What Ghost? (Complete)

Chapter Thirty-One: Brad the Coward

It was Saturday morning, and everyone was talking about the upcoming party, especially the part about the girls were being allowed into the boys' dorms. As far as anyone knew, it had never happened in the history of Hellesville College. The best part was that word had got around it was Lance who'd gone into bat for the girls being invited, and he'd been surrounded by adoring female fans ever since.

"So Lance is looking pretty pleased with himself these days. And I have a sneaking suspicion he has you to thank."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kate said, grinning and nudging him. "Maybe the girls have just come to their senses and seen how cute he is."

"Yeah right. So it's just a coincidence that all this happened at the same time word got out about the party?"

"Well, I may have mentioned to a few people that Lance was so cool for convincing Mr Howt to let the girls go to the party."

"I knew it," he said, slipping his arm around her waist and kissing her on the forehead. "That was really nice Kate. Lance is a great guy. It's about time some of the girls around here noticed him."

He had to admit, coming to Hellesville College had been the best thing that had ever happened to him. He hadn't realised what a crappy existence he'd been living before meeting Lance and Kate. The last week had been the best week of his entire life. He had a great best friend and an amazingly gorgeous girlfriend.

The only blimp on the radar was Becky. He'd never known her to be as content as she'd been since she met John. No-one knew what the outcome of the party would be as far as the poltergeist was concerned, but Billy was dreading the thought of John having to leave. He had no idea how the whole 'after-life' thing worked, but surely someone 'up there' could see what was going on.

He groaned and nudged Kate as he spotted Brad approaching them. They'd told him about the party as soon as they knew, and he'd seemed okay with everything. But something about the look on his face told Billy there was a problem.

Brad lifted his hand in greeting as he approached. "Hey guys, mind if I sit for a minute?"

Kate smiled coyly. "Of course Brad, pull up a piece of grass."

Brad sat and looked at his hands, fidgeting uncomfortably. Finally, he gave a huge sigh, looked up and cleared his throat. "Well...ummm...it's about tonight. So I've been thinking...are you sure that poltergeist thing won't hurt anybody? I mean, there was a hell of a lot of anger on the other side of that door the other day. What's to stop it coming after whoever's upsetting it?"

"Yeah, but like I said before Brad, us freaking out the other day was exactly what it wanted us to do. The thing feeds on negative emotions. If we can fill the place with enough positive energy, and kill all the negative vibes it's sucking up, it should just cease to exist. That's why it's so important that no-one at the party is carrying around any negative energy."

Brad blushed and swallowed. "Well, yeah, about that...I thought maybe it might be better if I was like the 'back-up plan'. Ya'know, instead of me being in there and risking any negative emotions slipping out, how about I have one of the lasers fired up and ready to go just in case we need it?" His eyes were silently pleading with them to agree with his plan and give him an excuse not to attend the party. The guy was seriously terrified!

Billy nodded and smiled. "Ya'know what Brad, that's a brilliant idea. I never even thought of that. One of us could come get you if things get out of control. What do you think Kate?"

Kate smiled and rubbed Brad's arm. "I know I'd feel much safer knowing you were out there ready in case anything goes wrong. Are you sure you don't mind missing out on the party though?" Billy had to pretend to be having the usual coughing fit to cover the fact he was trying not to laugh.

Brad jumped to his feet, his eyes glowing with excitement. "Yeah, well, someone's gotta do it. That's okay, I'm not a big party person anyway. Good luck tonight, and you know where I'll be if you need me." Billy chuckled as he watched Brad walk away a lot quicker than he'd arrived.

Kate scowled at his retreating back. "I'd love to send the poltergeist to the shed just to see him drop everything and run. What a coward..."

Lance came strolling towards them with a pretty little blonde on his arm. "So what did Mr Paranormal Club want?"

Kate smiled. "He just wanted to let us know he wouldn't be able to make the party tonight. Something about a prior engagement with the Paranormal Club." She turned towards the girl on Lance's arm. "Hi, I'm Kate by the way, and this is Billy."

"Hey, I'm Mandy. You guys are the newbies aren't you? I've seen you around during the week."

Billy nodded. "Yep, that's us. So are you coming to the party tonight Mandy? What year are you in?"

Mandy's face lit up. "I sure am. I'm in year ten, same as you guys. Lance and I are in Biology together." She looked up at Lance with adoring eyes, causing Lance to blush bright red.

"Mandy's offered to help us set up the decorations and stuff in the common room. Is that cool with you guys?" Lance asked sheepishly.

Kate nodded, and smiled at Mandy's eager face. "Absolutely, we can always do with more help. We were planning to get started after lunch?"

"Sounds great," Mandy gushed. "I just need to duck to the shops and grab a few things, but I should be back by then." She looked up at Lance again. "Won't be long...see you after lunch," and she stood on her tippy-toes and kissed him on the cheek before dashing off to the girls' dorms.

Billy chuckled. "Wow Lance, looks like you've made a new friend. When did all this happen?"

Lance flopped down onto the ground beside Billy looking totally exhausted. "We got talking this morning at the end of breakfast. After you guys left, I thought I'd just finish my cuppa then go play my game on the computer. Mandy saw me sitting on my own and sat down for a chat." Lance shrugged. "She's not normally that ditzy...I think she might have been nervous meeting you guys."

"Damn...did I miss something? Who is this mysterious 'she' that has Lance looking like he's been hit by a bus?"

Kate didn't even flinch when Becky appeared beside her. Instead, she chuckled, as if Becky appearing out of nowhere was the most natural thing in the world. "Her name's Mandy and she is really into Lance."

Becky grinned. "How does she feel about ghosts Lance? Or hasn't that topic of conversation come up yet?"

Lance paled, and Billy clapped him on the shoulder. "It's all good Lance. I don't think we'll be introducing Becky and John to any more people for a while. You just need to be careful what you ask us in front of her."

Lance let out his breath in a loud whoosh. "Well, that's the best news I've had in a while. 'Cos, ya'know, I'd rather not scare her off quite yet."