Dancing with the Dead ✔

Chapter Twenty - Ghost High

Remember when I said I want to prove John's innocence? Well, first, I have to find him—or rather his spirit.

A few days ago, I heard rumors swirling around the town about how Casa Nova High is haunted. A member of the basketball team supposedly heard the sound of balls being dribbled on the ground and hitting the ring at midnight. God knows what the kid was doing in school at midnight. But by the time he got to the school gym, he saw the ball flying by itself and entering the hoop. Rumor has it he ran straight to the cops where he's thought as either drunk, high, or—well—crazy.

Normally, I'm not one to buy such rumors, especially since most of them are usually jokes perpetrated by jocks trying to scare their girlfriends. But, since I am currently looking for a missing ghost, I thought it wouldn't hurt to give it a peek. That's why when Claire offered me a ticket to tonight's basketball game, I immediately said yes.

I thought there wouldn't be many spectators tonight, especially teenagers, since the authorities declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew for all students under the age of 18 as a result of the murder of Jill St. John. But judging from the super long queue to enter the school's gym, I'm proven wrong.

"Ticket, please?" the young girl sitting behind the desk asks with a polite smile on her face.

"Here you go." I take out the ticket from my pocket and return the smile when I give the ticket to her. She rips it in half, keeping one part and returning the other to me.

The man queueing behind me seems to be impatient as he pushes me forward. With a slight frown on my face, I glance over my shoulder only to see a bunch of teenagers with their faces painted navy blue and white. The pattern aren't all the same; some has stripes while others have checkered pattern painted on their faces. Judging by the colors, they must be Casa Nova High's supporters. With a huff, I brush them off and enter the gym.

I stop and scan the vast room to search for Claire and Shawn, something which seems impossible to do among this huge crowd. It takes me a while until I find them sitting on the right side of the court. Relieved, I start walking towards them. But in my haste, I accidentally bump into a man. Some of the cold coffee from the cup he's holding is spilled on my t-shirt.

"Oh shit! I'm really sorry!" the man says, sounding really nervous.

My eyes are still fixated to the stain on my white, favorite t-shirt, continuously thinking how hard it is to get rid of the stain while cursing the man in my head. "It's fine, it's fine," I say, although my tone might suggest differently.

"I am really, really sorry. Uhm... Here." He hands a tissue to me.

"Thanks." I take the tissue and start drying the coffee dripping on my tee. As I look up to flash a polite smile, I let out a small gasp and my eyes widen in horror.

What...? How...? Who is he?

The jacket he's wearing... it's the exact jacket I saw during the vision. A satin navy-blue varsity jacket with white stripes around the wrists and collar. Then my eyes are drawn to the small logo on the upper right side of the jacket, a pair of golden eagle wings with a large 'Eagle' word stamped under it.

"Hey... Are you okay?"

I gape in shock as I slowly drag myself backward, trying to get away from him. My hands start trembling while I brace myself to look at the eyes of the killer. The clean-shaven man is of medium built, about five feet ten and quite lean. He doesn't look much older than me, and from afar he looks like an ordinary everyday man. There's nothing distinctive about this man. But then again, the man in my vision looked ordinary too.

"Miss? Are you okay?" My nervousness must've shown on my face because the man becomes perplexed.

Calm down, Alexis. He doesn't know who you are.