Beetlejuice: the Musical Short Story Book

Ain't it Strange?

"Hey, Lydia... Lyd," the sound of Barbara's voice was enough to awaken the teenager. "You okay?"

A silence made itself apparent, for more than a few minutes, and, at first, Lydia didn't seem to answer. Adam, Barbara, Charles and Delia share looks of confusion, concern and worry and turn back to Lydia. Breaking that silence, Barbara spoke up.

"Lydia? Is something the matter?"

Another few minutes, and another silence. Lydia's attention remained focused on the living room floor, and it took only a matter of a few seconds before Lydia's attention focused back on the Maitlands and on her dad and Delia. There was a certain look in the teenager's eyes that signaled to Barbara and Adam that Lydia needed them more than her dad and Delia and so they motioned for Charles and Delia to make their way upstairs.

Charles and Delia, however, seemed uncertain.

"Are you— sure? We don't have to, you know," Charles voiced his exact thoughts, sharing a quick glance with Delia before they looked back at the Maitlands. Before he could even open his mouth to speak again, Barbara beat him to it. She gestured towards the stairs.

"Yeah, I'm sure. This is something I gave a feeling Lydia just wants to talk to us about. It's no biggie... really."

Charles and Delia stood there silently, contemplating things. Then they turn and slowly start to make their way up the stairs. As Charles made his way into his office and lightly closed the door, and Delia entered her and Charles' bedroom, Adam and Barbara floated over towards the couch, sat themselves down onto it on either side of Lydia and focused their attention towards her.

For a while, neither of them know what to say. Or even how to phrase things. Then Barbara broke the onslaught of a deafening silence.

"Lydia—," Barbara started, trailing off when Lydia spoke up.

"You know..." The teenager paused for a moment, searching for the right words. And, for a while, they don't seem to come to her. Lydia let out a sigh, closing her eyes and allowing herself to relax.Her attention flicked back to Barbara after another moment. "It's been on my mind for quite a while, but..."

Lydia paused again, and bit at her lip. Yet another moment of silence made itself apparent.

"I've always wondered why I've been able to see you guys. Wondered if it's more than me being strange and unusual." Lydia looked from Adam to Barbara as soon as she finished with her sentence.

Adam and Barbara shared a look, thinking things over.

"Well," Barbara said, voicing what she knew were her and Adam's exact thoughts. "We've always assumed it was just because of that. But color me surprised if there's much more to it than that."

Adam nodded his agreement, and Lydia's attention focused back onto the floor of the living room. Though that didn't mean that Lydia didn't nod in agreement as well. Though Barbara and Adam seemed to catch a hint of worry in their somewhat daughter's expression. Lydia's attention flicked back to the Maitlands when Barbara rested an arm around her shoulder.

"Yeah..." Lydia said, with a silent and hidden nod. Adam and Barbara caught a slight bit of uncertainty in her voice, glancing at one another again.

After what seemed like a moment, Barbara spoke up again. "Do you want to talk to Delia or to your dad about this? Maybe Delia?"

'No,' Lydia found herself thinking quietly. 'It's best not to bring them into this...'

Pushing that thought aside, however, Lydia mumbled out, "I... guess...", under her breath.

That may have been far from the answer that Adam and Barbara had been expecting from the teenager, but it'd do.

Barbara must've been thinking, we're gonna need Delia to help us out with this, because, at that exact same moment, Delia came bounding down the stairs and into the living room with a handful of crystals. She set them down on the black wooden coffin shaped coffee table that Lydia had picked out a month prior and focused her attention on Lydia and the Maitlands.

"I sensed something off," the former life coach piped up, looking from Lydia to Barbara to Adam and back. "Is there a problem?"

Another silence befell the room. Adam and Barbara shared yet another glance before their attention flicked back to Delia. Delia's attention flicked towards them in return, and she can't help but glance worriedly between the deceased pair.

Before Delia can open her mouth, to speak up again, Barbara beat her to it.

"She's been wondering why, other than her being strange and unusual, she's always been able to see us."

"Well..." Delia paused, thinking to herself for a moment. "I always thought it was something to do with her dead mom. I was pretty much strange and unusual myself, just as much as she was, and I wasn't able to see you guys proper until after Lydia summoned you-know-who into the house."

Barbara and Adam nodded in agreement. Delia did make a point. And a very good one at that.

"Yet you did comment on the fact that there was, and I quote, very good energy in the house back when we moved in," Charles' voice sounded from the stairs and the others looked up in time to find him making his way down them and back into the living room. "Maybe that was you picking up on the Maitlands' energy?"

Delia looked to the side, thinking that over. Then she nodded as she looked back at him.

"It might have been," Delia said, breaking a silence. Charles plopped himself down onto the other couch in the living room and Delia followed suit. "But we're talking about Lydia and why she was always able to see the Maitlands."

Charles nodded. "Well, she was always around spooky stuff when she was younger. So that could play a part in it—."

"GAHH!!" Lydia shouted, cutting her father off mid-sentence and causing him and the rest of the adults to look at her in concern. Three out of the four adults present in the room cocked their heads.

"Lydia?" Barbara asked, gently and softly. Worriedly even. "Is everything okay?"

"I don't want to talk about it," was the last thing Lydia said as she stomped her way upstairs and slammed her bedroom door closed.