Chapter 1

“Dante became besotted with her at a very young age. One of their meetings even inspired one of the greatest love poems ever written, La Vita Nuova.”

I slumped down in my seat, and closed my eyes, willing myself to stay awake for the rest of the lecture. I was tired. Dead tired, excuse the pun. Not only had I been up all night studying for my Ancient Civ exam, but I’d had an … ‘unwelcome visitor’, for lack of a better term.  I just needed to rest my eyes for a minute. Just for a minute.

“Insomnia is a serious problem, you know. Perhaps, you should get that checked out by a doctor?”

I sighed, fighting off the urge to scream and run, stomping out of the classroom. Ignore him. Just ignore him. I opened my eyes and tried to focus on Professor Hamlin, who was now reciting Dante’s poem, Of The Lady Pietra Degli Scrovigni, in his deep baritone voice. The specter who I had dubbed, Annoying Jackass, or AJ for short, was sitting cross-legged on Mr. Hamlin’s desk, shimmering like a mirage in the dessert sun. I propped my book open on my desk, and slid down in my seat to hide behind the pages, effectively blocking my ghostly stalker from view. I’d opened to the page discussing the Rosetta Stone.

“I thought we already established that ignoring me doesn’t do any good.” I didn’t have to see him to know that he was standing directly next to me. At this close of range, his presence felt like an ice cold towel pressed against the side of my body. 

I shivered, and he laughed. “Still a little too cold for you, Princess? Well, I can help with that.”

Through the corner of my eye, I saw him reach out his hand for mine, I tried to jerk away, but it was to late. When he touched me, it felt like my hand was being punctured by a thousand little ice cold needles. I made a startled scream in the back of my throat, as my textbook tumbled off the desk, and landed with a thud next to my feet. Aside from the groaning of old wooden chairs as the students turned to affix their attention on me, the classroom was now completely silent. Mr. Hamlin was looking at me over his book, his glasses perched precariously on his large nose, his mahogany eyes starring relentlessly down at me.

“Is there a problem, Ms. Lennox?” There was a hard tone in his voice that let me know he was not happy that I had interrupted his precious lecture.

I cleared my throat, my hand still a little numb from the shock. “No. I’m sorry. I have to go.”

As quickly as I could manage, I gathered my things off my desk, retrieved my textbook from the floor and shoved them all haphazardly into my messenger bag.  Aj’s laughter, and the stares of the other students followed me out into the hall, and I could have sworn, long after that.

The halls of the college were surprisingly empty, only a few students shuffling to and from their classes, juggling textbooks and class notes,  none of them paying any attention to me, as I slumped down onto the floor and rested the back of my head against the cool wall.

All I had wanted was just one year of normalcy, one year of being like everyone else: going to college, getting a part-time job, getting drunk at dorm parties, and maybe even, god forbid, going on a few dates with some normal - flesh and blood guys. Well, that dream had lasted all of several, very short and refreshingly mundane months. God, why couldn’t I have been born into a family of doctors or teachers? Hell, even a family of lawyers. 

“So, do you give yet?” I looked up to see Aj kneeling several feet in front of me, far enough away that I couldn’t feel the nagging cold spot that was his body. 

Now that I wasn’t trying to actively ignore his presence, I could really get a good look at him. He looked young, around my age, maybe a little older. His black hair was cut short, but styled so that it looked tousled like he’d just rolled out of bed. I’d recently learned from a friend that the just out of bed hairstyle, actually took more time than just actually rolling out of bed. His face was all angular lines, but at the same time, soft, which, made me add several more years to his age. He was absent any sign of facial hair, which, I approved of. His eyes were a beautiful shade of blueish gray, the color of the sky before a rainstorm. He was tall, with long legs and a lean body. All in all, a rather decent looking packing. Too bad I was to late. The story of my life.

“Why can’t you find someone else to haunt?” I asked, exasperated.

He cocked his head to the side, as if he was studying me. “Well, so far you’re the only person that’s been able to see me. Plus, you’ve come highly recommended by several other … life-challenged people.”

Life-challenged people? Was that the politically correct term ghosts were calling themselves now-a-days? Interesting.

“Sorry,” I said with a shrug of my shoulders, “I don’t know what ‘life-challenged’ folks you’ve been talking to, but I’m currently on sabbatical. You should ask them for someone else’s business card.”

He gave a half-laugh, “you don’t think I haven’t tried? Being dead isn’t fun for me either, you know. You think I like being invisible to everyone? You think I like being stuck here? You think I like following your spoiled, self-centered, selfish ass around all day? Well, news-flash, Princess, I don’t. So why don’t you save both of us many future headaches, and help a guy out.”

He’d had me up until, spoiled, self-centered, selfish ass. That just pissed me off. This guy didn’t know anything about me. Just because I could see him, didn’t automatically incline me to help him. He hadn’t been my friend, or even an acquaintance. The nerve . .

Angrily, I got to my feet and glared down at him. “Not any time in your afterlife, pal.”

I stomped off, passing several curious bystanders, out the wide double doors of the English building and stepped into the dreary afternoon. I stood there for a minute, stewing in my own anger, my fists clenched tightly. That stupid jerk! Did he really think insulting me was going to get me to help him? If so, he was way off base. Selfish? Self-centered? He was one too talk. Stupid bastard! I reached up and wiped several angry tears from my cheek with the sleeve of my sweater. Why was I getting so worked up over some meaningless words from a dead guy? I closed my eyes, took several deep breaths and concentrated on the feeling of the raindrops on my skin, and the wind blowing through my hair. I could hear the sounds of students talking in the distance, the distant rumble of thunder, doves cooing, the wind howling.  A perfect day for a haunting. I stopped, a perfect day for a haunting, huh? I laughed out loud, realizing what I had said. Bad mood dissipated, I opened my eyes and looked up at the blackening sky. There was no way I was going to let one annoying ghost get the best of me.

After a healthy fast food lunch of a burger and fries, I decided to skip the rest of my afternoon classes and headed straight to the library. It wasn’t that I was avoiding a certain someone . . Okay, I was. But not because I was scared of him, I just didn’t want any more incidents like I had in Mr. Hamlin’s class. The last thing I needed was for my classmates and teachers to think I was some sort of whacked out nut job. I had enough people in the outside world thinking I needed a one way ticket to a straight jacket; I damn sure didn’t need any more. I managed to study for about an hour and a half, which was a record for me, before I got bored and made a beeline for the fiction section. Studying had never been my forte, even in high school. Our butler Julius had recommended that I enroll in a study skills class, but I had quickly dismissed the idea. Why did I need to pay for something I could read about for free on the internet? Not that I had done any researching for good study habits on the internet.  I was passing all of my classes, and too me that was what mattered.  I grabbed a random book from the shelves, headed back to my seat, and settled in to read. Ever since I was a child, I’ve always loved libraries. The atmosphere, the smell, the sounds of books closing and pages turning. And today with the soft pitter patter of the raindrops against the windows, the atmosphere was even more calming than usual.  The serenity was almost enough to lull me into a peaceful sleep. 

“So this is where you went off to? Honestly, I never pictured you as much of a library girl. They actually have brains in their heads.”

I gripped the book tightly in my hands, trying to alleviate some of the anger that had bubbled to the surface. I should have known he wouldn’t have left me alone. In fact, I was surprised he had avoided me this long. Although, that thought did nothing to soothe my anger. Ignore him, just ignore him. I let that mantra dance around in my mind as I tried to focus on the words in front of me.

“So what are you reading? Emily Bronte, huh? Wow, that’s quite the read for a little princess like yourself, you sure you don’t need me to read it to you?  Because I can, you know. I have all the time in the world.” I could hear the mockery in his voice, as he sounded out the last eight words very slowly. 

Gritting my teeth, I tried my best to ignore him as he began reading out loud from the book I was holding. Breathe in, breathe out. Ignore him. The bad thing about ghosts is, you can’t touch them.  So what do you do when one is trying to drive you to insanity by annoyance? The simple answer is, aside from calling an exorcist, there isn’t a damn thing you can do. And what do you do if you’re an exorcist on sabbatical from the family business, trying to get through her college classes like a normal twenty-two year old? Well, then you’re pretty much screwed because, there is no one you can call.  I could only stomach about a page of him reading to me, before I couldn’t take anymore. As calmly as I could, I got up from my seat, put my things into my backpack and went to place the book in the return cart. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing how much he was annoying me, and so I tried my best to act as if he wasn’t talking to me. He followed me out of the library and into the rain. He was still talking, but I hadn’t a clue what he was saying. Since it was late in the afternoon now, other students were out and about, running to get to their destinations, hiding under umbrellas, notebooks and backpacks in an attempt to keep to keep themselves dry. The rain didn’t bother me, and neither did the prospect of soaked clothes.  Keeping a steady pace, I worked my way across campus, through the groves of ancient oak trees, towering brick buildings and busy bodied students. Despite Julius’ ranting and raving, I had decided to get an apartment off campus. Though, in the end I had comprised and picked a complex that was only two blocks away. It was far enough away that it wasn’t considered a part of the grounds, though ninety percent of the tenants were students, but close enough that I could forfeit buying a car and walk to and from school every day. That had been a plus, because I saved on gas money, and got much needed exercise every day. Which came with the added bonus of, I had lost about ten pounds since I had started school. And if I needed to go somewhere that wasn’t within walking distance? Well, there was always public transportation. It took me just around twenty minutes to get to my apartments. The Commodore, (who names their apartment buildings after military terms? It has nothing to do with living residences), is a small, several storied brick building nestled between the college and a small family owned convenience store. It’s mostly moss covered brick and wrought iron railings. It’s a nice place really, the hallways always smell like mothballs, and there are no elevators, just creepy stairwells and creaky water pipes, but it’s reasonably priced, and the old couple who own it are the sweetest landlords. And despite the constant influx of college students, the place is actually very quiet when it’s time to settle down at night. I trudged in through the front doors of the building, Aj directly behind me, like an annoying little dog yapping at my heels. The lobby which, consisted of nothing more than several old beaten down sofas, a soda and snack machine, and a scuffed up coffee table, was blissfully empty. Before I made my way up the main stairwell, I took a dollar out of my jacket pocket and stuffed it into the soda machine. I don’t have many bad habits, but caffeine in the form of a carbonated beverage, is definitely one of my weaknesses. Though, to help curb the number of calories I take in, I keep my fridge empty of sodas, but I can never pass one up when I walk past the machine.

“You sure you need those extra calories? You are starting to look a little on the chubby side.”

Haha, jackass. Ignoring him yet again, I walked through the lobby and up the main stairwell which, is located directly across from the landlords room.  I trudged up several flights of stairs, my drenched sneakers making squishing sounds as I walked. Hopefully, no one would slip on that. When Julius had come to give my temporary living arrangements a once over before I moved in, he had called the decor, “dreary and uninviting.” But for some reason, I liked it. It felt homely to me, sort of like a Grandma’s house should feel. The walls were all paneled in a deep chocolate brown; the old wooden floors were scuffed from years of traffic, but always clean and covered in old antique looking rugs and carpet. There wasn’t much to the decoration aside from a few framed black and white photographs of what, I assumed to be family, and several potted plants dotted here and there in an attempt to add some color. Most of them bright colored flowers I couldn’t name or even guess at. When I made it to the third floor, I fished my keys from my pocket and walked down the hall. Several of the other tenants were arriving home, and I was greeted with a few head nods and waves hello.  Since, I mainly kept to myself I didn’t know any of them by name, just by face or habits. There was, “that guy who doesn’t wash his hair,” who lived directly across from me, “the chick with crappy taste in music,” that lived to the left of me, and “the couple who consummated like jack rabbits” to the right of me. It’s not that I’m anti-social, I just really didn’t have the urge to talk to them. None of them seemed particularly interesting, really. And the couple? Well, they just annoyed me. Then again, since i’d been single for so long, most couples seemed to annoy me on a daily basis. Not that i’m bitter or anything. Well, maybe I am. Just a little, though.  I didn’t stop to make small talk with them, just headed straight to my apartment, and directly inside, closing the door behind me and locking it. Glad to be home, I tossed my bag onto the floor and breathed a sigh of relief.

“This is your apartment?” Aj said as he materialized next to me. “My old living room is bigger than this, how can you stand to live in such a small room? I’d ask you to give me a tour, but since, I can pretty much see you have no rooms, I don’t think that will be necessary.”

I let out a deep sigh. Okay, he did have a point, so my apartment was small? An efficiency was cheap and I didn’t need all that much space for just me.

“Oh, I don’t know,” I said with an air of nonchalance, “I’m sure that pine box your living in now is pretty damn cramped.”

He fell silent, and I turned around to look at him. He was staring at me with wide eyes, like I just reached out and slapped him across the face. With a triumphant grin, I turned and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind me.

The first thing I did was strip off my soaking wet clothes and throw them into a pile on the floor next to the tub. I hadn’t noticed it before, but I was chilled and my body was slightly shaking. I ran the water warm, and then stepped into the shower. I stood, letting the water warm me, and my thoughts wandered idly to the ghost standing stupefied in my living room. Maybe I had been a tad bit harsh with him when I had said that. Maybe, just a little. As I washed my hair and body, I couldn’t shake his face from my mind. He looked so sad. So lost. Then again, most ghosts are. All they want is for someone to listen to them, someone to see them, someone to help them. He’d been kindly with me, at first, almost timid and I had ignored him, brushed him off like he was a bothersome insect, and not a person. I could hear my Grandmothers voice inside my head chiding me. Nana had always been soft-hearted when she was alive, and she had never once turned down a ghost’s plea for help. She would slap me silly if she had heard me then. Both her and my Mother. When I was done showering, I turned off the water and stepped out of the tub. I quickly dried myself, patted down my hair for a few seconds, and then put on my pajamas that I always left hanging on the bathroom door. When I stepped into the living room, I saw Aj standing where I had left him, starring down at the floor.  He didn’t look at me when I entered the room, he didn’t even move. He just stood there, his head hanging, and his hands shoved into his pockets. He made me felt like I had just kicked a puppy dog, and I could feel the guilt twisting my stomach into knots.

I took a deep breath and sighed. “Alright,” I said aloud. “You win. I’ll help you. Just let me get some sleep tonight, and we’ll start first thing in the morning.”

He looked up at me, his eyes still wide, and he nodded. With that I turned and crawled into bed, snuggling into the warm sheets. Thankfully, it didn’t take me long to drift off into a dreamless slumber.