Ordinary Ghosts

Emil Simon hasn't had the best year. First he suffered the loss of his mother, and then his brother. Alone now with his father, at a school he's not really comfortable at, Ethan spends most of his time imaging what's become of Ethan. He milks his teachers' sympathy as much as he can in terms of makeup tests and extensions. Still his grades are suffering.

When his father has to take off for a week for business, Emil couldn't be happier. He sees this as his big chance, this week of freedom, and he has plans. Plans involving trying out the master key to Caramoor, once in Ethan's possession, now in his. Strictly speaking, if the tradition still stood, he'd never have had it. But he does. And he feels compelled.

For a week, Emil has the run of the grounds. He checks out the library, reads up on the local ghost lore, spends a few nights in the archives. HE also stumbles upon his art teacher's daughter, who comes in after hours to make pottery. Getting off on the wrong foot entirely, he introduces himself as someone else and continues to fill his story with further lies. It doesn't take long before his nightly meetings with Jade become Emil's favorite part of the day, even if she doesn't know who he really is or what he really does.

His friendship with his best friend Soma take a roller coaster ride over this same period, but after a couple of days of silence, Soma breaks, and they manage to put things to rights. Just in time for Soma's mother to catch Emil not at home, call his father, and pretty much ruin everything again.

When his dad arrives home, Emil has things he wants to say too. In major trouble or not. But he didn't expect to learn the hard truths he did. That his mother's death was even bleaker than he thought. That Ethan's disappearance wasn't really. As much as he's lied of late, people have been lying to him.

...