Jinxed Things Ringing

"Hey JonJon!" I heard my brother call as I'm wandering the hallways, trying to look for more secret rooms to be claimed. I followed his annoying voice that led to the foyer, and as I look over the banister I see him obnoxiously chewing gum with his arms folded across his chest.

"What jerk?" I sighed, leaning my elbows on the banister. He removed the buds from his ears and looked up at me.

"Ma and Pop say that we're staying in a hotel close to here. For the next couple of weeks we'll come back to clean until this toxic waste area is sanitary enough to live in," he chuckled. I smiled and came down the stairs elegantly, over-exaggerating my steps.

"M'lady," he asked bowing to me and offering me his arm. I laughed and grabbed it.

"Oh Damian, you are too kind," I flutter my eyelashes while fanning myself with my hand.

"Did you find your room yet?" Damien asked me as we walked outside. I nodded.

"The very top room," I say. Damien raises his eyebrow.

"You mean top floor?" He asks.

"No...top room. There's a pull down stairway that leads to a dome shaped room," I say pulling out gum from my pocket and popping a piece in. Damien holds out his hand.

"So...you're staying in the attic?" He asked as I placed a stick in his palm. I shook my head.

"It's an actual room," I say as we get into the car. "It overlooks the ocean,"

"Oh cool. My room has the same view...but since yours is at the very top, you probably have the better view," He sticks his tongue out playfully.

"Yeah but your room is probably much bigger," I say and he nods.

"Second biggest, my room looks like a freaking master castle room," Damien says. I quirk an eyebrow.

"Really Dames...a master castle room?" I mock him. "The parental units must have a wicked huge room if yours is that big," I say and he nods and we both turn to our parents.

"Your mother loves it," Pop says. I smile and Ma laughs.

As we roll into town we stop by a small cafe/bakery. Dames and I grab our order and sit at a booth while our parents sat at a table separate from us.

"Are you nervous about starting school?" He asked me.sipping his milkshake.

"Umm...not really," I say thinking for a moment. "I mean, it's not all the time someone gets to start over. It's not like I was personally attached to anyone so leaving friends wasn't much of an issue," I shrug.

"I'm a little worried...I mean- what if the girls aren't cute?" Dames panicked. He was a bit of a drama queen, and was a major flirt at our old school.

"I'm sure there will be some girls degrading enough to create a fan club over you," I laugh.

"Awww thanks Jonny," he said reaching over the table to punch my arm. I rolled my eyes.

"Guys," Pop says beckoning us over. We stand up and grab our own drinks and walk over to our parents.

"Hey Pop, do you think it's ok if Genviève and I walk to the hotel?" Damien asks before we sit inside the car.

"Uhh..." Pop looks around trying to decipher according to our surroundings if it would be safe. "Sure..I don't see why not. The hotel is-"

"We'll figure it out," Damien smirks. I roll my eyes but smile nevertheless. Damien always liked to 'figure things out'. Small moments in life were like puzzles to him. He loved solving them.

Damien's mindset was quite admirable and I wish I could think like him.

"Are they gone yet?" Damien asks, his back facing where ever our car had left us. I nodded.

"Ok lets go," Damien said as we turned and walked at a leisurely pace.

The weather was very nice, a strong breeze rushed by us once and a while, but what can you expect when it's already Autumn?

"You cold?" Damien asked. I nodded. He took off his hoodie and handed it me and I gratefully put it on. It was a bit large but I didn't mind. I was warm now.

As we walked on, a rumbling sound of wheels clicking over the sidewalks cracks caught my ears. I looked up and saw a group of friends [presumably] joking around and slowly treading over the sidewalk. Damien and I edged closer to the shops, so that we gave them room to glide passed us. A couple of kids gave us curious glances as they passed us, but we payed no attention.

"H-hey!"

Damien turned around, and I copied as I saw a tall skinny kid wearing jeans that had holes in them and a dark blue hoodie. His hair was grown out, as the fad was these days, and a dark shade of brown.

"You guys new here?" He asked.

"How could you possibly know that?? Isn't the town population like 50 thousand?" Damien asked incredulously.

"51 thousand," the boy chuckled. "Nah, you guys just don't look like you belong here," He said looking at our clothing.

I was wearing a striped tank top underneath the leather jacket and skinnies. Damien was wearing fitted jeans but sagged on his butt and a Junk Food t-shirt. We both were wearing flip-flops.

Damien and I exchanged smirks.

"We're from California," Damien said holding his hand out to the boy. "Damien,"

"Roger," he said shaking his hand.

"This is Jonny," Damien said gesturing to me.

"Jonny?" Roger asked.

"Genviève," I said shaking his hand.

"Cool name. French?" He asked. I nodded. "Where's your accent?" He laughed.

"It was my Grandmother's name," I chuckled.

"Awesome. So...do you guys know what school you're going to?" Roger asked slowly.

"Uhm...Plymouth," Damien said unsure.

"Which one?" Roger asked still very slowly.

"South," Damien said. Roger's demeanor changed.

"Oh...well...-"

"He means North," I said rolling my eyes. Damien looked at me and asked me "Really? North...oh,"

Roger smiled. "Oh..well it's important what side you're on. We Northerners are rivals against the Southern side,"

I rolled my eyes and said to Damien. "To think that you have already cost us a nasty reputation Dames,"

"Sorry..haha," Damien said.

"When'd you arrive?" Roger asked.

"Jus-" Damien was interrupted.

"Roger! C'mon man!" the group of friends waiting for him called out to him. He beckoned them over.

"These two are the California kids," Roger introduced us. I threw up in my mouth a bit. He made us sound so stereotypically valley-like. California kids...eurgh..

"This is Damien and Jonny,"

"Jonny?" One of the girls asked.

"Short for Genviève," Roger said in the most pathetic French accent ever. I laughed.

"Let's get lunch, yeah?" Roger asked. We agreed, even though Damien and I just had lunch. We stopped at a small salad shop on Main Street.

"So when did you say you guys came?" Roger asked

"Just now actually. Our parents are at the hotel. I think we'll be staying there so we can clean our place up," Damien says.

"Oh you too are siblings!" One of the girls said. I smiled.

"Where are you guys staying?" Another boy asked.

"Uhhm...it doesn't really have a street...but it's just past Kene Avenue..do any of you know where...that...what?!" Damien asked. The whole groups' face turned pale and solemn.

"Kingston manor...you guys are the people who bought the Kingston Manor??" Roger's voice became scraggly.

"Yes..why? What's wrong with it?" I asked. Roger looked uneasily at his pale-stricken friends.

"Well...it's sort of near the Evergreen Cemetery.." he said.

"No bother in that," Damien said. And then he froze. And then he laughed. "You guys think it's haunted!" Damien chuckled.

But nobody was laughing.

"Damien...this town has been trying to get rid of that house forever man...so many families keep buying it up, but leave the following week," Roger says nervously.

I started getting the creeps and clenched my fist underneath the table, so nobody would see. But Damien must have felt me shift, because he grabbed my hand and rubbed it gently.

"I'm sure we'll be fine," Damien says reassuring the group still uneased.

"Uhm...I suggest you not tell anyone else besides us...not everyone can take the news so...erm gently.." Roger said rubbing the back of his neck.

"The house doesn't have a good reputation. You know now. And neither will you two if you tell people," Barrie, the other boy that asked us where we were staying in the first place, said.

"Thank you, you guys. You really are kind to us. But I think Damien and I should go back to the hotel...or well find it," I rolled my eyes. "I suppose we'll see you in a couple months," I say.

After exchanges of phone numbers, emails, handshakes, hugs, kisses on the cheeks, and 'good lucks', Damien and I went back on our way to the hotel.

"OH!" Roger called. "Welcome to North Plymouth!"

We both waved back and continued our journey to the hotel.

I finally let out a sigh.

"Damien..." I said slowly.

"Look...we'll be fine," He said.

"But the other families.." I trailed off.

"Look," He said stopping to face me. "I won't deny that there probably is something there...I can almost guarantee that we'll have trouble there. But the more you think about it. The more paranoid you'll become. And we'll never live in peace," he says. I nod. He did make a good point.

"Besides...I'll be with you most of the time," Damien said. I smile at him.

"Wait- don't you like ghosts and paranormal shit like that?!" Damien asked. I nodded.

"But there's a difference if they're going to harm us," I say.

"Maybe they just scare them away. Sounds and shit,' Damien says..

I slowly smile..."Now I'm excited,"

We're staying Massachusetts...