Who she hopes will be there: David Richards, described above and George Hamilton, the best one in school when it comes to drawing, as well as a history buff.
Who she hopes won't be there: Harold Porter, the annoying, infantile classmate who used to stick chewing-gum in her hair and hasn't grown up a bit.
Good news/bad news. The good news is that George is there! The bad is that so is Harold.
George seems to be telling a story to some of his friends, who are laughing and slapping his back.
A little bit past George, Harold has his back to you, looking down at one of the old graves.
Neither have noticed you but you're not likely to get to George without Harold seeing you.
What do you do?
You arrive at the cemetery. Your gothier friends are sitting on the steps of a mausoleum, the doors barred with an iron gate and heavy chains. They motion you over, but also look a bit askance at Maggie.
What do you do?
Fatou marches onto the field, followed closely by Steve. It's late enough after school that no one is around. The sun is starting to set.
What do you do?
It takes some time walking before Fatou gives in and starts talking to Steve. He could have stood up for me better. "I don't know if I can just make a talking board. Not one that works. They're too big for me to hide anyway -and I don't want to chance letting Kipp through. I brought a mirror, and a deck of tarot cards. No candles this time."
Fatou leads Steven to to place in the football field where she thinks the circle at the gorge was. It happens to be where the black bird landed, and Fatou ignores the possibility that she's willing that to be the spot more than remembering it.
Without any explanation, Fatou takes out her flute and assembles it, then sets the mirror on the flute case and begins shuffling the tarot cards.
Yes. What action are you using to do that?
Under the pretense of a science project, one of the first things Fatou did upon returning home from the hospital was to make some modifications to her old Speak and Spell. The buttons of a Speak and Spell generally respond to the under side of the button closing a particular circuit. Theoretically, all Fatou needed to do is close all of the circuits, and invert the inputs. That way, a ghostly touch on the keypad would cause a fluctuation in that particular circuit and trigger that letter input.
Very good! Yes, that will indeed work to speak to a ghost. Now the question is...how to bring a ghost to you.
You go say hi to George. I'll come over in a sec. Holly says to Maggie
She goes over to her friends Sorry I'm late. Fatou and that meathead held me up. what's up. she asks, he voice disaffected and low.
"Once we do make contact, I've made something better than a talking board. Remember how Marty could make lights flicker? I fixed this toy so he can contact us through it. I made it so a ghost can push the buttons." Fatou pulls out the Speak and Spell. The yellow face plate has been colored over with sharpie, and "spook 'n spell" has been painted on it in drippy red fingernail polish.
Your friends shrug, trying as hard as they can to convey an air of detached apathy. Laurie, who is currently experimenting with being mean, looks over your shoulder at Maggie.
"Why'd you bring lil' miss sunshine? Did she bring us any treats?"
Do you have a plan for summoning a spirit? What brings you out to the field?
"You mean that ouija board thing isn't enough to talk with a ghost?" Steve asks, pointing to the Speak and Spell. Steve has maintained over the years his mispronunciation of the j in ouija.
"And are you sure what you're going to do is going to work? I'm ready to do it, but it's been years since we used the ouija board, and I don't remember all the instructions you told me last time..."
No sense in trying to avoid him. Worst comes to pass, I can push him in a grave.
"What's cookin', good lookin'?" she says, approaching George with a smile.
George arches an eyebrow at you, his friends snigger a little. "Uh, hey Maggie. Didn't expect to see you here. Didn't think this was your scene."
From behind you, you can hear Harold's whining voice. "Did you come here to put some flowers on the graves, Braggy Maggy?"
Maggie turns around to face Harold, her voice cold. "If it isn't Harold Porter, the guy who can make a graveyard look pleasant in comparison. No, I was here to pray on the grave of your intelligence, tragically stillborn. Too bad the body didn't follow."
Your words definitely outmatch his. Realizing he's beaten, he slinks away to some other graves without saying a peep.
George chuckles warmly. "Nice one. Harry's such a creep sometime. So...why did you decide to join us tonight?
"One of the first things I did after that night was research the talking board. It was invented less than a hundred years ago by some lawyer in Maryland. It was picked up by Pearl Curran as his main tool of divination. Based on that, I don't think it was the spirit board itself." Mostly, I just need you. You're the one who's seen him the most. "Come sit so you can look in the mirror, and think about Marty. When you're sure you're only thinking about Marty Smith, call out to him. Ask for him by name, and look into the mirror. Think of the time at the circus, or your bike ride home that night." Just don't think about Kipp or that a#~#~#* teacher.
"Oh, she helped get me away from the nutjob and roid-rage. She isn't so bad, just a little too perky." Holly says. she dig through her bag, and pulls out bags of herbs and powders, and flips open her grimoire to the page for the Ebon Abyss.
"Who'd you guys get stuck with for that friggin history assignment?"
"So ghosts might have been following me around whenever I thought about them without even realizing? I wish I didn't know that," Steve says. "So you're going to do the talking, right? I still don't even know what you want from him."
He begins to concentrate as hard as he can on Marty Smith from when he saw him at the circus, and on the way back home on the gorge. After a few moments, he says aloud, "Marty Smith?" His voice wavers at the end out of fear.
At this point I'd settle for prooving nurse Weiss wrong.
Maggie smiles her brightest at George. "There's friends, I've got a guitar, and I've had a weird day. Just needed to unwind. How about you?"
The winds pick up, a spiral of leaves whip around you. For a moment everything is silent, and you worry it didn’t work. Then, on its own volition, the Speak-and-spell talks.Fatou-oo-oo-oo-oo how r u do do doing this s s s
”We’re not really in to the whole spooky goth scene. It’s just a cool place to hang, no one will hassle us over a beer or two.” to punctuate this, cracks open a beer, then offers you one.
”Oh, are we doing spells tonight? Can we summon anything?” asks Laurie.
"Well, this one." she shows them the page, and starts bringing out herbs and powders "Looks pretty promising. But we'll need a fourth"
The speak-and-spell's output is followed by a low and unhinged laughter which startles Fatou before she realizes it's her laughing, and she covers her mouth, glancing over at Steve.
She works her tongue in her mouth, trying to fight its sudden dryness. "I fixed a spelling toy so it would respond to your influence on electrical systems. Is the circus coming back?" Not so blunt. He's still a kid. "Sorry, how have you been?"
"Thank you!"
Maggie pops the beer open and clinks it against George's. "Not much of my cup of coffee either, but Holly was going and I thought why not. So, you guys up for some music? How do you like Sweet Dreams?"
I-I-I-was happppy. The circus treats meeeee right. At peace. In Russia. Where r u?
He smirks a little. The Eurhythmics? Really? Nah, we're more into Van Hallen or GNR. Do you have any of them?
"Hah!" Fatou resists the urge to jump up and pace. "Russia. The world history teacher must be in on it." Biting her tongue, Fatou turns to Steve, "We're all back in the town where we met you... in a sport field build over the gorge. I'm with Steve. Steve, did you have any questions?"
"Russia? What're you doing there?" Steve asks. "Fatou thinks there are Solomonars somewhere around there; are they?"
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I don't k mow what a Sola whatever is. The circus is toooooooouring europe & we stopped there. I hope u r doing good Fatou. They taaaaaaaaaaaalk abut u often, how good you did. I think theyre sad u hat them i mean hate them
"Oh, well I don't know either, really. So, Fatou, I guess they aren't really working with the circus? Maybe the circus isn't really in on all the things you thought they were," Steve suggests.
Fatou has been seething the whole time Steve and Marty were talking.
They've been watching me. They knew what I was researching, and that I don't trust them. Are they watching now?
Fatou whips around, scanning the field and the stands for crows, rats, eyes sparkling in the dark...
"No... I don't think... I don't think they would have any reason to tell Marty. Uhm, did they say how they we're checking in on me, Marty? That sounds like a neat trick." Fatou continues to search the darkness.
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"Don't blame me, blame easy chord progression" quips Maggie with a wink, opening the guitar case and fishing out a binder. "Van Halen, Van Halen... I can do Jump!"
In a few seconds, she sits cross-legged and starts strumming.
"I get up, and nothing gets me down
You got it tough, I've seen the toughest around
And I know, baby, just how you feel,
You've got to roll with the punches to get to whats real..."
”Theyre not watching they just liked you from before. Theyd have you come live with them if you wanted. Youd be good at fighting monsters.
From behind you, you hear Ah, can't you see me standin' here
I got my back against the record machine
I ain't the worst that you've seen
Ah, can't you see what I mean? you turn to see a boy you’ve never seen before, tall with bleached white hair, leather jacket. He’s perched on top of the base of a small obelisk.
You might as well...
A cluster of kids standing around Maggie shout Jump! in unison as she plays guitar. A boy you’ve never seen before gracefully hops from the obelisk and approaches Maggie. You can barely hear your friends prattle on about who the fourth could be, but you already know. Tall, pale and gothy over yonder would be the perfect addition to your little circle.
Everyone: What do you do?
"There are monsters in Russia that you have to fight?" Steve asks with a hint of surprise in his voice. He might have gotten used to ghosts, but he still had never heard of other monsters. "What are they, and why do you need to fight them?"
holly looks back at her friends momentarily, and then gestures at the new guy. You guys thinking what I'm thinking? she says as she starts toward the new kid.
she saunters over, smiling a little despite herself. Hi. What's your name? she says, leaning against a grave.
Fatou's hand goes to the flute in her lap and she bites her lip.
Maggie slides into the instrumental part, reaching out to the approaching Holly and whispering a "Dibs!" between her teeth.
He smiles as Holly approaches. I’m Max. We just moved here. What’s your name.
Theres a group of warlocks trying to summon Baba Yaga again its a whole thing...
It seems like he’s getting better at using the keyboard.
I'm Holly Holly says, trying her best for a flirty smile as she extends her hand to shake Max's.
"W-what do they use to fight?" Fatou gets out, against her better judgement.
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Holly, his grin widens and he finds himself unexpectedly on the receiving end of a charm attack. He’s not totally sure how to proceed. He shakes your hand, his nerves making his skin cold and clammy.
Nice to meet you. So...this is the cool place to be in town? Seems kind of gloomy.
I think it's pretty cool. esides, no one comes out here, so theres no one to hasstle us
So, my friends and I are doing a... thing. and we need a fourth person. you interested? She says
He arches an eyebrow and looks back to your friends. What...kind of thing?
They have spells and stuff. Fire spitting. It’s pretty crazy.
He arches an eyebrow and looks back to your friends. What...kind of thing?
They have spells and stuff. Fire spitting. It’s pretty crazy.
C slides into F and F slides into G as Maggie foregoes the outro with a burning glance at Holly. Taking the guitar off and handing it to George for a moment, she also undoes her ponytail, freeing up auburn hair to frame her face. "Oh, by the way I'm Maggie, and your singing voice is outstanding. Are you new to the town?"