We Are the Ghosts by Vicky Skinner

Author:Vicky Skinner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

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“After I graduate, I want to be one of those superfans who follows a band all over the country,” Luke says, typing away at something on his phone, the master of multitasking, or maybe multiconversing.

“I think they call that a groupie. You want to be a groupie?”

Luke rolls his eyes and finally looks up from his phone, his eyes focusing on the stage at the front of the room, where a tech crew is setting up and testing instruments and connections. “Not a groupie. I just mean, you know, I’ll go to every show they do.”

This is our fifth time seeing Nova together, and it never stops being exciting. We’ve already watched two opening acts, and any second now, Jack Olsen is going to step on the stage, and I’m vibrating with excitement.

“Isn’t this their last show in North America? You’d have to, like, fly to Japan. I don’t know if you’d be able to get excused absences from your professors.”

Luke looks at me, and his casual smile has vanished. Maybe it’s just because the sky is so dark, but I swear I see shadows in his eyes. He looks like he wants to say something, his eyes traveling over my face, but then the already dim lights plummet into darkness and the crowd erupts into cheers.

On the way home from the show, Luke is quiet. Nova’s second album, his favorite, plays from the speakers, muffled in my fuzzy-feeling concert-damaged ears. Luke finally looks over at me.

“You know I love you, right, El?” His words catch on the air, like he had to force them out, like he’s still having to force himself to even look at me. He finally looks away, back at the dark and empty road, flying past empty landscape. We had to drive all the way to Austin for the show.

“Are you okay?” I ask. He’s acting weird, and I suspect it has to do with classes starting soon. Every day that he’s gotten closer and closer to his first day at Tate, he’s been acting more and more strange, like he’s not even here, his eyes always a little dreamy and his body always a little restless.

But he doesn’t say anything about that. He doesn’t glance at me. He tightens his hands on the steering wheel and then reaches over and turns down the music. “I guess I’ve just been thinking a lot, you know, about happiness.”

I sigh and turn in my seat to face him. “Luke, you’re going to be happy at Tate. You will. I mean, what about Gwen? She’ll be there with you next year. And Wes. And as soon as it’s over, you can, like, kayak to Africa or whatever. Just give it a chance.”

He’s quiet for a long minute, his eyes barely there in the darkness of the car. “Yeah. I know. You’re so smart, El. You’ve still got time, you know. You could apply somewhere else before Tate eats you alive.”

I laugh. “Not everyone is terrified of Tate.

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