Jenny gingerly slipped through the Friday-night crowd, over to the table where her two friends were seated and, with some difficulty, managed to position herself close enough to the table so as to be able to listen in on their conversation, while staying sufficiently out of the way of other patrons passing by.

Ohhhh, this is just so cool! she thought, grinning as she looked from one friend to the other. I’m standing right here, listening in on them and they don’t even know I’m here! Hey, Muriel! Hey, Connie! she thought with a smile as she waved her unseen fingers in their faces and stuck her tongue out at them; neither one broke the cadence of their speech, completely unaware as they were of their silent, unseen heckler. Hey, look at me, you guys! I’m invisible! I’m right here, right next to you, but you can’t see me! It was all that Jenny could do to keep from laughing out loud in delight.

When she finally tired of her unseen antics, Jenny simply stood quietly by and listened in on the conversation of her friends. She listened for a few minutes, before quickly becoming bored. They were mostly talking about absolute dullsville stuff, she soon realized: Student-body elections, student-council meetings, all that boring junk that Jenny couldn’t care less about. Come on, come on, come on, you guys! she thought, impatiently. Talk about something interesting, something juicy! Still, the conversation droned on and on, and Jenny soon lost interest completely.

Oh, nuts! She thought. This is no fun! What good is being able to eavesdrop on people if they don’t talk about anything interesting? Without thinking, she let out a disappointed sigh. In doing so, she had forgotten that she could be heard in such close proximity to her friends.

One of the girls, Connie, a slender, pale, dark-haired girl dressed completely in black, reacted to the sound. "What was that?" she said, as she looked up suddenly.

Jenny nearly bit her tongue and froze stock-still when she realized that she’d been heard.

"What was what?" replied her friend, Muriel, a somewhat-heavier girl dressed in a baggy sweatsuit.

"I thought I heard…I don’t know…" she looked all around her, before turning back to face her friend.

"You thought you heard what?" Muriel asked, repressing a grin.

"I don’t know…just…" She didn’t finish her sentence. A shudder ran through her, and she folded her arms, massaging them as though to comfort herself. "I just had the eeriest feeling…"

"Ohhhh," her friend groaned with a chuckle. "You’re not going to start up with that ghost business again, are you?"

"Look, you can laugh all you want, but—"

"Look I’m telling you: that ghost story’s just that: a story! It’s all BS! It’s just a hoax. I know for a fact it is! Just today, I heard—"

"I don’t care!" Connie said, interrupting her. "I don’t care what you heard! There’s something weird going on, I can feel it! It gives me the creeps!"

Muriel rolled her eyes and released a bemused sigh. "Come on. A friggin’ ghost haunting this campus? Give me a break…"

Immediately, Jenny’s ears perked up, and with her interest renewed, she moved closer to her two friends, the better to hear their conversation.

"Listen, you shouldn’t joke about things like that," Connie went on. "I know you don’t believe in the supernatural, but—"

"Well, if it is a ghost, how come it never made its presence known before this, huh? Huh? Huh? Answer me that!"

"Well, I don’t know, but—"

"Look, Con, I’m telling you. Trust me on this: I know for a fact it’s just a hoax. It’s all a big put-on by those morons in the film department, for some stupid movie they’re making." She lifted her cup, taking a sip from it. "That’s all it is."

"How do you know it’s a hoax?" Connie said, placing her hand on her hip.

Muriel hesitated for a moment before answering. "Jane Dunphy told me," she replied.

"Jane Dunphy!" Connie sneered. "Jane Dunphy is so full of sh—"

"Well, they also said so on the news: That it’s part of some movie the film geeks are putting together." Muriel’s voice now took on a slightly arrogant, self-assured tone that other people sometimes found off-putting.

And at that moment, Jenny suddenly felt slightly irritated at her friend’s words. She didn’t know exactly why, but she did. Or maybe it wasn’t so much Muriel’s words, but rather, her attitude, that whole self-assured, Miss Know-It-all attitude. And with her irritation, Jenny also felt a sudden, uncontrollable urge to play some mischief on her skeptical friend. Maybe Muriel should be a little more open-minded…! she thought. Slowly, silently, she reached out a finger to the bottom of Muriel’s cup, just as she was about to a drink from it. Just one little nudge, Jenny thought. That’s all it would take to cause just a liiiiitle-bitty spill…

Connie shook her head. "Well," she said. "I don’t know. I mean, just ‘cuz they say something on the news doesn’t automatically make it true, you know. I mean, they like to wrap things up in these nice, neat little packages. They don’t like loose ends or have to admit there’s something they don’t know… I mean, even if something supernatural is going on, they probably still wouldn’t admit it. They’d probably come up with some other lame explanation for it."

Muriel sighed, resignedly, and took another long swallow of her drink. It was useless trying to discuss certain things with Connie. Connie was a nice girl, but she also had some of the flakiest notions, and once she got one in her head, it was nearly impossible to change her mind.

Jenny’s invisible finger moved silently closer to the bottom of Muriel’s cup.

"Well, maybe if Jenny were here, she could convince you." Muriel said, in between sips.

Jenny’s hand immediately froze, her body tensing from head to foot.

"Yeah, where is she, anyway?" Connie replied, leaning forward, her brows knitted.

"I don’t know. I haven’t seen her all week. Nobody has! I’ve been asking around everywhere, but nobody seems to really know."

Slowly, silently, carefully, Jenny withdrew her hand.

"I asked all the profs, but all they said was something about, like, she had some kind of family crisis or something. They didn’t go into details."

Connie sputtered derisively. "Psh…Yeah, right, like they would know."

"Well, maybe she does have a family crisis."

Connie shook her head. "No, no, if it was something really, really important like that, she’d have told us about it."

Muriel shrugged. "Well, maybe it’s something personal. Maybe it’s something she didn’t want us to know about."

"Oh, I don’t think so," Connie replied. "Whatever it is, she’d have at least mentioned it to us." She fell silent for a moment. "I don’t understand it; I just don’t understand it. She always used to talk to us about…stuff…" Another long silence fell between the pair.

Jenny continued to stand motionless, afraid to breathe, hanging on every word and wondering which way the conversation was going to go. She felt as though her heart was in her mouth; the tension was unbearable. Come on, you guys! Say something! I can’t bear the suspense! Say something, one of you!

"Well…" Muriel said at last, trying to put a positive spin on the matter. "So she didn’t mention it to us, whatever it is. So what? It’s not the end of the world. I mean, it’s probably nothing anyway. If it really was something important, something she wanted us to know about, she’d have told us. Or maybe she just didn’t have time. In any event, I’m sure she’ll tell us all about it when she gets back."

But Connie merely sat, glumly shaking her head, her mood sinking fast. "I don’t know…I just don’t know… Something’s wrong, I know it is, I can feel it—"

At this Muriel closed her eyes in annoyance and sighed loudly. "Oh, here we go again! You and your feelings!"

"No, I mean it! I can’t explain it…but I feel that something’s wrong, really wrong! And that Jenny is in trouble somehow!"

"Connie--!"

Connie’s mood visibly deteriorated moment by moment. "How could she do that? Just take off without a word to us? We’re her friends, her best friends, goddammit! We’ve always been able to tell each other everything! And she just takes off without a word! Just like that!" Her voice betrayed a growing tension, and Jenny thought she saw tears in her friend’s eyes.

Jenny suddenly felt very strange. All of a sudden…for some reason…this didn’t seem to be turning out as much fun as she thought it would. For the first time in several days, Jenny felt extremely awkward just then, as she listened to her friends talk about her. And yet, she paradoxically found herself unable to walk away from the table. She felt compelled to stand there, and continue to hear out the remainder of the conversation.

"Oh, come on, Con," Muriel said, rubbing her friend’s shoulder. "Don’t get upset!"

"I can’t help it," Connie said. "How could she do it? How could she just take off like that? Doesn’t she care? Doesn’t she care how we feel?"

"Connie, listen to me, all right? Jenny’s probably fine, she’ll probably be back on Monday, and everything’ll be all right, you’ll see."

But Muriel’s words seemed to have no effect on Connie. She merely sat silently, her eyes downcast into her drink. "Well, the hell with her!" she said at last. "If she cares so little about her friends that she won’t even confide in us when she’s in trouble, if she’ll just take off without a word to anybody, then the hell with her!"

"Con, will you calm down?"

But Connie was inconsolable. She sat there, staring down into her coffee-cup, the blackness of the liquid therein matching her mood. Her friend merely stared helplessly at her, unable to think of anything to say to help the situation. The two merely sat in silence for an eternity, with their unseen interloper likewise standing by in silence.

Finally, the silence was broken by Muriel, glancing at her watch. "Well," she said. "Look, it’s getting late. We’d better be getting back to the dorm. Come on, let’s go." She patted her friend’s shoulder, as if to rouse her back to mobility.

Connie finally nodded in grim agreement, and the two young women gathered up their purses and other belongings and got up to leave the table. Jenny remained where she was, standing by silently, motionless, for several minutes, her mood gradually sinking to match that of her friend. For some strange, inexplicable reason…this whole thing had somehow backfired, and Jenny now felt distinctly miserable over what she’d just overheard.

Ohhhhhh, nuts! she thought, folding her arms. I just wanted to have some fun with them, that’s all… I didn’t mean to… I didn’t…I didn’t think they’d be talking about… Ohhhh, nuts!! It’s not fair! It’s just not fair! She thrust out her lower lip in a silent pout, over the way her planned prank had misfired. She became aware of an overwhelming urge to cry and fought it tooth and nail. Wiping the corner of her eye, she slowly turned and walked back to the table where Ted sat.

So involved was Jenny in her own private, gloomy thoughts, that she became less careful about passing through the crowd as she went, and inadvertently bumped into a few people along the way. They each turned to looked around them and even behind them, positive that they felt something brush past them, something soft… But when they looked, there was nothing there.

As she went, Jenny mulled over the words of her two friends, and began to feel very guilty. I suppose I should have at least called them, she finally decided. Just to let them know I’m all right… I just… I just didn’t think about them… She couldn’t bear to complete the thought, realizing how selfish it sounded. Well…maybe I can give them a call a little later tonight… just to say ‘hi’ and let them know I’m all right… Yeah…that’s what I’ll do…

With her new plan of action in mind, Jenny’s mood improved slightly, and she quickened her pace. As soon as she got back to the table, she would grab Ted and get him to drive her back to his place, where she could use his phone to call Connie and Muriel and then everything would be—

At that moment, Jenny’s eyes fell upon Ted’s table, and she froze like a statue in her tracks. She blinked her eyes several times, as though they were playing tricks on her, then simply stared in utter disbelief.

There…at her table…shmoozing up to Ted…was…was…the…the thing, the horrible creature…! Jenny could hardly even bear to think of the "thing’s" name, as it nearly made her gag. But it was, of course, none other than Tiffany Nelson.

Jenny’s eyes narrowed as she watched Tiffany laugh delightedly, as though she’d just heard a particularly amusing joke (to which Ted responded by regarding Tiffany with a look of complete bewilderment.) Tiffany then slid her chair closer to Ted, and as she did, Jenny clenched both her jaw and her fists.

* * *

"Oh, Ted, you’re so funny!" Tiffany said, laughing loudly in what seemed to Ted to be somewhat forced laughter. "But seriously now, all kidding aside. You don’t have to pretend… I just know you really like me, just like all the guys do… It’s all right, you can admit it. And you always wanted to go out with me, but you just never thought I would say ‘Yes.’ Right? Come on…!" She reached a hand out and softly stroked Ted’s, but he ignored the gesture and merely continued to stare puzzledly at the girl as though she were a creature from another planet.

Ted was completely bewildered by the strange girl. He still didn’t know who the hell she was, how she knew him or what the hell kind of game she was playing on him. And yet…she seemed vaguely familiar to him, as though he’d seen her not too long ago. Yet he couldn’t quite place her…

Who the hell is this flaky chick? he wondered. She wasn’t bad looking…but why this sudden interest in him? And why did she act as though she knew him? He was certain he’d never seen her before. It was all very strange… Ted didn’t know what to make of it.

Or…was it possible…that she was sincere…? Maybe all this really was on the level. After all, Ted had never been very sociable… Maybe he really did have a certain sex-appeal that he wasn’t even aware of… It was possible… Maybe this girl really was interested in him and did want to get to know him better…

"Umm…well…that is, I—" he began, trying to think of something to say.

"You see? I knew it!" Tiffany beamed. "Well, it just so happens that some friends and I are having a party tomorrow afternoon, and we were wondering if you’d like to come…"

A party? Ted thought, now very confused. She wants me to go to a party? Me of all people?? Is she kidding? "Oh, I—I don’t know," he muttered, awkwardly. "I—I mean…I don’t think you’d want me at a party…"

"Nonsense, of course I do!" the girl said, easing closer to him.

"Oh, I—I—I don’t know…" Ted stammered nervously, his eyes downcast into the by-now-ice-cold coffee. Rivers of equally-icy perspiration began to run down the back of his neck. "I’m not—I’m not, like, real sociable, you know… You—Your friends probably wouldn’t want me around…they wouldn’t think I’m much fun…"

"Oh, nonsense!" Tiffany replied, waving a hand, as though to dismiss the notion. "Matter of fact, we were just saying, just the other day, that nobody likes to party better than good ol’ Ted Rosenfeldt!"

"Rosenthal!" Ted corrected the girl a second time, his voice now acquiring an annoyed edge, as his initial suspicions were reawakened. He was now beginning to get just a bit irritated—and very suspicious—of the strange girl.

"Whatever," Tiffany replied casually, as she withdrew her hand and retrieved a small compact mirror from her purse, with which she inspected her appearance and proceeded to make small adjustments to the scarf she wore around her head.

I don’t know about this, Ted thought as he watched the girl through narrowed eyes. Something about this whole set-up…just doesn’t add up…

He looked away from her, his gaze again scanning the interior of the coffee-shop, hoping to find some visual sign of Jenny’s whereabouts, hoping that she’d get her butt the hell back to the table so that she could drink her stupid drink and they could both get the hell out of this crazy place and away from the kooks and flakes (like this girl) who apparently hung out there.

Jenny…Jenny…! He thought, as he scanned the shop. Where the hell are you?

* * *

Jenny was, in fact, standing right beside him the whole time. With her hands now balled into fists, her jaw clenched so tightly that, had it not been for the loud ambient noise of the coffee-shop, Ted and Tiffany would surely have heard her teeth grinding, Jenny stood and listened to the entire bizarre little interlude between her lab-partner and her worst enemy in the entire known universe, as a slowly-building rage grew within her.

She’s got her nerve! Jenny thought, her fury now approaching the boiling point. The nerve of her! What the hell is she doing here anyway? What does she want? Ooooh, I’ve got a good mind to—Oooooooo! She makes me so mad!! Time and again, Jenny felt a strong urge to just haul off and give Tiffany a good, sound whollop, only to hold her anger in check long enough to listen in for just a few seconds longer, just to see what the—the thing had to say.

Jenny had always hated Tiffany, of course, and the feeling was more than mutual, as Tiffany had for years gone out of her way to make Jenny’s life miserable. But the sight of her deadly enemy here, now, moving in on Ted just absolutely infuriated Jenny. She wasn’t entirely sure why it infuriated her; after all, it wasn’t as though Ted was her boyfriend or anything. And yet…Jenny almost felt as though Tiffany were somehow helping herself to something from Jenny’s plate…before Jenny had had a chance to eat any of it herself…

Repeatedly, Jenny leaned over closely, to hear Tiffany’s low spoken tones, moving unawares right into the face of her hated enemy’s, while at the same time carefully scrutinizing Ted’s reaction to the advances of the…the creature…

Jenny looked at Ted. It was obvious that he wasn’t falling for Tiffany’s line. Good for him! Jenny thought. He’s not stupid! He’s too smart to fall for her! He must know what a bimbo she really is!

She continued to watch the couple at the table, the girl sending out all imaginable signals to the guy, who resolutely (or cluelessly) ignored all of them. It was obvious that, for whatever reason she had for doing so, Tiffany wasn’t making much progress in her efforts to move in on Ted.

Get a clue, you creep! Jenny thought as she narrowly eyed her hated enemy. He’s not interested in you! So take a walk! Go on! Get out of here!! Jenny continued to wait for Tiffany to finally get the message and get the hell out of there already…but it didn’t appear that Tiffany was ready to leave any time soon.

All right! Jenny thought, disgustedly. I tried to be patient! I tried to be nice! But enough’s enough!

* * *

"Well, um— That is, I sure appreciate the invitation," Ted replied, guardedly. "And I’d sure like to go, but er, um…the fact is, I’ve got a class tomorrow, and—"

"You’ve got a class tomorrow?" Tiffany put down her compact and regarded Ted as though he were trying to make a very poor joke. "Dude, tomorrow’s Saturday, remember? Hello?"

Ted blinked. Déjà vu? he thought. Why do I get the feeling I’ve already had this conversation once tonight? But he merely took a deep breath and began what he felt was his second recital of his answer for the evening. "Well," he began. "It’s a philosophy class. It’s all about Kierkegaard and the Paradox of Faith and—"

"Really?!?" Tiffany said, with a sudden, increased level of enthusiasm that startled Ted. "How interesting! I’ve always been soooooo interested in philosophy and faith and paradoxes and all that cool junk… So what time is your class? Do you think they’d mind if I sat in? I think it’d be, like, sooo interesting! There’s probably a lot we could learn if we, like, studied together, don’t you think? Hmm?" Tiffany began to move her chair closer to Ted, who began to gingerly back away.

Geez, what’s with this crazy chick? he thought. Is she on something or what?

"So what do you say, Ted? Why don’t we study together? I’m sure we can learn a lot more that way! We can—OW! OUCH!! HEY!! WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?!?"