“I have a dumb question,” Rafe says, slowing down to keep pace with me.
“What’s that?”
“You okay?”
I rake my hair away from my face, then let it slide free again. “I’m easy breezy. Just missing my memories, which makes finishing unfinished business a little bit hard. And, ya know, also missing my body, which could mean that at any second I become an insane polter-ghost and start a haunty rampage. But I’m fine.”
Tears sting my eyes and I stop walking completely. It’s a fact I know without question that when I get frustrated or angry or overwhelmed, I cry. There’s no stopping the embarrassing breakdown from coming. I try to swallow past the lump of emotion in my throat, but it doesn’t work. I duck my head. The last thing I want is to cry in front of Rafe.
But instead of doing the normal, awkward dude thing, he stops and turns to face me head on. “I’m sorry, that’s terrifying. I don’t know what I can do, but I’ll try to help if I can. Maybe twenty questions could jiggle something loose.” A small smile almost brings that dimple onto his cheek.
I sniff and wipe my cheeks dry. “Thanks, but only if it doesn’t keep you from finishing yours.”
Pain and panic flicker behind Rafe’s eyes, but he covers them up fast. “Well, let’s get in there and see if they can help us both figure stuff out, huh?”
So many secrets.
I lock away another question as we glide into the classroom. Like my dorm, it’s way bigger than I initially expected. One side is full of desks facing a podium, but the other is covered with yoga mats. Each of them is spaced out in pairs with a small pot of incense placed in between them. Winter sunlight streams through floor to ceiling windows along the back wall, yet another aspect to this school that’s killing the spooky-vibe.
This whole scenario seems slightly less terrifying than combat. At least I’ll have corpse pose nailed already. I snicker at my own, internal joke as Rafe and I find a pair of empty desks in the middle. The second we settle, a line of teachers files into the room. All but one drift toward the mats. They sit cross-legged and light the incense while the lone teacher floats to the podium in front of us.
He’s a tall man with white scruff covering his rich umber skin. A pair of glasses perches on the very tip of his nose. “Welcome students to Discovering Your Unfinished Business. For those of you who are new, my name is Mr. Clingler. You will spend the first half of class with me, while your peers meet with their assigned Healers.”
Most everyone moves. When they’re gone, I’m left alone with Rafe and a girl with curls and the most perfect taupe skin I’ve ever seen. All three of us glance at each other, breaking into quiet laughter. It’s not really funny so much as it’s mildly awkward being the only ones left behind. Though I guess if I have to be stuck solo with anybody, Rafe’s not a bad option.
And this other girl. Newbies got to band together.
“Now, before we get started, let’s go around the room and introduce ourselves. No gimmicks or anything like that, you don’t have to tell us how you died or share who you were before, or your favorite books or activities.” Mr. Clingler smiles a little. He has a bit of an underbite that gives his face a touch more character than I’d noticed before. “Though of course if you’d like to share all of that, you’re welcome to.”
The girl with the curls waves her fingers. “I’m Yasmin Willis and I like long walks in the moonlight after a storm.” She chuckles and Rafe and I join her.
I highly approve of that sense of humor.
Rafe follows her lead. “Rafe Warren. I like to draw and pick locks. Don’t worry Mr. Clingler, I won’t try to steal any tests or anything. Though now that I think about it, that probably won’t be an issue in this class.”
With a snort, I raise my hand next. “I’m Billie Martin, and I have amnesia so...based on breakfast this morning, I like bacon. Oh, and sudoku and crossword puzzles.”
Yasmin laughs again, but it mutates into an “awww.” She frowns. “As if the afterlife alone wasn’t mystery enough. An exciting one for sure, a wild night and a new road, but without your memory? That’s a full-on tragedy.”
“It’s not great.”
“But we will help you figure it all out,” Mr. Clinger says. He hovers toward the white board at the back of the classroom. “Now, this will just be a quick overview and then you three can meet with your Healers along with the rest of the class. I’d like to start with a question. What, if anything, do you know about unfinished business?”
My mouth starts moving before I can even think. “It usually starts with priority. Whichever one is the most pressing is the one you have to deal with first. Until you’ve dealt with that, you will always be drawn back to the place you’re required to be.” I blink, shocked at my own words as Mr. Clingler nods and Rafe and Yasmin stare.
“That’s very good, Ms. Martin.” Mr. Clingler slides his hands into the pockets of his khakis. “Did you happen to be a witch with medium abilities when you were alive?”
“Yes.” I press a hand to my mouth. “I did. I was a medium. I remember!”
With this realization comes images of a shimmering ghost at the foot of a bed, my bed.
Her thin braids float around her small face, the pink butterfly clips on the ends of each clacking together, given an odd sort of afterlife of their own by death. She twists the bottom of her shirt between her hands.
I clutch my pillow to my chest, eyes wide. “Uh, hi. I’m…Billie.”
“Lyla. Can we talk?”
Yasmin claps, breaking through
