all, you are notin Hell.”
“Awesome. Great. Fantastic.” Somehow I can’t drum up any excitement. I may not be destined to writhe in boiling lava, but I’m still dead. That doesn’t exactly inspire me to stand up and jump for joy.
“This is my first time,” Sam admits. His smile turns a little sheepish and it would have been cute, if I was in the mood for cute, which I am definitely not.
“Your first time doing what?” I ask impatiently. I can feel my frustration building. I have never liked not knowing what is going on. I was always that girl, the one who insisted on reading every single rule before starting a new game. The one who asked ten questions when only one would have sufficed. Now I am in some strange place, with a strange boy – because really, how much do I know about Sam other than the fact that he’s lied about everything so far? – and apparently I’m dead.
Talk about not knowing what’s going on.
“It’s my first time guiding someone across,” Sam explains. “That’s why you could see me before. No one else could. Just you. I picked you. Out of everyone else I picked you .” He says it with significance, like the fact that he picked me is some kind of big honor or something. I really don’t care.
“You mean you knew I was going to die? And you didn’t tell me?” I say incredulously. “Didn’t think to warn me the last time you saw me? Give me a little heads up like ‘oh, by the way Win, don’t go out on that lake looking for your brother because you’re going to fall through the ice and DROWN?’” I have to stop and draw in a breath. That in itself is mind boggling. I’m dead, and I still have to breathe. Go figure. “That sucks, Sam. That really, really sucks.”
“Of course I didn’t tell you,” he says, looking aghast at the very idea. “It’s the first rule. You can’t change the lives of the living. It’s the second rule too. Like Fight Club.” His eyes light up. “You know, Fight Club? First rule of Fight Club is you don’t talk about Fight Club. Second rule of Fight Club is you don’t talk about Fight Club.”
I stare at him.
“Oh, come on. You’ve had to have seen it. With Brad Pitt and Edward Norton?”
“Nope.”
He sighs. Shakes his head. “You are seriously missing out.”
“I am dead Sam. I think I’m missing out on a little bit more than some stupid movie.”
“Yeah, well, you should watch it sometime.”
I’m DEAD!”
“So?” He shrugs. “You can still watch movies. You can still get on the computer. Go out to eat. Play sports. You can still do lots of stuff.”
“Sounds like a real blast.”
“There’s no reason to be sarcastic. I’m here to help you. To guide you through the First Level. You’re doing really well so far. You passed the acceptance phase with flying colors.” He smiles at me encouragingly, like I just aced some major test. I bite down on my lip ring. Wiggle it back and forth between my bottom lip and my teeth. Let it go.
“I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.”
Sam sits back in his chair and rubs the side of his face. “I know. I’m sorry. This is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I’m not explaining things very well at all.”
I snort. Talk about the understatement of the year. “You think?”
“You’re not exactly making it easy.”
“Me? You just said I passed the acceptance test thingy with flying colors!”
“The acceptance phase ,” he corrects me. “And cut me some slack. I said this was my first time.”
I could point out it is my first time too – never having been dead before as far as I can remember – but I bite my tongue. Maybe it isn’t the best idea in the world to piss off my guide. Not that Sam is a very good one. Figures I would be stuck with a newb.
Struck with the sudden urge to move around, I stand and walk to the front of the classroom. Squinting one eye, I peer out the small square window in the middle of the door.
I can
“Awesome. Great. Fantastic.” Somehow I can’t drum up any excitement. I may not be destined to writhe in boiling lava, but I’m still dead. That doesn’t exactly inspire me to stand up and jump for joy.
“This is my first time,” Sam admits. His smile turns a little sheepish and it would have been cute, if I was in the mood for cute, which I am definitely not.
“Your first time doing what?” I ask impatiently. I can feel my frustration building. I have never liked not knowing what is going on. I was always that girl, the one who insisted on reading every single rule before starting a new game. The one who asked ten questions when only one would have sufficed. Now I am in some strange place, with a strange boy – because really, how much do I know about Sam other than the fact that he’s lied about everything so far? – and apparently I’m dead.
Talk about not knowing what’s going on.
“It’s my first time guiding someone across,” Sam explains. “That’s why you could see me before. No one else could. Just you. I picked you. Out of everyone else I picked you .” He says it with significance, like the fact that he picked me is some kind of big honor or something. I really don’t care.
“You mean you knew I was going to die? And you didn’t tell me?” I say incredulously. “Didn’t think to warn me the last time you saw me? Give me a little heads up like ‘oh, by the way Win, don’t go out on that lake looking for your brother because you’re going to fall through the ice and DROWN?’” I have to stop and draw in a breath. That in itself is mind boggling. I’m dead, and I still have to breathe. Go figure. “That sucks, Sam. That really, really sucks.”
“Of course I didn’t tell you,” he says, looking aghast at the very idea. “It’s the first rule. You can’t change the lives of the living. It’s the second rule too. Like Fight Club.” His eyes light up. “You know, Fight Club? First rule of Fight Club is you don’t talk about Fight Club. Second rule of Fight Club is you don’t talk about Fight Club.”
I stare at him.
“Oh, come on. You’ve had to have seen it. With Brad Pitt and Edward Norton?”
“Nope.”
He sighs. Shakes his head. “You are seriously missing out.”
“I am dead Sam. I think I’m missing out on a little bit more than some stupid movie.”
“Yeah, well, you should watch it sometime.”
I’m DEAD!”
“So?” He shrugs. “You can still watch movies. You can still get on the computer. Go out to eat. Play sports. You can still do lots of stuff.”
“Sounds like a real blast.”
“There’s no reason to be sarcastic. I’m here to help you. To guide you through the First Level. You’re doing really well so far. You passed the acceptance phase with flying colors.” He smiles at me encouragingly, like I just aced some major test. I bite down on my lip ring. Wiggle it back and forth between my bottom lip and my teeth. Let it go.
“I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.”
Sam sits back in his chair and rubs the side of his face. “I know. I’m sorry. This is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I’m not explaining things very well at all.”
I snort. Talk about the understatement of the year. “You think?”
“You’re not exactly making it easy.”
“Me? You just said I passed the acceptance test thingy with flying colors!”
“The acceptance phase ,” he corrects me. “And cut me some slack. I said this was my first time.”
I could point out it is my first time too – never having been dead before as far as I can remember – but I bite my tongue. Maybe it isn’t the best idea in the world to piss off my guide. Not that Sam is a very good one. Figures I would be stuck with a newb.
Struck with the sudden urge to move around, I stand and walk to the front of the classroom. Squinting one eye, I peer out the small square window in the middle of the door.
I can
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