This is the ninth part in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, and Part VIII before continuing.
I take my time finishing my coffee. Since I don’t have to get ready for school, there’s no rush. I reach for my phone out of habit, then remember I left it on my bed when all the electronics in my room went on the fritz at the exact moment I was reading about ghosts doing that.
What was up with that, anyway? Was Addie reading over my shoulder or something? Somehow that pisses me off. It feels like an invasion of my privacy, but then, so is haunting me, so I don’t know why I’m surprised.
Then I remember I’ve been kicked off social media anyway, so I have nothing to scroll through on my phone. I could bury it in a black hole and never see it again and it wouldn’t make any difference.
My head falls back as I let the despair pull me down. I might as well live in a black hole. It’s not like anyone would miss me. Even my dad hates me now.
Out of nowhere a vision hits me. I’m lying on the ground, walls of dark, damp earth surrounding me.
A shovel appears above me and rotates to drop a clod of dirt on top of me. I feel it hit my face before opening my eyes with a gasp. I throw my arms out, feeling open air before groping for the counter behind me. I feel the cold marble at the same time I hear my coffee mug shatter on the floor.
“Fuck!” I forget all about the vision as I take in the mess on the floor and mourn the loss of my favorite mug.
I swear a little more, this time under my breath, as I reach for some paper towels and start to mop it up.
“Quite a way to start the day,” Mom says from the kitchen doorway.
“As if I should have expected anything else,” I mumble.
“Yeah, I’m not looking forward to this day, either. We have a meeting with your principal at four.”
“Why so late?”
“She figured it would be best if we waited until most of the other students had cleared out.”
I nod as understanding sinks in. Cheerleading practice will have started by 3:30, so my friends will be there, but they won’t see me coming or going. Anyone not involved in extracurricular activities will have left the campus. It’s a good plan to get me into the principal’s office unseen by anyone other than janitorial staff.
That gave me the next nine hours with absolutely nothing to do.
To be continued…