paranormal | book 1 ✓

Chapter One

"Yeah, why do you insist on calling me that?", the dark haired girl asked as she finally turned to look at them. Her chocolate colored eyes danced with amusement. From this position, the sun hit the Cuban girl just right. She was practically glowing. How to describe Penny... She had strong yet delicate features, unique. Full, pouty lips that were always slightly red from being bitten. And when she laughed, it was like music. A beautiful song that you wanted to listen to over and over again. Penny herself was like listening to your favorite song on repeat. You never wanted her to go away.

"Because it's your name, Penelope", Mason answered teasingly, flicking her ear. ( Which was quite difficult, as Penny had rather small ears that only looked large if she tucked her jet black hair behind them. ) To he fair, though, she had told him several times to stop calling her by her full name. "There is no one that I'm closer to than Penny, except maybe my baby sister, of course. Speaking of, where is she?"

"I don't know, it's weird. You two are usually attached at the hip", Penny shrugged. In all her years of knowing the Reynolds Family, she had never seen Mason without Thalia. It just didn't happen.

"Guess that's my next stop then", he mumbled. "Penny was one of the first people I ever had on this channel. She's part of the reason the Mystery Kid became the Mystery Kids. Penny, tell the people something interesting."

"I'm Penny, I'm 21 years old. I have two dads, and I've been friends with Scott since we were five years old. My gift is that I... My gift is that I see death", she shrugged. If you listened closely, you would have heard her mumble under her breath, 'and it's all over this place.' But no one did. The camera didn't quite pick it up. "That's it."

"She pushed me off the swings and I knew then that she was a woman after my own heart", Scott grinned. What could he say? She kept his head on straight. Penny shoved him, mumbling something along the lines of 'you ass.' At this point though, he was more focused on the dog behind her. "Bodie!", he cheered. The Australian Shepherd immediately jumped up to give him a wet kiss, bushy tail wagging. "This is my dog, Bodie. Thalia keeps trying to steal him, but I guarantee you he's mine — my name is on his adoption papers. Someday I'll just get her her own dog. Speaking of Thalia, let's go find her."

Off to the other side of the van was Thalia Reynolds, who was already pulling him into a tight embrace. The Reynolds siblings were inseparable. Could you expect any less? They had a great childhood, always pushed to do things together. To share the spotlight. To love each other. And they did. "This is my baby sister, Thalia", Scott laughed. "Baby by a year, that is. She lucked out in the looks department, she looks a lot like our mom. Thal can communicate with mythical and spiritual creatures of all kinds."

"Wow, I can do my own introductions!", Thalia huffed. Still, her big blue eyes sparkled. She shared that trait with her mother. Her features were strong, but not like her brother's. Her jawline was much more delicate. Otherwise, you'd mistake them for twins. Same thick brows, full lips, and dark brown hair. And all three of them, if you were wondering, had charming smiles. "Where's Bodie?" Scott looked at the camera with an 'I told you so' look.

"In the van. Mason and I are gonna take him back to Pops later. Now tell the people something cool, since you wanna whine."

"I'm cooler than my brother", Thalia said simply. "I'm captain of the cheer team. And the swim team. And the basketball team."

"She's captain of everything", Mason interrupted from behind the camera. "Overachiever." He was only teasing. Mason was actually very proud of his older cousin. It payed to have notches under your belt. He couldn't imagine them ever doing anything else, but if Thalia decided to get a normal job, they would surely appreciate the leadership skills.