MIDNIGHT (Slow Updates)

3|| THE DECISION

     Hannah's lips curved into a grimace.

  "Yes, this Friday at Gabbie's-- her mom won't be home. Yeah, it's a thirteenth...I know...Gabs is really into it...uh huh."
   She nodded vigorously, clutching the phone tighter against her ears. "Yeah...I know, I know...so you're in it? Good! She'll send you the instructions. Yes, bye!" she laughed and hung up.

"So, Elvis is in too."
I ticked on the paper. "I can't believe even 'Michael the chicken' consented to this. He sure is a gentleman."

   After agreeing, somewhat reluctantly, for the game- we had spent a good amount of time going through the rules and arguing about the tiniest of details till the matter had been sorted out completely.    
     Gabbie's house was going to be our venue, with as many members of our group participating in this game, as possible.

The more the players, the lesser the ghosts and the better those emotions caught on camera-- as she'd justified.

    
   "C'mon, Michael ain't a chicken, please!" Tia mock glared at me, sending a round of laughter across the coffee table.

Crossing my arms, I clicked my tongue. "Wanna bet? Ah, young lovers these days!"

We knew Tia had a comfy little crush on Mike, even though she'd never admitted anything openly. However, that didn't stop us from teasing her whenever we could, especially since that sleep-over where we had caught her fawning over his instagram profile. 

"Oho!" Tia shot up in her hometown accent. " And what are you, good old Gran'ma?"

  Before I could retort, Gabbie gave a small chuckle. "The ultimate philophobic nerd with an appetite for good food and music." 

My mouth shut on its own accord.
  I couldn't deny that.

  The last time that I had dated somebody was back in the high school nestled in my cozy little home town of Chicago.
   We had gone out for a few months before my shift to Florida. Although, I did wonder at times what happened to  Caleb after I went away, he had never really tried to hold on; so that was it-- An abrupt end to one chapter with unanswered doubts that I wasn't too keen on solving, and the start of something new.

Well, in all honesty, this new present with no worries and great pals was a thousand times better than trivial queries of the past.

   Forcing my thoughts away from that sandy-haired astrophile I once adored, my mind swept itself to the chatter going on around me.
   The aroma  of Mrs. Jones special chicken recipe floated in the air, making our stomachs growl.
  That sent us doubling up across the silken couch again.

"Alright!" Clicking her fingers, Gabs grinned.  "So everyone's agreed to this except Jae- Hyul- Si, 'cause his parents won't allow him to leave after ten, and Edmund, because he's going to visit his cousin."

"Yes ma'am," Hannah spoke monotonously, handing Gabbie the paper with all the participants names on it. "That means we have Rose, Tia, you, Diego, Mike, Elvis, Teddy and me."

I peered at Hannah's cursive scribbling. "A total of eight. That's pretty neat."

    No sooner did I finish my sentence than Gabbie's mother walked out of the kitchen with a steaming hot bowl in her hand. The spicy, tangy aroma hit my nostrils, sending a wave of elation and hunger running through my body.

Gabs folded the paper neatly. " I repeat," her voice lowered down to a whisper, "The more the humans, the lesser the ghosts."

   Mrs. Jones' voice rang out like a shrill fire alarm, calling Diego and the four of us to the table for lunch. We helped her set it out, talking and laughing merrily.

It felt just like my family gatherings back in Chicago which I'd miss every now and then, ever since I had stepped foot here for bettering my career and higher education.

***

      "So what have you girls planned for the weekend?" Mrs. Jones passed me my bowl refilled with the chicken dish.

"Nothing big!" Gabbie bit into a cucumber slice.
   "My friends will be coming over to our house and we'll play some games and all for this YouTube video. That's it." She shrugged casually.
Gulping down the juice in her glass in one go, Tia licked her lips nervously.

"That's nice!" her mother beamed, oblivious to the sudden tension that seemed to weigh down on us. 

  "Have fun, but make sure that you don't litter the place much, and please do behave when I'm gone. I don't want any neighbours complaining. You people are like mad wolves during get-togethers."

    Our relieved snorts and laughs were followed by the tinkering of spoons against the plates, munching, frequent praises for the food and the gentle trickle of more juice being poured into Tia's glass.

   Mrs. Jones went on to talk a little about how Gabbie's aunt had fallen ill all of a sudden, probably due to the changing seasons; before jumping off to give Gabs and Diego instructions on keeping the house clean when she would be gone to visit her sister.

   This was why we had chosen her home for the ritual. We would be alone, without any external disturbance, in the dark-- all set for the Midnight game.

Perhaps, we should've reconsidered.

   Especially when Mrs. Jones decided to remind us of grave circumstances, out of the blue, by speaking her mind.

  "Listen up! don't play all those spooky games for Youtube. I don't care what's been trending for youngsters like you, but if I find another Ouija board in the house, I'm seriously going to become the devil for you Gabu. You need to understand, some things are not meant to be tampered with."

We had time to think again.

  We could've listened to her, had it not been for our curiosity mingled with the idea of fun getting the better of us and throwing every logical reasoning out of the window. We were spiralling in, like moths drawn to the flame-- inexplicably, unknowingly, dangerously.

 We should have listened to her.

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