by Kasi Blake
By the time the bell rang she was sitting in her first class of the day and already regretting her decision to go with Gavin. She flipped the textbook open to the page written on the whiteboard. Math was her least favorite subject, but a bit of boring work with numbers might just be the thing she needed to get her mind off Chloe, off Tyler Beck, and off her late night visitors. The reaper’s warning continued to buzz in her ears. She’d tried to figure out what it meant on the way to school with no luck.
Mrs. Abernathy took center stage in a faded floral print dress. Standing in front of the class with folded arms and a brooding look on her weathered face, she said, “As I am sure you are aware, we lost an iconic musician last night. I realize it is hard to concentrate on work when you’re upset. So…I am prepared to give you the first ten minutes of class to talk things out.”
Bay-Lee’s jaw dropped. Was she kidding? On her way to class Bay-Lee had passed through at least a dozen conversations about the dead musician. You would think he’d invented summer vacation the way they were acting. Now she had to hear about it in class? Part of her wanted to stand up and march straight out of the room, but that would draw attention. Her uncle’s rules jostled around in her head, demanding obedience.
Mrs. Abernathy continued. “Because Tyler Beck was in the public eye you might feel as if you personally knew him. If that’s the case, then you must feel sad and maybe even a little angry. Who wants to start the discussion?”
Lisa was the first to raise her hand. After the teacher nodded at her, the girl stood up to address the class. While chewing gum and posing as if someone was about to snap her picture, she said, “Tyler and I were born on the same day. I always thought it was cool we had the same birthday, like fate or something. On our birthday every year he put on a special show for charity. It sold out fast and my parents wouldn’t let me go, but it was almost like he threw the concert just for me.”
A girl named Sara added, “I heard he was really nice in person. He signed autographs and posed for pictures with fans. Last year a little girl almost got crushed by the crowd, and he saved her. He said he had the best fans in the world.”
“Then why did he kill them?” a slacker named Bobby asked, the unexpected voice of reason. “If he thought they were so special, why did he kill sixteen of them?”
“He didn’t kill anyone!” Lisa shouted.
Mrs. Abernathy waved her hands. “Inside voices.”
“The police say he did it,” Bobby said. “They don’t have any reason to lie.”
“Someone set him up! Tyler never killed anyone.”
“Who would set him up? A rival band? Do you think Aerosmith did it?”
A few boys in the rear of the room chuckled.
“SHUT UP!” Lisa’s face bloated with rage, a deep crimson now.
“Or maybe it was Maroon 5.”
Lisa and Bobby leaned across a row of desks to yell in each other’s faces as the teacher tried to regain control. She whistled and clapped her hands, but neither worked. Bay-Lee revisited her mother’s death in her head, so much blood. The nightmare vision threatened to carry her into the past.
Bay-Lee spoke in a calm, clear voice. The other students were so surprised to hear her speak in class, they all fell silent, even the screaming duo. Bay-Lee didn’t notice. She spoke mostly to herself, her internal organs hardening into rocks. None of the people in the room understood what it was like to lose someone. They didn’t understand what it was like to have a loved one murdered.
“There’s no excuse for killing another human being,” Bay-Lee said.
Every eye turned in her direction, even Mrs. Abernathy’s.
Bay-Lee finally noticed she had their attention. Unwilling to back down and keep her mouth shut at this point, she ignored Connor’s warnings and spoke without thinking. “Only monsters kill people. It makes me sick to hear everyone defending this guy when he ruined so many lives. Think about the families. The people he killed had moms and dads, brothers and sisters, people who loved them. No one talks about them, about what they’ve lost. You only care about the psycho singer because he was cute and could sing on key. If Tyler Beck was just some guy in his forties with a bald head and a big belly, would anyone be defending him now?”
Mrs. Abernathy agreed. “That is a valid point, Michelle.”
Bay-Lee inwardly cringed at the sound of the fake name. She couldn’t afford to drift. If she forgot for a single second who she was pretending to be, she could wreck everything. A reaper had already found her. Another monster could cross over and kill her if she wasn’t careful.
“Celebrities get away with things others can’t,” Mrs. Abernathy said. “It isn’t fair, no, but it happens.”
“It’s stupid,” Bay-Lee muttered.
Mrs. Abernathy steered the conversation to a safer subject, math. She ordered the students to open their books to page twenty-seven. Bay-Lee’s gaze traveled over the others. At least they didn’t look shocked anymore by her verbal contribution. Hopefully, it would be forgotten by lunchtime. Connor would have a fit if he found out she’d purposely drawn attention to herself.
Her gaze continued past the students to the row of windows overlooking the grassy quad where a big tree rose to the sky with leaves of orange and burning red, a testimony to the fact October was ending. It took a few quiet seconds for her to realize there was a person standing near the trunk, half his body hidden by the tree. He was tall with dark hair and a familiar face.
Bay-Lee almost choked on her own saliva.
Was it Tyler Beck’s ghost?
Looking for confirmation, she turned to see if anyone else saw him, but all eyes were on the teacher. Mrs. Abernathy had her back to the students. She solved a problem on the board while they watched. Afraid to look again yet terrified not to, Bay-Lee turned to the windows. There wasn’t anyone there. She stared at the empty space near the tree. Had she imagined it?
Or was Tyler Beck haunting her?
Chapter Three
HALLOWEEN
