Tonya Hurley_Ghostgirl_02 by Homecoming Page A

of jealousy as he watched Kaufman handle her, performing the required neurological and motor testing. Damen couldn’t help but think that he’d rather be “playing doctor” with Scarlet than watching the real thing. Kaufman held her lids open, shined his penlight in Scarlet’s eyes, and noted his findings on the ever-present clipboards hanging from each bed.
    For Damen, these three-times-a-day examinations were almost like online updates tracking the arrival of a plane that had been delayed due to bad weather. If there was any improvement in either girls’ condition, it might mean that Scarlet had been successful, that she was closer to returning to him and closer to living than dying.
    “So, what’s the verdict?” Damen said anxiously, pushing for a concrete answer to ease his mind.
    “I’m going to be frank with you,” Dr. Kaufman said.
    “Please,” Damen replied, picking up Scarlet’s hand and holding it tightly.
    “I’m afraid their vitals aren’t as strong as they were yesterday,” Dr. Kaufman said. “And the neurological evaluation is unchanged.”
    “What does that mean?” Damen asked naively, knowing damn well what it meant but not wanting to face it.
    “It appears that both of their conditions are deteriorating,” Dr. Kaufman said cryptically as he initialed the exam sheet, turned, and left the room.
    Damen hung his head over Scarlet and then thought of a million questions he wanted to ask, if only to feel like he was actually doing something. He bolted out of the room after Dr. Kaufman, and saw him dip into another patient’s room at the end of the hall.
    He stopped short of the doorway when he heard soft whimpering coming from inside the room. He peeked in and spied Dr. Kaufman beginning a new exam. Then he saw an agonized couple, hovering hopefully over a beautiful young girl, not more than twelve years old, who appeared to be desperately ill. Damen may not have been a doctor, but he could tell she was in trouble. He felt himself on the verge of tears — for the little girl, for Scarlet, or for himself, he could not be sure.
    Life’s not fair, Damen realized for the first time in his super-popular, super-connected, super-successful existence as he turned and walked back to Petula and Scarlet’s room.
    Scarlet raised her hand just as Ms. Pierce was about to begin her lecture for the day.
    “Yes, Scarlet,” the teacher said, acknowledging her.
    “I was up late reading my Deadiquette book last night and I understand all of it, except for one thing,” Scarlet explained.
    “What’s that?” Ms. Pierce asked.
    “Can you please tell me about ‘Early Decision’?” Scarlet requested, preparing for a negative reaction of some sort from the usually genial school marm.
    Ms. Pierce’s expression hardened slightly, and she seemed at a loss for words momentarily.
    “Early Decision?” she muttered, clearly taken aback. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
    Tilly, Gary, Bianca, and the rest all looked over at Scarlet with bemused looks on their faces, curious about the fact that the new girl had been able to stump Ms. Pierce, who until now seemed to them to be all-knowing.
    “It was in an old Deadiquette book in my room,” Scarlet explained. “The very last page.”
    Scarlet held up the application from the back of the room for Ms. Pierce and the whole class to see.
    “I know what it means,” Polly called out, breaking the silence and putting her two cents in. “It’s when you decide to leave a party before your boyfriend’s real girlfriend gets there.”
    Polly’s analysis sounded a little more biographical than anyone cared to hear and was instantly dismissed by the other students.
    “I think it’s when you have to decide if you’re gonna do a lip trick off a shark tank at the zoo,” Andy interjected, bringing his own daredevil perspective to the discussion.
    “You are both right,” Ms. Pierce said surprisingly. “In a metaphorical way, of course.”
    “Huh?” Scarlet