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“Never mind.” She stared at him, hard, before lowering her shoulders again. Slightly. Her voice went soft. “It won't happen again.” Her eyes held his.

He softened, still making a gargling sound. “Fine. It better not.”

“It won't.”

Beatrice seemed to just notice my presence. She stopped trying to levitate the book and let out a loud and dramatic sound. “Well. Good grief, you're here. Move this book. Move all these books. None of them are shelved correctly. Their system is a complete disaster. No one can find their titles. I don't know how this place hasn't burned to the ground. It would do them well. Maybe they'd learn to read, much less comprehend the Dewey Decimal System. This place is in utter shambles.”

Beatrice kept snapping her fingers, pointing from me to the books.

“Come on. Let's go. I'll show you the correct placement. Must I do everything?” She began to lead the way.

I remained, studying Shelton and Sabine.

Both had varying sheepish and slightly guilty expressions.

I raised an eyebrow in Noah’s direction. “You’re awfully quiet considering being a smartass seems to be your purpose in the afterlife.”

He cracked a grin, shifting to prop his elbow on the bookshelf behind him. “You’re just seeing a warmer, friendlier ghost. Not being around Lee brings out the softer side of me.”

Shelton made another choked sound, muttering lowly, “Yeah, right.”

Sabine cleared her throat. “We’re all good here. Promise. Beatrice gets upset at times. That's all.”

“Beatrice, hmmm?”

Sabine nodded, her voice squeaking. “Yep. Beatrice.”

You are lying to me.

I blasted that at all of them. Shelton looked even guiltier. Sabine stepped so she was half in a bookshelf, her head turned away.

Noah just smirked.

“Young lady.”

I jumped from the suddenness of Beatrice's shrill voice. Her head stuck through the shelf, straight through Noah’s shoulder.

He made a disgusted sound, jerking away.

“These books aren't going to shelf themselves.”

I went from saving the world, to stocking the library. I grabbed the pile of books. “Feel like I just got demoted.”

18

Iwas late for first period, because of Beatrice.

I was late for lunch, because more books needed to get shelved correctly.

I was also late leaving school for work, because of Beatrice.

At first I thought it was funny.

The librarian ghost, so worked up from the mis-shelving. Until she showed up in fourth period, yelling and shrieking through the whole class until I finally gave in and wrote on a piece of paper that I would eat my lunch in the library.

She went away after that, a lot more amenable.

Noah thought it was hilarious. Noah, who also thought it was fun to sit in the person next to me in every single class. The literal person. At first when he did it, I panicked, thinking he was trying to possess the person, but he didn’t do that. He just sat where their body was so when they moved, he wasn’t attached. The person leaned forward to take notes, Noah was sitting back, grinning at me. The person stood up to go to the bathroom, Noah stayed and winked, asking how my day was going. He did it to every single person who sat on my right side.