LIGHTNOVELONLINE 3. Dinner with Friends
I ate another french fry then picked up my glass and had a gulp of orange soda as I looked around the table again.
We were in a big corner booth at a standard 'road house' type chain restaurant. I'd been there a hundred times with my family, but I'd never been with friends before because I never really had friends I'd want to go out to dinner with.
Until now.
My emotions were still all over the place, but it wasn't just fear and confusion anymore. Starting about ninety minutes ago I was also feeling excitement, and even happiness too.
Kaylee was right when she said Miss Hawthorne would know what to do, how to fix things.
My clothing crisis was solved in two steps. First Marissa and Kaylee were sent to their lockers to grab some spare clothes, since they were closest to my new size. I ended up in a t-shirt and track-pants borrowed from Kaylee, and socks and sneakers from Marissa.
Along with my own oversized autumn jacket it was enough that I could go out in public without looking too abnormal.
Then me and Kaylee rode with Miss Hawthorne while Paige and Marissa went in Brooke's car. The six of us met up at the discount mart, and my favourite teacher bought me some girls clothes of my own. Not a lot, but she got me enough to last me till Sunday when I'd be returning home.
After Miss Hawthorne paid for everything, me and Kaylee went into a washroom and she stood guard at the door while I quickly got changed again.
I was in a pair of forest-green leggings, a pink top that was a cross between a dress and an oversized t-shirt, and a navy blue hoodie that was about four sizes too big but just felt perfect on me. Beneath all that I also had a pair of simple white cotton panties and a stretchy sports bra which Kaylee had to talk me through how to get into. And I had some new pink socks and a pair of white and pink sneakers on my feet.
The borrowed clothes went into a shopping bag so I could return them to Kaylee and Marissa. Then just before I left the washroom I found myself staring at the mirror over the sinks.
It was my first actual look at myself since the whole thing started, and that's when the excitement and joy really started to emerge. What I saw in the mirror sent my heart racing while my tummy did flip-flops.
I already knew I'd become short, I was smaller than Kaylee. I was probably the same size as Marissa, but she seemed taller because her ankle-boots had heels on them. What really hit me as I stared at myself in the mirror wasn't my height though. I was...
I was cute.
My hair was still brown, but now it hung down to my shoulders in a loose lazy mess. Except instead of looking like derpy bed-head or something, it gave me a sort of relaxed care-free look. My eyes were still brown, but instead of being dull and lifeless they looked bright and vibrant. There were flecks of green in them. They looked larger than I remembered, and there was an intensity of emotion in them I'd never seen before. At least not in my eyes anyways.
My face was actually still recognizable, but obviously different. Like someone who knew me before would think I was my cute sister, or an adorable cousin maybe.
The thick ugly eyebrows were now thin and slightly arched. My annoying pointy nose was smaller and sort of rounded like a cute little boopable button. And instead of the thin greyish lips I was used to, the ones I had now were wide and healthy pink and they kept curling up into a smile as I stared at my reflection.
I couldn't really put it into words, but I was definitely feeling a lot of things all at once. I'd looked in mirrors before, but this was the first time I ever felt like I saw myself looking back at me. I actually saw Cass in the mirror, and I liked it. A lot.
"Hey cutie." Kaylee's voice brought me back down to Earth and I tore myself away from the mirror.
I felt my cheeks colouring again as I asked, "Yeah?"
She was grinning at me, "The others are waiting, remember? We should get going."
"Right. Sorry!" My cheeks grew brighter as we emerged from the washroom, and I mostly just stared down at the back of Kaylee's feet as she walked ahead of me. The rest of the clothes went into the trunk of Miss Hawthorne's little hybrid, then the six of us went over to the restaurant.
I found myself sitting at the back of the corner booth, surrounded by girls on both sides. Kaylee was on my left, Paige was on my right. Marissa was on the other side of Paige, then Brooke sat at the end on that side. And at the far left on the other side of Kaylee was Miss Hawthorne.
Marissa Paige and Brooke were all talking about Island Lake again. They'd lower their voices now and then, but gradually raise the volume because the restaurant was busy and noisy. Me and Kaylee were mostly quiet, and Miss Hawthorne only spoke up now and then.
I had another bite of my burger then glanced around the table once more as I silently recited the names of all my new friends.
Kaylee Holt was seventeen and in grade eleven, same as me. And I had a secret crush on her except the last two hours left me wondering if maybe it wasn't such a secret. She'd basically made a point of sitting next to me, standing next to me, or otherwise staying close to me almost since the whole thing started.
May Hawthorne was our teacher, but she said outside the school we were allowed to call her May. She wasn't technically part of Club Luna, but she sponsored the club and let us use her classroom. I had a feeling there was more to it than that, but something told me there was stuff she didn't want to discuss in a crowded restaurant.
Brooke Tremblay was eighteen and in grade twelve, she was the oldest girl in the club and she was the club's leader. Marissa Ainsley was in grade ten and the youngest girl here. Except I learned her real name was actually Cerys. She just liked being called Marissa for some reason. Paige Doubek was seventeen and in grade eleven, same as me and Kaylee.
And finally there was me. I was Cassandra Underwood, and for some reason that made me really happy. Maybe because being Cassandra meant I wasn't a shy boring loner guy anymore. Instead I was a shy cute girl with a bunch of friends.
I was still shy and quiet but now I felt like I belonged, which was an exciting new experience for me.
"What are you thinking, Cass?" Kaylee's words caught me off-guard.
I turned to look at her as my cheeks started colouring yet again. I wasn't sure if I'd missed something she said, or what she was talking about. "Um, what do you mean?"
She grinned, "You're looking like equal parts happy and overwhelmed, and you've been pretty quiet there. What's on your mind?"
My cheeks got even brighter and I leaned closer to her as I lowered my voice. "It's exactly like you said? I'm overwhelmed, but I'm happy? I've never had friends like this before? Never felt like I belonged before. This is all super new for me, and I don't just mean being turned into a girl. And the stuff Marissa and Paige and Brooke are talking about all sounds kind of exciting. Like I have no idea what we're actually going to do tonight, but I'm still looking forward to doing it? Especially since I'll be doing it with you. And the club! I mean, we'll be doing whatever it is together, as a bunch of friends..."
For a moment I thought I might die of embarrassment over my slip-up with the words. But Kaylee just giggled, and wow that had to be one of the cutest sights and sounds I'd ever witnessed. In class she always struck me as quiet and thoughtful, but seeing her eyes light up and hearing her giggle... It was just, wow.
"You're right Cass," she said as she leaned closer too. "It is really nice doing stuff like that with friends. And I'm glad you're with us. I'm sorry I never got to know you before, but I'm going to make up for that now. I promise."
On top of all the other strange new feelings I'd experienced in the past couple hours, suddenly there was a funny fluttering sensation in my heart. I stared at Kaylee for a few seconds as I tried to decipher what she meant by that.
She just smiled back at me for a few more seconds, before her attention returned to her dinner.
I finally did the same, and had another bite of my burger. I could tell I wasn't going to finish it though. I'd lost interest in it around the halfway point. I ate a couple more fries, then finished my orange soda and just sat back to watch and listen. I tried once more to follow the discussion going on to my right.
"...probably since the nineteen-forties right? That's what you found in the records?" Marissa asked.
Paige nodded, "Yeah. There's no way to know for sure without asking them, but that's the only thing me and Kaylee found in the archives. A car wreck from the late forties, in roughly that location. And a few of the ghost sightings suggest the clothing could date from that era? So that's our best guess."
Brooke added, "We don't actually need to know who they were, or how and when they died. It's more polite though, obviously. Especially if we're trying to communicate with them first."
"Yeah," Marissa nodded as she munched on an onion ring. "But whether we talk or not, we're still going to lay them to rest, right? Like that's the idea? Help them move on, find peace, all that jazz?"
The club's leader agreed, "That's the plan. I know some people like having haunted woods. They think it's neat, or they use it like a tourist attraction? If those souls are lost though, or suffering, then the only humane thing to do is help them move on. And more to the point, if they're angry or trying to cause trouble or harm people, then we have a duty to lay them to rest. For the greater good."
Miss Hawthorne spoke up at that point. "It's preferable that we establish communications before-hand. Like Brooke said, if a haunting is causing trouble or harm to the living then there's no choice but to lay them to rest? But if they're benign, then the right thing to do is try and talk to them first. And everything I've heard about the Island Lake haunting suggests they're peaceful. If they're sentient enough to make a decision, we should allow them that choice and abide by it. If they're not a threat and they don't want to go, then laying them to rest would be wrong."
"Aw," Marissa pouted. She seemed sad at the possibility that maybe she wouldn't get a chance to 'lay them to rest', whatever that meant.
"May is right," Brooke stated. "So job one is try and talk with them."
Everyone else seemed to be finished eating by that point, so Miss Hawthorne signalled the waitress. In the next few minutes teacher paid the bill, then we all emerged from the booth.
"We should probably visit the washroom before we go," Kaylee suggested quietly. "We might be a few hours out in the woods."
That was yet another new experience for me, in more ways than one. My cheeks were bright red for most of it, but nobody said anything or acted weird. I'd noticed girls tended to go to the washroom in groups before, and it felt strange to suddenly be part of that. Strange, but in a good way. There was some friendly conversation, and most of my new friends took a few moments at the mirrors to touch up their lipstick and stuff. Except for me of course, since I wasn't wearing any.
Then we all headed out of the restaurant together. We split into the same two groups, Brooke took Paige and Marissa in her car while Miss Hawthorne drove me and Kaylee.
I wasn't sure at first where we were going since I knew the conservation area was closed by now. It was about eight o'clock when we left the restaurant and it was already dark out.
We actually drove in the opposite direction, the entrance to the park was to the south but we headed north when we left the parking lot. When we got to the north end of town we turned east on a side-road, then south onto a dirt road. And finally Miss Hawthorne parked the car at the side of the road. It was pitch dark out here, there were no street lights and the conservation area had enough trees in and around it that lights from the town were obscured from view.
With both cars turned off it was quiet as well as dark. The moon was almost full, but the dark sky was cloudy so the moon kept slipping in and out of view above us.
I asked quietly, "Are we bringing flash lights or something?"
"No," Miss Hawthorne stated as we emerged from her car. "Conservation staff would see them and come investigate. Give it a few minutes Cassandra, your eyes will adjust to the darkness."
Brooke looked to me and said, "Cass this is your first outing with us and we haven't had a chance to fill you in on things. So before we get started, either turn your phone off or better still, leave it in the car. We can explain why later, for now I just need you to go along with it ok?"
"Ok," I nodded. I fished my phone out of my hoodie pocket and tucked it into my backpack, which was on the floor of the back seat of the car. Kaylee's backpack was in there as well, and I assumed her phone was still in there too.
The cars were locked up, then the six of us started moving a little further south along the dirt road till we got to a tall fence. There was a gate in the fence but it was closed. I could just make out the padlock securing the latch.
"Paige?" Brooke said softly.
The tall athletic brunette stepped forward. She placed her hand on the padlock and murmured some quiet words.
I felt a little flutter of something in the air, and I could almost swear I saw a faint purple glow around the lock under Paige's hand. Then there was a clunk and the padlock popped open.
She quietly slipped the lock off the latch, then Brooke opened the gate and motioned the rest of us through. When all six of us were inside Paige closed the gate and replaced the lock, but left it unlocked.
"Ok girls," the tall blonde said softly. "Let's go meet some ghosts."
Brooke took the lead, with Marissa then Paige close behind. Miss Hawthorne stayed at the back, behind me and Kaylee.
The cute redhead gave me a smile then hooked her right arm around my left arm and whispered, "Stick with me Cass. You'll be ok."
And with that, my new friends and I quietly ventured deeper into the conservation area as the six of us set out to find some ghosts.
