“Anyway, never mind how Leah died,” Rima said. “It was probably something like carbon monoxide or gas that did the rest of us in, though. We think.”
Harriet blinked. “What, like a gas leak?”
“Yep.” She popped the “p”, acting remarkably cheerful about it. “Everyone in the building died on the same night in our sleep, so a pipe must have come loose or something. That’s our best guess, anyway. We have no way of knowing for sure.”
Harriet had heard that some students had died in Mulcture Hall, but she’d thought it was just another one of the uni myths, exaggerated for optimum scandal. Knowing it was true suddenly put a new perspective on the destroyed rooms, rotting mattresses and collapsing furniture. People her age had lived and died right here. And the current students just saw the building as a spooky story.
“I’m sorry, that’s awful,” Harriet said, though it was hard to feel sorry for someone as lively as this girl.
“I know, right? We’d only just got a modem here too,” Rima said, pouting. She was playing with the folds of her hijab, adjusting the material so that it fell more neatly over her shoulders. “Such wasted potential.”
“Modem,” Harriet repeated in bemusement. “Should I know what that is?”
“What?!” Felix said, and then clamped his mouth shut, looking embarrassed.
“Please don’t start talking about computers again,” Kasper told him, and draped an arm over Felix’s shoulder to slouch lazily against him.
“Does everyone become a ghost when they die? Like, everyone ever?” Harriet asked, changing the subject to something she was more interested in. She tried to be casual, like the answer didn’t matter desperately.
Harriet’s parents were dead. Were they ghosts, too? Maybe they had been watching from the afterlife for the past eight years, unable to speak to her. They’d died at her gran’s house – were they there, right now?
“Most people become ghosts,” Rima said. “But some don’t stick around for long.”
“‘Stick around’? Where do they go?”
Rima shrugged. “We don’t know what happens to ghosts who disintegrate. It’s one of life’s unanswered questions. Tell us about you, anyway. What’s your name?” She patted Harriet’s arm gently.
“Harriet Stoker.” She looked down at the hand on her arm. It would be rude to ask her to remove it. These people all seemed to be very relaxed around each other – they touched each other constantly, lolling around like a litter of puppies. There was something unnerving about it.
Harriet couldn’t remember ever touching any of her friends, except for maybe an awkward hug on the last day of term.
“Great! Nice to meet you, Harriet,” Rima said, looking genuinely thrilled. “You should stay with me! I’m in Room 2B.”
“Thanks,” Harriet said, taken aback by the offer. She hadn’t even thought about where she was going to stay. Did ghosts sleep? Would she need somewhere to live? There was so much she hadn’t considered. “I really just want to get home, though. My gran…” She trailed off.
Rima worried her lip between her teeth. “Well, maybe someone will come looking for you and they can tell your gran what happened. Did anyone know you were coming here?”
Harriet shook her head. “I was trespassing. I didn’t tell anyone.”
Rima’s shoulders slumped. “That’s a bummer.”
“I was on the phone with Gran before I died, though,” Harriet said. Excited now, she realized what that meant. “Could I use it to call someone?”
“We’re ghosts,” said Leah. “We can’t touch stuff.”
“It’s voice-activated,” Harriet said. It might work. It was worth a try.
Rima smiled kindly at her. “Where is it, in your pocket?”
“I think I dropped it on the top floor,” Harriet said.
“I’ll help you find it!” Kasper said, standing up straight and releasing Felix. He suggested, “The others can stay here and keep an eye on the corp— Er, I mean—”
His eyes went wide with panic. Rima mouthed at him, “Harriet.”
“Harriet,” he corrected. His Adam’s apple dipped as he swallowed. “They’ll watch your body, Harriet. Sorry.”
“Great. So glad that someone else is on corpse-watch,” Harriet said. She desperately didn’t want to think about her body just yet, but the idea of someone keeping watch over it was reassuring. “Er, what’s your name again?”
“Kasper Jedynak,” the blond boy said, preening slightly. “4B.” He scrubbed his hand through his hair, which was surprisingly fluffy.
“Casper? Like the friendly ghost?”
A much-beleaguered look crossed his face. “Bad coincidence. Don’t bother with the jokes, I’ve heard them all before.”
“Though he is very friendly!” Rima piped up.
Kasper sighed.
He was kind of cute, actually – in a dim-looking way.
“I’m Felix Anekwe, in 4A.” The other boy held out a hand to her.
“You’re neighbours?” She tried to remember whether she’d looked inside any of the rooms on the fourth floor when she’d been taking photographs. It was hard to imagine that the wrecked rooms were still homes for these people.
“Unfortunately.” Kasper scrubbed a hand roughly over Felix’s scalp, who put up a token resistance but didn’t wriggle free.
“Boys!” Rima said, in resigned impatience. “Harriet’s waiting for you to take her up to the top floor, Kasper.”
He released Felix, looking sheepish. “Right. Come on, Harriet,” Kasper said with dignity, squaring his (already very square) jaw.
“Don’t get lost, Kasper,” Felix drawled. “Just keep going upwards, OK?”
“Talk to the hand, Felix.”
“Talk to the hand?” Harriet repeated under her breath, bemused.
FELIX
Felix watched Harriet and Kasper walk away. Kasper’s hand was casually resting on Harriet’s lower back for some reason. He tried to ignore the ghost of Kasper’s touch prickling on his own skin.
When Harriet turned, Felix saw for the first time that there was a fist-sized dent in the back of her skull, hidden under her hair. It was the only visible sign of how she had died.
When the two of them had disappeared, the rest of them all started talking at once.
“What was that?” Felix asked, as Rima said, “Kasper was flirting with her!” and Leah mumbled, “I did not miss this at all.”
Felix sighed through his nose. “I cannot believe—”
“I know.” Rima shook her head. “A suicide attempt, within the first five minutes! Unbelievable!”
Guiding Harriet through her death was a bit of a shock to the system. Felix had forgotten how much there was to learn about the afterlife when you were newly dead. Everything must seem utterly confusing. Felix had been so busy obsessing over his own issues that he could barely remember what he’d done in the years after his death. Harriet was lucky she had them to help her out.
A fly was buzzing tentatively around the congealing blood near Harriet’s right ear. Felix leant closer, thinking: Go away. The fly zoomed off to investigate a McDonald’s wrapper instead. Felix settled back, satisfied.