It's a Wonderful Death - Sarah J. Schmitt Page 0,41

I’m not about to let him avoid me any longer. I take a step closer, daring him to look at me. “You don’t like the duty of escorting me around, fine. I get it. But you don’t know anything about me, so quit being such a jerk.”

“You sure about that?” he asks, stepping back, but at least he’s looking at me again.

“What?”

“Forget it.” He begins to walk away.

This time, I fall in step with him.

“What do you mean? I thought you said I didn’t know you.”

“You don’t. You never took the time.”

“Whatever,” I say, throwing my arms up in frustration. “Keep your secrets. I’ll do this without your help. And then you can move on and be out of my life.”

“What life? You’re dead, remember?”

“That’s temporary.”

“Right,” he says, and I can hear the laughter in his voice.

“Look, whatever your problem with me is, I don’t care.”

Trevor spins around, towering over me. He’s not keeping his distance anymore. In fact, if he were any closer, I’d have to grab onto him to keep from falling backward.

“My problem,” he hisses, “is that you might actually get a second chance to ruin even more people’s lives.”

“Ruin lives?” I laugh. “Don’t you think you’re being a little dramatic?”

“What? You think every spoiled princess who croaks in her prime gets a do-over at life?”

“I wasn’t supposed to die. It was an—”

“I know. An accident. The whole Afterlife knows. You think gossip travels fast on Earth. Trust me, it’s nothing compared to this place,” he says, waving his hand in the air.

“At least someone is concerned with my situation. Customer service up here is horrible.”

“Trust me. No one cares whether you go back or not. What they’re really interested in is whether you’re going up or down. Did you know you could place a bet on it? It’s like Vegas before the Super Bowl and in case you’re wondering, the odds are not in your favor.”

My mouth drops open but no words come out.

His lips twitch into a sneer. “Speechless? I bet that’s a first,” he says, stopping suddenly. “We’re here. Just like you wanted.”

I look around and take a deep breath. “Uh, this doesn’t look any different than where we just were.”

“Oh, so now you’re an expert on the inner working of the universe? My mistake.” His eyes pinch together and he runs his hands through his hair so fast I think he’s going to pull some of it out.

“Fine. Where are we?”

“Take a look,” he says, swiping his hand through the air. The haze fades back as if someone is sucking in a deep breath. What remains is a movie screen–size patch of clear air.

“RJ Jones, this is your moment,” my spirit guide whispers in my ear, his breath unexpectedly hot against my skin. “Don’t screw it up.”

Images begin to flash and I don’t need him to remind me about the details. I know exactly when we are. It’s my sophomore year and I’m trying to impress Dave, the varsity quarterback with an arm like a laser-guided missile. We’re standing in the hallway near my locker after school on a Friday. I can tell because I’m wearing the horrid varsity cheerleading uniform, which means I must still be passing all my classes.

I remember this day because tonight, after he wins the big game with a last-minute touchdown pass, Dave is going to kiss me. Even now there’s a flutter in my stomach. Not because I like him anymore. He’s kind of a jerk, but he’s also ridiculously hot. More importantly, he liked me.

“Why isn’t the universe doing that yanking thing?” I ask. Trevor is looking down the hall, his eyes following something or someone. I follow his gaze. That’s when I see him.

I watch as the gangly figure comes closer. His arms are full of books and the top half is threatening to topple to the ground. Not a single thing is different from my first timeline. I thought the park incident was supposed to have a ripple effect.

“I thought things were supposed to change after what I did for Abby,” I whisper.

“They only change if you do,” is his dull response. “Looks like you didn’t learn your lesson.”

I look back at the group. He’s right. Everything is the same as I remember it. Well, one thing is different.

Felicity and I really were best friends during our sophomore year. Not frenemies, but honest to goodness friends. We did everything together. But now, she’s giving me a death stare. I rack my brain thinking what