said.
“She came to your room?”
“I don’t know. I thought it was a dream. I was asleep.”
We ran next to one another for a bit and I considered if I should tell him about Evan being there and how I could visit him. Instead I asked, “Can ghosts feel temperatures?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Weird that she knew your room was so hot.”
He nodded and a puff of smoke came out of his mouth. “I asked her if she knew the other ghost. The man. She didn’t seem to have any idea what I was talking about.”
“So, basically, you had a totally unhelpful talk with a ghost.”
“Pretty much.”
I sighed. “I’ll try to do some research, but I’m not sure what all I can dig up on this one. Maybe we just need to try to convince her to move on.”
“After a century or so? Doubtful.”
Annoyed that Connor didn’t offer any of his own ideas, I picked up my pace and put my headphones back in. He caught up quickly, but kept quiet. We jogged side by side for a couple of miles until we looped back toward the dorm. When the building came in sight he said, “Jane?”
I turned down the music.
“I’m sorry about the other day – before break. That was really inappropriate.”
I kept my eyes forward. “No harm done.”
“It was rude. I know you’re dating Louis and that’s not cool.”
“Yeah, I didn’t tell him if that’s what you want to know.”
“You didn’t?” he asked.
We neared the dorm and I slowed to a walk. “No. We only had so much time together and I didn’t really want to spend it talking about you.”
“Oh.”
“Thanks for the run,” I said, catching my breath. “I would have slept in if you hadn’t texted.”
He smirked. “I know.”
I play-punched him in the arm. “Since when did you become the responsible one between the two of us?”
“People change,” he said, walking away backwards. “Sometimes for the better.”
I was well aware that people changed. I just needed to know if it was going to stick. For good.
*
Procrastination sucked for my classwork, but it was perfect for mindlessly researching ghostie stuff on the Internet. I started by searching the dorm address. Until recently, it was a hotel. This made it easier to find basic information. Unfortunately, most of it focused on the conversion done by the college.
I entered variations of Hazel’s name and came up empty. I added a couple of other terms: child, murder, armed gunman, but nothing surfaced. Nothing related to her at least.
A slew of strange stories popped up though. Disappearances. One woman gave birth to healthy twins in the bathroom. Numerous police calls. The most bizarre was a spontaneous combustion in a third floor bathroom. Weird stuff, but nothing that seemed relevant to Hazel.
I closed the laptop in frustration. Leaving Ava a note, I grabbed my coat and headphones, locking the door behind me.
“Oh, sorry,” I said, pulling up short so I didn’t bump into Denise, one of the girls on the hall. She’d just exited the bathroom.
“No problem,” she said, walking past me, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
“Hey, girl, what’s up?” Amber asked, also coming out of the bathroom.
“Not much.”
“I’ve been meaning to tell you, I keep running into your ex.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yep,” she said, raising her eyebrows and biting her bottom lip. “I had this idea for my design project and I needed a tagger. His name came up.”
“Ah, right.” I took a couple steps down the hallway, attempting an escape. No luck. She followed close behind. “Connor’s definitely talented in the art of tagging.”
“I know. His stuff is really great.”
“He showed you his sketchbook and photos?”
“Yes, but then I asked to see the real deal,” she grinned. “He took me to see his current work. He’s staked out some area down near the beach. I’m hoping we can go back again.”
“Sounds awesome.” I fake-checked the time on my phone. I’m not jealous that he’d taken
“She came to your room?”
“I don’t know. I thought it was a dream. I was asleep.”
We ran next to one another for a bit and I considered if I should tell him about Evan being there and how I could visit him. Instead I asked, “Can ghosts feel temperatures?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Weird that she knew your room was so hot.”
He nodded and a puff of smoke came out of his mouth. “I asked her if she knew the other ghost. The man. She didn’t seem to have any idea what I was talking about.”
“So, basically, you had a totally unhelpful talk with a ghost.”
“Pretty much.”
I sighed. “I’ll try to do some research, but I’m not sure what all I can dig up on this one. Maybe we just need to try to convince her to move on.”
“After a century or so? Doubtful.”
Annoyed that Connor didn’t offer any of his own ideas, I picked up my pace and put my headphones back in. He caught up quickly, but kept quiet. We jogged side by side for a couple of miles until we looped back toward the dorm. When the building came in sight he said, “Jane?”
I turned down the music.
“I’m sorry about the other day – before break. That was really inappropriate.”
I kept my eyes forward. “No harm done.”
“It was rude. I know you’re dating Louis and that’s not cool.”
“Yeah, I didn’t tell him if that’s what you want to know.”
“You didn’t?” he asked.
We neared the dorm and I slowed to a walk. “No. We only had so much time together and I didn’t really want to spend it talking about you.”
“Oh.”
“Thanks for the run,” I said, catching my breath. “I would have slept in if you hadn’t texted.”
He smirked. “I know.”
I play-punched him in the arm. “Since when did you become the responsible one between the two of us?”
“People change,” he said, walking away backwards. “Sometimes for the better.”
I was well aware that people changed. I just needed to know if it was going to stick. For good.
*
Procrastination sucked for my classwork, but it was perfect for mindlessly researching ghostie stuff on the Internet. I started by searching the dorm address. Until recently, it was a hotel. This made it easier to find basic information. Unfortunately, most of it focused on the conversion done by the college.
I entered variations of Hazel’s name and came up empty. I added a couple of other terms: child, murder, armed gunman, but nothing surfaced. Nothing related to her at least.
A slew of strange stories popped up though. Disappearances. One woman gave birth to healthy twins in the bathroom. Numerous police calls. The most bizarre was a spontaneous combustion in a third floor bathroom. Weird stuff, but nothing that seemed relevant to Hazel.
I closed the laptop in frustration. Leaving Ava a note, I grabbed my coat and headphones, locking the door behind me.
“Oh, sorry,” I said, pulling up short so I didn’t bump into Denise, one of the girls on the hall. She’d just exited the bathroom.
“No problem,” she said, walking past me, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
“Hey, girl, what’s up?” Amber asked, also coming out of the bathroom.
“Not much.”
“I’ve been meaning to tell you, I keep running into your ex.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yep,” she said, raising her eyebrows and biting her bottom lip. “I had this idea for my design project and I needed a tagger. His name came up.”
“Ah, right.” I took a couple steps down the hallway, attempting an escape. No luck. She followed close behind. “Connor’s definitely talented in the art of tagging.”
“I know. His stuff is really great.”
“He showed you his sketchbook and photos?”
“Yes, but then I asked to see the real deal,” she grinned. “He took me to see his current work. He’s staked out some area down near the beach. I’m hoping we can go back again.”
“Sounds awesome.” I fake-checked the time on my phone. I’m not jealous that he’d taken
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