Giving Up the Ghost (11 page)

I had to sit down. I staggered to a chair.

Suddenly Lily was right in front of me. “So were you truly, genuinely surprised?” she asked eagerly as she pulled up a chair and plopped down next to me.

I nodded. “Um, yes. Yes, I definitely was.”

“Lady Azura was a huge help,” Lily prattled on. “She and I talked about what your favorite cupcakes were, and what food we'd have, and of course your dad wanted to help too, and he suggested he take you to the aquarium today because what would I have done if you'd just shown up at my door?”

“I had no idea,” I said. “I was so thrown off because I . . . I thought you and Miranda went shopping for Jayden's present yesterday!”

“We did, but we went shopping
with
him, not
for
him! He needed help picking something out for you!”

I sat back, stunned. “Oh. I thought—” I thought back on the chain of events of the past few days. Now it all made sense.

Lily's face grew serious, and she scooted her chair closer. “You of
all
people are not an easy person to surprise,” she said in a low voice.

Just then Jayden loped over. “Hey,” he said, grinning. “Recovered yet?”

Lily jumped up. “Got to go help Mom unload the cupcakes from the car,” she said, and raced away.

Jayden occupied the chair Lily had given up. “So, were you surprised?”

“Just a little!” I said, laughing.

He laughed too, and then held out a small wrapped box. He pushed it toward me. “Here,” he said. “I got you a little birthday present. No big deal or anything. Just a little something.”

I was so glad I had a present for him too. “Well, I got you something too, because I was the only one who didn't get the memo that this party wasn't for you!” I said, placing my wrapped picture in front of him.

He grinned. “You first,” he said.

I had to stop myself from tearing away the paper. Instead I calmly peeled away the paper to reveal a small brown box. Inside was a charm. Of a soccer ball.

“To remember me by,” he said. “They had all these charms, and I wasn't sure which one you would like best, so I chose the soccer ball because that's my favorite sport. Remember the times you took pictures of me playing?”

I smiled shyly and nodded. “Thanks,” I said. Little did Jayden know, I had joined the school paper as a sports photographer just so I could take pictures of him playing! Blushing slightly, I showed him the bracelet Lily had given me.

“Yeah, I know. We all went shopping together,” he said. “Good thing, too, or I would have picked you up some dumb thing, like golf clubs or something.”

The charm had a little clasp on it so I was able to hook it right onto my bracelet.

“Your turn,” I said after I held my wrist out so we could both admire the new charm dangling from my bracelet.

He tore off the paper and stared at the picture.

“This is awesome,” he said quietly. “You did this?”

I nodded, trying to read his expression. What did he really think? What if he thought it was too personal? Too silly? Maybe his friends would tease him about it. Maybe it was not what normal girlfriends gave to normal boyfriends. . . .

“This is like, totally, completely awesome. I can't wait to show it to the guys over there. I'm going to be reading about you in the art section of the paper in a few years,” he said, marveling at the picture. “You're really talented.”

“Thanks,” I said, feeling myself blush up to the roots of my hair.

My dad and Mrs. Randazzo carried out a big stack of pizza boxes, and everyone ate pizza for the next half hour. I moved through the throngs of people to talk with Lady Azura, who had parked herself primly in one of the booths. She sat there looking like a queen surveying her subjects, dressed up for the party in a bright-blue flowered dress with matching high-heeled shoes. Crimson lipstick and purple and blue eye shadow completed the look.

“I really appreciate your coming,” I said to her.

She nodded, a little smile playing on her lips. “It has been a rather dramatic week, has it not? You have been through a lot. I am happy it was able to end this way.”

“Thanks for all your help,” I said, reaching down and pulling out the crystal I was still wearing around my neck. My charm bracelet tinkled pleasantly.

“You helped yourself, my dear. I simply provided some guidance along the way.”

And then the lights dimmed, and Lily's mom came out, carrying a huge platter of cupcakes. One had a candle. And everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to me.

It was an amazing party. I was the happiest I'd felt in ages. Pretty much everyone I loved was in one room, gathered there for me. I couldn't remember ever feeling so special.

While people were finishing their cupcakes, laughing and talking, I looked for Lily. Something she had said to me before, about how hard it was to surprise me, was nagging at me. I wanted to see her and check in and just make sure everything was okay. I was fairly certain I was reading too much into the comment . . . but I needed to know for sure.

I found her standing near her mother, stacking dirty cups to recycle. I took her by the arm and led her to a quiet corner.

“Hey, Lil? What did you mean before? About me of all people being hard to surprise?”

She suddenly grew uncharacteristically serious, her face scrunched up in thought. “Well, you know, the biggest problem with surprise parties is that you have to be so mean to the person you're planning to surprise. You have to pretend that nobody cares about her, or remembers her birthday, or that they're all too busy to spend any time with her on her birthday. I felt so terrible pretending I didn't care that this was your birthday. It was actually Jayden's idea to pretend that the party was for him. Because I knew there was no way you wouldn't notice that I was getting ready for
some
type of party. Or someone would slip up and mention the party on Saturday in your presence. I thought that was a rather brilliant suggestion on his part.”

I nodded, feeling totally relieved.
She didn't mean anything by that comment,
I thought to myself. “It was totally brilliant.”

“And then,” Lily continued, “there was the added challenge that it was you.”

The feeling of relief froze in my chest. A shudder eddied up and down my spine. “Why did that make a difference?” I asked cautiously.

“Well, because of, you know—” Here she dropped her voice and leaned in so only I would hear. “Because of your
abilities
. I know you can do things, Sara. You don't need to keep pretending. I
am
your best friend, after all.”

I looked at her, stunned. Had she just said what I thought she'd said? Did she really know about my powers?

One look at her face told me that she did.

 

I felt different today, and I didn't know why.

Was it that I was wrapped in a little girl's princess comforter and matching
pink sheets? Was it the always-present warmth that filled Lily's house? For some reason,
I felt younger. Watched over. Part of my best friend's family.

I liked the feeling.

I snuggled under Lily's little sister's comforter, as the morning sun poked
through the eyelet-lace curtains and formed kaleidoscope patterns on the walls. Every
window in the Randazzos' huge Victorian house was draped with the same curtains. Lily
hated them. Too frilly. Not cool. But I liked how the curtains were all alike. They made
the big house cozy.

So unlike my own house.

My house creaked with strange noises. The air hung damp and chilly, and,
although Dad and Lady Azura were always there with me, it never felt cozy, because we
were never alone. There were others. Some came and went, while others lingered. Not
everyone could see them, but I always knew they were there.

Who were they? you might be wondering.

Ghosts.

“Do you know what I'm thinking?” Lily asked, her long, dark hair falling in a
tangle around her face. Her big brown eyes glinted mischievously at me from across the
room.

“No.” I stifled a yawn. We'd stayed up really late talking. Mostly about
Jayden, my sort of kind of first boyfriend, who had recently moved back to Atlanta. Did
that make him my ex-boyfriend? I had wondered. But according to Lily, since Jayden and I
were never officially going out, we never officially broke up when he moved. We just
sort of said good-bye and promised to keep in touch. We'd been texting off and on, but
it wasn't the same. Lily was convinced I'd meet a new boy in no
time . . . she managed to change her crushes practically
weekly . . . but I wasn't so sure. It had taken me twelve years to meet
one Jayden. What were the odds I'd meet another one anytime soon?

I pushed myself up and faced Lily, who was stretching in her bed. Lily's
four-year-old sister, Cammie, gave me her bed whenever I slept over. She always made a
big drama of it, but I knew Cammie was secretly thrilled. My bed takeover was the
perfect excuse to spend the night tucked between her parents.

“Come on,” Lily scoffed. “You so know what I'm thinking, Sara.” She raised her
thick eyebrows and gave me a knowing stare.

I gulped. I'd thought we were done with that. “I don't know.”

“Try harder,” Lily coaxed. “Focus.”

“I can't do that anymore,” I protested. “The mind reading was a one-time
thing. Really,” I insisted. “I hate talking about this.”

“Whoa!” Lily raised her arms in protest. “I was totally not going there. I was
just thinking how we should challenge my lame little brothers to a pancake-eating
contest. That's all.”

“Oh.” Color flamed my cheeks. I felt heat rise around my ears.

Lily swung her legs onto the floor. “You should trust me. I mean, I promised
to never mention the mind reading, right?”

“I'm sorry,” I said lamely. And I was. Truly. Lily had been my best friend
ever since I'd moved to Stellamar last year. She'd stuck by me through a lot of weird
stuff and never questioned me. I knew she was the real deal. Lily was loyal and never
judged me. “You always keep promises,” I told her. “I'm just really tired. And hungry. I
bet I can down more pancakes than you.”

“You're on!” Lily hurried out the door with me at her heels. And like that, my
weirdness was forgotten. As always.

Recently, right before my birthday, she'd figured out I could read people's
minds. She'd seen it happen, right before her eyes. I avoided talking about it, hoping
and praying she hadn't put it all together . . . but she had, of course.
When she finally asked me about it, I was sure she would flip out. Not want to be my
friend anymore. But when I explained that the mind reading was a borrowed power—a
once-in-a-lifetime, never-to-happen-again strange thing—she vowed to keep it between us.
And she did. She never told Miranda or Avery or Tamara or any of the other girls at our
lunch table, girls she'd known years before I showed up. She kept my secret because we
were best friends.

Sometimes I wonder if I should've trusted her with the whole truth about
me.

The truth is, I can do other things. Other supernatural things. Lots of other
supernatural things. I can still read minds, too, if I wanted to, but I've learned how
to block that power because believe me, it's way more trouble than it's worth. The other
stuff I can't block. I'm not sure anymore that I'd even want to.

I think a lot about telling her, but I'm pretty positive that even she would
be weirded out by what I can do. After all, my powers weird me out.

“Good morning, sleepyheads!” Mr. Randazzo boomed as we entered the kitchen. He
stood at the stove. His wife's frilly floral apron tied haphazardly around his waist was
a stark contrast to his torn jeans and Bruce Springsteen concert T-shirt. “A tall or
short stack?”

“Tall, for sure!” Lily answered for both of us. Cammie was coloring at the
large oak table, and her mother, already dressed for the day in a blue shirtdress, typed
on a laptop next to her. The thump of a ball hitting a baseball glove floated through
the open window. “The little beasts?” Lily asked.

“Yes, your three brothers are already outside causing chaos,” her dad replied
as he furiously whisked pancake batter in a white ceramic bowl.

“Sam! It's getting everywhere!” Mrs. Randazzo cried.

Mr. Randazzo glanced at the batter-splattered counter and shrugged. “That's
what the sponge is for. You see, girls, the secret to great pancakes is the wrist
motion. Quick flicks.” He demonstrated and the batter erupted, dripping over the edge of
the bowl onto the already dirty counter.

Lily's mom started to stand.

“No!” her dad cried. “Lily, make her stay put. It's her day, after all.”