Ghost Time

between us. I thought you should see these, she said, taking out a stack of color pictures. You know there’s been a rash of vandalism in this town, she said. Between this, and the videos we all know about, and the vanishing tire tracks in the field, she said, looking at me like she was waiting for some response, but I didn’t give her one. I had nothing to say. Thea, I can’t help but wonder if this is all related, somehow, to yourboyfriend, Cam, she said, tilting her head and giving me one of those sympathetic newscaster looks, but I stared at the table. I had a feeling she’d catch me in a lie if I said anything, so I didn’t say a word.
    She waited until it became uncomfortable, and then, finally, she said, Whether there’s any connection between these events, people are very interested in your story, Thea—they want to hear what you have to say, and I hear there’s even talk of a lawsuit involving some pretty big companies. But if and when you’re ready, I would like to talk to you. I’m staying here now, in town, so we could meet anytime, she said. Her voice turned soft, sympathetic, and she leaned forward, across the table, and said, I can only imagine how difficult this has been for you, Thea, and I want to hear your side. I wanted to ask her what she was talking about, big companies, but I shook my head no, I have nothing to say, and she waited, staring at me. Thea, I’m running a story in the next couple days, and I thought you might want to take a look at these; she spread out all the pictures—graffiti from all over town, and I got the chills: What would Socrates do? tagged on a wall of the elementary school, right behind the jungle gyms. I’M NOT LAUGHING!!!!!!!!!!!! tagged across the front porch of the senior citizens home. Worst of all, 3% , tagged on a brick wall in the tunnel where Cam took me that night.
    I have to go, I said, grabbing my bag and sliding out of the booth. Here, let me give you my card, Thea, she said, turning toward her leather bag. I said, That’s okay, you already gave me your card, and she smiled, looking up at me: Yes, well, she said, in case you lost that one, here’s another. Put it in your wallet, shesuggested, smiling, and I left a few dollars on the table, walking away. But just as I walked past her, Jenna touched my shoulder, stopping me: Thea, there is a big, big story here; I can feel it, and I’m going to find out what that story is, she said. She wasn’t threatening me, but she knew, I could tell; she smelled a story. So I said, Good luck, looking at her hand, then she let go of my arm and said, You, too, Thea. You take care, she said, but I’d already reached the front door.
    I called my mom and asked her to pick me up at Knox’s house on her way home. I knew Melody was at physical therapy, so I called Knox to tell him that I had to see him. When I got there, he opened the door and he was wearing a heather gray Jets shirt and his dad jeans. Friday casual already? I said, walking in, and before he could say anything, I told him about Jenna Darnell, cornering me at Silver Top, that she had pictures of all the graffiti that’s been popping up, while he led me to his office at the end of the hall. I just got the pictures, he said, taking a seat at his desk. When I walked over, he had a still from a surveillance video onscreen: I’M NOT LAUGHING!!!!!!!!!!!! I shivered, seeing it. He knew, too, even before he asked, but he asked anyway. He said, Thea, have you seen this before? I nodded and said, Yes, and then I pulled out Hubble, flipping to the page where I’d written that. I was going to hold the page up to the computer screen so he could see it was exactly the same as my handwriting, and just when I found the page, my notebook slipped, and I caught it, but the page tore.
    Ope , Knox said, turning from me to his computer. What’s wrong? I asked, and he shook his head. Nothing, I just hate thatball, he said, watching the spinning ball on his computer, and then he hit a couple keys, trying to get it to stop. Damn, he said, clicking back and forth a few times, and then, when the ball stopped spinning, returning to the freeze-frame taken at the old folks home, he balked. What is it? I said, turning to look, but a little upset about the torn page. When I looked, it was the same picture of the graffiti, except half the graffiti was gone; the words NOT LAUGHING!!!!!!!!!!!! weren’t there anymore. Hubble, I said, and Knox said, Come again? I said,