Three Idiots and a Ghost

When an idiot danced

"Spit him out!" Archer cried out desperately, shaking Cooper's body.

Rags was starting to feel dizzy and reached up to grab both of Archer's wrists and stop him. In the unaccustomed male voice, she said, "I think you have this backwards, Arch. Coops needs to spit me out. I'm inside of him—That's what she said!" Rags gasped and instantly covered her mouth with both hands. "I-I didn't say that! It seems Coops still has some control over his body."

"And out of all the things he could possibly say to us, he chooses that?!" Archer asked, still quite in shock at the sudden loss of his best friend's conscience.

"Typical Coops," Skyler remarked, not nearly as worked up as the Asian guy to his right. "Listen, I get this is a big deal and all, but can we just go get breakfast already? I'm starving. Sure, it sucks that the ghost has to tag along, but there's nothing we can do about it right now. And standing out in the hallway and shouting like this won't solve anything."

Archer sighed. "You're right, Sky. We should have breakfast first and then think things through. And I guess it technically doesn't matter if Rags is the one to eat. All the food will just go into Cooper's body. He'll still be fed. But there's no telling when he'll be able to eat on his own again..."

"Save the emotional shit for after we eat. Let's go." With that, Skyler went on ahead by himself to the elevator.

Archer and Rags quietly followed behind him. There wasn't any more talking until the three guys—really two guys and one girl—arrived at a café a few blocks away from their apartment building. Upon entering, Skyler's blue eyes immediately fell on the male worker behind the cash register. His already grim expression turned even grimmer as he turned his head away to the tables.

He said, "Arch, you know what I'm going to get. I'll go save us some seats."

"Wait, Sky—"

Skyler ignored Archer's call and grabbed a table for four at the far opposite side of the café. He sat down, keeping his back to everyone.

"Total dick move," Archer groaned, not having noticed Skyler's earlier reaction towards the cashier. "This isn't the first time he's done this. It's his way of getting out of paying for the food. Whatever, let's go order, Rags."

Archer and Rags stepped in line to place their order. Once it was their turn, Archer ordered for himself and Skyler. He then turned to Rags and asked what she wanted. Rags took a moment to read through the menu. She was excited to be able to taste and smell things again, even if it was through a borrowed body. Since she didn't know anything about herself, she initially thought she'd have a hard time picking something she would like to eat. However, her mouth soon began to move almost with a mind of its own.

"I'll have a Frappuccino with extra whipped cream and strawberry syrup instead of chocolate. And the banana bread too." At first, Rags believed that had been Cooper speaking in her place, but Archer's next words contradicted it.

"Oh, boy. Coops won't be happy about that. He hates bananas. And I didn't know you could ask for strawberry syrup."

Rags uttered, "Um, me neither..."

Meanwhile, the man behind the register took a small, unnoticeable step back in surprise at the very specific order. He whispered to himself, "There's only been one person who ordered that..."

"Pardon?" Archer asked.

The cashier quickly shook away the coincidence as nothing more than that, a mere coincidence. "Nothing, sir. Your total is $30.95."

Rags flinched, feeling a hand suddenly rub against her butt. As there was no one else behind her, she knew it had to have been Archer, which deeply confused her since she would've never taken him as the perverted type. Before she could ask what that was about, he revealed what looked to be Cooper's wallet, pulling out a credit card.

"Thanks for the meal, Coops," Archer said with a sly grin once the payment was done. He noticed the betrayed look on his blonde friend's face but couldn't tell if it was Rags behind it or Cooper. He felt the need to explain, "Hey, Coops is the only one of us with a job. Sky and I have to rely on our parents' extremely small allowance, most of which gets used on the apartment rent and utility fees anyways."

Soon, the three friends' table was filled with food. Archer got himself some blueberry waffles and a kiwi smoothie while Skyler opted for a plain bagel with cream cheese and black coffee. It was what Skyler always ordered.

Rags stared down at her own breakfast, feeling her mouth water, something she would never be able to do in her ghost form. She took a bite of the banana bread and a sip of her Frappuccino. Although she had no memories of what other food tasted like, she was somehow certain this combination was her favorite. For the first time in her afterlife, she actually felt happy. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it was a kind of happiness that resonated from familiarity. She'd definitely eaten this exact thing before while alive. She just knew it.

Breakfast proceeded relatively quickly, especially because Archer had been urging everyone to finish up so they could get home and freely discuss in private the issue of Cooper's body being possessed. There were simply too many people around at the café, some of whom attended the same university as the guys, to be having such a crazy conversation as that of ghosts.

With satisfied stomachs, the three exited the café. Spring was currently in full session and the bright orange glow of the morning sun casted over them. Rags had been too worried about being stuck in Cooper's body on the way to the café to have noticed any of the environment around her. But now, she was taking in everything her senses could pick up—the vibrant sight, sound, and smell of the city.

Rags made no attempt to hide her huge smile, suddenly feeling so alive as ironic as it was. She couldn't help spreading her arms out wide, almost as to embrace all the things she would miss out on once she was back to being trapped in the stuffy apartment. She didn't want to let any of this moment go. She twirled around several times, giggling at the way the sun's warmth and the light breeze tickled her skin. She didn't care if people were now staring. She was dead, and this wasn't her body. What did it matter what people thought of her? Rags was going to enjoy every second of this while it lasted.

On the other hand, Archer and Skyler watched on with mortified expressions. They contemplated on whether to go on ahead home without Rags to save the humiliation but thought it'd be better not to abandon their best friend's body.

Skyler quietly remarked, "When Coops appears gayer than you, Arch."

Archer passed him an unamused glare. "Shut up, Sky. Let's just take her home already before she causes an even bigger scene..."