“Alright, girls,” Madison’s mom, Janet stood in front of the television. “You’ve got pizza, treats, sodas… I think you’re set!”

“Thanks Mom!” Madison said appreciatively. Then added “Can we please start the new season of The Worst Witch now?!”

“Okay, okay! I’m going to get out of your hair! If you need anything, Tom and I are downstairs, okay?”

“Yes, mom!”

“Okay! Have fun!” and Janet beat a hasty retreat downstairs flicking the lights off so only the glow of the enormous television lit the room.

Giggling and whispers started as the trademark Netflix “Ba-bong” rang out. But no sooner had the black silhouette of a witch on a broom cross the orange moon than Madison hit pause and stood in front of the television facing them.

“Girls,” she said solemnly. “There is something very serious I have to tell you that I have not mentioned before to any of you…”

The four girls practically held their breath.

“My house… is… haunted!”

Hailey howled, “No waaaaaay!”

Olivia’s eyes grew bigger than her glasses and the color drained from her face.

Emma rolled her eyes, “Madie, for reals?!”

Alora kept her arms crossed in front of her, nodded, and said “Cool,” quietly to herself.

“Shut up, shut up, shut up!” Madison said to no one and everyone. “I’m serious!”

“There’s no such thing as ghosts!” Emma said earnestly.

“Yes there are!” Madison said.

“Have you seen a ghost?” Olivia asked nervously.

“Well, I haven’t seen a ghost—”

“See!” Emma said. “Not real.”

“I haven’t seen a ghost, but I’ve felt them. Cold spots. I hear someone upstairs in the attic guest room at night when there’s no one there. And there’s footsteps on the stairs…”

“That’s probably your over-protective mom looking in on her baby,” Emma said.

“Is not!” Madison said defensively. “Stop being mean!”

“Stop lying about ghosts!” Emma pushed.

“If Madison says it’s haunted,” Hailey started but Emma cut her off.

“Then she’s lying to scare you.”

Madison’s mouth hung agape and she looked like she was about to cry.

“Why don’t you shut it, you cow,” Alora spoke up. She’d heard a woman on a BBC show her mom watched call another woman a cow in such a way that it seemed to Alora to cut deeper than any curse word could. She had looked it looked up British women calling each other cows on YouTube and studied their emphasis for the perfect effect. Judging from Emma’s mouthless stare she fired perfectly. “If Madie says it’s haunted it’s haunted. It’s her house. We’re just guests. You don’t have to be daft about it.” Another BBC-ism – daft – she wasn’t sure she quite nailed it, but no one else in the room had even heard the word daft, so she was pretty sure she was good on that one.

Emma was turning red in the face and getting ready to unleash a barrage on Alora when Hailey, the peacemaker, spoke up. “Come on, guys, let’s just watch the show, okay? Ghosts or no ghosts we’ve got witches,” she said the last word with a lilt and a little shoulder shake she hoped would puncture the pressure that had built up in the house.

“Hailey’s right,” Olivia said. “Madison, thank you for warning us about potential paranormal activity. But let’s watch Mildred!”

“I just wanted to let you know,” Madison said, then quickly pressed play and sat down.

Emma leaned over towards Alora and whispered, “This isn’t over. You’re only here because your mom and Janet are friends. None of us even like you.”

Alora gave Emma her best Wednesday Addams blank stare (practiced that, too) and said finally, “’This isn’t over’?” She mimicked, “Emma, go back to your side of the couch, think of something genuinely original, then come back and try again, okay?”

Emma rolled her eyes and shook her head and turned exasperated towards the screen.

Alora, too, turned to watch the first episode of season 4. But she wondered why Madie’s parents had the AC on so high. It was freezing!

Two hours and four episodes later, Madison declared break time as she hit stop before Netflix switched to episode 5, “The Forbidden Tree”. Olivia leapt from her seat and raced to the bathroom, “Too many Cokes!”

The other girls laughed.

“You know, Madison,” Emma started with the subtlety of a venomous snake. “I’ve been thinking… there is a way to settle this whole haunted thing.”

“Gladatorial combat?” Elora said.

“You’re so weird,” Emma said dismissively. “You said you heard someone upstairs in the attic?”

“A few times,” Madison confirmed.

“Then let’s all go up there…”

“Fine, we can go up there,” Madison started to agree but was cut off.

“And do ‘Bloody Mary’ in the bathroom there!” Emma’s eyes looked positively devilish. Or at least Emma clearly thought they did.

Now it was Alora’s turn to roll her eyes.

“Emma, no, we shouldn’t—” Madison started.

“Scared, I get it,” Emma said. “Probably no ghosts anyway…”

“What would that prove?” Hailey asked. “Everyone knows ‘Bloody Mary’ is just an urban legend.”

“So you’re afraid too, okay…”

“What’d I miss?” Olivia said coming back in.

“Emma wants us to go upstairs and do ‘Bloody Mary’ in the haunted bathroom upstairs,” Alora filled her in.

“Noooooooope!” Olivia said at once and in the most incontrovertible way Alora believed she’d ever heard a girl her age decry something. Alora actually had a bit of respect for Olivia.

“What’s wrong,” Emma baited, “Scared Olivia?”

“Yep,” She said simply. “Have fun.”

Emma didn’t have a comeback for that, so she turned on the others. “What about you guys? Are you too scared of supposed ghosts, too?”

“I’m game,” Alora said.

“No one’s asking you,” Emma sneered.

“Actually, you literally just asked me…”

“I’ll go if Madison goes,” Hailey said, taking her friend’s hand.

That gesture seemed to inject Madison with fresh bravado. “Okay,” she said, “Let’s go.”

“I’ll keep the couch warm!” Olivia waved at the girls heading upstairs as she took another piece of pizza.

Madison crested the stairs first, opened the door to the attic room and quickly turned the lights on. Hailey, Emma, and Alora followed her into the tidy room. The wall opposite them canted in mirroring the roof, but otherwise the relatively small, spare space was mostly taken up by primly made-up queen bed. Beyond the bed, the door to the dark bathroom bumped against the door stop.

“What was that?” Hailey asked nervously.

“Probably just the air pressure when we opened the door,” Emma said. “Definitely not a ghost because ghosts aren’t real, and Madison is making this all up.” She crossed the room and stood in front of the bathroom. “Well? Let’s do this!”

The other girls followed her into the bathroom. Then Emma closed the door, plunging the bathroom into darkness.

Hailey squeaked.

“Are you ready?” Emma asked. “On three, ‘Bloody Mary’ three times, got it?”

Silence.

“One… two… three!”

And all three girls started chanting “Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary!”

After the third chant the four girls were silent. Nothing happened. Everyone could practically feel Emma’s “I told you so” self-righteous speech. But before Emma had started a light filled the mirror. It started as an indistinct white blob but quickly resolved into a skull with an ornate crown and blood dripping from the eye sockets.

“I AM BLOODY MARY!” the skull erupted an unnaturally high British accent. “AND I—”

The skull was clearly just warming up, but her self-declaration was all it took and Emma, Madison, and Hailey ran screaming from the bathroom.

“Oh,” The bloody skull stared after them. “Well, shit…”

“So, what? You didn’t think that was going to happen?” Alora asked.

This time the skull jumped. “Ah!” she let out a little shriek. “You didn’t run out?”

“It sounded like you had something else to say. Figured it’d be rude to run out on a bloody skull that was about to, I don’t know, announce she was going to eat our souls or something.”

“Heh,” the ghost skull chortled. “Yeah, I’m not much for the soul eating,” her voice changed from the faux-royal accent to a regular California accent. Then she laughed, “That was pretty fucking funny, though – you should have seen the look on that Emma bitch’s face!”

“Wow, language?”

“Wait, what? Are you shitting me?” the bloody skull said incredulously.

“Adults aren’t supposed to swear around kids,” Alora said because… well, it was true, right?

“Adults aren’t supposed to be dead and talking through a mirror, are they?”

Alora nodded thoughtfully, “Well, you’ve got me there…”

“Besides, please feel free to tell me the first fucking time I say a word you haven’t overheard your parents say.”

“Parent.”

“What?”

“Parent. My dad died. Maybe you know him on that side? Paul Rodriguez? About yay-tall,” Alora held her hand up. “Bald. Great sense of humor. I miss his laugh…”

“Jesus Christ, kid, that’s goddamned rough…” The bloody skull looked sad, or as sad as a bloody skull could look. “Wait, Paul Rodriguez? Did he grow up here?”

“Yeah. He and my mom both – he went to Elmsdale high and she went to Trinity.”

“Holy shit! He was friends with my little brother!”

Alora raised an eyebrow. “Look, I was only ten when he died, but I’m pretty sure if he was friends with Bloody Mary’s brother I’d have heard about it…”

The bloody skull let out a hearty laugh at that. “Sorry, kid, sorry!” She shook her skull face and the bloody skull in the mirror was replaced by a twenty-something woman with strawberry blonde hair and fair skin that made the wrinkles under her eyes seem far too old for far too young a face. “I’m obviously not Bloody Mary. But I couldn’t let that shit pass by, right? I’m Tracy.”

“I’m Alora. Nice to meet you, Tracy.”

“Alora?” Tracy cocked her head. “That’s a hell of a name. What’s your mom’s name?”

“Effie.”

“You are shitting me.”

“Never shit a ghost,” Alora said, the curse word feeling comfortable despite its forbiddance.

“Heh,” Tracy snorted. “I like you, Al,” she said.

Alora had never had a nickname. Well, her dad called her Allie, but he was the only one. And he was gone, so that didn’t count. “Al.” She could live with that.

“Your mom is Euphemia fucking Rivers!”

“How did you know that?”

“First, how many Euphemias are there in the state of California? Like for all time?! Second, how many Effie’s went to Trinity?!” Tracy took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “She was my friend. One of the few.”

“Small world… and afterlife!” Alora said. “Tracy?”

“Yeah, Al?”

“I don’t want to be rude, but I’m a pariah as it is. If I don’t get back to them… I don’t even know….”

“They’re idiots, Al.”

“Yeah, and they’re the idiots I have to go to school with. Can we talk later? Can you… I don’t know transfer to the mirror at my house?”

“It doesn’t work that way. I can’t just… well, actually… that might work… Okay, when you get home go to your mirror and invite me.”

“Bloody Mary again?”

“No, Al, my name. Tracy Allen.”

“That’s a lot less creepy.”

“Agreed. Oh, and Al? Nice one with calling Emma a cow. That shit was on fire.”

Alora felt her cheeks flush with the compliment and managed, “Thanks Tracy. I’ll see you!”

Alora went back downstairs and the hushed conversations ceased when she entered.

“Alora!” Hailey ran up to her and hugged her. “We thought you died or something!”

“I wasn’t worried if you had,” Emma said contemptuously. “What happened? Peed yourself?”

“Nah,” Alora said nonchalantly, “Just chatted with the ghost. She’s pretty cool.”

Silence.

It’s very Sunday tonight. I thought we were supposed to get a reprieve from the 2020 dumpster fire over the weekend?! Guess not. *sigh* This is a little story. Nothing big was coming today. Tomorrow I may do a Selfie post (remember those?!) in addition to tomorrow’s ghost story talking about the challenge of being creative during this time. Until then, keep your Zoom friends close…

A still image of a middle-aged balding man joins the animated squares on the computer screen.

“Looks like Dave is here,” one of the small video feeds says.

“Dave!” says another video box as Dave’s image is replaced by Dave taking a pull from a tall can of Lagunitas IPA.

“Ralphie!” Dave replies. “Jake! Tim! What’s up gang?”

“Not much,” Jake says as he runs his hand through his thinning black hair. “Just hanging out on Zoom on Friday night. The new normal, right?”

“No joke!” Tim nods in agreement.

“Dave,” Ralphie squints at the screen, “Where are you? It looks dark in there.”

Dave looks around him, “No, all the lights are on…”

“Huh,” Ralphie returns. “Must be my connection…”

“Did you guys see the latest James Bond trailer?”

“Dude, that was sick, right? Seriously thinking I might have to brave the theaters in December when that drops,” Jake says.

“I heard that scene where he jumps the motorcycle into the courtyard is a practical effect – I mean it wasn’t Daniel Craig, but it was still a real jump.”

“Jake,” Dave says, “I hate to burst your bubble but they announced yesterday that they’re pushing it to April 2021.”

“Damnit!” Jake exclaims.

“Dave, you’re in your office, yeah? Is Julie over there?” Ralphie asks

“Yeah and no, she’s at her place,” Dave replies. “What’s up, Ralphie?”

“I thought I saw movement behind you. It’s still really dark – am I the only one seeing this?”

“No,” Tim agrees, “I see it too. Really dark. Is your camera working okay, Dave?”

“There it is again, Dave,” Tim points at the screen.

“Guys. Stop. Seriously,” Dave looks around his dark space, “I’m in my office. Overhead light on, desk light is on. Camera was fine Friday for a work meeting… It’s really well lit here…”

“That’s weird,” Jake says then changes the subject. “April 2021? Seriously? So, can we just say it’s not worth going to the movies until then?”

“Oh shit, Dave, I saw a face behind you. I swear I did!” Ralphie points at the screen.

“Guys…” Dave starts to say, then halts as if he listening for something.

“Dave?” Jake asks. “You okay?”

“I thought I heard something….”

Dave’s screen goes completely black.

“Dave?!” Tim yells, eyes wide.

“Dave, what’s up?!” Ralphie yells, throwing his hands in the air.

“It’s cool. It’s cool. My monitor and camera look like they’ve gone out. I’m still here…” Dave says.

“Jesus, Dave, you’re giving us a heart attack,” Jake leans back heavily in his desk chair.

“I’m fine, guys. Really… wait, that’s weird,” Dave’s voice sounds suspicious.

“Dave?” Tim asks side-eye, “What’s weird?”

“OH MY GOD!” Dave screams.

A message scrolls across Tim, Jake, and Ralphie’s screen: “Dave has left the meeting.”