A Ghost Story

Chapter 2

I texted her while I was driving home. I wrote:

Hi, I got this number from Eileen. My name is Evan. She said you have a haunted house and I like haunted house stories so I would like to know about your haunted house

I accidentally typed a period at the end of it first, but then I deleted it because no one uses periods when they text—or grammar for that matter. I didn't really overthink it beyond that. It wasn't really a big deal to me. I probably wouldn't have even bothered sending a text if it hadn't been May, but it was May and I was feeling a little emotionally confused so I did it anyways, just for the hell of it.

After I sent it, it started to rain a little bit. I drove a convertible blue Honda, so this was a problem for me. It was a present from my grandparents and I was very happy about it. I had gotten my license earlier that year in February.

When I got home, I was slightly damp from the rain, but I didn't even notice it as I felt my phone buzz in my pocket.

Caroline had responded to my text:

Caroline: Meet me at Taco Bell in 5 minutes.

I was really surprised about this. I hadn't even been expecting a text back, let alone that she would invite me to eat food with her. I was also surprised because she had used a period. It made it seem like I had to be there or she would kill me... or maybe just that I had to be there and I overreact to these kinds of things.

Evan: Yes

I had been just about to take my shoes off. I abruptly turned around and walked out the door onto a wall of pouring rain. But I knew I wouldn't have time to put the roof up on my car and still make it on time to Taco Bell. I felt compelled to be there in exactly five minutes and it was five minutes from my house.

So I drove to Taco Bell in the pouring rain in a convertible to hear a ghost story from a girl I had never met before.