Notes:I think we’d make good friends.
Beck McLaughlin
Personality:Unassuming, but with entirely too many talents and niche hobbies.
Strengths:I don’t even know where to start. Math whiz, plays every wind instrument, speaks three languages.
Weaknesses:Not very physically strong. Loses her train of thought easily.
Relative:Her momanddad were both previous contestants. Her mom won the eleventh season, and her dad lost the same one.
Fun Fact:She’s already been on a reality show before. She almost wonPhantom Pursuers,a ghost-hunting show, but accidentally exorcised the spirit instead of catching it. She hopes to winForest Feudto redeem herself.
Notes:Ask her how one catches a phantom.
Adin Zavary
Personality:A confusing mix between a frat boy–type and a loser. So maybe not that confusing after all.
Strengths:Good with people. Athletic.
Weaknesses:Makes enemies as easily as friends.
Relative:Bilal Malik, uncle. Lost the same season that Siddharth’s sister won.
Fun Fact:Wants to win to make sure he gets elected as student body president and wrestling captain next year… wait, that’s it?
Notes:Has already started bonding with Siddharth, which seems like a headache in the making.
Aeneas Hudson
Personality:Has the anxiety levels of somebody being hunted for sport.
Strengths:Kind, easy to get along with, logical.
Weaknesses:I don’t think they crumble under pressure, per se. More like pressure beats them with a mallet.
Relative:Courtney Grill, grandmother. Lost the seventh season.
Fun Fact:They accidentally signed up for a lifetime membership at their local hot dog–eating league.
Notes:Uses they/them pronouns and really,reallydoesn’t want to be here.
After what feels like forever, we finally wrap up and break for a very belated dinner. I grab my ambiguous brown slop and survey the cafeteria with a mission: Iwillmake friends today, goddamnit.
There are two girls sitting together in the corner: Beck and Vendredi. Perfect.
I round their table with my tray in hand, waiting so I don’t interrupt their conversation. Beck, a girl with shocking green eyes that pop against her pale skin, talks a mile a minute, gesticulating so much that it makes her black bob flip this way and that. Vendredi is listening intently, nodding like she’s fascinated. She’s one of the prettiest girls I’ve ever seen, with her square, dark-brown face and perfect smile.
“—So while the Whaley Houseclaimsto be the most haunted house in America, based on my investigation onPhantom Pursuers, I think it only lands as the sixth or fifth most haunted, right under—” Beck notices me then. “Oh, hello.”
“Hi.” I smile. “Are you talking about ghosts?”
“Yeah.” Beck perks up. “Why? Are you a truthseeker, too?”
“Um… maybe? I like all sorts of stuff. I thought it sounded interesting when you were talking about it in the confession booth,” I say. “Can I join you gu—”
“No,” interrupts Vendredi, sounding panicked. Her eyes widen, and she hurries to finish. “Um, sorry. It’s just that, uh… we’re saving those seats. I’m sorry, really.”
