Three Idiots and a Ghost

When a ghost couldn't look in the mirror

Running, crying...

...I'm in so much pain...

...Seven days.

Rags woke up to another bright spring morning, except her entire vision was blurry. Her eyes were full of tears and a great ache rested deep within her heart that had been triggered from her dream. If only she knew what it was that had her past self so troubled. But on the other hand, perhaps it was better not knowing at all. It didn't seem like something she particularly wanted to keep in her memories.

Fortunately, she didn't have to drown in the sorrows of her unknown past for too long as her attention soon shifted to the conversation in the kitchen.

"Seriously, like I was tortured at Margaret's house last night!" Cooper said in between helping his friends clear the breakfast table. "Mrs. Russo would not stop giving me plateful after plateful of tuna casserole. Then, she'd like look at me with this motherly smile that was impossible to refuse. She kept telling me to eat more because I'm too skinny. Like, dude, I'm perfectly content with my flimsy body. I was definitely force-fed at least twice my weight, and that's not even counting dessert!"

Mr. Sprinkles walked out of the kitchen and into the living room with an extra grumpy expression. "The bitch thinks he has the right to complain about getting too much tuna. Fucking give me some of that shit then. Half a can is not nearly enough to feed this king."

Rags said, "I'll let Coops know about your complaint, Mr. Sprinkles."

The cat glared at the ghost. "I don't need help from a deceased blanket with limbs."

"My little kitty's complaining about something?" Cooper asked, entering the room. Archer and Skyler followed behind him.

Rags replied, "He's not happy about his portion sizes of tuna."

"I said I don't need your fucking help—"

Cooper caught his cat before he could escape. He lifted the feline up and held him close to his chest, patting his furry belly. "Mr. Sprinkles, you have to remember what the doctor said. You've gotten a little chubby these days."

"Fuck the doctor," Mr. Sprinkles snapped, trying to squirm himself free. "And get your filthy hands off me, bitch. I saw you jerk off last night and doubt you've thoroughly washed your hands yet."

For the first time, Rags was glad she couldn't touch anyone. She decided to pretend she didn't hear that last part though. It wasn't like she played cat-interpreter all that often anyways, mainly because she didn't want to hurt Cooper's feelings by revealing the truth—that Mr. Sprinkles didn't love him like he assumed. In fact, the sadistic cat expressed his desire to "kill the bitch" on a daily basis.

Archer finally got the chance to speak. "Rags, we need to have a talk about yesterday. It was not cool taking over my body like that without my permission."

After Rags left Archer's body the previous night, he went right back to sleep once fully regaining consciousness due to the physical exhaustion he experienced from the date activities. Thus, it wasn't until the next morning that he could learn what really happened.

Rags looked down, not being able to face Archer's disappointment. She was aware what she did wasn't right. "I'm sorry. But can I have the chance to explain myself?"

"Of course. I know you wouldn't possess me for no reason. I want to hear your side of the story. We all do."

The three guys sat on the couch staring down at Rags who was on the floor. She was getting flashbacks of her first day in this apartment when she was being interrogated in a similar fashion, except this time she didn't feel nearly as angry.

Rags went on to inform her friends about everything she had learned from her day with Alex. She even mentioned the fact that he was still not aware of her death, which meant she must have died fairly recently and her body had yet to be found. She strictly warned Archer not to bring up anything about herself during his next date with Alex in fear that he would discover the truth. She wanted to avoid the inevitable for as long as possible.

Once Rags's explanation was finished, Archer carefully studied her face. "Now that I think about it, you and Alex are quite alike. You have the same eye and hair color, and your smiles and face shapes are pretty close too."

"Really?" Rags asked, fascinated by this new information. "I had no idea we were so similar. But then again, I don't know what I look like to have been able to compare..."

"Wait, you're serious? You don't know what you look like?" Cooper asked.

Rags shook her head. "No, not at all. I can't exactly see myself in a mirror, and my dreams are always from my point of view, so I had no way of finding out."

Silently, the three guys passed shocked glances at one another. Archer then said, "I can't believe it took us this long to realize. We'll have to do something about this. Coops, go get your sketchbook and markers."