What Ghost? (Complete)

Chapter Twelve: Social Suicide

Billy bounced the ball a couple of times and then threw it as hard as he could against the backboard. He couldn't remember ever being this angry in his entire life, and he didn't even know why he was so angry. He'd been dealing with Becky's irresponsible troublemaking for years...he should be used to it by now. It would probably all blow over as usual...

And then it hit him. The reason he was so angry was that this time it wasn't going to be that easy. He could handle the crap he was sure to cop over joining the Paranormal Club, that wasn't the only issue here. What if these guys really were like the Ghostbusters? What if those machines and traps really did work? He might lose Becky forever!

And right there in that simple statement lay the reason for his anger. He couldn't imagine his life without Becky in it. She might be a pain in the butt, but she was his pain in the butt...and he wasn't going to let those ghost-chasing obsessed nerds take her away from him!

He was just about to head back inside and apologise for his tantrum when he spotted Kate sitting alone under the trees. She looked up and saw him as he was passing and smiled. "Hey you...whatcha been up to?"

Billy almost laughed hysterically at the thought of telling her the truth. Yeah right, lets blow any possible chance of the hot chick liking him and add her to the list of people who thought he was a loon...not! "Hey Kate, not much...a movie and some basketball. What about you?" He walked over and leant against the tree beside where she was sitting...he figured she'd spoken to him first, so he wasn't intruding.

"I tried watching a movie but...y'know, couldn't get into it." She shrugged and picked at a loose thread on the bottom of her jeans.

Billy didn't know what else to say. He'd never been good at talking to girls he liked. "So have you made any friends? What's your roommate like?"

Kate smiled. "She seems nice. Oh, and apparently I'm a bit of a celebrity because I was in the dining room when the first 'ghost encounter' happened. Can you believe how many people think ghosts really exist?"

Billy cringed, and prayed that Becky wasn't around. "Actually, with all the hoo-ha going on about it at the moment, I was thinking about joining the Paranormal Club and checking out their stuff. Lance reckons they've got some pretty cool equipment, like some of the gear out of Ghostbusters." He shrugged. "You never know, it might be funny to watch them in action..."

Kate jumped up in excitement. "Hey, what a great idea! I've been trying to think of something to do in my spare time...and that sounds perfect. We'd have to pretend to be true believers though...I don't think they'd appreciate new members who were only there to laugh at them when they failed." She winked and grinned, the most animated Billy had ever seen her.

Billy's mind was racing. On one hand, it would be awesome if Kate joined the club as well...it would mean they'd have a reason to hang out together. On the other hand, it would mean risking her finding out about Becky, or worse still, thinking he was insane like the rest of the people in his world.

Kate's face fell at his silence. "Unless of course you don't want me to? Sorry Billy, I didn't mean to intrude on your thing. I get it...it's okay."

Billy grinned, his mind made up. "Hey, I think you wanting to join too is awesome. I was just thinking that there are no other girls in the club, and that maybe they have a 'guys only' rule or something?"

Kate grinned again, her gorgeous eyes sparkling in the moonlight. "I've always believed that some rules were just made to be broken...wouldn't you agree?"

Billy burst out laughing at the look on her face. He couldn't wait to see what would happen if the geeks in the club tried to refuse her membership. "To be honest, I was worried joining them might be a form of social suicide...now I'm looking forward to it!" He knew he was blushing, but it was one of those things that he'd always found impossible to control.

Kate threw her arms around his neck in a hug. "Me too! Thanks Billy, this was exactly what I needed to take my mind off things." Before he could recover from the shock, or respond in kind, she dropped her arms to her side. "Ooppss, sorry about that...I tend to get carried away when I'm excited." Now it was her turn to blush.

Billy chuckled. "Hey, don't apologise. I'd be happy to be around whenever you get carried away or excited...least I can do..."

Kate giggled softly. "Cool...I'll keep that in mind..." They were interrupted by the overhead announcement that it was time to head into their respective dorms.

Billy sighed. "Okay, so I'll see you at breakfast then? I was thinking with tomorrow being Sunday it would be a good time to talk to the guys in the club. You up for that?"

"Absolutely!" Kate said, looking up into his eyes. "See you in the morning then..." She stood on tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you..." she whispered into his ear, as she turned and ran off towards the girls' dorms.

Billy was frozen to the spot. He replayed the entire encounter in his mind, trying to work out what he'd done right. He couldn't believe a girl as cute as Kate could be interested in someone like him. He took a deep breath and shook his head. Maybe she was just the sort of person who hugged people a lot?

He chuckled as he remembered her cheeky determination to get into the Paranormal Club. Suddenly he was feeling a lot more positive about the whole boarding school idea. He headed towards the dorms, a goofy grin on his face. Things were definitely looking up!