The Sophomores
Back of Taft Mansion: Servant’s Quarters
“Nah, we just got here. I mean – WHERE IS YOUR FIGHTING SPIRIT? Your journalist pride. Look, like I said over pizza earlier, if we manage to get to the bottom of this mystery, we’ll get even more followers. We only have like 4 subscribers for our 7-month-old Twitter. It’s time we get some attention (instead of losing out to that overrated food filled feed by the Cooking Club).”
Someone yelled loudly as two fingers pointed to something white fluttering from the corner. The shortest of the sophomores shone her flashlight at that area. She revealed an upturn chair, some threadbare curtains and a cracked window. She quirked an eyebrow as she looked at their so-called newly appointed sub-editor. “You know people would think that members of the Occult Club would be fearless. Guess this is what the doctor ordered, eh Freddy? A little shock treatment.”
A loud crash from a distant part of the house made all three jump. Mori gasped as she felt four hands digging into her shoulder blade. A look of annoyance crossed her face briefly, but she decided to let this slide. Those two were making a mountain out of a molehill. It could have been a stray cat or pigeon. Deciding to scare them off her, she placed the flashlight under her face, and gave the scaredy-cats her most demonic face. She lowered her voice so it sound gruff and guttural. “You know, Fredster, you, being the tallest and the only guy, should die first. It’s all part of the gentleman’s code.”
She pushed Freddy forward then threw the flashlight at him. With the flashlight out the way, she fished into her sling bag and pulled out a handheld video camera. She passed the video camera to Anna and then took out a camera to use. Mori bit the tip of her tongue lightly as she mucked around to change gadget into the infra-red mode. Seriously! If they really capture a picture of a ghost, they’d be famous! No ghost hunter has ever taken a legit picture of an apparition yet. Morrigan gave Anna a reassuring smile to help soothe the girl. As far as she can tell, there was probably nothing here.
“So… did anyone think of finding floor plans or something? I mean it might make our task much easier.”
The Seniors
Front of Taft Mansion: Breaking In
Friday was still picking the lock door using a hairpin he pulled from Aislynn’s head. His tongue poked out from the side of his mouth as he squinted through the keyhole. They should consider jumping down the chimney like he suggested earlier. With a bit of rope everything would fine and dandy. Like splunking – the thing they did for their school camp at Grand Canyon in freshmen year. He reinserted the pin and heard a click as the pin snapped in two. Dang it! “Guys, do you want the good new or the bad news?”
Four pairs of eyes looked at him expectantly and he gave them his signature goofy grin. He blew at a couple of wet, wavy strands plastering themselves over his eyes. He shivered slightly as a wind blew through the open porch. The redheaded male threw open the door and bowed in a way that would have made Alfred Pennyworth proud. “After you, Lady Kayne, and you, Lord Barker.”
Slipping in after his bros, Friday tried to leave a gap to prevent the locking mechanism from clicking, but lo and behold, that same wind caused the door to slam shut. The noise echoed eerily throughout the house as dust exploded all around them. He could literally feel Flynn glaring at him as they coughed non-stop. Friday tried to change the topic several times, but Flynn’s face made him feel impossibly guilty. Yeah trust that guy to want to know that bad news. He clutched his hands anime-style in front of him and pressed the sides of his second fingers against his forehead. “I broke your hairpin. I’m SO SORRY AISLYNN PLEASE DON’T KILL ME.”
Actually, other than a pissed of Aislynn, what’s the worst that can – YIKES! Seriously! YIKES! He darted behind Flynn and then peered out in a cat-like fashion. Who was here? And what did they want? AND WHY DID THEY BREAK POTTERY? Laughing nervously, he jumped off the older boy’s back, and ran his fingers through his soaked red mop. All his curls were so wet they appeared straight.
“Err maybe that was a cat? Or a hobo?” He asked hopefully. Not mentioning that it came from the servants’ quarters or that this house was probably haunted. Haunted by the man who went missing a month ago. The other two didn’t need to know that. Meaning Flynn didn’t need to know that. Aislynn would have thought that was creepy and fun.