III

     Two weeks later, on Friday the 13th, a boy named Perry stood in the English hallway.  Room 213, room 215… what the hell…Ah, yes.  He turned around and walked through the open doorway of room 214.  A girl with dark hair plaited into two braids was smirking at him.
     “Having a hard time finding the room, were you?”  she asked.
     “Yeah… well, you know.  Sometimes hallways aren’t always split into odd and even numbers…. whatever…”  She winked at him as he took a second look at her.  The dark-haired girl was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and cargo pants.  She must have had a belt holding up the pants, because there were a few small pouches hanging from her waist, and something that look strangely like a small sheath.  Perry’s eyes narrowed and an eyebrow lifted ever so slightly.  Ghost hunting…I knew these people were going to be weird, but being armed after class is a little… extreme…She was also wearing large, dark brown boots that looked like they were made for rock climbing.  Maybe we’ll get to investigate rooftops from the outside to do our “research.”  
     “Well,” he said, hoping the girl’s social skills were more normal than her clothing suggested, “my name is Perry.  I am a junior, what about you?”
     “I am a sophomore now.  And I am Gali, obviously.”  Weird, she pronounces it ‘golly.’  Maybe it is short for something else…”  
     “So…..” Perry was about to ask if she knew whether or not anybody else was coming, but then a boy entered the room.  He seemed to be pretty familiar with Gali because there was no awkwardness when they smiled at each other.
     “Hey, Anthony,” she said, “This is Perry.”  She gestured toward him with an arm.
     “What’s up, Perry?” Anthony said, clasping his dark hand over Perry’s light one, giving it a firm shake.  Perry cocked a half-smile at Anthony.  He seemed pretty normal, anyway.  He was actually pretty built; it looked like he made use of the school’s weight room and track.
     “Hey, Anthony.  Are you a sophomore, too?”
     “Yup,” said Anthony, sliding into a desk.  “Gali and I had a lot of classes together last year, so that’s how we know each other.”
     “Right, cool.  How---“
     “Hey, is this the meeting for the Paranormal Research Team?”  Perry turned away from Anthony to look for the face that accompanied the feminine voice.
     “Well, hello!” he said, grinning at the girl’s self-conscious expression.  Gali stepped forward, effectively blocking his view.
     “Hi, I’m Gali.  And you’re…?”
     “Samantha.  I’m not late, am I?  I got confused trying to find the room…”
     “No, no, don’t worry about it,” said Gali.  “We have not started yet, but I guess that I could close the door now.”  Samantha smiled, almost painfully, and took a seat next to Perry.
     Gali shut the door, and Perry did a double-take as he realized that there was a person sitting at a desk that had previously been hidden by the door.
     “Oh!”  Apparently Samantha was taken aback as well.  Perry tilted backwards in his chair, hoping for a better look.  The person behind the desk was a teacher who appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties.  He was wearing glasses, and Perry assumed that he was Mr. Rhodes, the teacher to whom the room belonged.
     “Right,” said Gali, crossing the front of the room, “I guess I can start now.”  She sat on top of a desk that she had dragged to the middle of the room, settling her weight on her arms.  “Okay, so as you know, I’m Gali, and I started this club, much to Mr. Kozicki’s disappointment.  He thinks we’re going to tarnish the prestigious reputation of High Glen by…. being weird.”  She smiled.  “Maybe we can fit that in somewhere.  But, yeah.  So I think our goal right now should just be to go on some ghost hunts and see if we come with ideas later on.  Have any of you guys ever been on a ghost hunt before?”  Samantha glanced at Perry and Anthony worriedly, hoping she wasn’t the only one who had not really had a previous interest in ghost hunting.  
     “Can’t say I have….” said Perry, after waiting for Anthony to speak.  Gali looked slightly irritated.
     “Well, then I will have to go over some things then, I guess.  Firstly, we need to figure out who is going to bring certain items when we go ghost hunting.  Do you guys all have cellphones?”  Everybody nodded.  “Okay, that will help.  If we split up at a site, we’ll need to be able to contact each other if we have to.  …But make sure you put the phone on vibrate.  Loud noises might make the spirits reluctant to come out.”  Perry made sure he kept his face absolutely still, but he caught Anthony’s face contort in disbelief for a moment.
     “Let’s see…. Well, I will have a first-aid kit with me.  If you could bring your own flashlights, that would help.  We’ll need a good camera, though.  Do one of you have a decent camera?”
     “I do,” said Samantha, half-raising her hand before realizing she looked ridiculous.  “It is a digital camera, though, so we’re going to have to be careful with it.”
     “You can take the pictures yourself,” said Gali.  “Maybe we will not even need to take any pictures.  I just want to be ready, in case we do find something.”
     “What exactly do you think we’re going to find?”  asked Perry.  “Do you seriously think we’re going to find Casper or something, floating around waiting to pose for Samantha’s camera?”
     “Why are you here, Perry, if you don’t even believe in ghosts?”  Gali’s eyes locked on his, not quite glaring, but definitely not amused.
     “Well, maybe your sign piqued my interest.”  Her facial expression conveyed, quite clearly, the word bullshit to Perry.
     “Anyway,” continued Gali, “you guys are going to want make sure that you try to clear your minds before we go hunting.”  The corner of Samantha’s mouth twitched at the word ‘hunting.’  “Try and do whatever it is you do to relax before we meet up to walk over to the site, whether it’s playing video games or taking a jog or getting some important homework done.  It is important to have your mind as free and open as possible so that when you encounter a ghost, you’ll be able to notice it, no matter how subtle it is.  This is especially going to be important when we go on our first ghost hunt, because we don’t know who is more in tune to sensing the presence of ghosts and who is not.  Not everybody is able to sense their presence, so that is why I want to make sure that our minds are all as clear as they can be when we try to hunt ghosts.”
     “Where are we going to be going, whenever we do go?” asked Samantha.
     “Well, I guess I was thinking about going to the cemetery,” said Gali.  “I know that it is pretty cliché, but I suppose that is why it is a good place to start.  We will have to go when it is dark, though, obviously.  Does next week Friday work well for you guys?”
     “It works fine with me,” said Samantha, trying not to sound as ecstatic as she felt about the fact that she was not going to be spending next Friday alone in her bedroom, wondering why none of the girls at High Glen seemed to want to talk to her.
     “Sounds good,” Anthony said, forcing Perry to face the reality that he was the only one who was a little perturbed at having to give up most of his Friday night to walk around in a graveyard.
     “Well hey, what the hell.  It is fine with me, too,” he said.  Gali smiled.
     “Mr. Rhodes, are you able to make next week Friday night?”
     Mr. Rhodes looked up from his computer monitor and surveyed the room, looking at the students in turn for the first time.
     “When did you say, now?”
     “Next Friday night, we are going to go ghost hunting at the cemetery.  But, as you know, you have to accompany us all of the time because it is a school activity.  So is it okay?”
     “Sure.”
     “It’s going to be late, like 10:00 until whenever we decide we’re done….”  She looked at apologetic about taking away Mr. Rhodes’ Friday night, and looked at him hopefully.
     “Yes, that’s fine.”  He went back to his computer.
     “Strange dude…” Anthony muttered under his breath.
     “I guess that is about all I have,” said Gali.  “Just make sure to show up right outside of this building next week Friday at 10:00.  Dress for the weather, even if it is raining, and bring flashlights and your cellphones.  And….that is all that I can think of.  Is there anything you guys wanted to talk about?”
     Samantha frowned at her watch.  It was only 3:17 and now she had the entire weekend to get through before time flew by at classes.
     “I don’t think so, Gali,” said Anthony.
     “Yeah, me neither,” said Perry, zipping up his jacket as he stood up.  “I’m out, kids.  See you next week.”
     “Bye, Perry!” said Samantha.  Anthony lifted a hand in acknowledgement and left the room.  “Well, bye, Gali.  It was nice meeting you.”
     “Yup,” said Gali.  “Seeya.”  After Samantha had left the room, Gali walked over to Mr. Rhodes’ desk.  “Well, that went well, don’t you think?  I did not think that anyone other than Anthony was going to show up, so that was pretty cool.”
     “Yeah,” said Mr. Rhodes, not taking his eyes from the screen.  Gali’s face fell a bit.
     “Mr. Kozicki told me that it was really hard to find an advisor for us, so…. I just wanted to let you know how grateful I am to you, Mr. Rhodes.  It really means a lot to me that I can start a club for this, so I hope that things will get more interesting for you.”  He looked a bit pained as he turned toward her and opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Gali said, “All right, bye!  See you next week!” and left the room.  Mr. Rhodes was left by himself in his classroom, feelings of guilt churning in his stomach for making the dark-haired girl feel like she was a burden.

Everything in Between – Jars of Clay, Destiny – Take 6, and 2 CDs worth of System of a Down