I think I might have a ghost
Chapter 5
Seph
I couldn’t rest, though I tried.
My stomach growled, loud enough to make the silence vibrate.
How long had it been since I’d eaten? A day? Two?
Dusk had settled, bruising the sky. I hadn’t left my room since I arrived, but when I finally opened the door, a box waited on the floor beside it.
Inside was a uniform.
Of course it was.
A white blouse, a black woollen sweatshirt, and a black-and-white tartan skirt.
Mary Janes in my size. Knee-high socks folded neatly on top.
“I’m not wearing this,” I muttered.
Jess looked up from the couch where she sat flicking a lighter open and shut.
Click.
Flame.
Click.
“If you don’t, Wild will be after you,” she said.
“I’m not a child. Why should I wear this? What’s wrong with my clothes?”
Her eyes travelled over me—baggy shirt, loose pants, gloves, cap hiding my hair.
“What’s right with them?” she said finally. “You look like a homeless person.”
She didn’t sound cruel. Just honest. Like she was pointing out rain.
“So I don’t like people looking at me. Who cares?”
Jess shrugged, thumb poised over the lighter.
“Think of it this way: every reprobate in this place wears the stupid uniform. So what’s going to stand out more?”
Click.
Flame.
Click.
The sound filled the room like a heartbeat. Each spark flared against the dim walls, then vanished. She watched it every time, hypnotised.
“Do you have to do that?” I asked.
She looked at me—expression flat, eyes gleaming—and clicked it again.
