- My names jack. I'm 12 years old. I'm living with the Harold family now. My parents? Well there somewhere far away and I'm left here. Mr Harold had gotten a new job and it came with a biiig house! Cool right? Their son, Daniel and I are very close. We do a lot of fun things together. He's 1 year older than me and very funny and sometimes a bit serious. Mr and Mrs Harold however, tend to ignore me and they don't even talk to me. It's ok though, I'm used to it. Many people don't like me and always ignore me. To them, I'm " abnormal ". It's sad but that's just how it is. That doesn't matter now cause I got Daniel with me! At first, he was scared because of how I look but later he opened up to me and now we're besties -

"Jack! " I yell. He's at it again. Writing stuff in my notebook as if its a diary. I enter the room as I button my shirt and see him sitting on my study table with a red book in hand.

"Whaaat?~ I got bored. Thought I'd write an autobiography for you " dimples appear on his cheeks as he says mischievously. I frown and snatch it away from him.

"No thank you. Anyways, I'm late for school see you later "I grin at him and start to put my stuff in my bag while hearing him groan. He always gets bored without me.

"No fair! I wanna go too " He exclaims and stands next to me.

"Jack, you know you cant " before he can say anything else I run out of the room and go downstairs for breakfast.

"Where were you!? I called you countless times! See the clock? It's getting late " moms very loud today. I quickly take a bite of my toast and sip from my glass of milk.

"I was looking for my book" I answer as I gulp.

"I always tell you to keep your things in place! " she says with clear frustration in her voice. She sits down beside me and starts eating her own meal.

"It wasn't me, jack just took it and-" I shut my mouth up quickly and try to ignore my parents stare. I can already feel the tension in the air.

"Again with jack? Stop blaming everything on your imaginary friend" she says with a frown as she stirs her cup of tea.

I nod my head politely as I stare down at my breakfast.

"Hey come on, don't be so harsh on him first thing in the morning. Hey Dan, next time say it was the goblins fault, it'll be more realistic " say dad jokingly which makes me laugh. I can always count on him to lighten the mood.

Mom looks through the window "Dan, the bus is here "

I quietly get up and walk towards the door. As usual, I look up and there he is upstairs, waving goodbye to me. I wave back and exit the house.

That's right. As I think you can already tell, jack isn't human. He's a ghost. And for some reason, I'm the only one who can see him. When we arrived at this house last week, I was seriously terrified to find him in my room. But as time went by I grew closer to him and he became like a brother to me. While taking my seat on the bus I open my bag and take out the book on which he was writing on. It makes me sad how lonely he must have felt all this time. He sometimes calls my dad his dad and yearns for fatherly love. The fact that mom and dad can't see him breaks his heart. He likes to pretend to be " the neglected child " of our family which, I guess for him is better than facing the fact that you're dead. When I asked him how he died, he said he can't remember anything about his life but maybe if he figured it out he'll be able to move on. I always feel like he wants to tell me something. Whatever it is it bothers him a lot.

As I'm consumed in my thoughts, someone smacks a book on my head. I turn my head to see charlie, my friend.

"Penny for your thoughts? " he says.

" Nah, it's nothing " I see my other friends start to arrive. As they sit around me and gossip I wish that jack doesn't move on. All these ' friends ' are fake. They call themselves my friend yet only come to me when they need something and I've often heard them back bitting and calling me a ' cash cow '. Jack is the only one that's real with me. He's my first ever honest friend. I know it's bad but I really wish he stays.

_________________________________________

At night, After finishing my homework I change into my pajamas and prepare to sleep.

" I've been so bored the whole day. Come on, let's do something." jack insists.

" We already played its time for bed, I got school in the morning," I say but jack kept on whining and insisting that we ended up playing cards.

"Dad said something interesting when you were in school," he says as he stares  down at his deck of cards. He has a serious expression on his face.

"What? " I ask him curiously.

"You mentioned me this morning. They are starting to get concerned about your mental health " he said while throwing a five of hearts.

"It was an accident, honestly. I know dad will say something like that. He's rarely at home and I'm not that close to him anymore these days, so he doesn't understand. But seriously, I said that's my mistake. We've been together for a week and a half and it really feels like your part of the family. " I tell him honestly.

"As flattering as that sounds, keep it up and we'll be seeing an asylum in your future " he jokes and waits for his turn.

After the game, I close the lights and lay down to sleep. The one thing I hate about jack is how he'll sit on the desk all night and be in a trance like a statue. It's already a bit scary to have a ghost in your room at night and now he'll either watch me sleep or stare into space.

"Hey," he says suddenly breaking the silence.

"Yeah? "

"You really love dad don't you," he asks while in a trace which makes me feel somewhat uneasy

"Of course, why? Don't you?"

"I do obviously. I'm just....jealous, you know " he says hesitantly with a pained expression on his face.

I understood what he was trying to say. The voice was dripping with sadness and frustration. I really wanted to help him. Then I thought of an idea. It's dumb but worth a shot for jack.

"Jack " I find myself saying. I want him to open up to me completely just like I have to him. I want him to know I'm here for him.

"Hmm ? "

"Is...there something you'd like to tell me? Like, anything bothering you? Anything at all? "

He looks at me and blinks for a second " no, there's nothing. Relax, if anything bothers me, I'll tell you "

I'm not reassured. But I drop it. I hope the time comes when he truly sees me as a friend and open up.