The four stood on the sand while staring at a bike shack.
"A bike shack right where my house used to be!" Reggie complained, letting out a sigh.
Odette pointed to where another house had been. "Looks like they made the Meyersons' house into a noodle shop."
"Why couldn't they have made mine into a pizzeria or something?"
Odette shrugged. "Not sure. Hopefully my parents haven't moved."
Alex glanced at her. "Maybe not. You did live near Luke."
"I guess our folks are gone," Reggie said.
Alex let out a sad sigh. "No, everyone's gone. Twenty-five years gone!"
Odette sniffled. "At least you guys were together when you died. I was all alone. I had no one. Uh, family, friends, Bobby, everyone. Speaking of Bobby, I wonder what he's doing."
"I guess that vegetarian lucked out," Reggie replied. "What do you think happened to him?"
The ghosts shrugged before Luke said, "He probably just got old and moved in like everyone else."
Alex frowned. "Dude, how are you so casual about this? Don't you want to figure out what happened?"
"Let's be real for a second. It's not like we were that close to our families; not like Odette was. Reggie, your parents were a fight away from a divorce! Alex, I - your parents were never cool after you told them you were gay. I ran away from my family. The only one who had a stable home was Odette."
"None of us, except Odette, had it great! All right? But at least we had something. You know what we have to do now?" Luke opened his mouth to speak.
Alex cut him off. "And before you say cool teleportation skills, just so you know, I'm not entirely okay with that either. All right, it tingles in weird places!"
Luke chuckled softly and Odette shook her head before saying, "A little too much information, Alex."
Luke got up from the log as he said, "I'll tell you what we've had since the day we came together. Guys, we have us. And we're the only family we're ever gonna need. You know what else we have?"
"I'm gonna guess death breath," Reggie replied, causing Odette to giggle.
"Our music, you dork!" Luke chuckled. "We have music, you guys. People can actually hear us play! They can't see us, fine. But they can feel us! If I had my guitar, I'd play for all these people right now. Just like we used to at the pier."
"They can't tip if they can't see," Alex told him.
Odette shook her head. "The money isn't what matters."
Luke nodded. "She's right. It's about playing music, connecting with people! Making a difference in their day! I just wish I had my guitar." He whipped around as a guitar appeared in his hands.
"Whoa," Odette breathed. "Rad."
"How did you do that?" Reggie wondered.
"I don't know," Luke replied. "I mean, I wished for it and then it came into my hands."
Reggie closed his eyes. "I wish I had a puppy. A hamster? Pizza?!"
Odette patted Reggie's shoulder sympathetically. "Maybe next time, Reg."
Luke glanced between them. "Hey, I think I know something that will cheer you up!" He began strumming.
Alex tapped his chest to a beat. "Come on, Reginald! Come on, Odette!"
"A one, two, three, four!"
The four broke into song.
They jumped on a giant piece of driftwood before running off the sand.
All four skipped around as people began dancing to the music. Odette smiled. Though she technically had recently joined the band, it felt good to perform and to be noticed; in a way.
Reggie stood on a table as they continued singing.
They laughed as they danced and walked up to a man and woman and the man said, "You won't find the speaker. It's direct spot audio. I heard about it in a Ted Talk."
"Yee-haw!" Alex cried.
The four ran down the patch of grass near the beach and scatted as Luke played guitar. They laughed as they began walking.
JULIE'S ROOM
Luke stood on a stool as he looked at a white box. Alex studied a picture of a girl and her mother. He guessed it was of Julie and her mother. As he tried to pick it up, his hand phased through it.
Reggie made blanket sheet angels with a contended smile on Julie's bed and Odette laughed softly as she watched him.
Julie walked in and yelled, "What are you guys doing?"
Alex spoke in a high-pitched voice. "Umm..."
"Umm..." Reggie repeated.
"This can't happen," Julie told them. "It's creepy. Get off my bed."
Reggie sprung to his feet and stood next to Odette.
Luke raised his hand. "Hey, Julie. What's in the box?"
"That's off limits," Julie replied.
"Oh, oh, okay, girl stuff."
Odette glared at him. "Maybe it's just personal, private stuff. Need I remind you I had a box like that that you guys wanted to snoop in."
"Right. I must've forgotten."
"Oh, like butterflies and glitter?" Reggie asked.
Julie narrowed her eyes. "It's none of your business, and yes, there might be some glitter."
Odette smiled. "Glitter isn't always a bad thing. Messy, but fun."
"Hey!" Alex exclaimed as he picked up the picture. "I actually picked something up!" It fell from his hands onto Julie's bed. "I dropped it."
Odette pointed to the picture. "Is that your mom?"
"Yes, and it's my favorite picture of us. You break it, I'll break you," Julie retorted.
"Okay, well, sorry, 'cause we're kind of unbreakable at this point," Alex said.
"So you guys can pick up guitars and each other but you can't pick up other stuff?"
"Yeah, something like that."
Reggie smiled and said, "Check out what I learned today. It's super easy." He fell backwards onto a beanbag with his bass and a grunt.
"Yeah, super easy," Julie said.
"It's like I thought. Our instruments are attached to our souls," Luke explained.
"Hey," Julie's dad greeted. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Julie replied.
Her dad nodded. "Okay, I thought I heard you talking to someone."
"Nope, just my laptop that I just closed."
"If you need anything-"
"Yeah, thanks."
Julie's dad left and Reggie said, "Your dad seems like the type of guy to barbecue. I bet he has a great ribs recipe."
Odette snickered before saying, "I miss ribs. I wish I could eat ribs again." She pouted and let out a sad sigh.
Reggie took her hand. "Then we'll have to find a way to get you some ribs, Etty."
"Etty?" Julie repeated, looking between Reggie and Odette.
Reggie grinned. "My nickname for her. We're not together, if that's what you're wondering. Not yet anyway."
"Can ghosts even date?"
Odette tilted her head. "Who knows? Interesting experiment. I'll let you know if I have one."
Julie looked between them and said, "I don't know. But if you guys wanna talk to me, we have to do it in the studio. He's worried about me enough as it is."
"He seems chill," Luke replied. "You should just tell him about us."
Alex turned and Reggie and Odette shared a look as Julie said, "You're kidding, right?" Luke's smile dropped.
Julie turned and sighed before facing the ghosts again. "This past year, everyone's been watching over me, being super nice, as if they're waiting for me to snap. If I tell my dad I met a ghost band, I'll be back to talking to Dr. Turner three days a week."
"Yeah, you probably shouldn't tell him," Luke agreed, making his way back to the box.