The boy continues to recount his tale

*********************

After washing his hands and checking his makeup, the boy returned to the table with a frown on his face.

“Is everything ok?”

“Yes, fine” he answered not wanting to think about it. “Where was I, oh yes. I’d just told you all the others were starin’ at the tree opposite me house.

I looked to see why. It was stadin’ there, in the shade. We got the impression it was none too happy with us. No one else seemed te notice it though, we saw an ald gadgie walk reet past it; he didn’t seem to see owt! But It did, It sort of hunkered back from him, like It was afraid of bein’ discovered.” The boy stared intently at Charlotte and added “It seems to be scared of others findin’ out about It; as long as I’m with someone Its not tryin’ to scare It seems to cower away” he then gestured in the direction of a dark corner of a building opposite.

Charlotte, looked out the window she couldn’t see anything; she also wasn’t sure how to take what this girl had been telling her. She seemed sincere and rational, but the story was so unreasonable. She decided it was best to let her continue, so she gave her a friendly but hopefully understanding nod.

“It also seems to hate the light, but I suppose more of that later” the boy added. “We stood starin’ at It for about five minutes, but It seemed to not be doin’ owt but creepin’ us owt. I think it was Kev that said we were just wastin’ time so we quickly heeded off around his; It didn’t seem to follow us, but It had added to our downer.

We got to Kev’s quickly, and rushed up to his room te dig the board owt of his cupboard. We soon had it dumped on his bed and we stood starin’ at it. We’d sort of expected somethin’ to happen street away like, but nothin’ did.

I think I asked ‘who wants te try usin’ it?’ But I was a bit distracted, by some loose hair that had fallen in front of me eyes and lifted a hand to brush it away. It took us a second to work out that was wrong with that; I had short hair! I remember grabbin’ a strand and holden it in front of me eyes, it was long enough to touch the end of me nose! I think I might have whimpered. It got the others attention though, they were shaken by it. Why hadn’t we noticed that?! Why hadn’t I? This needed sortin’ out so I made to set the board up.

I needn’t have bothered; as soon as I touched the board we all heard her. She seemed friendlier this time, but was concerned that we weren’t ready and tald us to gan away. She was reet windin’ us up and I may have swore a bit, well a lot I suppose. It didn’t get me very far she just shut up. I think that got me angrier as a picked up the Ouija board and started shakin’ it, whilst shoutin’ ‘there’s no use pretendin’ you can’t hear us!’ I don’t think it’s a technique usually recommended for contacting the dead,” he added with a smile towards Charlotte.

“Anyway, the others didn’t think I was helpin’ much and tald us I’d probably annoyed her. They said I should heed on owt and let them deal with it. I was fair annoyed meself so I went along with it. I went to get me hair cut. It didn’t tak long to get a number one al over and a stottie sandwich for lunch; I was back at Kev’s after about an hour to see what had happened.

They looked none too happy, although they had apparently got her te talk to them after awhile. They’d evidently found owt a canny bit about her; she’d even admitted she was behind what had happened to Drew and me miracle hair growth, not that she was willin’ to undo it. She apparently thought I was bein’ ‘quite unreasonable’. That didn’t improve me mood. I was startin’ to wish I’d paid more attention in Sunday School, I’m sure they must have covered somethin’ about this type of thing there.”

Charlotte smiled, casuining the boy to ask “What?”

“Sorry, I’m just thinking my Mother would agree with you, well the importance of church part anyway. Then again she seems to think anything can be cured with a bottle of holy water from Lourdes.” Charlotte answered with a bit of the exasperation she felt towards her elderly parent. She then added, “Did they find out any information about this girl?”

The boy further savoured his drink and answered, “Yeah, quite a bit I suppose none of it of much use though.

Her name is Sally and was sixteen when she died, or so she says, and as Kev had claimed she seems lonely. She’d apparently been murdered during the height of the blitz in London, although the guy who did it carked it the same nite, killed in the bombin’ she claimed. Maybe karma does exist. Since then she’s been sort of stuck she said she wasn’t sure why, although this thing that killed her had apparently been stalkin’ her in the afterlife as well. She claimed she’d got used to it, God knows how but I suppose after sixty years that type of thing might become normal and it apparently can’t do owt to her, but still ya knaw.

Anyway with nowt but that thing as company she’s been, as I said a bit lonely, and so’s been tryin’ to talk to people when she could, she claimed she’s been in touch with a few al of which turned out to be boys. That thing with her however, appears to be jealous about this and was drivin’ them al away. Apparently she was feelin’ reet down after, we’d al panicked after Halloween, but then Kev went and contacted her again. It perked her up, but she realised it just be a matter of time before It drove us al away. It’s then that she cam up with her little plan. The guys never did get her to explain how she was doin’ it, she just claimed that she’d learned a few things over the years.

They’d apparently tried beggin’ and stuff to change her mind, but she was adamant. The guys claimed she didn’t seem to have a very good opinion of men, which I suppose I can understand given what’s happened to her over the past sixty years, she said we should be happy, she was doin’ us a favour really!”

The boy paused and looked at Charlotte, to see if she had anything to add. Evidently not, so he turned his attention briefly to his drink and continued on “I was feelin’ reet down, the guys didn’t seem much better. I told them to get her back, they’d said they tried, but she’d only said we’d al have ‘plenty of time to talk later.’

I think we sat around in a funk for a while, well apart from me as I was up and down like a yo-yo checkin’ me hair. It hadn’t growin’, which I thought was good. Mands also seemed quite chipper about it al, but worried for the rest of us. It irritated Lee nee end though that she wasn’t more upset, and he had a reet go at her. He was getting’ well wound up as she kept askin’ what was wrong with getting used to it and if he’d prefer that she was miserable for the rest of her life? His voice started crackin’ as he kept on rantin’ and Mands was getting’ more upset herself. I thought it best we leave.

Mands and me went to hers and I hung around for a few hours not wantin’ to gan back, but it was reet disturbin’ how her parents were ganin on.”

“How so?”

“Well we’d been disgusin’ what te de that nite like, and well I didn’t want to stay in, so I suggested we de the usual and gan out down the town, at which her dad said he didn’t think that was a good idea. I tried te reason with him but he just went on about how he knew she’d been a bit of a tomboy in the past but that girls had te be more careful than boys. I felt a reet number of things about that such as it was disturbin’, sexist and insultin’ te me and me mates that he thought we’d let anythin’ happen. Instead I pointed out Hels could well be there, it didn’t seem to sway him and Mands just mumbled somethin’ about it not matterin’.

Mandy was causin’ us to worry as well, she was continuin’ to be disturbingly calm about al this. But then as we sat there talkin’ I realised in a lot of ways she was just like Drew, just in a sort girlish way. It gave us an insight into what it would be like for me and mates if we changed, eventually it would just seem normal. It panicked us somewhat, I felt a bit hopeless and just wanted to forget about it al.

Fortunately Lee soon called, he sounded like he was still wound up from his argument, his voice was still a bit weird, but he apologised. The five of us lads agreed to gan out for the nite though, frankly I thing they wanted to forget everythin’ as much as me. So I went back to me house to get ready.

When I got there, Dad and Jake were long back from their footy and I went upstairs to get changed and call Hels about our plans, but she didn’t want te gan, she seemed a bit standoffish to be honest. I shrugged it off and was soon changed and heeded on owt.

It was dark but I decided to walk as it’s not that far te town. It was that time of nite, around tea time, when everythin’ gets a bit deserted and I was feelin’ a bit eerie as no one was around when I heard a pop and fair jumped owt of me skin. One of the streetlight had gone owt, but then in the shadows I saw It lurkin’. I sped up but then another light went, I pegged it te the town.” The boy paused and looked out the window; he decided he should leave the rest of his drink.

Taking the opportunity given by his pause Charlotte interrupted, “It seems we may have a while to go yet, and it’s getting on. Do you want to get something to eat Jamie? We can try the hotel it’s just across the road.”

The boy wasn’t really hungry, he’d eaten quite a lot at Karen’s and he wasn’t eager to go out, but he couldn’t hide in here all night and he’d have to go to the hotel eventually. Besides there were a few students milling around, and he should be safe with the professor with him he reasoned. He nodded his consent.