GHOST SITTER (Part 3)

 

         "Now, when the police arrived, what happened?" asked Jake.

         "They called Robin's parents and they asked me what we did all day. Then they looked around to see what might've happened to her."

         "Did they find anything that might've suggested foul play or that anything might've happened to Robin?" asked Jake, looking up from his notes and leaning back.

         "No," said Josh wryly. "They said maybe she had decided to run away from home."

         "I see," nodded Jake. "How old is Robin, Josh?"

         "21."

         "Interesting," said Jake, thoughtfully tapping his pencil on the table. "21's kind of old to be running away from home."

         "You're tellin' me!" said Josh. "She can barely afford the payments on her car, let alone live on the money she makes. I keep telling her, she oughta go to school to be an accountant instead of a teacher, but she says..."

         "Alright, never mind that, Josh. After the police left, what happened?"

         "Well, Robin tried to drive her car, but she couldn't even hold the keys, so I let her sleep in my room for the night."

         "Okay, so you went to sleep and what did the two of you do the next day?"

         "Well, we decided not to tell anybody about last night and then we went to daycare, as usual..."

         "Hold on. Before you say anything else, let me ask you something. Are you saying to me that Robin Wheeler, 21-year-old daycare teacher, babysitter and friend to the family, is not dead but is actually invisible?"

         Joshua looked at Jake as if he'd just asked him if Super Mario Bros. was on the Sega or Nintendo game system. "Yeah," he shrugged. "What'd you think I was saying?"

         Jake shook his head and closed his eyes. "Continue," he said.

 

 

         "I wonder if anybody notices I'm gone," whispered Robin as David waved good-bye from the office. Slowly, she and Josh headed back to the Adventure Club room of the daycare.

         "Are you kidding?" said Josh incredulously. "It's Monday morning! Everybody's dead, not just you."

         "Thank you for explaining that with such sensitivity, Joshua," replied Robin sarcastically.

         Josh stopped, realizing how heartless he'd sounded. "Man, Robin, I'm sorry..." he began.

         "Forget it, kiddo, I'm not that worried about it," she said, shrugging half-heartedly.

         As soon as they opened the door, they were met with a dead silence, something very unnatural to the room of 6 to 12 year olds.

         They looked around and saw that not only was everyone in the room, some of the parents were there as well. All of them were listening to Karen Jerome, the director of the center, who stood explaining to parents about what was going to be done in Robin's absence.

         "Then, again, I think they might have an idea," said Josh under his breath.

         "This looks like a PTA meeting," said Robin.

         "Looks more like a funeral," he replied.

         "Very supportive of you, Josh...not, " she murmured, looking around.

         "You don't have to whisper," he returned, under his breath. "Nobody can hear you."

         "Oh, yeah."

         In the back, the group of kids affectionately known as the Brat Pack were waving to Josh to come over. He went around the rows of parents and kids and sat down with them. Robin was not slow to follow.

         "Now, everyone, please be assured that your children are safe and that the police are doing all they can to locate the kidnappers." Karen was saying.

         "Kidnappers?" echoed Josh and Robin.

         "Yeah, Robin got kidnapped, didn't you know?" whispered Sherry Lofland.

         "O'course, Sher-ry, it happened at his house!" said Tracy Desmond.

         "Shut up, Tra-cy!" snapped Sherry to her.

         "You shut up!" she returned.

         "Would both of you please shut up?" said Carianne, Tracey's sister.

         "Shut up, Cari!" retorted Sherry and Tracy.

         "No!" said Cari.

         "You guu-uys..." began Aaron Richards.

         "Staggering conversationalists, your friends," said Robin. "Not." She climbed up to lay on the back of the sofa.

         "They try," sighed Josh, sitting on the arm of the sofa next to her. 

         "Shut up, Aa-ron!" said Cari, Tracy and Sherry, who were now laughing at each other.

         "Y'all are gonna get us in trouble!" whispered Allison Wilson.

         "Yeah, so shut up, you guys!" said Cynthia Garrison.

         Everyone looked at each other, then said, "Shut up, Cyn-thia!"

         "Anybody who would like to volunteer their services after school today to help find her, please sign up on this list." continued Karen.

         The parents and children began to break up and move off to sign the list and talk.  As they did, Josh finally interrupted his friends to speak.

         "How did everybody find out about all this?" Josh asked.

         "The police were up here with Robin's parents..." began Aaron.

         "Yeah, they were asking everybody questions and stuff!" put in Allison.

         "Yeah, so Miss Karen and Miss Kelly said they were going to organize a big deal to help find her," Aaron finished.

         "So, what really happened, Josh?" asked Sherry.

         "Did you see the guy?" asked Tracy.

         "What did your dad do?" asked Allison.

         "You guys, cut it out!" sighed Cynthia. "Let Josh talk."

         "Okay, what really happened, dude?" asked Aaron.

         "Well..."  began Josh, looking sideways at Robin, who had sat up and was shaking her head "no", "well...we went out and somebody must have just grabbed her right after I went inside."

         "Oh, m'God," said Allison, awed.

         "Do they know if she's okay or not?" asked Cynthia.

         "No, they can't find anything," said Sherry.

         "How do you know, Sherry?" demanded Cari.

         "I just know," said Sherry smugly.

         "Dippin' in other people's business again," sighed Robin, laying back on the sofa again top. "When's she ever gonna learn?"

         Josh laughed to himself, then asked, "So, what's been going on this morning?"

         "Well, the police came and talked to everybody and then Karen and Kelly were just explaining what was going on,"  said Aaron. "It's been pretty weird."

         "Hey, Josh, there's Tara!" said Robin, pointing to the door.

 

 

         "And Tara is?" asked Jake.

         "Tara Desmond. Tracy and Cari's older sister," said Josh. "She hangs out with me and Robin when she comes to the daycare and we sit around being weird."

         "And describe the people in this group you call the Brat Pack."

         "Well, I don't; Robin and Denise do. See, me, Aaron, Sherry, Cynthia, Allison, Cari and Tracy always hang out together with Robin and Tara, so Denise just started calling us the Brat Pack."

         "I see," said Jake, not sure he did. "Go on.

         "Okay..."

 

 

         "We're going outside, Josh," said Aaron, as Josh got up to go talk to Tara.  Josh waved backward blankly as he stared at her. She was leaning against the wall by the bathroom door quietly with her arms folded. Never in his entire life had he seen her look so upset. Even when Tara had still been old enough to go to daycare, she'd been the toughest one there, but now she looked as though she might even cry, he thought.

         "Tara?" he said, touching her arm.

         She looked down at him slowly and gave him a small smile. "Oh, hi, Josh," she said morosely. 

         "You okay?" he asked.

         "Yeah. I was just thinking about Robin," she said, looking at the door.

         "Yeah," sighed Josh. Robin giggled somewhat nervously as he glanced at her.

         "I mean, who knows what's happened to her? And when Kathy gets here, she's gonna completely lose it."

         "Kathy?" said Josh.

         "Oh, crap!" said Robin, her laughter stopping abruptly.

         "Kathy Martin, her best friend? She's coming for a visit tomorrow."

         "She is?" asked Josh, looking at Robin again.

         "How'd she know that?" asked Robin.

         "Why didn't I know that?" Josh demanded.

         "Yeah, what'd you think her big secret was last week?" said Tara.

         "I dunno," shrugged Josh, "but now that I do..." 

         "Man, the last thing on my parents' mind is gonna be her flight in! They don't even know when she's coming!" said Robin, waving her arms around excitedly.

         "Well, neither do I!" exclaimed Josh.

         "I was gonna take you to the airport with me Tuesday night," said Robin.

         "Well, you can't even drive now!"

         "What?" said Tara.

         "Nothing," said Josh. "Do you know what time she's coming?"

         "Of course I do!" said Robin.

         "Not you!" he replied.

         "Josh, who are you talking to?"

         "You! I mean, Robin! I mean, both of you!"

         "Are you serious?" asked Tara.

         "No!" said Robin.

         "No...yes!" said Josh. "We can't do this alone, Robin. 'Specially if you don't want Kathy sitting around the airport waiting for you."

         "Josh, stop fooling around for a second and tell me what you're talking about!" exclaimed Tara.

         Josh looked around to make sure no one else was listening, then said, in a low voice, "Robin hasn't really been kidnapped. She's a ghost."

         "Oh, puh-leez!" said Tara.

         "I'm serious! She's standing right next to you right now." Tara looked around and Robin waggled her fingers in greeting.

         "I don't see anybody," said Tara.

         "Okay, ask me something only Robin would know," said Josh.

         "Oh, come on, Josh...!" she protested.

         "That is pretty hokey, dude," said Robin.

         "Shut up for a sec, Rob. Tara, just trust me, alright?"

         Tara looked at him, then sighed.  "Oh, al-right! Who besides me, Robin and Cari went to Six Flags that one night?"

         "Trick question," Robin laughed. "Tracy was at a party or something that night and Cari was sleeping over at somebody's house...or was that the other way around...?"

         "She's trying to figure out whether Cari or Tracy was sleeping over at somebody's house that night," said Josh, folding his arms impatiently. "Willya answer the stupid question, already?"

         "Man, don't make me jackslap you!" threatened Robin.

         "Ooo, I'm real-ly scared!" said Josh. Robin lunged at him as if to attack and Josh ducked instinctively with a yell.

         Tara laughed out loud. "Omigod, Josh, it really is her!" she giggled. "Nobody else makes you make that face except me."

         "That's right," said Robin smugly. "We've cornered the market on genuine Josh Cord Looks of Terror."

         "Oh, shut up, Robin," he growled, standing up.

         "Well, how did this happen to her?" asked Tara.

         "I dunno, ask her!" said Josh, still somewhat ruffled.

         "Josh, try to stay with the real world for a sec," said Robin. "She can't see me or hear me, so how's she supposed to ask me a question?"

         "Josh, I can't see her or hear her, so how am I suppose to ask her a question?" said Tara.

         "Deja vu!" said Josh, looking at both of them. "I need some water." He went over to the fountain and stood on the box to get a drink.

         "How long have you been invisible, Robin?" said Tara to the wall.

         "She's behind you, Tara," said Josh, flicking a little water towards her.

         "Josh, you better not get me wet unless you want to spend your next birthday in traction," snarled Tara.

         "Hey, Tara, that's it!" said Robin, snapping her fingers and pointing at Tara.

         "She can't see you or hear you, so how's she supposed to know what you're talking about?" mocked Josh.

         "What'd she say?" asked Tara.

         "Robin's got something," he replied sarcastically.

         "The stuff in that old store! We should have thought of it before! It splashed on me and somehow made me change!"

         "Wha-at?"

         "Don't ya get it?  Like, when it hit the floor, the floor didn't get eaten away, it just kinda disappeared a little!"

         Josh relayed Robin's words to Tara with a brief explanation of what stuff and store she meant. "So, you'll be transparent to everybody pretty soon, right?" he said to Robin hopefully.

         "Well, maybe. The floor disappeared pretty quick, and I didn't disappear until later that night. I may be like this for a while."

         Again Josh explained what Robin had said, then Tara added, "Or maybe the floor is really still gone and you guys just saw it because you saw it disappear."

         "Huh?" returned the other two. 

         "See, like you know how if you sit in a tub of hot water, it's really hot, but if you gradually add hot water to water you're already in, it's a lot easier to handle?"

         "Wait...I think I get it!" said Josh. "Like, you think that since we actually saw the floor disappear, that's why we could still sorta see it?"

         "Right. If you had just come up afterwards, you might've just seen a hole in the floor," agreed Tara.

         "Kind of an optical illusion," nodded Josh.

         "This makes sense," nodded Robin, "although it doesn't leave much room for hope. I don't want to be invisible forever."

         "So let's go back down to that place and see if that Japanese guy can help," said Josh. "He probably knew what was in there, anyway, if he was gonna sell it."

         "How're we gonna get there?" asked Tara. Josh looked at Robin, who looked back at him in confusion until she realized what he meant.

         "Ohnoyadon't," she said calmly. "That's my car, Joshua. My favorite car."

         "Your only car," he added, pulling the keys from his pocket and giving them a casual toss. A pained look crossed Robin's face as Josh said, "I'll be gentle."

         "I'm tellin' ya right now, Josh, I'm not letting you use my car..." Robin began.

         "You can't exactly stop me, either," said Josh. "But you can come along for the ride."

         "Does the phrase "touch it and die" mean anything to you?" she asked, as a last resort.

         Josh repeated Robin's phrase to Tara and she grinned. "Only if you're talking about land mines," she said.

 

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