no longer here,” Andie said shyly. “She left as I was telling you what she had said.”
“Who would’ve thought?” Ellen quipped. “A sulking ghost.”
Before anyone could respond, Ellen and her group were drawn to a seventeen-year-old boy dressed as a knight wielding a sword as he disparagingly uttered, “Andie Jolene Cornell!”
As the teenager was stepping up, Ellen stepped in front of him.
“Hi, I’m Ellen,” she interjected while offering to shake his hand. Ellen’s untouched plate of little smokies was held balanced in the palm and fingers of her left hand. “And you are?”
Without shaking Ellen’s hand, the teenager gave Ellen a ‘have you lost your mind?’ look before grumbling, “I’m Robin.” He then gestured towards Andie. “And I’m here to speak with her.”
“I gathered that when you had shouted out her name as if you were cursing a dragon,” Ellen retorted.
“So why isn’t your sword drawn?” Jessica questioned sardonically. Robin turned and gave Jessica a curious look. “You will need it as you go after her heart.”
Robin gave Jessica an annoyed look before facing Ellen again and strongly requesting, “Will you please move aside so I can talk to my sister?!”
Ellen backed up slightly while ordering, “Talk with her and not down to her.”
Robin gave Ellen an insulted look before turning away from her. As he stepped up to Andie, he ordered, “Come with me to the kitchen. We’ll talk there.”
“Why can’t we talk here?” Andie asked shyly.
Robin glanced towards Ellen’s group before saying, “Certain things shouldn’t be discussed in front of strangers.”
“They’re not strangers,” Andie mumbled incoherently and shyly.
“They’re not what?” Robin demanded.
“They’re not strangers,” Andie repeated slightly more clearly.
“They’re strangers to me, Andie,” Robin retorted as Allen was returning with a plate of assorted food. “Now let’s go to the kitchen.”
“Please,” Ellen added strongly. Robin shot Ellen an annoyed look. “You can say please to me, but you can’t say it to your sister?”
“You’re not much of a knight,” Karla added. “You don’t even follow the knight’s code of chivalry.”
“You should’ve dressed up as the Tin Man,” Jessica told him. “You certainly need to ask the Powerful Oz for a heart.”
“Guys,” Ellen interjected. “Just because Robin isn’t showing us or his sister any respect, it doesn’t mean that we should lower ourselves to his level.”
“If I didn’t have respect for my sister, I would talk to her in front of you six,” Robin retorted.
“Which is what she’s actually requesting,” Simon was the one to point out. “Therefore, you’re not respecting what she wants.”
Robin shook off what Simon had said and faced Andie.
“Please come to the kitchen with me so we can talk privately,” Robin slightly begged.
“Andie, we’re not going anywhere?” Ellen told her. “So you can always return after you and Robin get done talking.”
“Okay,” Andie agreed shyly.
Robin turned towards Ellen and stared at her as if he was debating to say something.
When Robin stared longer than what Ellen thought that he should, Ellen prompted, “Say it.”
Robin took a breath before saying, “Presently you seem to be… friendly towards Andie, but my experience tells me that once you get to know her that will change.”
“Your experience doesn’t take me into account,” Ellen retorted.
“And what makes you different than everyone else?” Robin quickly questioned.
“If you knew me, you wouldn’t ask that,” Ellen told him.
“Well, I’ve been around enough people to know that when people get to know Andie, they tend to regret it,” Robin said as Ellen saw that Andie was uncomfortable with the current conversation. “So…”
“Can we stop talking about Andie as if she’s not a few feet from us,” Ellen said in Andie’s behalf. Andie grinned. “I wouldn’t like it if I was in her shoes, and I’m sure she doesn’t like it now.”
Robin shot Ellen an astonished look before saying, “There’s the first thing I saw that makes you different than most people. Unfortunately, I’m still not optimistic of yours and Andie’s long-term friendship after you two get to know one another.”
“They know about me,” Andie mumbled shyly and barely coherently.
“They know what?” Robin questioned incredulously.
“They know what I can see,” Andie said shyly.
“We know that Andie can see and talk to ghosts,” Ellen added.
“You can see ghosts?” Allen questioned incredulously.
“No!” Robin interjected strongly. “She’s on medication for her delusions of her believing that she can see ghosts.”
“I assure you, Robin, that your sister isn’t delusional,” Ellen quickly informed. “In fact, Andie had given me a message from Eleanor Thorne, and Andie couldn’t have done that if she was delusional.”
“And Eleanor Thorne would be…?” Robin prompted for Ellen to finish.
“An ancestor of mine who lived in the 1400s,” Ellen replied. “I own Eleanor’s diary, so I know for a fact that the message that Andie had given me from Eleanor is authentic.”
“Ghosts aren’t even real,” Robin insisted.
“I thought that too not all that long ago,” Simon shared. “I now know that I was mistaken and you too are mistaken. Ghosts do exist and Andie has convinced me that she can see them.”
“Robin, I don’t know what medication Andie is taking, but she needs to be taken off of them,” Ellen informed. “She doesn’t need them, and there’s no telling what harm that they’re doing to her.”
Robin sighed before facing Andie and saying, “A short time ago, Maria informed me that she saw you talking to… to a ghost.” Robin shot Ellen a quick glance. “Was that ghost… Eleanor Thorne?”
Andie nodded before saying shyly, “Eleanor saw that I could see her and she asked me to give Ellen a message.”
Robin turned towards Ellen again before asking,
