temper, they all knew it. The educator gripped the ruler in his hands so tightly that the stress on the wood was too much. It snapped to pieces in his hands. The teacher roared in outrage and threw the remains of the ruler to the floor, the wood splinters scattering everywhere. One large chunk hit the boy’s foot, causing him to jump slightly. The teacher noticed the child’s fear. 
   He came bounding to the boy’s desk and placed his red hands on the edges, blowing hot breath in the boy’s face as he growled at him. His ugly face pinched in anger. 
   “You think I’m funny boy? Do you really? Well, why don’t you just go straight to the office then? Or, better yet, get up.” The teacher barked, taking a step back and pointing to the front of the classroom. 
   The child didn’t hesitate, he couldn’t. The educator was angry enough, and he didn’t want to increase that frustration by disobeying a direct order. The boy walked to the front of the class, looking up at the teacher. 
   “Turn around you foolish child.” The teacher commanded. 
   The boy did as he was told. He turned, now facing the class. Suddenly, a fierce slap whipped his buttocks. He howled in pain, gripping his backside as he fell to his knees. The teacher merely smirked. 
   “You still think I’m funny boy?” He asked, sneering in the child’s face. 
    The vision swirled out of focused, colors and scenery shifting from brown classroom to green playground. Older children towered over the shorter boy, who cowered below them in fear. One took a swing at him, socking him in the gut. The boy fell to the ground, gasping for breath. This only made the children laugh. 
   Enjoying the boy’s pain, they punched him a few more times, and got in a few kicks. Once they became bored with him, they began to disperse. The boy struggled to his feet, bruised and bleeding. The older children realized that the boy was on his feet, and they turned around, heading back for round two. 
   The boy took off, running for the chain link fence. He climbed it as quickly as he could, ripping his good pants on the sharp edges in his haste. He landed on the hard asphalt on the other side of the fence, outside of the school. He began to run. 
   He ran and ran, until he soon got lost in the nearby trees of the forest. He wandered for hours, calling for help until he lost his voice. That night, it became so cold, he curled up in a ball and fell into a deep and numbing sleep. He did not remember waking up. 
   Everything fell away as the vision ended. Tessie felt herself returning to realty, and she saw that she was once again standing in the library. The boy’s pupils had become so large that there was barely any white left to his eyes. They dilated for a moment before returning to ordinary size. He let go of her hand but did not move away from her. Tessie took a deep breath. 
   “You were the child who jumped the fence and disappeared.” Tessie knew his history now, but she did not know his name. 
    The boy, seeming to read her mind, said, “Conner.” 
   Tessie scowled. “What?” 
   “My name is Conner.” He then took a few steps back and stared accusingly at Cyndi. 
   “I said I would meet her at the right time. I did not want to be forced.” He said. 
   Cyndi snickered. “Terribly sorry, but since I had already thrown myself in the fire, I figured I might as well go ahead and take you with me.” 
    “Without asking permission?” Conner asked her. 
   She let out a sweet laugh. “No, of course not. Do you not know me at all?” 
   Conner permitted himself a small smile. “I know you perfectly well.” 
    “Than this should not surprise you.” 
   He rolled his eyes, his smile fading. Tessie watched the odd exchange with interest. The children bickered like they were related. 
   “Did you want me to meet anyone else?” Tessie asked Cyndi. 
   Cyndi blinked a few times like she had just remembered something that she had forgotten. She shook her head. “Not now. Maybe another time. But I promise you, you will meet them.” 
   Conner seemed to have gotten bored with the conversation for he turned around and took a seat in Tessie’s father’s desk chair, where he swiveled around in circles while his eyes remained focused on the ceiling. Tessie and Cyndi watched him with mild interest. Cyndi grew bored. 
    “Tessie, I would like to speak to you in private.” She said, her tone completely serious. 
   Tessie nodded sternly. “Alright.” 
   The girls began to leave. They were halfway out the door when Conner suddenly sat bolt upright. 
   “Where are you going?” He asked Cyndi, getting up. She gave him a sweet smile that did not look the least bit forced, which Tessie could tell it was. 
   “We are just stepping out for a bit. Don’t worry. We will return soon.” 
    Conner scowled, lines of worry showing on his forehead. The boy was so young-looking, it was hard to believe he could have worry lines at his age. Tessie stole a glance and Cyndi. 
   The smile on her face looked even more plastered than it had before, like it was about to crack and then shatter into a million pieces, revealing the pain shining in her eyes like a pleading beacon. Conner, however sharp, did not say anything about her fake expression. He just nodded curtly once. 
   Cyndi took Tessie’s hand and nearly dragged her out of the room. She was strong for such a little thing. Whatever Cyndi had to tell Tessie, she figured that it was fairly urgent. They headed to the back covered porch. Cyndi barely took a few steps over the threshold before she hopped back inside. Tessie scowled in confusion at Cyndi’s fear. The little girl was eyeing the doorway like it was a hazardous area. 
   “Why don’t you come outside?” Tessie asked her. 
   Cyndi ignored her. “Tessie, you know how I died, do you not?” 
   Tessie nodded. She had noticed how Cyndi had conveniently avoided her question. She figured she would bring it up later. 
   “Yes, I do.” 
   Cyndi nodded, her expression grave. “You read how I died, in Room 15?” 
   Tessie nodded again. 
   “The doctors who examined my body said that I died from my lung cancer. They noted that my lungs gave out from too much fluid filling them. They said my lungs burst.” Cyndi let out a bitter laugh. “They did not.” 
   Tessie’s scowl deepened. “I’m lost.” 
   Cyndi waved a hand. “Tessie, I did not die from my lung cancer. It’s true that the doctors told me and my parents that I only had a year, maybe less, to live. However, I did not die from the leukemia.” 
   Tessie cocked an eyebrow. “What are you saying?” 
   Cyndi gripped Tessie’s fingers in her small hand. Her grip was cold as death. “What I’m getting at is that, I did not die naturally. I was murdered.”  
   
   
   
   Chapter 14 
   For a moment, Tessie said nothing, chewing on what the girl had said. Murdered. Impossible. The facts were too concrete. Cynthia Evans, diagnosed with leukemia when she was seven, died in January of 1888, on the sixth. 
   She had been ridiculed as a little girl, and had suffered terribly nearly her whole life. With the death of her sister, and then her death. Some said death was a blessing for the child, that she had been through enough in the few short years of her life. However, that did not mean she did not die at a horribly young age. Dying at age seventy was too young to die. Cynthia had not lived a long life, or a full one. Tessie could almost understand why she was a spirit. 
   “What do you want? Closure?” She asked Cyndi. 
   She hesitated. “Well, not exactly.” 
   The bitterness in her tone, the cold depths of her clear blue eyes, it all slammed into Tessie, and she realized what the girl desired. Cyndi wanted blood. 
   “Revenge.” Tessie murmured. The little girl looked at her with huge, pleading eyes. “I’m begging you. Help me.” 
   Tessie swallowed. Her throat was very dry. “Help you what? I can’t help you hurt anyone.” 
   Cyndi waved her hand, looking slightly annoyed. “I don’t want to hurt who murdered me. I just want to know who did it. I need to know. Please, Tessie. I have to know. I’m stuck here until I do.” 
   Tessie pursed her lips. “So, in a way, you  do  want closure?” 
   Cyndi took a moment before answering, considering. “I suppose so. I can’t get out of here until I find who did it.” 
   Tessie nodded. It was the reason why Cyndi hadn’t moved on. She was here to find her murderer and bring justice to him. The little girl was stuck here until she found who had killed her. 
   “But, why can’t you come outside?” Tessie gestured behind her at the wide expanse of cornfields and lush, green farmland. 
   “She can’t.” Conner’s voice pierced the stillness of the room like a knife, causing both Tessie and Cyndi to jump. 
   He was a few feet back, away from the two girls, leaning against the doorframe near the dining room, looking completely drained of all emotion. The pink flush of his cheeks had vanished completely, leaving him looking sickly pale. 
   “None of us can.” He said, his voice seeming to echo throughout the entire house. “This place is damned. And as long as we are inside it, we are damned as well. We should’ve burned the place to the ground when we had the chance.” 
   “Conner, you know we couldn’t.” Cyndi said, her voice pained. “You know what would happen to us if this building was destroyed.” 
    Conner nodded, his face flat. “We would go to hell.” 
   Tessie sucked in a quick breath. Conner shrugged. “I personally do not see the difference. We’re going to end up there anyway. We’re already screwed.” 
   “Don’t say that.” Cyndi said, her eyes on the ground. 
    “Why not? It’s the truth.” 
   “It’s horrible.” Cyndi’s voice was barely a whisper. Tessie wished Conner would quit pushing her. 
   “It’s an ugly truth.” He said flatly. “We cannot step outside of this building. But anything is better than this hellhole.” 
    Tessie remembered when she had said something similar to that. She had told her parents to send her away to maybe a military school,  anything to get out of this hellhole.  She had said. Now, Tessie shook her head. Compared to the two children, she had it easy here. 
   “Even the actual hell? If this building burns we burn with it!” Cyndi screamed at Conner. 
   He looked at her with dull black eyes. “And? Like I said, anything is better than here.” 
   A terrible crash that reminded Tessie all too much of her mother’s shattered china shrieked through the house. Conner suddenly became alert. He spun around and darted into the kitchen. Cyndi and Tessie wasted no time. They rushed after him. 
   Tessie came to a screeching halt when she saw a beautiful dark skinned girl standing in her kitchen. The girl was about her height, with sparkling green eyes and long hair the color of warm chestnut. She looked Tessie’s age, maybe a year older, and was leaning against the island, staring down at shards of glass on the floor as if she was trying to decide what to do with it. 
   “Ah hell”, Conner muttered, placing a hand on his head. 
   Cyndi had the exact opposite reaction. She ran and threw her arms around the girl’s neck, squeezing her gently. She hugged and greeted the girl like she had greeted Tessie. The teenager hugged her back, laughing and smiling. 
   “Well, hello little Cyndi. How are you, my dear?” 
   Cyndi giggled, squirming until the girl set her on her feet. “I’m wonderful! I haven’t seen you in so long. What have you been doing? Where have you been?” 
   The girl laughed again. “I never left. Oh,” She hugged Cyndi again, keeping one arm around the little girl. “I’ve missed you so much, girlie.” She ruffled Cyndi’s hair. 
   She then seemed to notice Tessie for the first time. She didn’t glare at her, like Conner had, but she didn’t jump over and hug her like Cyndi. She simply nodded in Tessie’s direction. 
   “What have  you  been up to?” 
   Referring to Tessie. Cyndi blushed, playing with a strand of her silky blonde hair. 
   “Um, this is Tessie.” She said, gesturing weakly in Tessie’s direction. The girl rolled her eyes. 
   “Amazing timing you have. Hello”, she said, reaching out her hand. Tessie shook it. The girl’s fingers were icy. 
    “I’m Brandy. And these two”, She looked down at the two children, “You know them already.” 
    Conner looked thoroughly pissed off. His fists were clenched and his black eyes seemed to blaze with fury. 
    “What the hell are you doing here? We thought you had left.” He said with conviction. 
   Brandy turned to Conner with a kind smile, unfazed at the boy’s rudeness. “Dear Conner, I did not leave. If I had, who would keep an eye on you and the others?” 
   Tessie cocked an eyebrow but said nothing. Others? She could barely deal with Conner and Cyndi’s arrival. And now another? It was fortunate though that Brandy seemed more mature than the two kids. 
   A clink of metal caused Tessie to stiffen. The front door opened and she heard the crinkling of plastic bags along with keys being placed on the table in the foyer. 
   “Could you help me with these bags?” Mrs. Porter asked Mr. Porter who grunted under the weight of the groceries.  Shit.  
     
   
   
   
   Chapter 15 
   “Who are they?” Brandy asked. 
   No one answered her. Everyone, even Conner, was frozen at the sudden entrance of her parents. Tessie was busy formulating a plan. 
   The staircase was right next to the door, so they could forget going upstairs. And no one but Tessie could go outside. Their only option was downstairs. 
   “Follow me and keep quiet.” Tessie said, jumping over to the door that led to the basement. She opened it, gesturing for everyone to get inside. 
   Brandy took Cyndi’s hand and pushed the little girl forward. When Tessie was about to duck inside Brandy turned at the last minute, bumping into her. 
   “Wait! Where’s Conner?” She whispered fervently. 
   Tessie surveyed the room and shook her head. The boy was nowhere to be seen. “There’s no time. Get inside.” 
    Brandy did not move. “No. We have to find Conner.” She demanded. 
   Tessie grabbed the girl’s arm. “We have to go. If my parents see you we’re all screwed. Don’t worry. He’s still here.” 
   Brandy’s pretty face suddenly crumpled in pain and sorrow. Real tears began to flow down her face. She gestured helplessly with her hands. 
   “Please, please Tessie. What if he left? If he left I don’t know what I’ll do.” She sobbed, burying her face in Tessie’s shoulder. 
   Tessie tried her best to console the girl while still listening to what her parents were doing. They were making their way through the hall and were about to enter the kitchen. Tessie couldn’t even imagine what they would say if they saw her with a hysterical girl crying on her shoulder and a shaking child, both who had died years ago. 
   “C’mon”, Tessie closed the door with a barely audible click. She just prayed her parents couldn’t hear it with all the noise they were making. 
    She shuffled Brandy down the stairs, gripping Cyndi’s trembling hand. The basement was finished, but dark without any lights on. Tessie felt her way over to the couch and sat the two girls down. She was afraid that if she did turn on a light, her parents would know she was down here.  
   The girls sitting in the dark gave off a faint florescent glow that Tessie had never seen before. She didn’t say anything though. She did not want to offend either of them. 
   Cyndi hugged Brandy close to her, who had her hands covering her face while she cried, her bony shoulders heaving forward. Tessie heard her mother scream. They must be in the kitchen. The mini tornado had done quite a number on the place. 
   Cyndi embraced Brandy, who clung to her like a frightened child. In the darkness, Tessie noticed something about the girl that she had not before. She was very pale, everything about her, even her hair, which was a very warm color, had a bit of a pale tint, like she had been out in the sun too long. It was hard to describe, but she had almost a grayish look to her. She wasn’t as bright as Conner and Cyndi. Brandy broke away from Cyndi, who looked at her with eyes wide with worry. 
    “Are you okay?” She asked her in a small voice. 
   Brandy moved her hands away from her face, which was damp with tears. She shook her head and shut her eyes, sniffling. 
   “N-no, what if something happened to Conner? What if he left? He could be in hell, and it’s all my fault!” Brandy suddenly threw her arms around Tessie, catching her off guard. 
   Goose-bumps rose on her arms. Brandy’s skin was so cold, like ice. She felt like she was being embraced by an ice creature. Tessie hugged the girl awkwardly. 
    “I’m sure he’s fine. He wouldn’t leave.” She said, even though she wasn’t entirely sure. 
    He had been the one to say that even hell was better than here. Brandy seemed to sense Tessie’s lie. She moved away, wiping at her eyes. “No, he would if he could. And he can anytime he’d like. I just don’t know what I’d do if he left.” 
   Cyndi gripped Brandy’s hands. “Brandy, I know Conner. I’ve known him for a long time as well as you have, and I am positive that he did not leave. He wouldn’t do that to you, or me. I’m sure he’s still here.” 
   Tessie touched Brandy lightly on the shoulder. “I–” 
    She didn’t finish what she was saying. Darkness swirled around her until the room she had been in disappeared completely. She gripped Brandy until her nails seemed to dig into her skin, but they didn’t, Tessie ended up clutching air. 
    The darkness came to an abrupt halt. Colors began to merge together like puzzle pieces clicking, until there was an entire picture. This was more of an out-of-body experience. Tessie could see Brandy, her back against the chalkboard, and her eyes wide with fear. A black clad figure held some sort of object in his right hand. He was pointing at Brandy with the other hand and shouting at her. 
   “There’s nothing here! Please!” Brandy begged, sobbing into her hands. The man yelled profanities at her, cussing and calling her horrible names. 
   “Get on the ground!” He commanded. 
   Brandy did as she was told. Now on her knees, she cried and begged for mercy. The man held up his right hand, the object he gripped flashed with the sunlight streaming in through the open windows. It was a knife. 
   Tessie jerked away from the scene unfolding before her, she felt herself fall. A red hot flash of pain warmed the back of her head. The vision shattered. 
   Tessie blinked a few times, her eyes were cloudy. Once she could see, she realized she was back in the basement. Brandy stared at Tessie in surprise, a bit of alarm showing on her face. Tessie was on the ground, her hand clutching the back of her head. She had banged it against the coffee table, she now realized. She brought her fingers back, they were red with sticky blood. Tessie moaned softly. Her parents were going to kill her. 
   “Oh my God,” Brandy breathed, reaching out with her hand. Tessie recoiled automatically. No way was she returning to that vision. 
   “Are you okay?” Cyndi asked, getting down on the ground so that she was at eye level with Tessie. “What did you see?” 
   Tessie’s eyes flickered to Brandy, whose eyes got big with fear. Not like Brandy was afraid of Tessie, but that she was afraid of what she had done to Tessie. She swallowed, ignoring Brandy’s frightened gaze. 
    “I saw Brandy, she was”, Tessie swallowed again, “ attacked . I didn’t see anything else.” Tessie lied.  
   She saw the guy begin to stab Brandy viciously, but she didn’t want to recall it. Cyndi nodded, her eyes grave as if she understood what Tessie did not say. Brandy had become completely still. Her lip trembled slightly, and she was as pale as a sheet. 
   Cyndi placed her hand on Brandy’s shoulder. “It’s okay. Let’s go find Conner.” 
   “There’s no need.” Everyone’s head snapped up at the voice. 
   Conner leaned in the corner not ten feet from where the girls sat, giving off the same faint white glow as the other two ghosts. Brandy immediately jumped off the sofa, ran over, and threw her arms around him. She was hysterical, but Tessie couldn’t tell if she was happy or angry. 
   “Oh Conner, where did you go? I was so worried! What were you thinking?! You are in so much trouble!” Brandy gave him another hug. “I’m just glad you’re back.” 
   Conner patted Brandy’s arms awkwardly. “I never left.” 
    “ Tessie !” Mrs. Porter shrieked from upstairs. Conner eyed the ceiling. 
   “Who was that?” He asked, then shook his head. “Never mind.” 
    Tessie wasn’t sure if her eyes were playing tricks on her, but she could’ve sworn Conner  floated  up to the ceiling, and dissolved into the plaster. He appeared moments later, holding a crowbar in his pale hands. 
   “I’ll take care of it.” He said, making for the stairs. 
   “No!” Tessie rushed forward, blocking Conner’s way. He cocked an eyebrow.  
   “They’re my parents. I’ll deal with them. Just, give me that.” She held out her hand for the crowbar. 
   Conner gripped it tighter for a moment before Brandy walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder, a silent warning passing between them. Conner reluctantly handed the thing to Tessie. She clenched her fingers around the cold metal. Where the hell did he get a crowbar anyway? Tessie wondered. She discarded the thing onto the ground, where it landed with a loud clatter. 
   Tessie climbed the stairs, but hesitated at the top, listening to her parents arguing. 
   “We can’t let her home alone anymore.” Her mother’s voice filtered through the wooden door separating the basement from the kitchen. “Not if she’s going to do this.” 
   Tessie imagined her mother gesturing wildly at the disaster around her. She heard her father sigh. 
   “I just can’t figure why she would do such a thing. Tessie was never the violent type.” She could picture her father running his hands over his tired face. 
   “She said it herself”, Mrs. Porter said heatedly, “She hates it here.” 
   “Mary, what do you suggest we do?” 
   Tessie could hear the impatience in Mr. Porter’s voice. He didn’t feel like dealing with this right now. He wanted to put the groceries away and have a hot meal. The last thing he wanted to do was come up with a punishment for Tessie. 
   Tessie hesitated at the top of the stairs, worried that coming up now would be a bad time. Well, she realized, coming up at any time would be a bad time. She wondered if they would actually send her away like she had wanted when they first moved in. She turned around to see Brandy, Cyndi, and Conner all watching her, waiting. Tessie realized that she couldn’t leave them, not now. Because, no matter how much Conner would try to deny it, they needed her. 
   They had business that they had to take care of, and they all needed Tessie to help them with it. Whatever her punishment, she would have to persuade her parents that sending her away would be the last thing that would help her. “I can come with you.” A whisper came from beside Tessie. Cyndi looked up at her with shining blue eyes. 
    She clasped Tessie’s hand in hers. “They can’t see me. I’ll go with you.” 
   Tessie gave Cyndi’s cool fingers a gentle squeeze. “Okay, but just so you know I can’t censor out what you’re about to hear.” 
   Cyndi giggled softly and nodded. Tessie pressed a finger to her lips to signal for quiet as she headed upstairs, Cyndi’s hand slick in Tessie’s from sweat. She swallowed, gripped the doorknob, and stepped out, releasing Cyndi’s hand as she came into her parents’ view. Mr. and Mrs. Porter’s eyes snapped to Tessie as soon as she came out of the basement. 
   “What the hell did you do?!" Mrs. Porter shouted at her. 
   Mrs. Porter’s face was beat red from yelling, as opposed to her husband whose face was pasty from stress. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, shaking his head. 
   “Mary”, he said in a strained voice. Mrs. Porter spun around to face her husband, her eyes blazing. 
   “She destroyed my kitchen Tom!” She turned back to Tessie, her face hardening. “Tessie, I’m sorry but, you’re going to St. Theresa’s Catholic School this fall. I hope that this will be an effective punishment.” 
   Tessie’s jaw dropped, her eyes widening and burning with anger. 
   “ What ? You can’t send me to a private school! That’s–crazy!” She shouted.  
   Mrs. Porter crossed her arms. “It’s the last thing I want to do, trust me, but it’s the only thing I can think to help you.” 
    “Mary”, Mr. Porter interrupted, shooting a glance at Tessie that said  keep quiet . She nodded slightly. “Don’t you think that’s just a little rash? Just ground her. I’m sure that’ll teach her.”  
   Mrs. Porter laughed curtly. “Hardly. When has grounding her ever worked? Remember a few months ago when she snuck out? We grounded her for weeks and that didn’t stop her from doing it again.” 
    “You snuck out?” A whisper tickled Tessie’s ear. She jumped slightly. Cyndi had glided up to her height, how, Tessie didn’t know. 
   She coughed lightly, hiding a muffled  shh!  Cyndi rolled her eyes but thankfully kept quiet. Tessie turned her attention back to her parents, who were in the middle of a heated argument. 
    “I don’t care if she doesn’t like the school! That’s the point! It has a very good educational system and high standards. The records are spotless and the references are miraculous. She’ll get a very good education there and if she doesn’t like it, that’s tough.” 
   Tessie stamped her foot, actually stamped her foot. She knew the gesture was childish and stupid, but she couldn’t help it. She was furious.  A Catholic school?  Of all the things she was being sent to a Catholic school? She could’ve screamed.  
   “That’s not fair!” She shrieked. 
   Mrs. Porter shrugged indifferently. “Life isn’t fair.” 
   Tessie clamped her mouth shut in an effort to swallow a scream. She couldn’t believe this. She absolutely refused to go to a Catholic school. Never. Ne-ver. 
   “You can’t do this.” She said breathlessly. “I won’t go, and you can’t make me go.” 
   Tessie was playing the ‘you can’t do this’ card, when she really was being royally flushed. She knew that her parents had the upper hand. They had a few aces up their sleeves. Saying she was screwed was an understatement. 
   The corners of her mother’s mouth turned up in a grim smile. “I’m sorry Tessie, but if this is what it takes to get you to behave, so be it.” 
   Tessie clenched her fists in outrage. “No”, she said through her teeth, “I’m not going. I’ll–leave here before I go to a Catholic school.” 
   Her father’s eyebrows arched up in surprise. “You’ll leave home?” He asked incredulously. 
   She nodded, folding her arms across her chest defiantly. “I’ll run away. I swear, I won’t go to Catholic school. The streets are better than here.” 
   She meant to sound firm but it didn’t help that her voice quivered at the end. 
   There was a beat of silence that was broken by Cyndi going  psst!  Tessie’s eyes roved over to the little girl in silent question.  
   “You wouldn’t really leave us, would you?” Cyndi asked, her voice thick with unshed tears. 
   Tessie shook her head, making it look like she was shaking it in defeat at her parents’ argument. 
   “Look”, she spoke up, “I don’t want to leave here. I really don’t. But, I won’t go to Catholic school. Anything else, I promise, any other punishment I’ll follow.” 
   Her parents exchanged a questioning glance before her father sighed. “Let’s just ground her.” 
   Mrs. Porter’s jaw clenched in anger. After a moment she finally shrugged. 
    “Fine”, she looked at Tessie, “you’re grounded for two months, maybe more if you keep this up. For starters, you can clean up this mess. You will also be paying for a majority of the repairs.” 
   Tessie’s stomach dropped to her feet. She swallowed, feeling like her heart had jumped into her throat. “But–where am I supposed to get that money?” 
   Her mother shrugged again. “You tell me. It’s not my problem.” 
   She swept out of the room then, but to Tessie it felt like a cold breeze had just entered it, giving her a chill that shivered down her spine. Mr. Porter gave her a look that said,  just let her alone , and followed after her mother.  
   Tessie breathed a sigh of relief, leaning back against the wall. She felt like she had just faced the beginning of a huge battle. Her parents would be keeping an extra watchful eye on her from now on. Even though it seemed like she had won the battle, to her it felt like she had just suffered a brutal loss. 
   Cyndi glided over and hopped up onto the countertop, observing Tessie with sad eyes. “I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.” 
   Tessie looked at the little girl, her eyes tired. “No. It’s not. Trust me, this’ll all blow over.” 
   Cyndi’s angelic face pinched into a scowl. “When?” 
   She let out a bitter laugh. “Oh, I’d say two, maybe three years.” 
   Cyndi shut her eyes. “I’m sorry. I only did this to get your attention.” 
   “Why did you do this?” She asked curiously. 
   Cyndi covered her face with her hands, taking a deep breath before speaking. “I wanted you to know that I was here. I know I scared you with the notebook, and I figured you had thought you’d gone insane. I wanted to let you know that you were completely sane, and that the things happening around you weren’t figments of your imagination.” 
   Tessie gave a short laugh. “Nice way of making yourself known.” 
   “Well what else was she supposed to do?” Conner said from the doorway to the basement. 
   He walked over and leaned against the island Cyndi was sitting on, Brandy coming up behind him and closing the door. 
   “You were doing a heck of a job ignoring us.” Brandy commented, taking a seat in one of the kitchen chairs. 
    Tessie cocked an eyebrow in surprise. “I was?” 
   “Hell yeah.” Conner muttered. Brandy shot him a look. 
   “We don’t curse Conner.” She chided. He snorted in response. 
   “Oh yeah? I’ve heard a few choice words come from your mouth before. Don’t tell me not to swear.” He said smugly. Brandy blushed lightly. 
   “We all slip up sometimes.” She said quietly. 
   Cyndi cleared her throat. “Hate to be a bother, but Tessie asked a question.” 
   Cyndi gave her a warm smile. “Yes, you were doing a very good job of completely blocking us.” 
   Tessie cocked her head at an angle. “How was I doing that?” 
    Conner gave another snort before he moved away from the island, heading into the hall. 
   “Okay, this is ridiculous. Tessie”, she jumped at the sound of her name. He had never addressed her by her name before. “You’re psychic. You can block us when you want to.” 
    She scowled. “How could I block you without knowing it?” 
   Conner rolled his eyes irritably. Tessie was done trying to be kind to him. Why should she give him kindness if he was not willing to give her some in return? Besides, Conner didn’t seem to care what Tessie did. If he didn’t want her help, then she wouldn’t give it to him, point blank. 
   “It’s very simple.” Conner said, grabbing Tessie’s attention again. 
   He hesitated a moment, his hands in the air in front of him, trying to describe something apparently with difficulty. “How can I put this in a way that you’ll understand?” 
   He pressed his fingers to his lips in concentration. After a moment of thinking, he spoke. 
   “When a person goes through a traumatic experience they block it out. They refuse to remember it or see it happen. Sometimes they have hallucinations, or they hear things. It’s similar with you when it comes to your psychic abilities. If you aren’t open to receiving visions, like when you’re pissed off or in an especially terrible mood, then you won’t receive them. When you’re in a good, relaxed mood, then that’s usually when you get the visions we try to send you.” 
    Tessie chewed this information over for a moment. It sounded simple enough, like Conner had mentioned, but if it was so simple, she couldn’t get why she hadn’t figured it out before. She shook her head. 
    “Wait. How can I block the visions without  knowing  I’m blocking them?” She asked.  
   Conner hung his head in disgust. “Listen carefully”, he spoke slowly and with enunciation, like Tessie was incredibly stupid, which, might not be that far off the mark. “You block them  subconsciously . As in  without knowing you’re doing it .”  
   Her face crumpled into a sour scowl. “I understand Conner, thank you.” She said snidely. Brandy gave Conner a sharp look. 
   “You seriously have to reconsider your attitude.” She chided. He rolled his eyes at her. 
   Cyndi giggled softly. “Tessie, we can help you remain open to all visions. You can help others as well as us.” 
   Tessie snorted. “Will I be able to predict the future?” 
   Cyndi shrugged. “Who knows? I would expect so.” 
   Her stomach did a little flip at the possibility of seeing the future, of knowing things no one else could possibly know. To know what’s going to happen next . . . Tessie couldn’t even imagine it. 
   A prompt banging on the front door made everyone but Conner jump. He swore under his breath. “God damn it, who’s that now?” 
   The question was directed at Tessie, but she shrugged. “I have no idea.” She said truthfully. 
    Conner spun around, beginning to head down the hall to the door. “I’ll take care of it.” 
   “No!” She jumped in front of him, extending her arm out so that he could not get past. His eyebrows rose in surprise. She spoke quickly. 
    “It might be someone I know. You can’t just go attacking people for no reason.” She said, her eyes hardening. 
    Conner brushed off her words as if she had commented on the weather. 
   “Whatever. But next time, I won’t even bother.” He said, making it out to be a harsh comment. 
   Tessie shrugged, the gesture saying,  don’t.  Conner’s eyes narrowed slightly at her before he turned and stalked off in the opposite direction, ascending the stairs to the second floor. Tessie let out a sigh of relief before another fist connected with the wood on the front door, startling her into alertness. 
   She tiptoed to the door, but instead of opening it she peeked through the small window in the wood. A guy, tall, dirty blonde, head down. Tessie exhaled slowly, then opened the door.  
   Chip’s clear blue eyes searched her before they wandered over her shoulder, his eyebrows rising. She stepped aside and gestured for him to come in, closing the door behind him. 
   “What are you doing here?” She asked him. 
   Granted, Chip had just witnessed a tornado in her kitchen, ghosts appearing, and her nearly fainting, she still wondered what he was doing back here. If the situation were reversed, she would be running for the hills right about now. 
   Chip’s eyes roved around the room, as if he was trying to find something. It was a full minute before his gaze finally rested on her. She could guess  what he was searching for. 
   “Are you alright?” He asked, his eyes hard, brow pulled together. 
   Tessie nodded. “Of course. I’m fine. Kitchen needs a remodel, I’ll be paying for it, and my parents are super pissed at me, but that’s just a bonus.” 
   A corner of his mouth twitched but his expression remained solemn. 
   “Where are they?” He asked. 
   Tessie scowled. “They?” 
   Chip shifted his weight uncomfortably. He didn’t seem to like this topic very much. 
   “You know”, he said, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking away before turning back to Tessie. “ They.  The–you know.”  
   She folded her arms across her chest. “Tell me, what do I know?” 
   Chip rolled his eyes irritably. The feeling was mutual, Tessie thought snidely. “Just say it Chip.” 
   She refused to take him seriously if he couldn’t even say the word. He huffed, dropping his hands. 
   “Fine.  Ghosts.  Happy?” He said, frustration plain in his features. 
   Tessie smiled smugly. “Very.” 
    Chip began to move throughout the house. Inspecting the living room first, then the dining room. 
   “Excuse me”, Tessie said, following after him. “Just  what  are you doing?” 
   He ignored her, moving books and magazines from the coffee table, then beginning to lift up the sofa and chair cushions. 
   “Hey! Ex cuse  me! This is my house!” She exclaimed, rushing over and grabbing Chip’s arms from behind. 
   He turned, tugging free with little effort. Tessie silently cursed herself for her horrible upper body strength. He cocked an eyebrow.  
   “I’m–investigating.” He said almost sheepishly, his eyes still roaming around the room. 
    She snorted. “Or do you mean snooping around? A hello would’ve been nice, and first of all, what are you doing here?” 
   Before he could answer, Cyndi strolled into the room, tugging on Tessie’s sleeve. She looked down. 
   “ What ?” She hissed. “I’m a bit busy at the moment.” She said, gesturing to Chip. 
    He scowled in confusion. “Who are you talking to?” 
    Tessie stood up straight, scowling for herself. “I’m talking to Cyndi. Duh.” She added, as if it was ridiculous to think that she was just talking to herself. 
   Evidently, it seemed that Chip thought she was, because his expression didn’t waver. It just stayed frozen in confusion, and concern. 
   “Are you having a vision? Maybe you should sit down.” He said, reaching out to guide her to the sofa. 
   She scrambled away. “No. I’m not having a vision. What are you talking about?” 
    He seemed even more confused than before, and there was something in his eyes that Tessie refused to see, it came close to pity, which she wouldn’t acknowledge. 
   “I’m talking to Cyndi.” She growled, her teeth clenched. 
   Chip shook his head. “There’s no one else here, Tessie. We’re alone.” 
   He gestured around him at the seemingly empty room, even though Cyndi was standing right next to her. She shook her head but then it hit her.  They can’t see me. I’ll go with you. They can’t see me. 
   Tessie shut her eyes then opened them again, looking down at Cyndi. “Let me guess. He can’t see you?”  
   She looked up at her sheepishly. “Sorry.” 
    She gave Chip a quick glance, then looked back up at Tessie. “My fault.” 
   Chip blinked a few times, then stumbled back a step. He pointed to Cyndi, sputtering in surprise. 
   “Sh-she–her . . . I–” He then looked at Tessie and his expression shifted into one of rage. His lip curled in anger. “Mind telling me what the hell is going on?” He shouted. 
   She winced. His voice was much too loud. She was sure her parents hadn’t left, not after what ‘she’ had done to the kitchen. If they knew that Chip had come over, even without her knowing, it would only add on to the mountain of trouble that she was already in. 
    “Shh, Chip you wouldn’t believe the shit load of trouble I’m in right now, and you screaming at the top of your lungs isn’t going to help me. If you really want me to tell you, then why don’t we go outside?” 
   Chip shut his mouth, his face flushing bright red. “Sorry”, he mumbled, his hands in his pockets and his eyes glued to the floor. “How about my place? My mom went shopping for back to school crap.” 
   Tessie raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t you have gone with her?” 
   He shrugged indifferently. “I don’t care.” 
   Tessie knelt down so that she was at eye level with Cyndi. “I’m going to go with Chip for a little–” 
   “But you’re coming back, aren’t you?” Cyndi said, her voice hitching up an octave with hysteria. She took the little girl’s cold hands in hers, looking her directly in her dark blue eyes. 
   “Of course. I promise.” 
   Cyndi nodded, her eyes beginning to fill. She threw her arms around Tessie, squeezing her tightly. 
   “Please come back.” She hugged her gently. 
   “I promise.” She repeated. 
   
   
   
   Chapter 16 
   Sitting in Chip’s homey kitchen, with flowered wallpaper and the smells of baking cookies around her, Tessie was reminded of what she didn’t have, and probably never would. Sure, her mom could bake cookies, that didn’t mean she did. Sure, their kitchen was nice, at least it had been, but to her it wasn’t comfortable, like Chip’s kitchen. 
     
   He sat across from her, a plate of chocolate chip cookies in between them. Neither of them had touched the sweets. They had caught Mrs. Kyle just as they had arrived, and she had given them the freshly baked goodies. They weren’t hungry though, they were too hyped up from the afternoon’s events. 
     
   Tessie hadn’t told her parents where she was, which probably would only get her into even more trouble, but she didn’t care. She was already in way too deep, might as well keep on pushing her luck. 
     
   Chip leaned forward, his elbows on the table. “Now tell me, what is going on with that house of yours?” 
     
   Tessie placed her clasped hands on the wooden tabletop. She sighed, almost in exasperation. “A whole shit load of crap. Believe me, you don’t want to know.” 
     
    Chip’s eyes darkened, all traces of humor wiped clean from his features. “Believe me”, he said in a deep, grave voice, “I want to know.” 
     
    She swallowed, realizing that Chip was the only person she  could  tell. He was the only one who knew she was psychic, well, the only  living  one. She could try to play the spirits off as a trick of the light, or maybe a hallucination, a weak excuse, but a plausible one, one that made about a speck of sense. 
     
   But no matter how much she could try to downplay it, he knew that there was something going on in the house, and he knew she was psychic. Tessie ran her hands through her curly hair, which only got even curlier as she let it fall onto her shoulders. Chip was the only person who knew about this, the only person who  could  know about this. She just hoped he wouldn’t tell anyone. She hoped she could trust him. 
     
   Tessie took a deep breath, then told him everything she knew, starting with the notebook filled with Cyndi’s life story, the odd feeling she got whenever she entered the school, her visions, the research she had done, everything. She told him everything up until Cyndi appeared, which he was there for. Now he knew what had happened. He knew absolutely everything. 
     
    Tessie sat back in her chair, letting out a lungful of air. Telling Chip hadn’t made her feel any better. If anything, it made her feel worse. Chip had information now that if he used it against her could land Tessie in a mental hospital, wrapped in a strait jacket with doctors watching her through surveillance cameras. Paranoid? You try telling doctors about visions and ghosts, and  not  get yourself sent off to the psych ward. 
     
   Chip rubbed his jaw tentatively, thinking. “Well”, he said after a few seconds of thought, “that sucks.” 
     
   Suddenly Tessie was laughing. She doubled over, clutching her midsection which was erupting in side stitches from her bursts of laughter. She had tears streaming down her face, which she wiped away with shaking fingers. Chip cleared his throat, looking slightly irritated. 
     
   “Is there something funny?” He asked her. She shook her head, breathing in and out quickly, still drying her eyes. 
     
   “No.” She got out breathlessly. “It’s just the way you said it.” 
     
   She shook her head again, fighting off another fit of giggles. She had just poured her secrets out to him, and he said “that sucks”. Tessie couldn’t believe it. 
     
   “Call me crazy.” She said, her laughter dying away. “But I expected a little bit more of a reaction.” 
     
   Chip shrugged indifferently, beginning to get up from the table. Tessie stood. Chip eyed her for a moment before flashing a devil-may-care grin. 
     
   “I’m more of an  actions speak louder than words  kind of guy. Here”, he tossed Tessie her keys, she barely caught them. 
     
   “Where are we going?” She asked. 
     
   His smile grew more mischievous. “Library. We’re going to be playing  Ghost Busters  for a  little while.”  
   
   
   
   Chapter 17 
   “Wait.  What? ” She wasn’t sure if she had misheard him, but she was pretty positive he had said  Ghost Busters . 
     
   He was already at the front door, opening it and stepping outside. Tessie had to hurry to keep up with him. 
     
    “Whoa, what did you say? Hold on.” She closed the door behind her, then jogged across the lawn to where Chip was headed, the barn behind his house. 
     
   It was a large shack, so poorly built that you could call it a shack, it looked no more than a few boards of plywood nailed together. There were gaping slots where you could see through like there wasn’t even a barrier there. Chip opened the passenger door of a rusty old Toyota, gesturing for her to get in. 
     
   “You got shotgun.” He said, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. 
     
    Tessie folded her arms across her chest, not moving an inch. “Not until you tell me  what  exactly we’re going to do at the library.” 
     
   Chip sighed and slammed the door. Specks of rust showered the ground from the little impact. “We’re going to research on how to get rid of spirits. From what you told me, we’re dealing with a nasty case.” He said. 
     
    “I’m not a total couch potato, if that’s what you’re thinking, or the simple farm boy type either. I go to the library like any other nerd. And the library is the place to go when your Wi-Fi isn’t working.” 
     
    Tessie almost laughed but kept her expression blank. “We’re going to get rid of them?” She asked. 
     
   Chip’s eyebrows rose in surprise. For once, he was speechless. After a moment of silence he said, “Isn’t that what you want?” 
     
   Tessie paused. That’s what she should want. Any sane person would want ghosts out of their house. So why didn’t she? Why did the thought of getting rid of the kids break her heart? They were just kids. They weren’t dangerous. 
     
   Well, a tiny ignorant part of her that always had to be right said, quite the contrary. They turned your kitchen into a demo sight. They are very dangerous. So? Tessie thought. They needed her help. She couldn’t just kick them out and send them to hell. No. She would help them. Tessie shook her head, coming out of her cloud of thoughts and answering Chip’s question. 
     
   “No. I don’t want that. I want to help these kids.” At the look of utter surprise on his face, she quickly added. “They’re  kids  Chip. Children. I could never kick them out. Do you know where they would go?” 
     
   She didn’t give him time to answer. “Hell. They would go straight to hell. I can’t do that to them. I can’t let it happen.” 
     
    Chip’s eyes had widened in surprise, but now, they had darkened with seriousness. “Tessie”, he said and she could hear the lecture coming on. 
     
   The  Tessie, really it isn’t the right thing to do. They don’t belong here. It’s better this way . . .  She refused to listen. 
     
   She spun around and stalked out of the barn, then jogged the rest of the way back to the school. She would handle this with or without Chip.  
   
   
   
   Chapter 18 
   When Tessie got home she slammed the door behind her, only realizing a moment later that there was a piece of paper taped to the front door. She opened it up and tore the note off, reading it as she slammed the door for a second time, making the walls rattle. 
     
   She couldn’t believe it. Her parents had gone out to dinner. She knew that her parents were dumb, but she didn’t think they were that dumb. She crumbled the note, tossing it in a nearby trash bin. 
     
   She ascended the stairs, going into her bedroom then slamming that door. She wasn’t surprised to find Cyndi sitting on the bed. Tessie walked over to her desk, taking a seat in the stiff chair. 
     
   “Are you alright?” Cyndi asked. 
     
   Tessie let out a bitter laugh. She couldn’t help it. She had just told Chip everything, and now, she wasn’t even sure she could trust him. If it was anything else, including anyone else, she wouldn’t be doing this. She would say that it wasn’t worth it and just walk away. But this was different, with this, she simply couldn’t walk away. 
     
   “Where’s Conner and Brandy?” She asked Cyndi. 
     
   The little girl’s eyes darted over Tessie’s shoulder for a moment, then flicked back in front of her. It was barely noticeable, but Tessie noticed. She cast a glance behind her. 
     
    “What are you looking at?” 
     
    “Nothing.” Cyndi answered too quickly. 
     
   Tessie sighed exasperatedly, placing a hand on her forehead, creased with worry and tiredness. 
     
   “Cyndi”, she said, her voice sounding just as exhausted as she was. 
     
    She chanced a look at the clock. Almost ten. She felt ready to pass out. She let out her breath slowly and shut her eyes, keeping them closed as she spoke to the child. 
     
   “Is there someone other than you, Conner, and Brandy here?” She asked, wanting to hear the answer and at the same time not wanting to. 
     
   Cyndi shook her head, her hands clasped in front of her. Cyndi’s hair was straight as a ruler, a light blonde, light enough to be called white blonde, and her sharp blue eyes watched Tessie with much intelligence. The way the girl looked at things, it seemed like she was always trying to soak up as much knowledge as possible, drinking it up like a man dying of thirst. 
     
   Tessie shook her head. “You’re lying. Who else is here? I know that you and the others aren’t the only ones.” 
     
   She knelt down so that she was at eye level with the girl. “Who else is here?” 
     
    Cyndi’s eyes locked on hers, and for the first time Tessie actually saw a flicker of hesitation, maybe even fear. Cyndi bit her lip. “Um . . .” 
     
    Before Tessie could react, an arm hooked around her waist, and a cold hand clamped down on her mouth. She barely got out a muffled scream before she blacked out, the familiar swirling colors of a vision rendering her helpless. 
     
          Tessie found herself standing in a hospital room, the smells of floor cleaner and blood choking her and turning her stomach. She looked around. There were several cots in this room. Women in white uniforms stood over the men lying in the poor beds. Tessie’s stomach clenched at the condition of the people on the cots. 
     
   Some had terrible, oozing bumps all over their bodies, puss filled boils covering every inch of skin on others, and then there were some men with sweat pouring off of them, their skin white as the sheets they laid on. They wore nothing but underwear, some with blankets pulled over them and others with the blankets thrown off and onto the floor. The whole room was filled with moans from the patients on the cots. 
     
   Tessie swallowed the bile rising in her throat. This was an old fashioned hospital, which meant old fashioned medicine, which led to most of these people dying. Tessie shook her head, trying to erase these images, only opening her eyes and seeing them replayed once more. She sucked in a breath, which caused her to nearly gag. The stench of sweat was suffocating. She had to focus. She was here for a reason. 
     
   Tessie quickly scanned the faces of the sickly men, trying to find one she recognized. Nope. None of them registered as familiar to her. There was one face at the end of the lineup that was exceptionally young. 
     
   Tessie moved silently among the bustling nurses, deftly avoiding one with a pail of water rushing to the side of a man who was pleading for God to help him. She made it to the side of the young man. His skin was deathly pale, his hair was a dark mahogany, limp and resting flatly on his pillow, which was soaked in his own sweat. His eyes were a beautiful chestnut, with specks of gold in the irises. Even though they were gorgeous, they stared blankly up at the ceiling, showing no emotion. His stare was dead. 
     
   Even though ill, he was handsome. Tessie could tell this boy had given up any ounce of hope he had once held. He knew that he was going to die. He knew that he didn’t have long. 
     
    An elderly nurse moved over to the boy’s other side, feeling his forehead and quickly withdrawing her hand. 
     
   “You’re burning up, dear.” She murmured, eyeing him with a grandmotherly concern. 
     
   The boy paid no mind to her. He simply continued to look up at the ceiling with flat eyes. He looked maybe a year older than Tessie, but compared to the other men, he was just a child, about a ten years difference between him and the patients near him. The boy’s eyelids fluttered suddenly, causing Tessie to suck in a sharp breath. 
     
   No . She pleaded silently.  Don’t let him die. I can’t take this. Please. No.  But all the begging in the world couldn’t stop the inevitable. 
     
   She had to do something. She couldn’t stay here and watch this. Sudden inspiration came to her. With great effort, she threw herself backward, her head breaking her fall with a painful  thump . She saw stars for a moment. Silver and blue bursts of white light dotted her vision, until she felt herself returning to reality. 
     
   The vision dissolved around her, but not before she glimpsed the boy’s eyes shutting as he let out his final breath. 
     
   Her eyes snapped open, and she was grateful to see the foyer of the house around her instead of the awful hospital scene. She let out a grateful sigh, only to feel the cold fingers of the person gripping her on her lips, constricting her breathing. 
     
   “Lemph mefh gooooo!”  Tessie’s command came out sounding like gibberish since she was speaking with a hand over her mouth. 
     
    She wriggled in the person’s grasp, but it did nothing but make her even more tired than the vision had left her. 
     
   “Cade! Let her go!” Brandy thundered into the room, her hands clenched into tight fists at her sides. 
     
   “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Brandy shouted at him. “Let her go or I swear to God I’ll kick your ass straight to hell if I have to!” She shrieked with so much conviction in her voice it sent a chill up Tessie’s spine. 
     
   The hands on her mouth only pressed tighter, forcing her lips against her teeth. She let out a plea that just sounded like a moan. Brandy moved up so close to Tessie that if either would move, their chins would collide. Brandy was looking above Tessie’s head. She strained to look up to see who Brandy was addressing. 
     
   “You better get off of her, or there will be hell to pay.” She growled. 
     
   The hold didn’t lighten up in the least, but it didn’t tighten either. Tessie relaxed slightly. 
     
   “Cade, please.” Cyndi begged from somewhere near Tessie’s waist. Again, not loose, not tight. 
     
   “What is she doing here? She shouldn’t be here.” A deep, velvety voice came from somewhere above Tessie’s head. She stiffened automatically. Whoever this was, they were strong, much too strong for her. She wouldn’t be able to throw whoever this was off. She shut her eyes tightly. 
     
   Please . She thought.  Just let me go. 
     
   Even though she wanted to beat the crap out of this asshole, she knew that if she would try to take him, she would lose. 
     
    “She lives here.” Brandy cautioned, her eyes shooting a warning at the person holding Tessie. “Her family bought the school a few months ago. It’s hers now.” 
     
   “Are you kidding me? I knew that damn realtor should’ve been taken care of the moment she stepped in here.” The voice growled, a hidden threat in his tone. She took as much of a deep breath as she could with his hand still pressing against her mouth. 
     
   “Get off her.” Conner walked down the hall, his face darker than Tessie had ever seen it. 
     
   Before anyone had a chance to do anything, Conner clocked the person holding Tessie straight in his jaw. The arms around her disappeared. The person who had been holding her stumbled backward from the abrupt punch. 
     
    Conner grabbed Tessie’s arm and tugged her to his side, where she spun around and could now see who Cade was. Her breath caught in her throat. 
     
    It was him, the youngest boy from the lineup of death in the old hospital. He wasn’t shirtless like the last time she saw him, he wore a thin cotton tee, and loose jeans. This boy’s color wasn’t as vibrant as Brandy, Conner, or Cyndi. He looked washed out, like when you clean a very bright shirt a couple of times, after about the fifth or sixth wash, you can tell it lost some of its color. It’s not as bright as it used to be. 
     
   Tessie swallowed the lump in her throat. The sight of this boy reminded her of the terrible hospital where patients were sent to die. The boy’s eyes, which were such a beautiful color, narrowed with coldness as he locked gazes with her. She could see a flicker of recognition before the hard mask of bitterness replaced any emotion. 
     
   “Get out.” He said simply. Tessie recoiled instantly. Conner placed his hand on her shoulder, his gaze trained on the boy. She was shocked, to say the least. 
     
   Conner had never shown her that he cared, or even  liked  her. And he had hit the boy to get her away from him. She felt a flutter of warmth in her chest. 
     
    “You don’t belong here.” The boy spoke, the warm moment breaking sharply away at his angry voice. She bit back the comment she had ready. Oh, she could say so many things. 
     
   Instead, she said, “What the hell are you doing here?” 
     
   About all eyes in the room except for the boy’s shot her a warning glance. The boy cocked a surprised eyebrow. “Me? Oh, nothing. Except I’ve been here for the last few centuries, and I’m  not  about to haul ass just because  you’re  here.” 
     
    She snorted, folding her arms across her chest. A gesture that said  bring it on . “You don’t have to ‘haul ass’ for anyone. But for all I’m concerned, you can either stay here and I can help you, or burn in hell with the rest of the uncast souls. Your choice.” 
     
   She knew it was harsh, and she regretted it instantly after the words had left her mouth. Everyone in the room seemed to stiffen, everyone except for Tessie and the person standing across from her. Someone squeezed her shoulder in caution, but she didn’t look to see who. She was focused on the spirit who she was locked in a stare down with. 
     
   His name must be Cade, that’s what they were all calling him. He also had to be the dying boy in her vision. Either him or a ghost strikingly similar to him. There wasn’t a break in the icy frozenness of his calm. Just chiseled features and a pouting mouth. Tessie kept her expression hard, hoping to look just as unfeeling as him. 
     
   “You think that you can tell me what to do? You think you can give me an ultimatum?” He gave a short, humorless laugh. 
     
    “Oh, please.” She said with a mimic of his icy laughter at the end of her sentence, which only came out sounding squeaky and fake, which it was. 
     
   “Who died and made you king?” Tessie said, with a bit more venom then needed but she didn’t care. 
     
   His hard expression stayed locked in place, as unreadable as English to someone Greek. “Who abandoned this place and made you head bitch?” 
   
   
   
   Chapter 19 
   It was odd, having Cade there. He wasn’t like any other spirit, not like Brandy, or Cyndi, or even Conner, who brushed off his brief hero moment with nothing more than a mumbled counter to Tessie’s grateful apology. 
     
   Even though Cade seemed to appear out of nowhere, Cyndi said that he was always there, he just never paid much attention to any of them, ignoring them and acting like they weren’t even there. When Tessie asked Cyndi if there were any others, she said there were many spirits in the house, but not all of them would ever show themselves. Some didn’t even show themselves to Cyndi or Brandy, who seemed to be the gentler of the ghosts. 
     
   Cade was actually the oldest of them all. He had been in the school for nearly two centuries. He had lost consciousness in St. Joseph’s hospital and everyone thought he was dead, but his body was still latched onto his spirit when they wheeled it off to the morgue. He died there. He returned to the hospital, since the morgue was filled with the dead which always reminded him that he was no longer living. He was one to shy away from the pain and rejected what he had become. 
     
   Cade wandered the hospital for decades before it was shut down and ordered to be ripped away from the ground it was built on. Cade was terrified. Without a place to stay, he would be cast away to hell. 
     
   He couldn’t go outside, not literally, in a way, he fooled the system by jumping into a slave carrier on its way to an auction. He caught sight of the school while passing by, and from then on, he’d been there. He was there when the school opened and when it closed. Cade had always thought of the school as his, after all, it saved him from an eternity of burning in hell. 
     
   When Tessie’s family came into the picture, it was natural that he’d be super pissed. Now that he knew about Tessie, he mostly just skulked around the school, casting dark shadows down the hallways, always popping up in her peripheral vision and then disappearing before she could decide if she was seeing things or not. 
     
   The kitchen had been remodeled, out of Tessie’s own pocket, along with her allowance for the next ten years. She would be broke until she went off to college, even a little after that. 
     
   “Marry rich and young.” Her mother snickered when Tessie asked her what she could do without any cash. 
     
   Marry rich and young my ass, Tessie thought as she headed upstairs and into her room. She opened the door,  slamming it behind her. She spun around, about to fling herself onto the bed when she gave a little yelp of surprise when she saw that her bed was already occupied. 
   
   
   
   Chapter 20 
   Tessie took in a lungful of air, ready to let it out in a scream when his hand clamped down on her mouth. 
     
    “Shh, relax Tessie. It’s just me.” 
     
   Her eyes blazed emerald green with fury. She mumbled uselessly against his palm. He gave her a pleading look before tentatively dropping his hand. 
     
   “What the hell are you doing in my room Chip?” She gasped, taking in gulps of oxygen. 
     
    Chip stood in front of her in ripped jeans and a cotton tee. He had on running shoes, and his hair was mussed from the wind outside. 
     
   “How did you get in here anyway?” She asked, her face flushed with anger. 
     
   Chip’s eyes remained calm pools of blue. He didn’t flinch at how pissed off she was, granted, he probably expected it. God knows how many times he’s snuck into a girl’s room and gotten his ass kicked because of it. He gazed at her, his eyes approaching. 
     
   “I didn’t mean to startle you. I came to talk to you.” 
     
   She let out a laugh, rolling her eyes. “Wonderful. Okay”, she crossed her arms, “let’s get this over with.” 
     
    Chip spoke quickly, like he was afraid of her judgment of him. “I’m sorry I upset you earlier with the whole ‘ghost buster’ jibe. I didn’t mean it. I–I just thought you wanted to get rid of the ghosts. I didn’t know you cared about them so much. I’m–really sorry.” 
     
    The look on his face was similar to one of a puppy’s after it knows it’s done something wrong. Tessie had an absurd thought of Chip on his knees, his pink tongue hanging out of his mouth, and her waving a biscuit in front of his face. She couldn’t help the curve of her mouth. 
     
   “Alright, alright. I forgive you already. Just–stop looking at me like that.” 
     
   Chip’s expression softened, and the doe eyes he had been giving her finally let up. “Thanks. But, that’s not the only reason I came here.” 
     
   Tessie let out a sigh. Of course it wasn’t. It never could be that simple, always complicated. Always. 
     
   “Well?” She asked expectantly. 
     
   Chip rubbed his jaw, seeming to choose his words carefully. “Um, how do I put this? What exactly happens when you have a vision?” 
     
   Tessie’s stomach did a little flip. “What are you saying?” 
     
   Chip hesitated a fraction of a second before speaking. “Well, I think I might’ve had one, and I’d like to know the specifics just to make sure I’m not going crazy.” 
     
   Her stomach went from flipping to plummeting down to her feet. All she could think was  no .  No. Please, Chip isn’t psychic. He  can’t  be psychic . 
     
   The thing was, visions weren’t “fun”. Tessie wouldn’t wish this on anyone else. It was completely unfair that she was psychic, if she had a choice, she would say take it away and never give it back. 
     
   But Chip being psychic? It would be horrible. The sickening colors, the swirling dizziness, fainting, feeling like you’re going to puke every time you come out of a vision. And the worst part would be: Tessie wouldn’t even be able to help him. 
     
   Sure, she had no help herself, but she didn’t know any other psychic. If there had been one around, she would’ve  begged  for their help. She knew that Chip would need help. She had desperately wanted it when she had started getting visions. But to be there, and not be able to help, it would kill Tessie. 
     
   Chip would have to go through this with no help, basically alone, with her on the sidelines being able to offer him no salvation. It would be as if she wasn’t even there. Chip noticed Tessie’s fear. He reached out to caress her shoulder, but she paled at his touch. She swallowed, feeling a lump thickening her throat. 
     
   “Tell me Chip.” She murmured so quiet he leaned in further in order to hear her. She cleared her throat, speaking up. “Tell me. What happened?” 
     
   He hesitated, seeming to wonder if he said something wrong she would break down. She stood taller, trying to show that she was strong and confident, even though her hands were shaking. He eyed her for a moment, but then seemed to decide that she could hold up. She wasn’t as sure. 
     
   “I was in my room when this enormous pressure settled onto my chest, like someone was sitting on me. I couldn’t breathe. I thought I’d blacked out, but then I started seeing this–face.” Tessie scowled but motioned for him to continue. 
     
   “It was blurry. The features were all distorted. I remember that the face was really angry, angry at me. I didn’t know why. It was strange, I didn’t recognize the person. But, I probably wouldn’t have known if I had known the person, it was so dark and fuzzy. The face’s eyes flashed, God, those eyes were pretty scary. They were almost black, I couldn’t tell what color they were exactly, but they were piercing. And then, the pressure was gone, and I woke up. It took me a minute to remember what had happened. It felt like someone had knocked me out, but I passed out. I’m sure about that.” 
     
   He eyed Tessie curiously. “What’s your take on that?” 
     
   She shook her head, glaring at the wood floors. It definitely wasn’t a vision, more like a dream. A nightmare. Or maybe a hallucination. But no, you’d have to be awake to have a hallucination, wouldn’t you? Tessie couldn’t tell. She had never had something like that happen to her. If was almost like something had overpowered him and forced him to see what it wanted. But what was it? 
     
   She was relieved that he wasn’t psychic, but what if something worse had happened to him? Her mind went immediately to the ghosts, but they couldn’t leave the house without being sent to hell, could they? 
     
   Tessie hated this endless loop of questions. She felt like she was going in circles, making no progress, and ending up right back where she started. 
     
   “Tessie?” Chip asked, bringing her back to reality. 
     
    She shook her head. “That wasn’t a vision. I don’t know what it was.” 
     
    I wish I knew, she thought dismally. Chip sighed, sitting down on the edge of her bed, the springs groaning loudly under his weight. 
     
   “I had a feeling I wasn’t psychic. I figured I might as well come to you. You’re the specialist when it comes to this stuff.” He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood, but Tessie stood straight as a board, her face stern. 
     
   “I wish I could offer more advice than this but, just stay away from this place for a while, okay?” 
     
   His eyes widened and he sprang to his feet. “What? No. No way. What about you? I can’t just leave you alone to deal with these spirits floating around.” 
     
   Tessie sighed, leaning against her bedframe. She was exhausted. It had only been a week since Cade had shown up, and she was still tired from that encounter. Right now, she just wanted to happily pass out on her bed. But no, there was always something to deal with. Something to keep her entertained even when she would just be glad to be bored for once. God, why couldn’t she be bored like any other teenager? 
     
   “I can handle the spirits on my own. They won’t hurt me.” Chip eyed her suspiciously. 
     
   “I don’t trust them.” He murmured. 
     
   “They’re completely harmless. And I trust them.” She snapped, regretting the harsh tone of her voice. 
     
   Chip shook his head, getting to his feet and brushing his jeans off. He caught her gaze, his face softening but his eyes hard. “I just don’t want you to get hurt Tessie. You may trust them, but I don’t. I–” 
     
   He sucked in a breath, abruptly pushing away what he was about to say. He shut his eyes for a moment, and then opened them again. 
     
   “Just be careful.” He cautioned. 
     
   She was about to say that she could take care of herself, but stopped at the sincerity shining in his eyes like tears. She nodded instead. 
     
   Chip ducked out the window, jumping onto a thick tree branch, from the oak near her window, gripping the thick limb, swinging his legs for traction and then releasing. Tessie sucked in a sharp breath as he whistled through the air. He landed hard on the balls of his feet, straightening up. Unbelievably he stuck the landing, sprinting off in the direction of his house. Tessie’s jaw dropped in awe and annoyance. That lucky bastard.  
   
   
   
   Chapter 21 
   “Tessie! You’re going to be late for school!” Her mother shrieked. 
     
   Tessie groaned and rolled over in bed, thrusting a pillow over her head. 
     
   “Tessie Lea Porter you’d better get down here right now or else you will get an extension on your punishment!  Get down here! ” Her mom’s shrill voice pierced through the wall and bounced around in Tessie’s eardrums, reverberating over and over again. 
     
   She grunted, tossing the pillow to the ground and sitting up in bed. 
     
   “Morning.” A tiny voice whispered in her ear. 
     
   She yelped, leaping to her feet. It was amazing that she hadn’t jumped out of her skin. 
     
   “Cyndi!”  She hissed, pressing her palm to her erratically beating heart. 
     
   Cyndi’s face crinkled with worry as she stood, clasping her hands in front of her. Tessie noticed that she was still wearing her school girl uniform. In fact, none of the ghosts seemed to change their clothes. Did ghosts even have wardrobes? 
     
   Tessie let out a long breath, moving to her closet and opening the doors. She riffled through the little articles of clothing she owned, dropping her hands after a moment, figuring it was useless. At that moment, she almost wished her parents had made good on their threat to send her to Catholic school. At least then she’d have a uniform and wouldn’t have to go through the agonizing process of finding an outfit. Cyndi came up next to her shoulder, gazing into her walk-in closet. 
     
   “What’s wrong?” She asked. 
     
   Tessie sighed, shaking her head. “I’m having a bit of trouble finding an outfit.” 
     
   She ran her hands through her tangled red hair. She would have to attempt to tame the wild mane. She sure as hell wasn’t going to attend her first day of high school as a new student looking like this. Cyndi gave a little giggle and plopped down on Tessie’s bed, lying back and staring at the ceiling. 
     
   “Pick the first things your hands touch. If it doesn’t match, it doesn’t matter. It’s what you want to wear.” The girl murmured with her eyes closed. 
     
   Tessie turned to look at her. “I don’t know. I don’t want to end up wearing green skinny jeans and an orange tank top.” 
     
   Cyndi giggled again. “Why would you even own such a ghastly outfit?” 
     
   “Good point.” She said, laughing herself. 
     
   Tessie shut her eyes and reached out, feeling the fuzzy texture of wool. She pulled back and opened her eyes, a black sweater and dark jeans. Not bad. 
     
   “Good call.” She said to Cyndi. “Who told you to pick clothes like that?” She asked, combing through her closet for her tennis shoes. 
     
   Cyndi shrugged. “When I was living in Chester my mother told me that clothes were just superficial items and no one really cares how you look. Then again, she also said that to save time in the morning before school just shut your eyes and shove your hands in your closet. Whatever you touch first will be what you wear.” 
     
   Cyndi sat up, her blonde hair slightly disheveled. “She said that it would’ve been your first choice and is what you would’ve wanted to wear anyway.” She rolled her eyes and got up from the bed. 
     
    “I’ll leave you to getting ready.” She said with a smile before heading out into the hall. Tessie groaned, falling back on her bed. 
     
   “What are you doing?” The deep voice came from her bedroom door. 
     
   She sat straight up, gasping in surprise. Cade was actually standing in the doorway. He stepped over the threshold and into her room, reaching backward and with the flick of his wrist slamming the door behind him. Tessie flinched at the loud banging. 
     
    “What are you doing here?” She asked, proud that her voice came across as firm. 
     
   Cade walked forward until they were inches away from each other. His eyes seemed to have gotten darker, changed from warm brown to almost a black opaque.  A scowl etched his devilishly handsome features. He looked less than happy to see her. Tessie noticed then that he was wearing designer jeans, and a black V-neck tee. He had on combat boots and was toe-to-toe with Tessie’s bare feet. It looked like he had just walked out of  Hot Topic . All he needed were some piercings and a few rainbow streaks in his hair. 
     
   “You changed your clothes.” Tessie blurted out. He seemed to be the only ghost to change outfits. His eyes narrowed slightly. 
     
   “Of course I changed clothes. Just because I died doesn’t mean I have to stop living.” He quipped shortly. 
     
   She pursed her lips, taking a step back and then to the side, walking past him to her dresser. 
     
   “Well, if you don’t  mind  I have to get ready for school now, so–” She waited for him to leave, but he stayed rooted to the spot, his eyes following her as she went through her jewelry. 
     
   Could you kick a ghost out of your room? Preferably in the ass? She wasn’t sure, but she would find out if he didn’t leave in the next few minutes. 
     
   “I came to talk.” He said in a tone that suggested he wanted to duck out just as much as Tessie wanted to kick him out. She turned her head slightly, only showing her profile. 
     
    “Oh?” She said. 
     
   He nodded, turning around fully and looking at her head on. “Yes. You shouldn’t be here. It’s best if you get out.” 
     
   Tessie gave a curt laugh. “You don’t think I haven’t tried that one with my parents? This place is their pride and joy. They won’t leave it.” 
     
   “Try again.” He said bluntly. 
     
    She turned so that she could see his eyes. The cold hatred there almost made her wince. “It’s useless.” She said, inspecting a pair of fake diamond studs. 
     
   “They won’t listen. Besides, we’ve been here for about four months. Trying to get them to move now would be pointless. And the kids need me.” She said, her voice thick. 
     
   Cade disregarded what she had just said, speaking with so much conviction that she couldn’t comprehend how someone could sound so miserable. “You must get out. This isn’t your house. It’s mine. Leave.” 
     
   She fought back a sigh. They had been over this already. Cade was pissed off that her family was in the school, but it never was his school. It was abandoned, and owned by no one. Except now it was owned by Tessie and her parents. Period. She opened her mouth to speak but he began talking before she could. 
     
   “Besides, I can take care of them.” 
     
    Rage flashed through Tessie, warming her whole body. She clenched her fists, her face reddening. 
     
   “You sure as hell can’t.” She said, moving forward until she was all up in his face. He was completely unaffected by her rage. He brushed her off coolly. “They are not your responsibility. You can’t do anything to help them.” 
     
   “Why not?” She shrieked. 
     
   She eyed the door for a moment to see if her parents were about to burst in. After a minute with no yelling she turned back to Cade. 
     
   “I can help them a lot better than you ever can. Why couldn’t I?” She asked, her fists clenching with anger. 
     
   He smirked nastily. “You’re alive. They’re dead.”  
   
   
   
   Chapter 22 
   Tessie’s eyes narrowed into thin slits as she stared Cade down and he stared right back. She was pissed off that he had said she couldn’t help the others. She so could. It had nothing to do with them being dead and her alive. 
     
   A little part of her said that Cade was jealous that he wasn’t alive. Of course, the dead would be jealous of the living and they would want to be alive too. But the key word here was  dead . The world Tessie had lived in before her family had moved to Chester Elementary was a world where people were alive and the dead were dead. But in this world, some of the dead were ghosts and not exactly alive but still living. 
     
   Tessie was alive and was trying to help those who hadn’t moved on. But Cade was just plain miserable. It was almost as if he would be miserable no matter what. Tessie cleared her throat, forcing herself to keep her gaze locked on Cade’s black eyes. 
     
    “It doesn’t matter that I’m alive and they’re not. But Cade, I’m trying to help them move on. I can help you too. Isn’t that what you want?” 
     
   Instead of answering, he brushed past her, more like his shoulder actually went through hers like air. She shivered, feeling like she had just been hit with a cold blast of wind, her hair even flew back. He turned when he was at the door, his face devoid of emotion. 
     
   “I’d rather go to hell than let you help me.” Cade abruptly spun around, then walked through the door. 
     
   Tessie rushed forward, gripped the doorknob and looked out into the hallway. No one was there, except her mother was thundering up the steps and Tessie was still in her pajamas. Looks like her punishment was going to be extended after all. 
     
          The high school was a dismal brick building with chipped white paint and a few cracked windows which janitors were lazily repairing. It was a few weeks into the start of the school year. It had taken a while for her parents to get her enrolled since she had been in Havre High before she moved, a very nice school that unlike this one had cleanly washed bricks and crack-free windows. 
     
   Her parents were driving her to school, and since they won the lottery and had quit their jobs they said they could pick her up after school, but she had politely refused, saying she’ll take the bus instead, even though she despised the bus. But she would rather be in a hot school vehicle full of shouting kids rather than a car with her parents arguing about trips to Vegas or new paint colors for the house. 
     
   “Now, are you sure you don’t want us to pick you up?” Her mother asked as they pulled up to the curb. 
     
   A bunch of kids stopped to gawk at the shiny new Jaguar, most of them boys who pointed and jeered about how much of a “sweet ride” it was. Tessie wanted to hit them. 
     
   “I’ll be fine.” She said, slinging her beat up leather messenger bag over her shoulder and opening the door. 
     
   “Alright. Have a good day hun!” Her mom shouted much too loudly as Tessie got out and slammed the door. 
     
   Blood rushed to her cheeks as the boys who had been making comments on the car looked at her and snickered. Ignoring them, she walked forward and pushed on the double doors to enter into the school. They wouldn’t open. She shoved again, bruising her shoulder. 
     
   “Damn it”, she cursed under her breath. 
     
   Someone came up next to her, gripped the handle to the door to her right, and pulled it open. She stood back, feeling her face grow hot. 
     
   “I know  push  and  pull  sound familiar, but trust me they’re two entirely different things.” The boy standing in front of her chuckled. 
     
   “It’s tricky the first time but you’ll get it after a while. Nice to meet you, I’m Rick.” 
     
   Tessie looked up, seeing a boy with large black framed glasses enlarging clear jade green eyes. Freckles dotted his nose and cheeks, which stood out even though he had a deep tan from summer break. He was very tall and lanky, he was at least two heads taller than her. He had a full, pouty mouth that looked sensual especially since it was curved upward in an amused smile. His messy brown hair fell onto the glasses and into his eyes. 
     
   He outstretched one tan hand. She took it, shaking it once then withdrawing her hand. His grin only widened. 
     
   “I’m Tessie.”                                    
     
    Obvious surprise and then joy flitted across his face. “So you’re the famous new girl I’ve been hearing about. Well then it’s  very  nice to meet you.” 
     
    She rolled her eyes, hitching her bag up higher onto her shoulder. “Charming. Would you please move?” 
     
   She gave the door a good yank, it creaked on its hinges as it opened slowly. Rick chuckled again, grabbing the door and holding it open for her. She glared at him. 
     
   “Can I help you?” She asked. 
     
   His lip quirked. “No. Just helping a pretty girl inside. And if you’d like, I can show you to your classes too.” 
     
    Tessie bit her lip. She was planning on getting lost, taking at least ten minutes instead of the allowed two between classes to find her way. It would save her a lot of time to just know where she was going. With a sigh she reluctantly agreed. 
     
    “Fine. That would be–fine.” She cleared her throat, walking inside and completely ignoring the amused laugh from behind her as Rick followed. 
   
   
   
   Chapter 23 
   She was beautiful. With long tangled scarlet curls that cascaded down her back with wild volume. Her eyes were such a shocking dark green, so different from his dull jade ones. She was tall, most girls didn’t reach up to his shoulders, and she had a very slim build. 
     
   Another thing was that she barely paid any attention to him. Even when he talked to her it seemed like she was only half listening. She walked around with her chin up, looking no one in the eye when they addressed her, a nice chip on her shoulder. Another nice thing was that she didn’t seem to like him at all. 
     
   Girls he talked to tried to flirt with him and go out with him. He usually charmed them just for fun and didn’t really go out with each of them more than once. 
     
   Now, Rick Lenard wasn’t a player. He was a really nice and funny guy. He was the kind of guy that people instantly liked and wanted to hang out with. But Tessie, she seemed to completely hate him, which only made him like her even more. 
     
   It would be nice to have a friend who was a girl but not a girlfriend. He didn’t have many of those. Even though she didn’t like him, he would still be her friend. 
     
          Tessie wasn’t the kind of person who made friends that often. The friends she had had at her old school were old elementary school friends that she had kept ties with over the years and stayed on pretty good terms with through high school. She hadn’t planned on making friends at her new school, she really didn’t want to. She figured she’d just sit under some tree with good shade from the hot sun at lunch and then coast through the rest of the day, maybe skipping one of her more boring classes like biology or French, which she didn’t understand half the time anyway. 
     
   But Rick was actually a pretty nice guy, and she kind of liked him a little. He wasn’t all that annoying, it was easy to tune him out when he talked, and he was pretty funny when she actually listened to him. 
     
   Right now he was showing her to her gym class, which was one of the classes she knew she would pass. Just because her grades were lame when it came to academics doesn’t mean she couldn’t kick some serious ass in dodge ball. 
     
   “Here it is. There’s the girl’s locker room and I think you can figure out the rest.” Rick said, pointing to a door with a tiny rectangle of a window. 
     
   It looked like she was early, since no one was in the halls yet and the first bell hadn’t rung. She nodded. 
     
   “Thanks. I’ll see you later.” She walked over and gripped the handle to the locker room door. 
     
   “Actually”, Rick said, causing her to turn. “I have this class with you. So, I’ll see you out on the floor.” 
     
   He opened the door to the boy’s locker room, casting her a taunting glance, “Today’s dodge ball, good luck.” He teased, giving her a wink before ducking into the locker room. 
     
   Tessie’s lip turned up. Whacking some high school snobs with hard rubber balls. This was going to be a good first day. 
   
   
   
   Chapter 24 
   The gym uniforms consisted of a gold tank top and baggy blue shorts. Tessie wore her tennis shoes while other girls whined about not being able to wear their strappy sandals or stilettos. She snorted. This was high school for crying out loud, and these chicks acted like they were preparing for the runway, or the corner. 
     
   While they all filed into the gym, which was a large area with thirty foot ceilings and scuffed wood floors, the girls around Tessie whispered. She caught bits and pieces of the conversations as she passed them. 
     
   “ . . . yeah, the new girl.” 
     
   “Did you see the way she dressed?” 
     
   “Looks like a slob to me.” 
     
   “Dropout? Yeah, probably.” 
     
   “I bet ten bucks she won’t last the week.” 
     
   “You think she’ll get kicked out?” 
     
   “Or start a fist fight and get expelled.” 
     
   “She looks pretty pissed off most of the time.” 
     
   Tessie moved away from those girls, then another group moved up near her. “–Don’t know about you, but I’m staying away from her.” 
     
   Tessie snickered, falling back so that she was alone. Stuck up rich girls, which translated to her as big time bitches. Ah well, this was high school after all. 
     
   The boys came into the gym next, Rick grinned at Tessie when he caught sight of her. She nodded in his direction. Since the boys’ coach was absent, the only coach that was here was Coach Lessor, who couldn’t have had a more appropriate name with less than most hair, the lights shining off his bald head, and a less than attractive build, with a large gut strained against his T-shirt. 
     
   He blew his whistle. “Alright kids”, he barked much too loudly, his voice echoing unpleasantly in the large space. “Split into four teams and let’s get to throwing some balls!” 
     
    A few kids snickered but Tessie ignored them. She moved into a team with mostly guys, ignoring the teams of bottle blonde girls. Rick was on her team, and he came over to her, grinning. 
     
   “Hello”, he said giddily, she half-smiled. “So, what do you think of our fine school system so far?” He asked, spreading his hands wide at the scratched floors and water stained ceiling. Tessie laughed. 
     
   “It’s very fine. Are we having quail and biscuits for lunch? Or steamed salmon? Maybe even baked Alaska for desert.” Tessie said. Rick laughed loudly. 
     
   “Most certainly, madam.” He tried on a ridiculous British accent, causing her to laugh harder. She shoved his shoulder playfully. 
     
   Coach Lessor’s shrill whistle sounded, and with it, a raining of rubber fury came their way. Tessie pushed Rick away, ducking in the process and falling to the ground on her knees. She grabbed a red ball, getting into a crouch position and looking for a good target. She found one, aimed, and then hurled it at a tall spray tanned girl who was busy examining her manicure. It slammed her in her gut, and she doubled over, gasping. 
     
   “You’re out!” Coach Lessor shouted, giving a little tweet of his whistle. 
     
   The girl gave Tessie a vengeful glare before hobbling off to the bench. Tessie laughed, grabbing a green ball out of the hands of a fidgety freshman. 
     
   “Hey!” He shouted in protest just before a ball smashed into his face, promptly causing blood to gush out of his crooked nose. He howled in pain, covering his wound with his hands. 
     
   The coach blew his whistle again. Oh how she wanted to grab that thing and throw it at a bottle blonde just like she had with the dodge balls. “ 
     
   Time out!” Coach Lessor shouted. “Rick, Jamie, take Kyle to the nurse.” He said, gesturing to the whimpering boy. 
     
   Rick sighed, dropping an armful of rubber balls he had been holding. One bounced off Tessie’s leg. 
     
   “Poor little freshman”, she muttered. 
     
   Rick snorted. “You’re not the one who has to lug him to the nurse’s office.” 
     
   She shrugged, grabbing a blue rubber ball and taking aim at a girl who very much resembled Barbie, with a slutty twist. 
     
   “Have fun.” Rick said, slinging one of Kyle’s arms over his shoulders while Jamie took the other. 
     
          The game was moderately less interesting without Rick there. Tessie took out most of the fake blonde team, then the posers, but she didn’t bother hitting more than two of the Goths. It was amusing to be on the cheerleaders’ hit list, but she didn’t need a druggie or crack head on her tail. 
     
   When the game was over and she was back in her ordinary clothes, it was time to head to chemistry, or better yet, to skip chemistry. Not that she wasn’t in the mood for a nap, she’d rather nap at the nurse then fall asleep in class and wind up with a detention on her first day. She was on her way down the hall after the bell had rung, making everyone who wasn’t in class late, when footsteps echoed down the hall. She sighed, stopping. If she was caught by some obnoxious teacher then she would be given a detention anyway. 
     
   “Hey, Tessie wait up!” She was glad to hear Rick instead of any staff member. 
     
   He bounded up next to her, grinning. “Are you skipping on the first day of school? I’m impressed.” 
     
   She rolled her eyes. “Speak for yourself. What are you doing in the halls and not in class Mr. Goodie Goodie.” 
     
   He snickered. “Ha ha. Who said I was so good? Where are you headed?” 
     
   She shrugged. “Nurse. I heard she’s a real pushover. I figure I’d be able to catch up on my sleep.” 
     
   His grin widened. “I like your style. But I know a great joint down the street. Serves the best burgers in Chester. You up for it?” 
     
   Tessie smiled mischievously, eyeing the glowing exit sign just above the door a few feet down the hall from them. “I’m up for anything.”  
   
   
   Publication Date: February 17th 2014 https://www.bookrix.com/-em282649375df15