Dead Is a State of Mind (3 page)

Chapter Five

Ryan wasn't in school the next day. I walked through the day in a daze. Had he been telling the truth? Was he really sick or just sick of me?

I was incredibly relieved when the long, dull day ended and I could go home and hide. Poppy was in the kitchen when I got there.

"Thanks for the ride," I said as I threw my backpack down.

"Someone's in a bad mood," Poppy observed.

I ignored her and got out a bag of popcorn kernels. I'd make popcorn the old-fashioned way—on the stove. But I couldn't concentrate. Instead of cooking, I paced the length of the kitchen.

I could feel Poppy staring at me. "What's wrong with you?" she finally asked.

"Nothing." I slammed the corn popper on the burner.

Poppy snorted in disbelief. "You've been moping around all day!"

"I have not!" I said. The bag of kernels exploded into a blizzard of white, fluffy popcorn and rained down on the kitchen.

"Nothing, huh?" Poppy said. She caught a piece of the flying popcorn in her mouth.

My psychic powers went wonky when I was under stress. Part of me was mad at myself—getting all revved up over some guy. But Ryan wasn't just any guy. We'd been friends way before we dated, before I'd been a cheerleader, before Sam and I became friends again. There were times when Ryan had been the only person I had to confide in.

"Okay," I said. "I'm a little ... preoccupied. It's just that Ryan's been acting really weird lately."

I told her about our failed date and how sick Ryan had seemed. "And he wasn't in school today and hasn't been answering his cell. And he
still
hasn't asked me to the prom yet."

"Geez, Daisy," Poppy said. "It's only a few weeks away."

"I'm aware of that," I said.

"Has he asked someone else?" Poppy said. She wasn't exactly known for her tact. Despite all the problems Ryan and I had been having, I hadn't even thought of that.

"I don't know," I said. The idea of Ryan going out with someone else made me feel a little queasy. "Poppy, you're not helping."

"Hey, I've got an idea," she said. "Let's grab the Frisbee and head to the park. Spending some time outside will make you feel better. And besides, you really ought to work on getting a handle on your telekinesis. Things get out of control when you're upset."

I nodded and grabbed the car keys. What else was there to do?

On our drive to the park, Poppy looked out the window. "There's Ryan," she said, waving madly. "Who is that he's talking to?"

Ryan was standing outside Slim's. Next to him was a tall, beautiful brunette. I slowed down the car as we approached.

It was the girl I'd seen at the diner, the one with the amber eyes. I had no idea who she was, but the two of them were chatting like old friends.

"Are you going to stop?" Poppy asked.

"No," I said, gritting my teeth. The sight of Ryan with another girl made me feel like there was a cement mixer in my stomach.

I'd seen Ryan with another girl before and had completely misinterpreted the situation. Even so, seeing him with someone else again wasn't exactly doing much for my confidence. And besides, wasn't he supposed to be home sick today?

I stomped on the gas and headed for the park. I looked in the rearview mirror and saw the bulbs in the Slim's Diner sign above their heads explode in a cascade of sparks that just missed Ryan and the girl. I hoped I hadn't caused it, but I had the guilty feeling that I might be responsible.

There was silence in the car until we pulled into a parking spot at the park. Then Poppy said, "I'm sure it's nothing."

Right. If it were nothing, she wouldn't be talking about it.

We walked to a secluded area of the park.

"Okay, toss me the Frisbee."

I did. Poppy didn't appreciate it.

"Without using your hands, Daisy. We're here to practice controlling your telekinesis, not to improve your Frisbee skills."

I tried moving it with my mind. My first few attempts resulted in the Frisbee careening off toward the fountain several yards behind Poppy, but I finally got the hang of it.

"Good!" Poppy said as the Frisbee took a perfectly straight path to her hands. "You're getting better."

It was getting dark. Normally, not much in Nightshade spooked me, but I suddenly felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Someone was watching us.

I moved closer to Poppy, until I was right next to her. "Why don't we call it a night? Mom will be waiting for us," I said in what I hoped was a carrying voice.

"Don't quit now," she said. "You're just getting started. Besides, Mom—
ooph.
Hey, watch it." I'd elbowed her in the ribs.

"Someone is watching us," I explained in a low voice. "And I don't want to advertise that no one is expecting us."

Poppy nodded and picked up the Frisbee. "Yeah, we don't want to worry Mom. You know how she gets if we're late." I hoped I hadn't sounded as artificial as she did.

We made a beeline for the car. My skin didn't stop crawling until we pulled into our driveway.

Mom was already home, which was unusual and brought me ever so slightly out of my funk. I couldn't go to my room, not if I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity for some quality time with my one remaining parent.

"It smells great in here, Mom," I said as Poppy and I entered the kitchen.

"I felt like cooking tonight," she replied. "It's just salad and baked chicken."

"Sounds good to me." It was nice to have a night off from cooking.

Mom glanced over at Poppy and frowned. "What happened to your hand?"

Poppy and I exchanged glances. I raised an eyebrow and shrugged. It was up to her.

"It was the ghost at Mort's," she finally said. "He was busting stuff up, and I got in the way."

"This ghost sounds dangerous," Mom said sharply. "I don't know if you girls should be handling this."

"It's nothing," Poppy said. "And besides, he calmed down after I talked to him."

"Let me see your hand," Mom said.

"It's just a scratch," Poppy said, but she obediently held out her hand. "I told you."

After a thorough inspection, Mom said, "It looks okay, but remember to put some ointment on it." She turned to me and said, "Ghosts can be unpredictable. Are you sure you girls have this under control?"

Seeing Poppy's pleading look, I nodded, though I wasn't so sure about it myself. "Everything is fine, Mom, don't worry," I said.

Just as we were about to sit down to eat, Rose came in and eased everyone's worries. "Mr. Bone sent this as a thanks." She handed Poppy and me small packages. "He hasn't had any more ghost trouble."

"Really?" Mom said, sounding impressed.

"You make him sound like a pest," Poppy protested.

"He was one," Rose said. "A big one, but Poppy managed to tame him."

Poppy ripped open her package and held up a big box of Donnelly chocolates. Donnelly's was in Santa Cruz and made the best chocolates. I resisted the urge to snatch the box out of her hands and snarf the contents. Chocolate is my weakness.

"Oh, I think he likes you," I teased.

"He does?" Poppy beamed. Not exactly the reaction we were expecting. Mr. Bone isn't exactly pinup material. "I'll have to thank Gage."

"Gage?" I asked incredulously. "I meant Mr. Bone."

I stared at Poppy, who was turning even pinker.

"You thought we were talking about the ghost!" Rose exclaimed.

"No, it's just—he's nice, that's all. He was only seventeen when he died. He listened to me."

"Poppy, he's a ghost. He's a captive audience," I emphasized. I wasn't trying to be mean, but I was worried.

"I'm tired of the guys at school," she said.

"Talk about a long-distance relationship. It'll never work," I said.

Rose giggled and then sobered quickly when Poppy turned to her and glared.

"Like either of you is doing any better," she said. "You and Ryan aren't even talking, and Rose's boyfriend is a..."

I gave Rose a panic-stricken look. Mom didn't know Nicholas was a werewolf.

"A what, Poppy?" Rose's voice was calm, but her face was a little pale.

"C'mon, you guys," I said, attempting to change the subject, "we shouldn't be fighting."

Mom was on full alert now. "Finish your sentence, Poppy."

"A mortician," Poppy finally said.

"I thought you were going to say something else," Mom said, raising an eyebrow. "You know Poppy, a person can't help it if he has Were blood. There's no reason to belittle him."

Due to her line of work, Mom was pretty tight with the city council members. She took offense to any sort of paranormal discrimination.

"Sorry," Poppy mumbled, looking at Rose apologetically. "I didn't mean to insult your boyfriend."

Rose relaxed a fraction, but Mom was chewing on something else Poppy had blurted out.

"Why aren't you and Ryan talking, Daisy?"

"It's nothing, Mom. Really." But was it nothing? Poppy had been reassuring in the car, but a few seconds ago, when she was mad, she seemed to be implying that my relationship was reaching the crash-and-burn stage. I wondered if she was right.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" Mom asked, seeing the troubled look on my face.

I gave in to the female bonding instinct and blurted out my worries. "It's just that he bailed out of our date last night because he was sick, but then Poppy and I spotted him outside Slim's this afternoon."

"Did he have a fever?" Rose asked.

I said yes. How did she know?

"How high was his temperature?"

"I don't know," I replied. "He left before I could take it. But I felt his forehead, and it felt like he was on fire. Why?"

"No reason," she said. "I just heard there's a really nasty strain of flu going around. He'll be fine, just give him a few days."

"A few days?" I scoffed. "He looked perfectly healthy when I saw him today."

"Daisy, I'm sure there's an explanation. Just be patient," Rose said.

My sister said it with such authority that I persuaded myself she was right. I managed a smile.

"Okay, who wants popcorn?" I asked. "Maybe I'll add M&Ms."

We spent the evening hanging out in the family room. Ryan didn't call, and I didn't call him.

When the phone finally rang, I looked anxiously at the number on the caller ID. Samantha. I knew from past experience that if I didn't answer, she'd just keep calling or maybe even come over.

I picked up the phone. "What's up, Samantha?"

"I looked for you in the afternoon but couldn't find you anywhere," she said. "You aren't mad at me, are you?"

"I'm not mad." I wasn't, not at Samantha anyway. And there were a thousand good reasons that Ryan could have been with that girl. I just couldn't think of any right now. And a couple of not-so-good ones, my traitorous brain added.

"Hey, did you hear?" she asked.

"Hear what?"

"Another one of Duke's predictions came true. He predicted that Pamela Ellington would be valedictorian, and guess what they announced at the student council meeting today?"

" That Pam Ellington is class valedictorian? I could have told you that."

"And he predicted that Candy and Damon would break up."

"Another easy one to guess," I said.

"Daisy, I thought you of all people would believe in Duke."

"I believe that the psychic phenomenon exists. I'm reserving judgment about his abilities."

Samantha changed the subject, evidently tired of arguing with me about Duke. "So we're on for hanging prom posters tomorrow afternoon?"

After agreeing, I hung up the phone and turned to Poppy.

"What are you doing after school tomorrow?" I asked.

"Forget it," she said. "I already have plans. Besides, I had to do all the work last year. This year, I'm a senior and you get to wait on me."

It was school tradition that the juniors planned the prom and provided all the labor. The seniors just showed up and looked glamorous, at least according to Poppy.

"Who is in charge of the after party?" she asked.

"What after party?"

" The one the juniors had better be planning unless they want to die a slow, agonizing death."

Alrighty then. Looked like, on top of everything else, we had a party to plan.

Chapter Six

The next day after school, the prom committee followed Samantha to the art room, where the posters were stored. We gathered up the posters and supplies while Sam barked orders.

"We should split up into groups of two," Samantha said.

Penny stepped forward with an eager smile, but Samantha continued like she hadn't even seen her. "Daisy, you're with me. Penny, you're with Rachel." Sam divided up the rest of the girls and ended with a final order. "I want to see posters everywhere you look. We still have a load of prom tickets to sell, and I've heard that some people don't even have dates yet."

I was going to kill her if she looked my way, but fortunately for her safety, she didn't. "Let's go, people!"

As we walked down the hall, we were stopped every few feet by someone who wanted to talk to Samantha.

First, Mrs. Pappas, the yearbook committee adviser, rushed after us. "Samantha, do you have a minute to look at the layout?" she asked.

"I'll come by tomorrow, I promise," Samantha assured her.

Finally, after being stopped by the prom committee adviser, the debate team adviser, and Principal Amador, who just wanted to say hi, we started hanging posters.

"When do you sleep?" I said.

"What do you mean?" Samantha replied. She stuck a poster on the wall and stepped back to take a look.

"You're involved in everything," I said. "When do you have time to just hang out at home?"

Her face fell, and I realized I'd put my foot in my mouth again. Samantha's parents were never home. She was alone in that big house most of the time.

"Sam, I didn't mean..."

She gave me a strained smile. "I like to keep busy," she said. "Don't you? Isn't that why you joined prom committee?"

"I guess," I said. "Poppy said something last night about planning an after party for the seniors. I guess it's the juniors' job?"

Samantha nodded. "One more thing to do." She sighed as she looked thoughtfully at the poster on the wall in front of us. "You know, Daisy," she said, "You're right. I do have a lot on my plate right now. Do you want to take charge of planning the after-prom party?"

"I've never done anything like that before," I told her, "and Poppy will kill me if it's not perfect. It's her senior prom. Last chance to make memories and all that."

"You'll do a great job," she said. "And I'll help you. I'll get the whole committee to help."

I thought about it for a minute. I needed a project to take my mind off Ryan anyway. "Okay, I'll do it."

Samantha and I ended up by the boys' locker rooms. "We should put a bunch here," she said. "Some boys need a little prompting." She glanced at me, a question in her gaze.

"Ryan hasn't asked me yet. I don't know what's up with him. Do you?"

"No," Samantha said, but she wouldn't look at me when she said it. She knew something, I was sure of it. Her boyfriend Sean was Ryan's best friend.

"He's been acting weird lately," I said, watching her closely. Then, after looking around to make sure Penny wasn't lurking behind some corner, I admitted: "Sam, I saw him with another girl."

Her eyes widened. "What do you mean? Who was it?"

"I don't know her," I said, "But I saw her at Slim's the other night. Long dark hair, lips like Angelina Jolie, and these weird yellowish eyes."

"That sounds like Elise Wilder," Sam said. "Total femme fatale."

"You know her?" I asked incredulously.

"I met her back when I went up to the Wilder mansion to book it for prom."

"Elise Wilder," I said. "Why haven't I ever met her before now? I know everybody in Nightshade." I've lived here my whole life and I'd never heard anyone mention her name.

"She's been going to finishing school in Europe," Samantha said.

"What brings her to Nightshade?" I asked.

"She's kind of wild," Samantha said. "Her grandmother, Mrs. Wilder, has sent her to about a dozen schools, and she's managed to get kicked out of every one. She'll be finishing her senior year at Nightshade High."

Great. Just great.

The very next day, I came face-to-face with my rival.

Samantha and I were manning the cupcake decorating station to raise money for the prom and the after party. I had baked and frosted the cupcakes, and everyone could decorate their own. Sam and I set up a table during lunch on Friday afternoon and waited for hungry students to dig in.

"So have you given any thought to the after party?" Sam asked.

I nodded enthusiastically. I had done some serious brainstorming the night before. "I was thinking of something like a Dark Carnival theme." It was amazing the things one could come up with when sitting at home, dateless.

"Dark Carnival?"

"You know, moody lighting, kind of creepy."

"Will there be clowns? Because I've always thought clowns were totally creepy."

"We could have different booths," I suggested. "With carnival games and stuff."

"We can get Duke to read fortunes," she said. "If he's not too busy." She sent me a sly glance.

"Cut it out, Sam," I said. "I'm
not
going to the prom with Duke."

"So where are we going to have this soiree?" Samantha asked.

"Somewhere outside," I said. "I was thinking your yard might be a good spot. You guys have, like, two acres or something, right?"

Samantha bristled. "No way," she said sharply. "Not my yard."

I was surprised she was down on the idea. After all, the Devereaux house was no stranger to parties. But I knew Sam had been having some family problems recently, so I didn't push the issue.

"What about the park?" Samantha suggested. "There's plenty of room there."

"Maybe," I said, "but wouldn't we have to get, like, permits and stuff?"

"Probably," said Samantha. "But how hard can that be? Your boyfriend's dad is chief of police."

My heart sunk when she mentioned Ryan. Wasn't this prom-planning stuff supposed to keep my mind off him? I reached for an M&M and popped it into my mouth.

"And I thought
I
had strong cravings," someone observed. I looked up and saw Elise Wilder.

Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail, revealing a triangular face and drawing attention to her thickly arched brows and strange eyes. She looked sleek and dangerous, like a hungry cat looking at a mouse. She wore an expensive pair of trendy jeans so hard to get that a certain cheerleader I knew would give her left pom-pom to own a pair.

I cleared my throat, realizing I was staring. I was surprised to see her. Two new students enrolling at Nightshade High in one week must be some kind of record. When Duke Sherrad arrived, his picture was on the front page of the school newspaper. Of course, that could be because the student editor, Tim Sullivan, had a well-known fondness for dark-haired hotties. Didn't we all?

"Hi, Elise," Samantha said sweetly. "Have you met Daisy?"

She narrowed her eyes and shook her head.

"You're Ryan's friend, right?" I said it with a confidence I didn't feel. I wondered if "friend" was the right word if her cravings included something along the lines of a tall dark guy with green eyes.

"Friend? Yes, I guess you could call me a friend."

"I'm Daisy Giordano, his..." I wasn't sure what I was, not anymore. Not with this absolutely stunning girl standing in front of me.

Elise's eyes focused on the silver acorn ring I was wearing. Grandma Giordano had given it to me.

"Nice ring," she said. She stepped away from me. "You're selling prom tickets here, right?" she asked Samantha.

"Yes," Sam said cheerfully.

Elise nonchalantly whipped a $100 bill out of her wallet and handed it to Sam. "I'll take two."

I couldn't believe she already had a prom date. I wondered who it could be.

"Bye, Elise! Thanks a lot," said Samantha as Elise left the table.

"You're pretty friendly with her," I observed.

A guilty look crossed Sam's face. "I'm trying to convince her to join the cheerleading squad, but she's not interested."

I felt a stab of jealousy. "I didn't realize she had started school here yet," I said glumly.

"Just this morning," Sam said. "She had a town car drop her off. Pretty classy, right?"

I shrugged.
Classy
isn't the word that came to mind when I thought of Elise Wilder.

As if on cue, Poppy approached our table. "Did you see her? The new girl?"

"That's her," I said. "The one we saw Ryan with in front of Slim's."

"I thought so," she replied. "She's gorgeous."

Like I needed to hear that. Leave it to Poppy. She realized what she'd said and added, "Not as pretty as you, of course."

I gave her a little punch on the arm. "Thanks."

"Hey, I need to ask you a favor."

"Shoot."

"Can you call Cassandra or Chelsea and get ahold of a San Carlos yearbook? Last year preferably." Cassandra and Chelsea were twins who went to San Carlos High. We'd met them a few months ago during a case.

"I'll call them tonight," I promised. "But what do you want a San Carlos yearbook for?"

"Gage went there," she said shyly. "And I want to see what he looked like ... before."

"Oh." Why was Poppy torturing herself? On the other hand, what would it be like to have only a shadowy idea of what your crush looked like?

After kids finished their lunches, they bought and decorated cupcakes. The bake sale was a hit, but I was still worrying about who Elise's prom date could be. My worries were eased when Ryan approached the table, smiling widely.

"What are you up to tonight?" he asked me as he handed me cash for a cupcake.

I shrugged, not wanting to seem too eager. "I don't have any plans yet," I said.

"Why don't I come by your house after baseball practice?" he asked. "It's been a while since we've spent any real time together."

My heart fluttered when I thought of spending time alone with Ryan. "Sounds good. I'll stop by Slim's and get us a couple of sandwiches for dinner."

Before leaving, he leaned in for a kiss.

"Sweet," Samantha said when he was gone. "But he still hasn't purchased any prom tickets."

Nevertheless, I went through the day smiling.