7 || Operation First Kiss

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For most of my life, time has always seemed slow

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For most of my life, time has always seemed slow. Staring at the clock and only one minute passed, slow. School seemed to go on forever, and afterwards felt even more never-ending.

I thought maybe it was my punishment for wishing the days away to get me closer to Yale — my new start.

When it was Monday, I wished for Friday. I just kept repeating it until I slipped into a state of nothingness. I didn't want to talk. Didn't want to hang out. Didn't want to do anything that involved others. Nothing could snap me from my funk.

My dad usually kept me on track, and without him, I've been struggling. He believed I could change the world. That I had so much purpose, and promise, and I just needed to know what to do with it. I needed to figure out how to unlock that part of myself.

But over the last few days, time flew. And time never flies for me. For the first time, I wasn't in a rush to get home. People were talking to me, and not to call me names. I got compliments, thanks to Leo's remarkable sense of style. And we unlocked a new power for him. If he thinks hard enough, and I mean realllllly hard, he can change his outfit. We celebrated with dumplings and crab Rangoon while he possessed my meat suit. I know, cringe. I'm getting used to it.

I'm sure I gained fifteen pounds.

Moral of the story? I felt something, not sure what, but it wasn't invisible. Not dust, either.

Is it possible for two people — well, a ghost and human — to bond so quickly? We're like gum on the bottom of a shoe. I can't function without him because his presence takes my hatred away. It makes me look forward to the future. He reads me to sleep since he doesn't need that function. Last night, he read Moby Dick, but I was fast asleep before page ten.

Even though he's always by my side, I kicked him out while I get ready for the party. The party I can't believe I'm having. And I'm nervous. So nervous to where I'm sweating in really weird places and nothing is going right.

"So stupid! Curling is easy, they said. Just clamp your hair and turn," I say sarcastically, giving the same piece another go. And... it's a fail. "What the hell! Screw you."

As I'm having meltdown number three, I hear my door creak. I don't turn around. "Leo! Privacy, remember? Thought I told you that I'll give you the bat signal when I'm ready."

"Leo, huh? He's coming?" In a millisecond, I drop the curling iron and turn around to see Amara in my doorway. I'm just as shocked as she is. Maybe even more.

Her slim, athletic figure looks great in the bright red dress she has on. There's a bow that ties in the low cutting front and a ruffle hemline.

My eyes are wide, and my mouth opens to close. "Sorry. I thought you were him. But I don't know. He might." I shrug, trying to play it off. No questions, the better.

Of course, he'll be here, but in spirit. With me. Listening to Leo, he was a party boy when he was alive. Well liked, and popular. This party can be fun for him. Give him a taste of what he's missing, and maybe he won't feel so secluded. So... dead.

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