Reapers Never Smile

  “I didn’t really get stuck with him. I hit him in the face with a baseball during P.E. I only talked to him to see if he was ok.” It was only partially true, and I knew it. But even though I thought calling him a loser was pretty harsh, I just couldn’t bring myself to admit that Derek was my only friend at school. Especially to someone who’d not only met him but had just called him a loser.

  “Uh-huh.” She said, not believing me. “So tell me. Does he still wear those big, thick glasses and have that stupid haircut?”

  “Uh… yeah.” I mumbled. “His haircut’s pretty normal, but he still has the glasses.”

  “I almost felt bad for him.” she said wickedly. “I mean, how does someone go through life being so nerdy? I’m just glad I’m not him!”

  I stared blankly at her, and I could tell my mouth was hanging open. Did she really say she’d rather be herself – a ghost – than a nerdy kid? Nothing like keeping track of the big picture after you’re already dead. I would have thought dying would have given her some perspective, but apparently I’d have been wrong. I really wasn’t quite sure what to say. I knew I’d think of something eventually, but for now, I was too busy trying to figure this girl out.

  I was still trying to come up with some kind of response when I heard a loud noise downstairs. The front door; my mom was home. Apparently Samantha figured out what the sound was at the same time I did because she looked surprised for a second before taking a quick step backward and vanishing into the darkness.

  Chapter 20

  “You haven’t been as much fun lately.” Samantha informed me the next time I saw her. I’ll get right on that, I thought.

  “And why’s that?” I asked wearily.

  “You’ve been all moody and quiet.”

  “I’ve had a lot on my mind.” I said flatly. Sometimes she really made me regret talking to her.

  “Like what?” she asked, clearly thinking I was lying.

  “Like school. I’ve had a lot of homework the last couple of weeks.” Maybe she would get the hint and just leave for the night.

  “What about Karen?”

  “Huh?” Where did that come from?

  “Has Karen been on your mind?” she persisted.

  What was this? Had I mentioned Karen? No. I hadn’t brought her name up since Samantha got all moody last time. I hadn’t even brought up Derek on the off chance she got mad talking about anyone I knew, even if they were just my friends and not people she actively hated. So why was she getting so upset?

  I looked over at her. Her arms were folded over her chest, accusing glare fixed on her face. Something about that look really got to me. Was she still mad that I’d asked about Karen almost a week ago? Was I just not allowed to have friends or talk about people other than her? I put up with a lot from people – especially her. But questioning me about my choice in friends was something I was not going to put up with. So maybe I snapped a little. I hadn’t really thought about Karen in a while, but I decided not to tell Samantha that. Why was it any of her business anyway?

  “Yeah, Karen’s been on my mind. A lot.” I lied. “And why shouldn’t she be? She’s in three of my classes. I see her all the time, and she’s nice. So what?”

  “So what?” she repeated incredulously. “So, she’s a backstabber and she only cares about herself.”

  “Oh, yeah? How?” This was going to be good; it was the second time she’d called Karen a backstabber. She never gave a reason last time, and I was pretty sure this time would be the same.

  “Because she tried to go out with Eric when she knew I liked him.”

  That caught me off guard. Though it did make sense. If I’d really thought about it, I could have probably figured it out for myself. Everything Samantha had told me let me know she and Eric had been going out and that it had been pretty serious. And I knew Eric had gone out with Karen. It hadn’t occurred to me that they’d both been going out with him around the same time, but it sure explained why Samantha hated Karen so much.

  I felt kind of bad now. I opened my mouth to say something, but Samantha stopped me before I even had a chance. I’d really made her mad, and she wasn’t finished letting me have it.

  “I told her I liked him and she didn’t even care! It didn’t change her mind at all! She just kept trying to weasel her way in between me and Eric. Even when it was so obvious that he wanted to be with me, she just wouldn’t stop. What kind of a friend does that?”

  I sat there for a full minute, my mouth hanging open. Samantha stood in the middle of the room seething. She was so angry she was practically shaking. The blue glow that came from around the lamp seemed to pulse and twist with each ragged breath she took.

  “Wow.” It was the only thing I could think to say. Once I got ahold of myself I managed to add, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

  “Well, you should be.” she snapped. I could see she was starting to feel better now that I’d admitted I was wrong, but I wasn’t in the clear yet. “What kind of friend does that?” she demanded again.

  “I don’t know.” I confessed. I had to admit, it was pretty hard to justify.

  “I was nothing but nice to her, and that’s how she treats me.” Samantha told me. “So that’s why I got so sick of her. And all you do is talk about her.”

  “Don’t blame me.” I snapped back. “If you’d just told me in the first place, I would never have asked about her.” Not to mention waste so much time thinking about her.

  Samantha made some scoffing noises and turned her back on me. I didn’t mind; it gave me a chance to think. I was surprised that Karen would do that to Samantha. It’s true I didn’t know her very well, but it just hadn’t seemed like it was in her personality. But I’d been fooled before. I was just glad I hadn’t ended up being friends with Karen before I finally found out.

  Chapter 21

  Even though I walked into econ a few minutes late, Mr. Taylor wasn’t there yet. I took my seat next to Mindy and said hi. Since we had a few minutes before class could start I decided to make the most of it. Mindy and me had been talking for several minutes, but it hadn’t been going that great. Even though she seemed much happier to talk to me than when I’d first met her, she was still only responding with the shortest answers, and I really wasn’t getting very far. I’d tried asking again about what kinds of things she liked to do and about her job, and the answers were just as helpful as they’d always been. Finally, I decided to change the subject completely; if direct questions concerning her weaknesses weren’t working, maybe I could try just treating her like another person. Maybe I’d find out more that way. And if I was going to treat her like anyone else, there was something on my mind that had been bugging me since I first met her.

  “So can I ask you something?”

  “Ok.” She said, smiling.

  “How come you always wear those flannel shirts?” Ever since I’d started paying attention to her, I’d noticed she came to school every single day with a new giant flannel shirt. I just had to know what she saw in them.

  “Why not?” Her face clouded over.

  “Well, I mean… most girls aren’t really big flannel fans.” I wanted to tell her most girls didn’t wear shirts that ugly, but I held it in.

  “Oh. I don’t know. They just seemed nice.”

  “They’re not bad.” I told her. She seemed a little down, and that was the last thing I wanted. And not just because I needed to get information from her. Since the moment I’d found out, it had never left my mind that this girl was a reaper, and could probably kill me with a glance; I did not need her mad at me. Why did I have to keep meeting such scary girls? Whatever happened to nice, normal girls?

  “I just meant that, well, you’d probably look good in green – plain green.” I added quickly. I could just see her finding a big green flannel shirt. Then I would have gone through this whole awkward conversation for nothing.

  “Green? You think so?” she asked.

  “Sure. It’s a nice color, right?” O
f course, I had no idea how it would look on her. Green was just my favorite color. So, naturally it was the first thing I thought of when she started looking unhappy. And hopefully it would be bright enough to distract from the fact that she was basically death incarnate.

  “Yeah…” she thought it over. The way she looked at me, I could tell I was probably the first person to ever really pay attention to her. She gave me a warm, awkward smile. “Well, thank you.” She said.

  ……

  The next time I saw Mindy, she had on a light green, scoop-neck T-shirt. I had to admit, she did look a lot better. Maybe I wasn’t so bad at fashion after all. I made sure to tell her she looked nice, and she responded by giving me the biggest smile I’d ever seen on her face. I had to admit, she did have kind of a nice smile.

  “Thank you!” she said excitedly.

  “So how are your other classes going?” I asked, trying to make conversation.

  “They’re pretty good. I got an A on my English test.”

  “That’s great.” I told her. And I meant it. “I wish I could get an A in English.”

  “It’s not that hard. If you need help, let me know.”

  “Ok. Thanks.” I said. I probably wouldn’t ever ask for help, but it was nice to know I had the option.

  When Mr. Taylor came in, class immediately settled down. We spent the entire period reviewing for tomorrow’s test, so I didn’t have much of a chance to talk to Mindy any more. Class finally let out, and I walked down the hall, smiling to myself. Even as I walked home, I was still in a really good mood. Sure, Mindy was weird, but she was getting so much easier to talk to! I was surprised to realize that I was actually starting to not only enjoy talking to Mindy, but I was actually looking forward to seeing her in class.

  Of course, when I saw Samantha, she was unhappy; she glared at me and demanded to know what was taking so long with Mindy.

  “We talked about this over a week and a half ago!” she snapped. “I thought we settled this then. What’ve you been doing? Are you even trying?”

  “Of course I am! It takes time to get to know someone, you know.” I was trying to stay calm, but she was really making it hard. I was the one doing all the dangerous work. What was she doing again?

  “Why do you need to get to know her at all? You’re not supposed to be making friends with her. You’re supposed to be finding out her weaknesses. Who cares if she likes puppies or silly movies? What is she afraid of? That’s what’s important!” she rolled her eyes. I took a deep breath to calm myself down before I said something I’d regret.

  “Look,” I said, speaking slowly. “I can’t figure out any of her weaknesses if I don’t know her, can I? What am I supposed to do? Go up to her and say, ‘Hi, I’m James. What would be the best way to lure you into a trap and then kill you?’”

  “If that’s what it takes!” she practically screamed. Her face contorted into a look of rage, and I thought I saw her eyes spark. She freaked me out, but I wasn’t going to let her push me around.

  “Well, that would never work in a million years.” I told her.

  “And I said it would!” she shrieked. The room seemed to get a little darker, blue shadows swirled around in the corner of my eye. I shivered a little. “Instead of messing around all the time, trying to make friends, why don’t you do what you’re supposed to do?” She was yelling so loud I was worried that my parents would be up any minute, pounding on my door and demanding to know what I thought I was doing. “And the next time I see you, you had better have some information that’s actually useful!”

  She was actually shaking with rage. I opened my mouth to protest, but I never got the chance. I got as far as “You know,” before Samantha vanished. As soon as I realized she’d actually left, I went to the desk. As fast as I could, I blew out the flame to make sure she didn’t come back any time soon. My heart was pounding fast; I’d been so caught up in our argument, I hadn’t realized how nervous I was. When the flame was completely out, I walked over to my bed and sat down. Shakily, I brought my hands up to cover my face as I leaned back against the wall. 

  Chapter 22

  Talking to Samantha last night was pretty scary, I had to admit. She’d been kind of snotty before, but I’d always assumed it was due to her being dead and all. But last night was crazy, even for her. I’d spent the entire morning trying to convince myself that it was just because she was worried. Mindy’s being around literally threatened Samantha’s existence, so I could understand why she’d be upset. But threatening me? That was just not something I was going to let happen. This whole thing was really getting out of control; I needed to talk to someone.

  I set my tray down on the thick plastic table and sighed. Derek looked up at me, pushing his glasses further up on his nose.

  “You ok?” he asked.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure. What’s up?”

  “Ok.” I said. “I know this is going to sound really crazy, but just bear with me, alright?” Derek nodded, so I continued talking. I told him how I found a lamp in a pile of junk and how I’d fixed it up. I told him about how I lit it to see if it worked and how a ghost appeared. I even told him about how the reapers were after the ghost even though all she wanted was to be left alone. I could tell by the look on Derek’s face that he didn’t believe me. And I couldn’t say I blamed him.

  “It’s true!” I told him. Seeing the look of disbelief on his face got me nervous, and I started rambling a little. “I can prove it.” I said. “I just have to light the lamp and she appears. Her name is Samantha, and she’s really –”

  “Wait.” Derek said, stopping me mid-sentence. I wasn’t sure, but he looked a little paler than usual. “Her name is Samantha? Samantha what?”

  “Samantha Corben. I think she used to go to this school, actually. She said –”

  “She did go here.” Derek said quietly. Something in his tone made me stop.

  “Why? What’s wrong?” I asked, not quite sure I wanted to know.

  Derek gave me a look I’d never seen before. His eyes were wide, his mouth pressed into a thin line. I didn’t know a person could look so scared while being so safe.

  “If you’re telling the truth,” he swallowed. “If you really have found the ghost of Samantha Corben, then you need to destroy that lamp. Immediately.”

  Chapter 23

  “What are you talking about?” I asked. I knew she got mad easily, but was that really so bad that I should stop talking to her forever?

  “Look, I don’t want to say anything. I just think you should be careful.” Derek shrugged.

  “Really?” I asked, sarcastically. How could he say I should destroy the lamp and then turn around and try to tell me he didn’t want to say anything bad about Samantha? Of course I was going to question him.

  “All I’m saying is that you should, you know, watch out.” he said, squirming.

  “I am.” I told him. I knew she had a temper, and I was careful to make sure she stayed at least somewhat happy. I knew that if she’d been alive she wouldn’t have been much of a threat. But being dead and all, I wasn’t sure if she had any extra powers, and I figured I’d err on the side of caution.

  “Good.” Derek said, but he didn’t look convinced. “I’m sorry I brought it up. I’m just trying to look out for you.”

  “Well, thanks.” I said it sincerely, but I was pretty sure that if I ever needed Derek to look out for me that I was going to be in real trouble. Still, he was a good guy, even if his worries were unnecessary.

  “So, you want to hang out sometime?” I asked.

  “Really?” I could tell he was surprised.

  “Sure, why not? It’s not like we don’t hang out all the time at school. I figured we may as well go somewhere fun once in a while.”

  “Yeah, that’d be good.”

  “Great. I’ll think of a place to go, and I’ll let you know, ok?”

  “Alright.”

  I was glad I’d finally asked Derek
to do something. It had been a long time since I did something other than go straight home after school, and I was looking forward to getting out of the house. Now all I needed to do was find some place to take him where we’d both have fun.

  It took me a couple of days to figure out where someone like Derek could go and still have a good time. I mean, he didn’t like sports or other physical activities, and he didn’t like video games. Finally, I hit upon the perfect place – the old fashioned arcade.

  Normally, I thought arcades were only ok, but this one was different. None of these machines looked like they were made any more recently than the 1960s and a lot of them were from the 20s and 30s. And they all worked.

  The building looked like it had been built as a warehouse and had recently been painted a light blue. We walked through the huge open doors and were immediately greeted by a fat, seven foot tall, laughing mannequin. I had to admit, it was a little creepy. Fortunately, the sound didn’t last long. I just hoped nobody else put a quarter into that machine again.

  With a pocketful of quarters, we were able to entertain ourselves for hours. We played a pinball game from the thirties with a baseball theme. There were no bells or whistles and only three slots for the ball to go through. It was incredibly basic, but it was the most fun I’d had in a long time. The score counter only had three digits, and I must have spent an hour trying to see if I could get my score to 999.

  Towards the middle of the warehouse, there was a huge glass case about ten feet wide and twenty feet long. Inside, there was a carnival scene made entirely out of wood. I put a quarter in to a little box on the side, wondering what would happen. The whole case lit up, and the carnival came to life; Ferris wheels turned, sheep were sheared. There was even a section with booths set up for side shows like they had at the turn of the century.

  “Hey, look at this.” Derek nudged me. He nodded over to a machine that looked like it had been built right around the time of the depression. It looked like an arcade game made of wood, except that it had what looked like a pair of gold-plated binoculars attached to where the controls would be on a modern arcade game. Where the screen would have been was a large sign hanging by two chains. Painted in large black letters were the words, “WHAT DOES A STRIPPER DO ON HER DAY OFF?”