“Oh, good, you’re finally here,” Ava said as she pulled open the door. “Jimmy, you have no idea how hard it’s been to live in this room under these conditions.” He recoiled at the use of his name, forgetting that his stained uniform polo displayed it in white embroidered script. The room’s walls were covered in maps of places that were not planet Earth, and the floor disappeared under heaps of unfolded clothing. “She usually stands right there,” Ava said, pointing a ring clad hand to the space between the door and the mini-fridge.
“I’m sorry,” he pulled a slip of paper from his pocket. “Your maintenance request reads-“
“Poltergeist.” Ava interrupted.
“Yes, ‘Poltergeist in dorm room. Messes with the thermostat, turns radio on and off, and drinks soda.'”
“That’s exactly right,” Ava responded with a sharp nod that kicked her bangs over her eyes. Jimmy surveyed the room. The top of her desk was hardly visible under piles of papers highlighted in a rainbow of neon colors. She had draped the window blinds in scarves, and ten empty coffee cups stood in a high tower on her nightstand. He looked at Ava, then back at the room, checking to make sure there were no hidden cameras. Her facial expression remained dead serious.
He sighed and shook his head, “Let me look in the ceiling,” He furrowed his eyebrows together and attempted to look lost in thought, “maybe there’s an issue with your AC unit.”
“Sure thing, Jimmy, but just telling you now, you won’t find anything wrong with it.” Ava insisted as she stepped aside. Jimmy pulled out her desk chair and clambered onto it awkwardly. He popped out a tile from the drop ceiling and poked his head into the dark space above.
“I didn’t know ghosts drank soda.” He said, his voice muffled by the fiberglass boards.
“They do. They drink it by the barrel. It’s so sweet they can taste it even in the afterlife.”
“Have you tried buying seltzer instead? It’s better for you than soda.”
“Oh, I don’t like sugary drinks. I only bought the soda because I knew she’d like it.” Jimmy pulled a flashlight from his toolbelt and stuck it next to his head.
“Well, have you tried unplugging the radio?”
“No, I don’t want to unplug my radio. I want my dorm room not to be haunted. I would call a priest, but I don’t know how to get in touch with them. The monastery doors are always locked, and I was going to perform a smudging ritual but-“
“That would set off the fire alarms?”
“I was going to say I can’t find dried sage on campus, but I guess the fire alarm thing too.”
“Have you tried emailing Fr. Peter?”
“Are you mocking me?”
He poked his head out from the ceiling and turned off his flashlight. “Almost everything looks normal here.”
Necromancer Walking 