Ghost: Books of the Dead - Fantasy Best Seller and Supernatural Teen Book: (Ghost, Occult, Supernatural, Occult and Supernatural) (17 page)

“And you are dismissing it like it is nothing,” Grace asked?

“Yes, because I don’t think it’s true,” Mr. Kourim said.

“But why do you think that it’s unlikely,’’ Grace asked?

Somehow, Grace couldn’t believe that no one seemed to take much stock in the Keaton sister’s story. It made the news after all. Mr. Kourim’s dismissal of it amused Grace, but there was nothing she could do or say about it. Therefore, she just kept quiet about any further details she might have known. Grace understood that it was pointless arguing over this with an old man who was so set in his ways.

“Miss?” a voice called out.

Grace looked back and to her delight, it was the principal, Mrs. West. She waved a sheet of paper at Grace as she passed the administration office. Before Grace could even ask, she was handed the phone number of one the former librarians.

“This is the old librarian Mr. Joseph’s house number,” Mrs. West explained. “He might be able to tell you something about former students, but I’m afraid that he is very old and frail. It would be best if you give him a call before visiting.”

 Grace took the number from her and looked at it thoughtfully. She put the paper back in her pocket before anyone could change their mind. “Thank you for your assistance and I’m very grateful,” she told the principal.

After a few empty promises to share her story when it was complete, Grace walked out of the building. She stood in the middle of the road for a moment to catch her bearing. She saw Mr. Kourim exchange a few words with the principal, and then he followed her out as well. As far as she was concerned, she was done with him. Yet, one look at his facial expression let her know that he had other intentions.

“You want to go somewhere else, Miss Lady?”

“Mr. Kourim,” she began nicely.  “Thank you, but I think I have had enough for one day. I need to go back, and I hope that I was not much trouble.”

“No, nothing like that, but are you sure that you want to go on your own? This town is new to you, and it’s never stupid to be careful,” he said in a fatherly tone. Mr. Kourim showed his concern towards Grace with a tender grin.

“I think that I can handle it just fine,” she said with a tight smile.

Grace wanted to say where she was staying, but then avoided it at the last moment. Instead, she thanked Mr. Kourim again and went on her own way. While heading back to her hotel, she must have wanted to call Mr. Joseph’s number a million times. Every time she saw a public phone booth, she wanted to call. It was getting late though, and considering how old the former librarian was, Grace thought it might be better to try in the morning.

Back in her hotel, Grace was put off by a few visitors in the lounge. The moment she entered, they all turned to look at her. Grace couldn’t make up her mind as to whether they were staring at her or it was just a figment of her imagination. She shook her head and quickly headed towards her own room. The sound of laughter and conversation penetrated the closed doors, and it irritated her to a great extent.  All she wanted was some peace and quiet, but it wasn’t likely on a night like this.

Just like the previous evening, Grace was hungry again, but had no intention of going back outside for food. She took to her last resort and opened her back pack for a snack bar or two. It wasn’t what she wanted and she grumbled a few choice words as she gulped them down. Then, she took to her bed.

All throughout the night, the only thing that circled her thoughts was calling the number that lay in her pocket. She took it out and decided to write it down again, just in case something happened to the original. So in her neat handwriting, Grace inscribed the number in her notebook. She didn’t want to take any chances. She was here in the middle of nowhere and had no intentions of going back without some results. She just hoped that her judgments were not ill-founded. Slowly, she shook away the anxiety of the day and drifted off to sleep. It was a dreamless sleep, the kind she wished for her best friend back on campus.

The alarm on Grace’s watch woke her up the next morning. The clock showed twelve p.m. and for a split second she was surprised. She tapped her watch twice and brought it near her ear to listen if it was working.

Did I really sleep for this long?

Instinctively, she reached for her cell phone, but she forgot that it was still in the dorm room. Then her eye went towards the wall clock hanging in her room and she read the time was a little past ten a.m. Grace didn’t know which one to believe and the only thing that was left for her to do was to go outside and see what the real time was indeed. Like the wall clock in her room, the giant grandfather clock in the lounge struck something past ten a.m. and Grace huffed at the inconvenience that her non-functioning watch had caused.

“Are there any internet cafes in town?’’ Grace asked the lady behind the counter.

“You don’t need breakfast this morning, girl?” the lady asked her instead.

“I’m not hungry,” Grace lied although her stomach said otherwise.

Grace loved food and never skipped any of her meals, but here she was going against her routine. That displeased her in certain ways, but she was utterly focused on her purpose in this town. Indulging in breakfast meant getting delayed, and she didn’t even know if she would get an appointment with the former librarian. So, having breakfast seemed unnecessary to her at that moment.

“Are you all right?” the lady asked her again.

“Yes, I am fine,” Grace assured her. “Can you please tell me if there are any internet cafés nearby?” Grace asked for the second time.

“Yes, there is,” the lady answered, with the type of smirk that implied a disdain for such things. “Do you want me to write down the address for you?’’

Grace found the lady unusually helpful. She thought that maybe she was being rude for not having breakfast here at the inn. However, she nodded and said, “If it’s not too much trouble for you, but I need to know the directions, as well.”

“Just walk straight out of here and go four blocks. You will see a souvenir shop, turn left and walk two more blocks and there you will find an Internet café, but you can use ours if it’s an emergency.” The lady pointed Grace towards the white desktop computer that sat on top of the table.

”I am really thankful for all your assistance,” Grace replied politely. “But I will need long hours at the computer, and I don’t think working here is convenient.” She took the piece of paper on which the name of the café and the address was written, placing it carefully in her pocket. She also hoped that she would find a phone there so she could call Emily. She just wanted to give her a little information on what she had found so far.

Grace’s stomach protested in demand of breakfast, but she ignored it. She followed the directions that she was given, but it wasn’t far before her hunger gave in. She started looking at both sides of the street to see if there was a diner that she could find. She soon spotted one. It was already past eleven a.m. and it was foolish to call a meal breakfast at that hour. Grace laughed at the thought of that and went with it anyway.

The place was not at all crowded. Grace thought it was probably because it was already past the breakfast hours. A small lady whom Grace recognized as the waitress was waiting at the counter, and there were two other elderly couples sitting at another table going about their own business. Yet, Grace let her eyes linger on them and called the waitress over to her table.

Grace noticed the waitress' name was Kimberly and she looked a little distracted. Considering that it was none of her business, Grace tried to ignore. She asked for the menu that day and after a little deliberation, she ordered a plate of pancakes and a cup of coffee to satisfy her hunger. Grace waited for her food to arrive, but she couldn't help but eavesdrop on the conversation the old couple were having at the other table. She strained her ears to listen in on them. Like a bolt from out of the blue, she was stunned when she heard her own name. Well, it was her false name, the one she had given at the school. One of the couples mentioned it to another couple sitting at the opposite table.

The daily gossip spread like wild fire in this otherwise quiet town
, she thought.
These ladies are worse than the gossip girls on campus.

Grace tried to listen more about what they were discussing. The fact that they mentioned her name piqued her curiosity even more. She heard the old man say that there was this girl in town asking questions. The woman beside him said that the girl’s name was June. They even expressed their curiosity about what could have sparked the reporter’s interest about the town.

The waitress arrived shortly with the food Grace ordered. Before Grace could hear more of the conversation that the old couple at the other table was having, she had to pay attention to what the waitress was saying. The waitress was asking Grace if she wanted anything else. After hearing the gossip about her, Grace wasn’t that hungry anymore.

She sipped on the coffee and it tasted bitter. Grace sat there wondering if the coffee was indeed bitter or was it just the situation that she was currently in. There were a few more times that Grace heard her name uttered before the couple at one of the tables paid their bill and left.

The fact that she was sitting in an unknown town surrounded by complete strangers who were talking about her made Grace feel somewhat uncomfortable. The sweet pancakes seemed to form a lump in her throat. Grace wanted to investigate discreetly, but somehow the word was out about her. What surprised her was that no one at the diner recognized her as the girl they were talking about. Grace decided to be more careful. The pancakes in front of her sat cold and she pushed them away. The waitress saw the unfinished and neglected food lying on Grace’s plate. She walked up to her and made a weird face.

“Miss, is anything wrong with the food?”

Grace realized that some time has passed and she hadn't really touched the food yet. She felt a little embarrassed and annoyed with herself. The last thing she wanted to do was grab attention, and with this act she was doing just that. She noticed that as the waitress was speaking, the elderly couple at the other table was already looking at her with anonymity. The waitress repeated her question, but Grace was too busy looking towards the couple so she missed the question this time as well.

“Kimberly!” The old couple called out to her and the waitress looked up at them.

“Yes Mrs. Jenkins,” she asked.

“Is there a problem?” they asked.

This time Grace grasped the situation. The couple had mistaken the conversation for a spat. Grace had been part of restaurant arguments and was aware of how they turned ugly at times. The locals always tried to prevent it. This time, it was no different and Grace needed to handle the situation fast. So before any more words were exchanged, she calmly smiled at the waitress.

She asked, “Can I have a look at today’s newspaper?”

“Ah, sure, Miss, why didn’t you ask before?”

The waitress rushed over to the newsstand and quickly came back to the table. She handed her the local newspaper. Grace took the first bite of the cold pancakes. They taunted her taste buds, but she had only herself to blame. Grace decided to finish the food quickly and get out of the place before she could draw any more attention. There weren’t any significant incidents that she found in the paper, other than small feats and environmental news.  At that moment, she understood why the story about the Keaton sister had caused so much stir in the first place. Nothing happened here at all.

Soon, Grace was out of the diner and made her way towards the Internet café. She checked the address again to make sure she was going the right way. After a turn and a few blocks, she was standing in front of the café. Grace made her way inside and hoped for a much younger crowd. There was a handsome young manager sitting at the front desk. Grace’s eyes caught the details of piercings in his ears and small ink marks around his wrist and arms. The young man caught Grace looking at him and although Grace was mildly embarrassed by her own reaction, she didn’t let that show in her face. Instead, she walked up to where the manager was sitting and saw that he was about her age.

“I want to use one of your computers,” she told him.

The manager guided her towards an empty spot before getting back to what he was doing. Grace looked up at him once, but by then he was already busy with his work. Grace then looked around her to see if there was anyone else working in the café. There was one young girl with head phones on humming to some music in one corner, and a middle-aged man sitting opposite her who was immersed in his computer screen. Grace chuckled to herself and wondered if they knew about her as well.

At first, she tried checking about the town’s history on the internet. She looked up its people, local schools and places to visit. There was nothing remarkable about that. Then, she read about the local library, but nowhere was there any mention of the Keaton siblings or the incident that locals said that put them on the map. Grace tried searching again, but came up with similar results all the time. Exasperated, she hit the key buttons too hard. It made the young manager and the man sitting opposite her take notice.

“I am sorry” Grace said.

She looked down and gave a last try to find some information about the Keatons. Her efforts were all futile and the frustration was starting to show on her face. There simply was no information on what she wanted to know.

Grace then remembered to call the number that was copied in her notebook. If she could get an appointment, then she’d leave immediately to meet Mr. Joseph. She had to inform Emily as well. She noticed a phone on the manager’s counter and brooded over whom to call first, and while she stood there thinking, she saw the young manager looking and smiling at her. She smiled back in return, but didn’t make any phone calls.

“Hi, I am Larry. You new here?” he asked.

Grace was about to offer her pretend name, but she was in a town where nobody knew anything about her. There weren’t many people who knew her at all. They knew her by her face only, and she thought it was pointless to offer another false name. Although she did want to tell him her real name, she couldn’t at this time. Instead, she paid what was due in cash, offered a gentle smile again and walked toward the door.