Death is Black and White

The folded up paper weighs a ton in my pocket, burning a hole in my leg. I tap my foot impatiently, waiting for the bell. I didn't want to fold the picture at first, but if I was going to bring it to school I didn't want it getting ruined like that note. So I'm keeping it at my side at all times so I can show it to Adam at lunch.

To my surprise, I wasn't freaked out in the least about Lotty reaching out to me last night. I mean, when Sam came over, she told me she'd do some research, but she was pretty much mystified. Much like myself. But I can't explain it, I've suddenly begun feeling like I've met Lotty for the first time and, as cliche as this is, that she wanted to be my friend. That she reached out to me for a reason.

I want to take it out, just for a look. But I don't want people to see it. Just Adam and Sam, and myself. Class is dragging on, I just want to skip to lunchtime. I need to ask Sam if-- my thoughts are interrupted by the bell. I shoot out of my seat and down the hall, shocked at my sudden excitement. Is this because of Lotty?

"Sam!" I greet her when she sits down at our table with her lunch. Adam's right behind her. I pull out the sketch excitedly, immediately regretting my haste. They're going to think I'm a freak.

Sam notices the paper and says, "Lemme see it again."

She smiles and I hand it to her. Adam peeks over her shoulder and gives the paper a quick glance. Double take. Eye-bulge.

"What the fuck is that?"

I laugh. "That's the ghost in my room!" I say it a little too enthusiastically. Oops. "Erm, I mean we think it is. Her name's Lotty."

He raises an eyebrow, his eyes still wide. "That thing is messed up. you drew that?"

I nod and explain what happened last night. When I'm done, he makes a face but doesn't say anything.

After a long pause, he says, "You think that a spirit made you draw a picture?"

Sam punches him in the arm. "You're so closed-minded."

"Well it doesn't make any sense!" He rubs his arm. I stick my tongue out at him.

"Well why the hell not? You weren't even there!"

"Woah, defensive much?" Adam narrows his eyes and takes a second look at the picture. "Okay, assuming I believe you, how do you know it's a ghost? Is there proof?"

I gaze at the mirror image in my drawing, racking my brain. He interrupts my thought process, "Where did you get the name Lotty from? Maybe you've seen it somewhere before and your brain just matched the two together. You don't know anything else about this 'ghost' except for a name. Did it talk to you?"

"I..." My throat goes dry.

"I'm not trying to be a dick, but you're acting kinda insane. The drawing's amazing, though."

"You are a dick, Adam," Sam half-jokes. "But that's the thing. Lyd says that she's never drawn something this quickly or accurately before. Like look at this detail on her dress. Is that a pattern or something, Lyd?"

I look up from the drawing and immediately reply, "No it's blood." What? I furrow my brow. I wasn't expecting that answer to come so quickly. Do I really look at the picture that often, that I have all the details memorized? Or maybe it's just burned into my brain, seeing as an image that horrifying isn't prone to leaving my memory in much of a hurry.

"Cute, Lydia," Adam shakes his head. "That's pretty sick, drawing a little girl covered in blood?"

I can tell that he, being a guy, doesn't find this entirely sick, but I let it go.

"The point is, it's freaky," --and really cool, I add in my head.-- "And I'm pretty convinced it's a ghost. Sam, did you find anything out?"

She shakes her head. "Nahh, but I was thinking a lot about it, you know, and maybe we can try to contact her after school today?"

Adam lets out a snort of laughter and Sam punches him again. I ignore it and agree, ending the conversation so we can get to our lunches without Adam flipping a shit.
~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

"How are we gonna do this?" I ask Sam, laying face-down on my bedroom floor.

"Well, we could ask some questions..." She seems at a loss. I shrug.

"Don't we need a Ouija board?" She shudders at the suggestion.

"Yeah, but like I said. I'm not touching one of those."

I sigh dramatically. It's hard to respect her judgment when using that Ouija Board could easily give us the answers to all our questions. That is, of course, if the concept isn't complete bullshit. "Fine, but what should we ask? The mirror? That sounds so lame... And what would we even ask her? All we know is her name, and that she's a kid. That gets us pretty much no where."

Sam doesn't answer. But suddenly I think of something that might get us close to somewhere. "Wait! Miranda used the board already! Maybe Lotty talked to her!"

Sam grins and follows me to Miranda's room. I knock loudly so Miranda can hear it over the loud music blaring on the other side of the door.

The door opens. "What?" Miranda's holding her tummy and her boyfriend, Brian, is looking at her CD collection in the background.

"We have something to ask you," I say and she opens the door wider for us to come in.

"Hey, Brian," I say. He smiles at us. Brian doesn't live at our house, but he's here whenever he's not at the community college for classes.

"What do you want?" Miranda asks in a semi-polite tone, probably so she doesn't seem like a psycho bitch in front of her boyfriend.

"Remember on Halloween, when you were playing with the Ouija Board?"

"And you," she points at Sam, "flipped a shit? Yeah, I remember."

I roll my eyes. "Anyway, did you get anything interesting out of it?"

She glances at Brian, obviously embarrassed by the fact that she was playing with a Ouija Board and that her boyfriend would find out. Not like he's listening, he's too immersed in the back cover of Now That's What I Call Music: 7.

Sighing, she complains, "I don't have time for this. Go play with it yourself and figure out. It's really lame."

"Don't have time?" I retort. "What, are you too busy deciding which Ashely Simpson song is coolest? Cuz I can answer that one real quick--"

Miranda groans and attempts to push me out of the room.

"Don't strain yourself, sis," I laugh. "I'll leave now, just tell me: Where's that paper with all the answers to the questions from that night?"

"I threw it out, dumbass," she scoffs. "Why do you even care? Think our house is haunted?"

Without missing a beat, i nod. Miranda rolls her eyes at me, but to my surprise she says, "Alright, you're not the only one. It's probably in the waste bin in the dining room. Now leave me alone."

I smile. She slams the door in my face.
~_~_~_~_~_~_~

Yes
Yes
9
Girl
Water
Lotty

"What does this have to do with Lotty?" Sam asks, re-reading the note for the fifth time.

I shrug. "Maybe they were just fooling around? Maybe Lotty only answered the last one?"

Sam sighs. "Miranda said she thinks the house is haunted. Why the hell, then, is she leaving us in the dark?"

"It looked like she didn't want to talk about it in front of Brian. He must be like Adam and doesn't believe in this stuff..."

"I don't know. Adam's always been a skeptic, ya know?" I never thought about the fact that Adam completely shot down everything Sam believes in, and how that must hurt her. Maybe he doesn't know that she likes this stuff. I mean, I didn't until a few days ago.

"If only I could ask Miranda what the questions were... Ugh. That would help us a lot."

"It's pretty much the only way we can figure out if this is bullshit or not..."

"But it says 'Lotty'...it has to be right."

Sam gazes at the paper for a long minute. "Yes, yes, 9, girl, water, Lotty..."

"I've got nothing," I sigh. "I'll ask her tonight, I guess? Then I'll let you know at lunch tomorrow?"

She shrugs and puts the slip of paper down on the table. "Okay, but call me tonight. All right?"

I don't want to let this go until Brian leaves. I want to know now. But I stuff the paper in my pocket and put my head down.

You're not the only one. The words ring in my head.