Muse #34 – Make Believe
Make Believe
I mean, look at me. Even the damn cat is making fun of me. I don’t know why I always agree to his stupid ideas. Well, okay, I know why, I just don’t understand why I can’t seem to stop listening. Its gotta be the smile. That friggin’ perfect smile. With the dimples. And the way his eyes make me entire body shiver and sweat at the same time.
Its not a good reason, but I guess its a reason.
I look around the ghost town Wes convinced us to come to on the last free weekend before school starts. Our senior year. The end of high school. I think I’m supposed to be bittersweet and sad about it. I’m not. I’m chafing under the rules and slowness of high school. I have things to do. My college applications are out, I just have to wait to see what direction everything will take.
A tumbleweed crawls past me, like it can’t muster up the energy to make a decent roll across town. Sweat trickles down the back of my neck and I wipe it away.
There’s six of us here. Mallory and Caroline are still inside. Mallory needed help changing into a ridiculous saloon girl outfit “guaranteed to make her tiny boobs four times bigger” according to the sales clerk at the costume shop.
I’ll believe it when I see it.
The sun is beginning to set, and for the first time, the dilapidated houses and packed dirt street begin to look less innocuous. The shadows are long and darker than I expected.
Wes’ family owns the place, or we wouldn’t be out here at all. I still doubt he got permission for this, no matter what he says.
Mallory appears behind me, adjusting the red brocade corset and grinning. “What do you think? I’m quite the bar girl, right?”
Apparently the sales clerk wasn’t too far off. She’s got cleavage all right. “Can you even breathe?”
She waves a hand. “Of course.”
But she’s panting a little as we power walk down the street to the old saloon. Wes, Leo, and Josh are all standing outside the cracked saloon doors, dressed as cowboys. Wes has a shiny star pinned to his chest.
“This is a really ridiculous way to go ghost hunting, you know that, right?” Caroline says, pushing her glasses up her nose. She’s dressed like a prarie schoolmarm, and the look she shoots Wes matches the outfit.
“Trust me. My brother said that the time he came out and dressed the part, he got way more activity. So we’re going to stage a little show for the spooks. We’ll have a good time, so who cares?”
“What is the point of all this again?” I ask.
“One last hurrah before our senior year. And because I have a point to prove.” Wes’ jaw clenches. Something has been going on with his family all summer, and things are getting ugly between his parents and their children. Wes has four brothers, so when things get heated, there’s a lot of shouting and testosterone. He hasn’t let anyone come visit the house in over a month.
“I’ve got all the equipment set up, just where you said,” Leo says. “Let’s get this party started.”
There’s a crackling noise, and tinny piano music starts up in a bawdy tune. We all turn and look into the saloon.
“You even brought creepy music?” I ask Wes. “Don’t you think that’s overkill?”
His eyes are glued to the doorway, and there’s a mix of fear and excitement in the lines around his mouth. “I didn’t bring any music.”