12
The meeting has already started by the time I get to the coffee shop, and I hang back for a moment, looking around for Josh. He’s not here, and I’m half tempted to leave now. I’m sure half of these people have never seen a real ghost, though we do share a common interest in the paranormal.
The man who’s standing at the front of the pushed-together tables sees me and gives me a friendly smile. Not wanting to be rude, I take a seat in the back, squeezing in between the wall and an older woman wearing a black T-shirt withPenn Ghost Hunting Clubwritten across the chest in hot pink letters.
The meeting gets started with details of a hunt the club went on last week, and I’m surprised to hear the leader approach everything with skepticism. He tries to debunk everything that seemed ghostly, and only concludes it was paranormal activity when no other explanation can be found.
I sit back quietly and watch everyone, not offering to share when the group opens up about their own personal experiences. I’m sure most of these stories are fabricated, exaggerated at best, but I find them and the people recanting their tales interesting. When the meeting ends, I get up and get a coffee, figuring I could use it for the ride home. The guys are waking up now and will find my note explaining where I am shortly. I’m anxious to get back to them.
“First meeting?” someone asks when I step to the side of the counter and wait for my coffee. I turn and see the leader of the group a few feet from me.
“Yeah.”
“I didn’t remember seeing you before. We’re pretty small, so it’s obvious when new members join.”
I force a smile and shift my weight. I don’t like awkward small talk.
“You were quiet,” he goes on. “Which makes me wonder why you really came.”
“I’m curious about ghosts,” I admit, which is both the truth and a lie at the same time. I was here hoping to talk to Josh so I could know for certain if the ghost that attacked him was the same one I think I let out of the spirit world.
So yeah, I’m curious about ghosts. I guess it’s not that much of a lie after all.
“You’ve had a ghost experience. I can tell.”
I shrug. “Haven’t we all?”
He laughs. “Some have, but most here haven’t. Theywantto have a ghost experience. And then they’re eager to share. I’ve had a few others like you show up before, but you’re not quite like the others. You’ve had an experience, but you don’t want to talk about it. Don’t want to show off or brag about whatever abilities you think you might have. You just want answers.”
Maybe this guy isn’t bullshit after all.
“And what if I do want answers?”
He smiles. “You won’t get them unless you ask a question.”
The barista calls my name and I step up to grab my coffee. “My questions aren’t…” I trail off and shake my head. “Thanks, but never mind.”
He raises his eyebrows. “You came here for a reason. What’s the worst that can happen?”
The worst that can happen is the ghost I think I let out via a rift in the fucking universe gets angry and does more than beat up someone next time.
“Okay. Let’s talk.”
He waves his hand at an empty table, and I slide into the booth. He takes his jacket off, revealing the nameMikestitched into his official ghost hunter shirt.
“Let me start by giving you a brief history of how the club came about.” Mike leans back in the bench across from me. “I teach biology at a college outside of Philly. I got to work early one day to grade papers. The building wasn’t full of staff and students yet, but it wasn’t empty either. The air got cold, and when I looked up, there was a former student standing in front of me. I blinked and he was gone. After some digging, I found out he had died earlier in the week. I hadn’t seen or thought about him in years, and I still don’t know why he’d haunt the biology department of a community college. I was sure there was a logical explanation for what happened. When I couldn’t find one…”
“You knew it was a ghost.”
“Exactly.”
“That’s why you’re so skeptical.”
“Yes, and I’ve found that a lot of things people are eager to call paranormal activity do have a rational reasoning behind them. And I try to find that reason. When I’ve exhausted all options, then I’m led to believe we might be working with a real haunting.”
“I agree, and for the record, I don’t think you’re full of shit. Anymore,” I add with a smile.
He laughs. “Something tells me you’re a skeptic too. Are you in the science field as well?”
