Firefly

02: appearances can be deceptive.

Chapter 02: Cadford High.

Elena

"I can say with certainty that I wasn't alone in the cemetery," I have been petrified the whole of last night. My hands trembled until I was inside the house after triple-locking it. 

It wasn't just the house I had to blend into. After a week of procrastination and persuasion, I finally built up the courage to go visit my mother's grave alone and got creeped out in the spookiest possible way. 

We were sitting in dad's office, trying to debate whether the twig-snapping-leaf-ruffling sound was the wind or a ghost. Dylan leaned on the brick-red walls of the study while dad and I sat opposite each other. It was the fourth time since last night that we were having this conversation. My dad wasn't giving us so much of his attention. He was reading through his files and staring at us at random intervals. 

"This town is not haunted, stop coming up with lame excuses. You can't woo your way back to Silverton." Dylan said clasping the bridge of his nose. 

"It's not an excuse. I'm just stating facts."

"You're using ghosts and facts in the same argument." He shrugged.

"Ghosts can be real," I say matter of factly. 

My brother groans dragging his hand down his face. "There we go again." 

This is one of the million areas where Dylan and I are complete opposites. It's a running joke between us that we are so different. If we weren't siblings, we'd hate each other. He would find me impractical and too dreamy and I'd find him too logical for the world. But because we're siblings and only twelve months apart, our differences somehow work because we haven't killed each other yet. 

"When you both barged in saying good morning with a cup of coffee for me, I didn't see this coming," Dad said glancing at the two of us. He took a loud sip of his coffee, purposely intended to annoy Dylan and me with the slurping sound. He rested it down and looked between both of us. "The underlining problem of this is," he stopped his gaze at Dylan. "Why was she alone and out after nightfall?" 

Sunset has been my deadline since I was five. I'm always home before the sky turns dark. If I'm out, I'll either have Nate with me, or dad, or Dylan. Sometimes they accompany in combinations. I'm never alone or out after sunset. Dad pointed out a very valid detail. 

"I was exploring." I shrugged. "I'm stepping into Senior Year as of today in a completely new town, and guess what? No panic attacks yet. We're doing good." 

My dad leans on the table with his elbows supporting him. "Even though you claim to have seen a ghost." I nod with a bright smile to his addition. He always gets what I mean. 

My brother whines, "If you back her ghost theory--"

My dad holds his finger out to silence both my brother and me before we begin another debate. "Have any of your brilliant minds considered the possibility of another human being who's probably visiting a well-wisher of their own? A graveyard is a public place where lots of people have someone they've lost. It's normal for people to visit graveyards at odd hours." 

Dylan hit the wall with joy. "Thank you."

My dad's reasoning makes me feel stupid. But I wasn't going to admit that, not in front of my brother who is grinning like he won another championship. 

I grab my tote bag and sling it across my shoulder. My dad gives me bright smile and I instantly return it. My smile turns cold when I bring my eyes to Dylan. He doesn't mind the coldness. He's used to it.