Maryann said impatiently. "So this girl?"
"Yeah, this girl. He spent all the time he could with her and kind of neglected his thesis work for a little while. I mean, she was like all he talked about."
"Wow, so that's genetic too," Leah whispered to Nora.
Nora sniggered slightly. Isabella gave them a warning look but Maryann didn't notice.
"And then something happened over Thanksgiving break and he stopped talking about her. It was like she didn't even exist. That's when he really started working on his thesis again and it seems like he had a lot of work to make up."
"Did you ever meet this girl?"
Aadi shook his head. "Nope. We teased Jason about making her up so he'd let us meet her, but he made some excuse about her being shy and uncomfortable around new people. And then there was the big break-up, I guess, so we didn't bug him about it."
"Why didn't he tell anyone he had a girlfriend?" Maryann asked, looking hurt.
"He didn't want you or his mom to make a big deal of it, I think," Aadi answered. "And they broke up anyway so there wasn't anything to tell you."
"You can't expect your brother to tell you everything," Leah said. "My brothers don't tell me anything and honestly I'd rather not know what they're up to."
"I know, I know. But being all broken up over a girl doesn't explain why he looks sick," Maryann said.
"Well, I'll tell you he hasn't been coming back here to eat for awhile. I assume he's getting some take-out or something and eating at the lab. I don't think he looks too much worse than some of the other guys working on their thesis."
"Okay, well, thanks," the redhead said, looking quite unhappy.
"Hey, thanks for the doughnuts. I know you will anyway, but don't tell Jason you heard about his girlfriend from me."
"I'll blame the other two," she said.
"So, can I keep the rest of these?" he asked, gesturing at the remaining doughnuts.
"Sure."
"Come on, Maryann. You got your answers, and we have some stuff to take care of before the show tonight," Nora said.
"You will bring Jason to the show, right?" Maryann asked Aadi.
"Yeah, sure, I think we can drag him out for one night anyway. Might have to get a few beers in him though. He's been seriously uptight lately with that thesis hanging over his head like the sword of Damocles."
They couldn't help but give him an odd look.
He sighed. "I'm double-majoring in mathematics and world literature. Not all students here are engineers who are afraid of the humanities."
"We're sorry for stereotyping," Maryann said contritely.
"It's fine. Happens all the time. I'm looking forward to your show tonight."
"Thanks," Nora said. "And if you can convince some other people to go who would have to buy tickets, that'd be great."
"I'll try."
"Thanks again," Maryann said as the band filed out of the house. "I sure wish Jason had told me about his girlfriend."
"He's allowed to keep secrets," Nora said. "Maybe he'll tell you once he's over her."
Isabella frowned thoughtfully but said nothing.
The band took care of some more chores in preparation for their show and Maryann was obviously distracted. They got to the gig and it was clear she was searching for her brother or his housemates, and everyone was relieved to see the whole household in the crowd. Jason, however, looked more annoyed than excited. Maryann assured him it would be a great show and he would have a great time and then they disappeared backstage.
After a long set and a good show, they rejoined the crowd.
"Aadi, where's Jason?" Maryann asked.
"Um, we maybe got too many beers in him," he answered. "He started looking real sick and ran to the bathroom."
"Has anyone been in to check him?"
"Yeah, yeah, he's just taking care of business."
"We need to get our gear loaded up," Isabella said.
"Okay, well, we'll try to stop by tomorrow and maybe go to lunch," Maryann said. "Make sure Jason's okay."
"No problem," Aadi replied. "Good show, by the way. I like the punk meets Goth inspired costumes."
"Thanks!"
It took some time to pack everything up and by that time they wanted some food, so they parked the van in a nearby parking garage and got some dinner at a bar before the kitchen closed. After dinner, such as it was, they hurried back to the parking garage before it closed.
"Hey, is someone standing next to our van?" Nora asked in a low voice.
They halted for a moment. The parking garage was adequately lit but there were still numerous shadows. It was clear someone was by their van and that the person appeared to be on all fours.
"Okay, this is getting weird," Leah said in an equally low voice.
"I have a really bad feeling about this," Isabella said. "The wind just died."
"Then I think we should back up slowly to the elevator and get security," Nora said, and they proceeded to do so. However, the elevator made a beeping noise when it reached their floor which the mysterious person around their van seemed to hear. The person stood up and stepped forward into better light.
Leah cursed in Spanish.
The figure was a seven-foot tall, reddish-blond werewolf.
"Take the stairs," Isabella said, pulling a piece of paper with Japanese kanji written on it out of her purse.
The werewolf growled.
"Now!" she ordered, and they all scrambled for the stairs.
The werewolf bounded after them but Isabella put the charm on the door behind them. The werewolf smacked into the glass, looked confused, ripped off the paper, and then followed them down the stairs, but at least they had bought a few moments' head start. The band got out of the stairwell and started to run down the street.
"Are you sure this place isn't on a Hellmouth?" Leah shouted as they ran down Superior Avenue.
"Yes! There's no such thing!" Nora replied.
"Then explain the werewolf!"
The snarling, giant beast knocked over several newsstands as it pursued them. The few people on the street at that hour screamed and got out of the way but only acted as though they were seeing a crazy dog.
"Maryann, I need a door!" Isabella yelled.
"That's your thing!"
"Where can I find an old door?"
She struggled to concentrate as they continued their mad dash. "The Arcade! We'll cross Sixth Street and then you'll see it!"
They crossed Sixth Street and skidded to a stop in front of a large glass door and glass windows. The security guard inside looked at them curiously.
"It's coming," Leah said. "It'll smash through the glass..."
Isabella pulled out another piece of paper with Japanese kanji written on it. She stuck it to the door and opened it, even though it should have been locked at that late hour. "Go!"
The other three gladly ran through and Isabella was last as the werewolf bore down on her. She pulled the door shut.
The werewolf slammed into the door but did not break the glass. The paper on the outside turned to ash.
"And again we find ourselves being chased by a terrifying monster," Leah sighed.
"Well, at least we have shoes we can run in," Nora said. "Where are we?"
"The Arcade. It was a Victorian shopping mall. It was called the Crystal Palace once. The top three floors are the hotel and the rest are shops. It's a historical building and supposedly one of the country's first shopping malls," Maryann answered. "Skipper told me all about it."
"No, that's where we were. Where are we now?"
"The spirit realm," Isabella answered.
"Why does it look different every time we end up here?" Leah asked.
"When we change our perceptions change."
"Who are all these ghost people? I mean, they aren't really ghosts, are they?" Maryann asked, looking at the opaque silhouettes walking around them.
"I don't think so," Isabella said.
"I think we're seeing shades of real people."
"But the Arcade is closed right now."
"These people were here once. In a place like this their passage left an impression. Or we're seeing people from a different time. The spirit world is a strange place like that. I think if we wait here for a little bit we can go back out this door and get to our van."
"What if that thing is waiting for us?" Nora asked.
"The alternative is trying to walk through the spirit world to find an exit to someplace safe. I don't like walking through the spirit world. It's easy to get lost," Isabella answered.
"Can we walk to the van in the spirit world and make sure it's not waiting there?" Leah asked.
"I suppose we could, but we probably couldn't get out there. I can't make a door just anywhere, you know."
"I know, I know. I'm just trying to figure out a good solution."
"I'm wondering what that thing was doing around our van in the first place," Nora said.
"I'm so worried about Jason. We need to get back to the van so we can either get to Case and talk to Charlie and the angels or go to his house and make sure he's okay," Maryann said.
"Fine," Nora sighed. "We'll wait a few minutes, make sure it doesn't run past us, and maybe Isabella could open that door on the other side just in case it's hiding on this side?"
She walked across the Arcade and examined the other door. The band followed her. "It won't be as easy to open as that door, but I think I can do it."
"So now we wait," Leah sighed.
And wait they did for twenty long minutes. There could see no shadow of the werewolf outside the doors to the Arcade, so Isabella opened the door out to Euclid Avenue. They could see flashing lights through the glass of the Arcade on Superior Avenue, which made them glad they opted for the other side. They made their way back to their van and found it