CHAPTER 14

FIRST TIMES

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I saw Irsia and Aiden at the threshold of the hallway. Aiden kept smiling at me for no reason I could even assume. He kept mocking me with a slender smile. I started to smile back at him because I saw Fiona in a gait which I befittingly judged to be titillating. Irsia sensed my mischief. She turned around to see Fiona walking toward Aiden. She raised her eyebrows in a sudden, whimsical savvy, and she laughed, too. Fiona, Elec and I reached Aiden and Irsia almost at the same time. Fiona had somehow brought the same white flannel shirt that I wore on Monday. I threw myself a pink cardigan and a black pair of jeans because the weather wasn't helping my cold.

Elec's caramel kaftan looked too good. Fiona would buy that same top very soon. Irsia was wearing a sporty green tank top paired with her favorite ice blue jeans and her black shrug with tufty threads. Her hair always amazed me. Elec and Irsia wore the same color pants and they hollered 'coincidence much?' Aiden and I laughed at seeing them holler like that. It was a stupid habit that we had developed over the years. Apparently, a lot of heads turned at us. But who cared? It wasn't a crime. We were just being happy. And crazy. Girls could do that!

"Hey... the girl who got touched by the ghost," Aiden greeted, totally oblivious of the eavesdropper.

"Come on, Aiden. Stop using game jargon here." Elec improvised.

"The girl who got touched by the ghost? What does that mean?" Oh my! Fiona was being pig-headed about it.

"Uhhh...," Aiden dragged, shocked to see Fiona standing next to him. I was so quelling my laughter at his reaction.

"It's an online game where we battle ghosts and demons." Irsia was so effortless.

"Oh really?" She mocked. "A game just too perfect for you girls."

"Mind you. Aiden loves to play it." I had to say that to see her reaction and it worked. She looked thrown off.

"Aiden, you play online games? I'd love to join you," Fiona sounded a little less bitchy and more chirpy.

"Yeah... I used to like to play but you know, I'm suddenly bored... er... to play... online games...," he dragged the words in an uncomfortable tone and gave his best indifferent shrug to escape.

"What are you talking about? You were such a pro yesterday. You should play with Fiona." I used my free pass to banter efficiently. He deserved it.

"Well, I think it would be interesting to play online games with you." She garnished her come-hither statement with batting eyes.

Irsia and I couldn't stop giggling. Elec looked stunned by what had just happened. Fiona took a look at Elec's leg. Oh! Lord! That would just give a stir at her deviant curiosity with Elec.

"Alpha's ankle is hurt," Fiona stated in a bored intonation.

"Yeah... I saw something disgusting like you and I fell." Elec and her answers. Damn! I wished I could talk like her at times.

Fiona took a step forward, as if she dared to slap Elec. She looked like she was going to jump on top of Elec. Elec was not one bit scared of her. Elec just stood there with her usual
uncompromisingly downright daunting attitude.

Aiden interrupted, "as much as I love to watch the unremitting retorts and insults shot back and forth, Fiona, it's time for you to leave." He looked very sincere. The problem was, Fiona would only take it as a sign of adoration from Aiden. Her parting look at Aiden proved my guesswork was accurate. She made a beeline for the classroom.

"What just happened? Is she really that into him?" Elec scoffed, aghast at Fiona's obedience to Aiden's order.

"Oh... you have no idea." Irsia sweetly snickered. "They might become an item." I watched Aiden, as composed as ever.

"I've got something to tell you. Something related to what happened yesterday," Aiden began.

"Okay... but not now. It's time. Let's go to class first," Irsia interrupted, running in front of us to the class. Damn! She and her time calculations. She had schedules for every little thing for each day and she almost finished everything on time.

"I can't tell now anyway. It's really big," Aiden yelled, which she completely ignored and ran ahead of us to the class. "It's huge," Aiden mouthed the words to me, and it caused a rustling in my expensive peacefulness.

"What do you mean huge?" I had to ask because I was the one the ghost touched.

"Huge..." He grinned.

After math and chem., we had English. I had until Monday to submit the assignment. Whenever Mrs. Moore took class, she made someone from the class read the paragraphs from the prose to her, and then she would explain. I was dying for my chance to read. My friends knew that I adored her. As she looked around the class to pick one of the students to read a paragraph, I would sit erect and look straight at her. My turn was already over, but still I had to do something for her to notice me. Irsia gave me a weird look. I didn't care. As the period came to a halt, I packed my bag, swung it over my shoulder, and walked to our usual table for lunch. We sat down opening our lunches and I was looking at Aiden and I kept looking at Aiden. I was curious about what he had to say.

Usually, it would be Irsia who would dig up facts and connections when something happened. It was odd this time. Elec and I sat facing Irsia and Aiden.

"So...," I dragged. I kept looking at him. He was busy opening his lunch.

"You yelled that you had something big to tell us," Irsia asked, swallowing her food.

As he opened his mouth, Irsia stopped him and gestured at him to stay silent. I followed her eyes and turned my neck so hard just to see Fiona stalking us. She was sitting right behind me.

"Do you think she can hear us?" Aiden asked.

"You have no idea." It was a trio thing.

"So, when do I tell you? It's important and it's big. It wouldn't be easy for me to explain and for you to comprehend in a four way phone call with all the questions Irsia would be asking."

"Hey, I make things clearer for others by asking questions," Irsia fired back.

I was angry with Fiona. I wouldn't give the benefit of the doubt that she and her two friends sat at that table as a coincidence. She was so determined to find out every move of us. I was not even sure if we had a move.

"We can meet up at my home." Irsia offered.

"Thanks, Irsia. But I am trying to stay out of trouble," I muttered under my breath, trying not to spit the food out.

"How about we meet in your home, Margo?" Aiden asked. His jesting tone was such an irk.

"Thanks, Aiden. But I am trying to stay out of trouble," I growled, staring at him.

He chuckled. This guy was suddenly irritating me when I always tried to defend him whenever Elec yelled at him.

"We can meet up at my home." Elec offered. That was a shock because the plan included Aiden, too. Aiden looked flabbergasted.

"Cool. You know this is the first time you are inviting me to your home," Aiden uttered out loud. I knew immediately that Elec would give him a slap-in-the-face answer.

"And this would be the last time."

Yup... I was right.

I turned to see if Fiona was still sitting behind me. It looked like she and her friends had finished eating. Her close friends were Monica Garcia and Regan Carter. Monica was new to school, just like Aiden was. They both moved into Ostonn Newvale around the same time. Monica Garcia and Sophie Garcia were cousins. 

I had to get new digits for my phone. Phone was a basic necessity with everything that was going on. My parents seemed the least concerned about it. After school, I reshelved the books at the library and Elec waited for me to return. Irsia and Aiden had left. Irsia would never miss her run after school. She was so into fitness and stuff. After reshelving, I wanted to go through the headlines of today's newspaper to check if there were any updates on Desiree and Declan Gardiner. As I reshelved the books, I saw Mrs. Wilder talking to someone over the phone. I guessed it must be Mr. Wilder, who was the chief doctor of the CONMISUM protection facility. It was a quarter to 5 PM. It took me an extra five minutes to arrange the books. Elec strolled into the library.

"Are you done? I'm hungry." She looked tired.

"How's your ankle?" I asked, arranging the last of the books.

"Better. I don't think I need to go to the hospital." She did a little dance, moving her ankle and foot. The swelling was gone. I laughed at her dancing like that.

"I have to take one quick look at the newspaper and then we'll leave."

"Why? You wanna read about the CONMISDUM and the ghouls?"

"I wanna read if there is anything about Desiree."

She walked up to the table where the newspapers were splayed and brought it to me while I finished arranging the last of the books. We sat at a table near the window, and the wind was so frigid that it sent me thousands of goosebumps on my hands and nape. I liked the chill wind and the rain, just not now. The newspaper said nothing about Desiree or her brother Declan. There was news about 3 people missing from Ironwyn. Ironwyn was where my grandma lived. People were getting more and more scared and they were on high alert not to befriend anyone new in case they were infected.

There were also grave diggings and bodies were missing in Ironwyn. The surveillance cameras in the graveyards were of no use. Some of the cameras caught the figures digging up the graves. There wasn't enough evidence to prove that these were done by people who were infected with CONMISDUM, and there wasn't enough evidence to prove that these were done by ghouls. People who were working to catch whoever was digging the graves were severely injured when they tried to catch the grave robbers. People were just not ready to find out who was digging the graves. Everyone pretty much stayed home at night. The news announced an official curfew at 9PM starting today till they catch the ones that were stealing the corpses. There were theories that some evil cult was practicing cannibalism, but who'd know the exact answer? Who could prove that it was the ghouls, or if it was a cult, or if it was the aliens, or if it was the government doing something inexplicably shady? Were we even ready for the answer, even if someone could actually prove that anyone of these theories were true?

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