“Unfortunately.” Kasper scrubbed a hand roughly over Felix’s scalp, who put up a token resistance but didn’t wriggle free.
“Boys!” Rima said, in resigned impatience. “Harriet’s waiting for you to take her up to the top floor, Kasper.”
He released Felix, looking sheepish. “Right. Come on, Harriet,” Kasper said with dignity, squaring his (already very square) jaw.
“Don’t get lost, Kasper,” Felix drawled. “Just keep going upwards, OK?”
“Talk to the hand, Felix.”
“Talk to the hand?” Harriet repeated under her breath, bemused.
FELIX
Felix watched Harriet and Kasper walk away. Kasper’s hand was casually resting on Harriet’s lower back for some reason. He tried to ignore the ghost of Kasper’s touch prickling on his own skin.
When Harriet turned, Felix saw for the first time that there was a fist-sized dent in the back of her skull, hidden under her hair. It was the only visible sign of how she had died.
When the two of them had disappeared, the rest of them all started talking at once.
“What was that?” Felix asked, as Rima said, “Kasper was flirting with her!” and Leah mumbled, “I did not miss this at all.”
Felix sighed through his nose. “I cannot believe—”
“I know.” Rima shook her head. “A suicide attempt, within the first five minutes! Unbelievable!”
Guiding Harriet through her death was a bit of a shock to the system. Felix had forgotten how much there was to learn about the afterlife when you were newly dead. Everything must seem utterly confusing. Felix had been so busy obsessing over his own issues that he could barely remember what he’d done in the years after his death. Harriet was lucky she had them to help her out.
A fly was buzzing tentatively around the congealing blood near Harriet’s right ear. Felix leant closer, thinking: Go away. The fly zoomed off to investigate a McDonald’s wrapper instead. Felix settled back, satisfied.
“How long do you think the energy will last?” he asked. “Before we, you know … go to sleep again.”
Leah, who was the most experienced among them, shrugged. “Could be anywhere from a few months to a year. It depends how much energy escaped and how much she kept for herself. She seems quite strong to me, so probably only a few months.”
Felix swallowed. That didn’t seem nearly enough time to do all the things he wanted to do. He felt revitalized, born again. No matter how much he prepared, he was never ready to return to that dull, dreamless hibernation.
“Well,” he said, lifting up the corners of his mouth in an attempt at a smile. “I suppose we’ll have to make the most of it while we can.”
Just then, a small fox spirit appeared from the shadows and trotted up to them.
“Cody!” Rima gasped. The fox leapt into her arms, wriggling furiously and twisting upside down to reveal a pure white belly. “I’ve missed you so much,” Rima said, burying her face in her ginger fur. The fox let out a short, squeaky sort of yowl.
“I can’t believe she’s still here. I thought she’d have disintegrated by now.” Felix stretched out his hand, grinning. The fox tapped it with a black-tipped paw.
“She’s a tough old thing, aren’t you?” Rima kissed Cody’s nose.
Before they had all gone into hibernation mode, Rima had been training up the dead fox as a pet. The process had involved a lot of snarling and baring of teeth from both Rima and Cody, but in the end, she’d even got the fox doing tricks.
Cody jumped to the ground, stretching out her front legs, back curving into a bow. She let out another hoarse yowl, then swiftly jumped across the room to chase a mouse into the wall.
Felix stared up the stairs, after Kasper and Harriet. He wondered what they were talking about, and if his hand was still on her back. But most of all, he wondered how he could stop himself from caring.
Chapter 3
KASPER
Kasper led Harriet up the stairs, weaving between the ghosts who were still watching her. They all closed their eyes as she passed, like they were breathing her in. A girl from the second floor – who used to do student radio when she was alive, and sometimes still put on shows for them all – even darted over to touch Harriet’s arm.
Kasper couldn’t blame them. Harriet was glowing golden bright, even though she’d lost some energy while she was outside. Kasper had been so scared when she’d left Mulcture Hall. He wished desperately that he was as brave as Rima, who had gone after her without any hesitation at all. If only he could have played the role of rescuer to Harriet’s damsel in distress.
“What do they want? It’s like they think I’m a snack or something,” Harriet said, brushing her hair flat nervously. It was woven up in some fancy twist. Her make-up was very fancy too. Had she been planning to go out to a party that night, if she had survived? There were probably loads of boys waiting for her to turn up right at that very moment.
“You’re a novelty,” he replied. “Besides, your fall was kind of brutal. No one else has ever had such a good death, I don’t think. Well, I suppose Leah might have, but she’s never told us how she died, so that doesn’t count.”
Having a good death was a gruesome badge of honour. Kasper always wished his own was more exciting.
He summoned up all his courage and added, “Plus … you’re well fit. That makes you even more interesting.”
Kasper waited with bated breath for her reply, nerves fluttering in his stomach. It had been a long time since he’d said anything like that to a girl.
“Less fit now that I’m a rotting corpse,” Harriet muttered, and ran one hand over the back of her head again. There was a dip there, where her skull had caved
