shine on, you crazy diamond

“Aren’t you gonna say hi?” Ethan called out the words, somewhat innocently, as Parker passed his cafeteria table in favour of the next one over, his grin making it clear he didn’t expect a greeting. After all, he’d not said anything about coming to her college. (Even Ethan wasn’t that oblivious.) “Hi,” he said on her behalf instead, and offered a wave in Parker’s direction, the greeting finished.

“I mean, if they paid for it, they might want to know that they wasted that money and stuff,” Kenzie pointed out, resting her head on her hand. “And some deviated septums can affect your breathing. Tons of people get nose jobs for it and it’s not always just an excuse.” She laughed at his happiness about that sort of possible job. “No, but I’m sure you could do a podcast or something about all your theories for a job.”

“You’re always the voice of reason in my life,” he accused jokingly, reaching out to nudge the side of her head. “Wanna be on my conspiracy podcast? Got any pressing theories which need attention? I think the Luxor administration might be lizards in human suits but I’ve only been here a few days, so.... they might just be aliens.”

“I would still rather not risk it,” he knew deep down that his fear was silly, and that the horror movies probably painted the wrong picture about ghosts, but that didn’t change the fact that he was scared of them, “You did? I never forget about it, because it’s always overwhelming.”

“It just didn’t cross my mind,” he admitted easily, as if exams just truly held no importance to him. “Anyway, not all ghosts are bad. People can be bad and we still fuck with them, right?”

“Sure. That’s why you are getting haunted and I sleep like a baby,” she declared, not believing it for a second. Nikki tapped her nails against her cup for a moment, eyes narrowed as she contemplated his offer. “So I could charge you fifty bucks and you’d pay it? When you could literally go to the cafe in the next building and get one for like five bucks.”

“Maybe I’m just more psychic,” he reasoned. “Hey, I could. But isn’t it more fun to do a black market deal?” He looked around, as if paranoid they were being watched. “Fifty bucks but I get to come to your room and brew it myself,” Ethan said in a hushed tone, as if concerned they were being overheard. “Don’t tell anyone. Password is Columbia. Your code name is Agent Bean and mine is Agent Brew.”

Bria stifled a giggle as she overheard him, unsure why but sarcasm tended to be her favorite, something about the mere tone of someone speaking sarcastically made her more comfortable than she otherwise would be, and always left her entertained. “Are you…. podcasting or?” She questioned his need for narration, despite enjoying it.

“Well,” he thought for a moment, “I’ve closed my laptop so my FBI agent can’t see me right now. I figured maybe a running commentary might help them out a bit.” The smile he tacked on to the end of the words made it no less clear if he were serious or joking, as he turned to face Bria. “Anyway, don’t coming of age movies always have a deadpan narrator? I’m pitching myself for the Luxor movie. I’ve been here like three days and I’ve already decided I’m overqualified.”

“I thought when people called you that, it was more about which one you favored. I mean, I’m an only child, but I was always hanging out with my dad before he passed away. I love my mom, but I always tried to be like him,” she admitted. “But I thought in this scenario I was a ghost pretending to be Kenzie. Are you suggesting I died at some point or that I have always been a ghost? Because I think you are really creating your own conspiracy theory,” she said, laughing a little. “Now I didn’t say you didn’t smell. You just don’t smell like weed.”

“I’d have to think more about that one though,” Ethan pointed out, dejected. “I hang with neither, dude. My mom is more bothered about my deviated septum than anything else and my dad’s still mad about that time I dropped out of college and said nothing,” he rolled his eyes, as if it were ridiculous to have to inform a parent about such a thing. “I’d be a great conspiracy theory creator. Is that a job? I could totally do it for a living,” he enthused. “I have this theory that Princess Diana is actually alive and working in a Dollar Tree in Mississippi... well, or someone who really looked like her.....”

A disturbance is way different than a haunting. Maybe you did something to disturb the balance or whatever,” she pointed out, arching a brow at him to see if he would fess up to anything. “How much we talking here? Starbucks prices or Dunkin?”

“Me? I wouldn’t dare,” he insisted, eyes wide in indignance at the very suggestion. “It’s the black market, baby,” Ethan leaned in conspicuously. “Normal rules don’t even apply. Think independent coffee shop where they roast the beans themselves and buy them fair trade from Guatemala. Charge what you want, right? You got the demand right here,” he gestured to himself.

“Heinous indeed,” Ethan agreed, nodding his head earnestly in absolute agreement with the statement. “Have you ruled out that it could in fact,” he thought out loud, “be the ghost’s fault? I mean, can they drink coffee? Maybe not. Maybe they’re mad.”

“Aw, are you a mommy’s boy?” she asked, joking with him. She had been a daddy’s girl until her dad had passed away. “So I’m here as a ghost to try and gaslight you into believing that you aren’t being haunted? Sounds way too complex to me,” Kenzie said, shaking her head. “Sometimes. But you don’t smell like weed, so I know you’re not.”

“Isn’t the perk of being an only child that you’re the favourite on both sides?” He questioned with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t know, Kenz. You’re a complex human, maybe you have complex plots. I wouldn’t put anything past you,” Ethan said with a grin. “Always flattered to hear that I don’t smell.”

“Probably because you ask questions and propose scenarios that most stoners do,” she pointed out. “You’ve seen me naked. I know my tits are out of this world, but they are not supernatural,” Kenzie said sarcastically, rolling her eyes with a smile. “No thanks. I doubt we would find any ghosts here and The Grudge made me very against ghost hunting in Japan.”

“My mom,” Ethan mused, “says I just have a curious mind. Then again, she’s my mom.” He laughed at her comment, delighted at her playing along: “but isn’t that exactly what a ghost would say to throw me off? Not that your tits aren’t supernaturally great. but I’m not ruling anything out.” He paused, then made a face at her. “Seriously, you think I seem stoned?”

Nikki took a sip from her travel mug, where she had coffee she had brewed in her room, as she studied the other. “It’s wise to invest in your own coffee maker in your dorm. What sort of ghost are we talking about here? Poltergeist? Spirit? Orbs?”

He perked up a little at the curious nature of her line of questioning. “I was thinking more just a disturbance. In the veil,” he pondered, as if it were simply an average topic of conversation, akin to chatting about the weather. Seeing her coffee cup, though, Ethan was distracted, and he leaned in. “Hey, wanna sell me some of your black market coffee?”

“There isn’t, but usually ghosts are attached to places they died or lived, right? If this school is brand new, then there likely isn’t going to be any people that had died or lived here before. Maybe on the land, but it’s not likely,” she said with a shrug. “It’s not hard to figure out if you watch a couple of those ghost hunting shows. Maybe smoke some weed and check them out some time,” she suggested, rolling her eyes as she poked his forehead. “Or maybe you’re just really forgetful and lose stuff easily.”

“I’ve never even tried weed,” he admitted with an easy smile, completely unfazed by making such a revelation. “But people ask me if I’m high, like, all the time.” Apparently confused by his own statement, Ethan tilted his head to the side. “Are you a ghost trying to gaslight me into thinking I’m causing the paranormal disturbance? Rude. I was gonna ask you to ghost hunt with me and everything.”

His eyebrow raised when he high fived him instead of giving him the money, “A high five is not what I want, if you didn’t want to lose money, you shouldn’t have bet,” he was a little annoyed by it, he was his roommate, but it took more than that for him to actually like a person and having them around, “I’m not sure if the school would let us.”

“Did we bet money? I wasn’t,” he admitted cheerfully, “paying attention.” Still, he handed over the money regardless, unwilling to fight with his roommate, even if Ethan ... didn’t even recall the bet taking place. “Maybe we could hide it. I mean, how hard can it be? It’s only a pool table. We could make it look like a bed?”

“I did win, yes,” his arm was still outstretched, waiting for the money, because despite the fact that his parents had it, he still wanted his prize, “Too bad, you’re the one that ended up losing money because of it,” he shrugged lightly, he didn’t know why anyone would let themselves be distracted when they knew that they would lose something if that happened.

Seeing Ben’s outstretched hand, Ethan responded by high fiving it, grinning at him. “Good job, roomie.” The money didn’t particularly matter to him, but that didn’t mean he would get the hint to hand it over straight away. It just didn’t cross his mind. “You think we should put a pool table in our room? Or what about air hockey?”

“An angry ghost you say? What kind of ghost?” Liam’s curiosity clearly peaked after his own visit from pre-Spring Break. Not that it happened often. And perhaps may have had something to do with the drugs he was on, but a ghost was a ghost. “Early bird gets the bean juice my friend. Gotta be quick.”

“Well,” Ethan allowed, “I guess it wouldn’t be fair to say angry. I mean, I haven’t talked to them, I can’t assume the ghost’s feelings. They might just be distressed. Or upset.” As if it were obvious that he couldn’t speak to the alleged ghost. “Am I not early?”

“Don’t even joke about that,” he was terrified of ghosts, if he suspected that his dorm was haunted, he would spend all his nights in the dorm of one of his friends, “Seriously? That’s surprising, I guess everyone decided to drink coffee today.”

“I wouldn’t joke,” he insisted, shaking his head at Rich. “Honestly, I doubt you have anything to be scared of though. I’m sure there can’t be that many violent ghosts,” Ethan said obliviously, and grinned. “I forgot it’s exam season.”

“I sincerely doubt your dorm is haunted. I mean, this campus is pretty new in comparison to the other ones. If anything, probably one of the other locations would be haunted,” Kenzie pointed out, taking a bite of her toast. “And cafeteria coffee sucks in comparison to the cafes.”

“Why, is there an age limit on haunting?” Ethan enquired curiously, raising an eyebrow at Kenzie. “Do ghosts come of age at a certain point and get to start wreaking havoc? And before that they’re just floating in the ether? I love,” he said sweetly, “your mind, Kenz. That explains so much. Anyway, if there’s no ghost, I still stand by paranormal happenings in my room. A pre ghost, maybe.”