“I’m sorry,” she says. “I’ve just been so worried since Kaz and Rafe brought you back. All that black smoke twisting around you...I thought...I don’t know what I thought. I know spelled salt can’t twist ghosts, but all evidence had me so convinced it still somehow happened. It’s not logical, but fear often defies logic.”
“Those bullets definitely hurt.” I run my thumb over her knuckles.
“So you still feel like death?” Yasmin asks. “Or...uh…”
“Death warmed over? Yes, yes I do.” I grin and finally Haya lets out a weak sort of giggle.
She adjusts her glasses. “I can’t believe the Xers showed up. The odds are unbelievable, really. That must have been terrifying.”
I scrunch my nose, thinking back to the people we saw in the woods. Most of them looked more like Sunday School teachers rather than Ghostbusters, or hunters from that TV show about urban legends. Theo matched that description better than they did. It was all kinds of a weird reversal of expectations.
“The guns were scary for sure,” I say. “And they were...weird. Like, you don’t expect to be hunted down by somebody dressed like Mr. Rogers. It’s very jarring.”
Yasmin laughs again. “Mr. Rogers? Like, sweaters and pressed pants? Guess that’s some kind of group uniform.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Well…” Yasmin glances at the door, then back at us. “Like Kaz. Since, you know, he used to be an Xer. I don’t want to be a conspiracy theorist, but then there’s the fact that the Xers showed up when you and Rafe go to try and take care of his unfinished business. It’s just...could it really be a coincidence?”
Pressing my lips together, I nod. “It is a little weird that he still wears those clothes, and that the Xers attacked us when they did. But maybe he has a good reason for it. I’ll have to ask him. Maybe he could give us an idea of how we might have been found. What do you think, Haya?”
Haya runs a finger under her eyes and lets out a sigh. “I don’t know. The data does add up to that kind of conclusion, but maybe we’re analyzing it wrong, missing pieces. He’s always done so much for us here. Just because he had a messed up life doesn’t mean he’s still that person now that he’s dead. It’s not really fair to cancel someone for mistakes they made in their past, right? Especially mistakes they’re making amends for now. Don’t we all have stuff we did we never want anyone bringing up again?”
“Uff da, yes,” Yasmin says. “Freshman year was not a pretty one for me.”
My stomach cramps a little and dread crawls up my chest. I’m sure I have a lot to regret in my past, I just don’t remember any of it. What’s it going to be like when my life comes crashing fully back into my mind? Will it come wrapped in shame or shining with glory? Most people are a mix of both.
The memory of that hushed conversation between Mr. Qureshi and Ms. Alvarez pokes at my brain again. Why are they worried they need to protect the other students from me? Could it be some dark evil I committed when I was alive? And if so, are they afraid that when I remember I’ll change back into that horrible person?
I shiver. “I think you’re right, Haya. Let’s ask before we draw conclusions like someone else we know.”
“As I’ve said, Landon’s really not that bad.” Haya frowns. “I know he’s snarly, but I think he really does want to protect people. Erin getting twisted messed him up bad. It compromised his logic.”
Yasmin cringes. “Seeing someone get twisted is definitely not something you forget fast.”
“But we didn’t come here to bum you out,” Haya says. “We also came bearing gifts. Scientifically speaking, sweet things always lift the spirits”
She pulls a plastic bag from her purse, then hands out cartons of ice cream. I immediately grab for the sherbet. Nostalgia runs through me as I take the first bite, triggering another life flash of Cody and me in a small diner-like restaurant.
We sit in a booth with peeling, plastic cushions. A woman in her upper twenties who has my dark brows sits across from us. She blows bubbles into her coke, making Cody and me laugh.
I blink as it dissipates. Though it isn’t particularly significant or enlightening, it is the first time I’ve seen my sister’s face since I died. Hailey. Her name was Hailey and she’d taken care of us since...When? I can’t remember, and my still-pounding head isn’t conducive to thinking hard about anything at all.
Instead I focus on Haya and Yasmin as they chatter about lighter things. Another party this weekend, who’s dating who, and gearing up for their own mission to take care of unfinished business. It’s then Yasmin’s turn to wrinkle her brow.
“I’m a little nervous after what happened to you and Rafe, though. It actually kind of surprises me Mr. Qureshi isn’t investigating or anything like that.”
“I’m sure that he is,” Haya says. “But he doesn’t want to update us until he knows more.”
“But if he’s worried at all he shouldn’t send anybody out, right?” Yasmin sucks on the end of her spoon.
“Guess we have somebody else to harass with questions.” I grin even as worry about the conversation I overheard gnaws at my insides.
Ms. Alvarez hovers up from her chair. “I have to run down the hall. You girls holler if anything happens, and don’t you dare think about getting out of that bed Ms. Martin.”
I give her a mock salute and, when she disappears around the corner, scoot a little closer to my friends. “Harassing people sounds like a good job for Team Untwist the Mystery. If y’all are still onboard.”
“Definitely,” Yasmin says. “With
