Purgatory

Chapter 34

Nothing changed between Cole and me.  He remained my presiding guardian and we still continued our friendship outside of official business.  It was nice to have someone remain cool about how I handled things instead of getting awkward, even when I began to feel as such.

I couldn’t stop myself from looking at Cole when his attention was elsewhere, and every other time I struggled to keep eye contact.  I felt my nerves take over and my senses cloud each time.  Occasionally Cole would catch a glimpse at my feeble state and eye me curiously, his lips curling to a small smile.  I was flustered and confused as to why I couldn’t focus correctly.

Each day was spent mostly watching Jason during the day.  School days were the worst, in my opinion, because I’d have to sit through seven hours of grade school activities and lessons.  Since Jason and Elle shared the same class schedule I saw a lot of Harper which allowed for some release from my boredom.

I walked my usual route to the apartment complex outside of the historical district.  The journey started with busy city streets and filtered into gnarly trees and refurbished homes.  A crisp cold still hung in the late winter’s morning as the sun steadily rose to cast colors of light pinks and creams.

I made it to the apartment complex as Daphin was loading her son’s wheelchair into the trunk of her van.  I quickly entered the vehicle before Jason closed the door, instantly met with the warm interior.  The boy spared a glance in my direction, nodding slightly in his usual morning greeting.  Their mother then diligently drove them to their respective schools, and her sons would always part with fond farewells.

Jason attended an elementary school that appeared to hold more of the rich than the middle class.  He stood out from the others with his hand-me-down backpack and bargain bin attire, though he wore it all with pride.  He was a cheery boy that appeared to hold respect as he walked down the halls of his school.  Teachers and students would both greet him with smiles or friendly waves as he made his way to his home room.  It was odd to see such a welcoming response from people who appeared more privileged than him.

Elle waved at Jason as he entered the room, and he sat himself in the row next to her quickly.  They spoke softly to each other about their homework from the previous night as I walked to the back of the room to stand next to Harper.  He greeted me with a simple nod of his head, and he readjusted his apparatus and situated the tubing connecting to his neck piece.

“How have things been with boy wonder?” Harper asked me, and Jason looked over his shoulder to glare at the observer briefly.

“Same as ever,” I replied with a chuckle.  I’d come to find the kid more amusing than annoying after a while.  He took my presence with stride, and while he jokingly called me a creep from time to time, he seemed to stop caring about my business.  “How are things with the ghost whisperer?”

“Same as ever,” Harper responded with a shrug.  “Though she almost got tangled with a Puck again.  As I was fighting it off I sort of ran into her and it scared her a bit.  She hasn’t touched the Ouija board since.”

As the bell rung to start the school day, Jason looked to us in the back, his finger placed on his lips to signal for us to keep it down.  Because he could hear us, we were apparently distracting to his education.  Since when did kids care about learning?

Jason looked quite tired throughout the day and continually fought back yawning.  While most kids ravenously ate their lunches, he divvied out half of his meal to his friends.  During recess most kids ran around the field playing games, but not Jason.  Instead, he and Elle sat in the grass and talked the whole time occasionally accompanied by a few other random friends who didn’t feel like sweating.