DARK SECRET OF THE OUIJA
CHAPTER 2
Carol Astrey closed the lavender curtains in her bedroom to darken the room. She turned her slightly plump face toward Jenny. "This'll help us get in the mood," she said. Then she joined her friend on the carpetted floor.
"Don't you think this game is spooky?" Jenny asked as Carol placed the Ouija board between them. "I mean, what if the answers don't come from our own minds?"
Carol flipped her long, blonde hair out of her face and grinned. "Spookiness is half the fun of it!"
"I suppose."
Jenny had never seen one of these games before, although she'd heard about it from kids at school. The board was printed with the alphabet and numbers and the words yes and no in fancy lettering. A picture of a fortune-teller with a crystal ball was in the middle of the board. Carol placed something that looked like a plastic triangle on short legs on the picture.
"This is a planchette," she explained. "It'll point to the letters to spell out the answers. Touch it very lightly with your fingertips. Don't push it. Just wait for the planchette to move by itself."
The two friends sat facing each other, touching the pointer. The pose struck Jenny as funny. She giggled. Carol giggled, too.
"Stop it!" Carol took a deep breath. "We have to be in the right mood, or it won't work. What question do you want to ask?"
Jenny cleared her throat and tried to wipe the smile from her face. She knew her laughter came from nervousness. But why should this make her nervous? The Ouija board was just a game. "You go first," she said.
"Okay. I'll ask, umm, does Mark like me?"
Jenny forced herself to picture Mark Talbot, the hunk from English class. She nearly freaked when she felt the pointer move.
"You're pushing it!" she accused Carol.
"Shhh! I am not. I'm hardly touching it."
The pointer traveled very slowly to the word yes.
Carol let out a squeal of delight. "All right!"
Jenny took her hands off the pointer and grinned at her friend. "I wonder if Mark knows he likes you."
Carol's round cheeks blushed. "It's your turn, now."
"But what makes the planchette move? My fingers were barely touching it."
"I don't know. Maybe our fingers do push it, but in such a small way we can't feel ourselves doing it. Ask your question."
They put the pointer back in the middle of the board and placed their fingertips on it. Jenny stared at it. "How did my dad really die?"
The planchette didn't move.
"Come on, Ouija board," Jenny whispered. "Use your power to give me the answer."
"It's starting!" Carol said, grinning.
Jenny barely breathed as she waited.
Slowly, the pointer headed for the "A". Then "C." Carol announced each letter.
"A-C-C-I-D-E-N-T. Accident!"
"Yeah, big deal," Jenny said. "I know it was an accident. But how did it happen?"
"Okay, let's ask it that," Carol said as she returned the pointer to the center.
This time it spelled out car.
"Great. I knew that, too." Jenny shoved the planchette across the board. "This game's not helping me."
"I have an idea," Carol said.
"What?"
"Maybe we have to do this where there's some memories of your father. At your house."
"Let's go!"
A walk down several blocks of slushy sidewalks took them to Jenny's house. Before they could go upstairs to Jenny's room, however, they had to say hello to all the relatives. Jenny's mother told her to introduce Carol.
As Jenny made the introductions, Aunt Sadie spotted the Ouija board under Carol's arm. "Are you planning to use that?" She gave the girls a sharp look.
"We might." Jenny shrugged.
Aunt Sadie shook her head. "I've heard some pretty bad things about that game. People say they talk to spirits with it."
"Ahh, we're not going to do that," Jenny said.
"Yeah," Carol added. "The answers only come from our minds."
"Hmmph!" Aunt Sadie replied.
Jenny bowed out of the kitchen with Carol close behind. When they entered Jenny's room, they pulled shut the door and curtains.
"Wouldn't it be awesome if we could talk to my father's spirit?" Jenny mused. "Maybe Aunt Sadie was right about using the Ouija board to contact spirits."
"Maybe. That's really spooky. I don't think it's possible, though."
"Yeah. Well, let's play." Jenny jumped onto her bed, smoothed out the blanket and motioned for Carol to set up the board.
When all was ready, Jenny stared at her father's picture and concentrated. "What caused Daddy's car accident?" she asked.
The pointer didn't budge at first, but finally it started heading for the letters. D-R-U-N-K.
"Drunk? Who was drunk? Not my Dad."
"Other person," Carol read.
"There was another person!" Jenny clapped her hands. "Daddy was killed by another driver who was drunk! Of course!"
Carol eyed her, frowning. "Where do you think that answer came from?"
"I don't know."
"It came from your mind. That's the answer you wanted to hear."
Jenny glared at Carol. "Do you think my dad killed himself, the way Uncle Jack does? I thought you were my friend."
"You know I am."
"And you should know I always want to know the truth, whatever it is."
"Then where did the answer come from?"
"Let's ask the board!"
The pointer responded quickly to their newest question. It spelled D-A-D.
Just then, a knocking came from the wall. The girls jumped.
"What was that?" Carol whispered.
"I don't know."
The slow rap, rap, rap repeated.
"M-maybe it's your father," Carol said. "Trying to tell you he's answering your questions."
"You think so?"
Carol raised her eyebrows. "It's real creepy."
"D-dad?" Jenny croaked. "Is that you?"
Rap, rap, rap.
"If that's you, knock four times."
Rap, rap, rap, rap, giggle.
"What?" Jenny and Carol said it together. Jenny sprang from the bed, ran to the door, flung it open, jumped to the bathroom door.
"Samantha! You twerp! I'll get you for this." Jenny went back into her bedroom and slammed the door. "My ugly sister was knocking on the bathroom wall."
Carol fell back against the bed. "I don't know whether I'm upset or relieved."
"I'm mad," Jenny said. "I hate having a little sister."
"Be thankful you don't have five sisters and brothers, like me."
Jenny sighed. "So where do you think those answers really came from?"
Carol sat up again. "You want to ask the board that one more time? See if it still spells dad?"
Jenny took her position by the board. "Ouija board, tell me the truth. I must know the truth about your answers."
It spelled out D-A-D.
"I need proof," Jenny stated.
Bang! The sound came from her dresser.
"What was that?" Carol asked.
Jenny studied the top of her dresser. Something was different. "Daddy's picture. It fell over!"
Carol squeaked, "Samantha couldn't have done that!"
"No, she couldn't have," Jenny said. "And it's never fallen over by itself before."
The girls looked at each other. "Could it be?" Carol asked.
Jenny looked at the air in front of her dresser. She stretched out a hand into it. The hair on her arm stood up.
"Daddy? Are you here?"