Manifest by Artist Arthur

man.
    “I’ll walk you to class,” he says. I’m just about to tell him it’s not necessary when over Franklin’s right shoulder I see Ricky.
    For a second I’m alarmed, then I remember nobody else can see him. Unless they also have some freaky afterlife power. He’s leaning against the locker, directly behind Franklin. He’s frowning, looking Franklin up and down like he doesn’t approve.
    This, of course, ticks me off. Who does he think he is? I don’t need his approval to be with Franklin. As a matter of fact, the thought of being with Franklin makes a lot more sense then being with a ghost.
    “Ah, sure,” I say, trying to get Franklin away from Ricky.
    But as I speak Franklin follows my gaze, turning to see what I’m looking at. At first I’m worried but, of course, he sees nothing and when he turns back to me he looks puzzled.
    “You okay, Krystal?”
    “Huh?” I know I sound confused so I make myself stop looking at Ricky, who is now using his fingers to thrust into his mouth like he’s gagging. “I’m fine. Just thought I saw…ah, a bug or something.”
    Franklin nods. “Well, you know the town’s close to the water and all this rain we’ve been getting lately draws a lotof insects. My father says we might be heading for a hurricane or another big storm.”
    We’re walking toward my class now, Ricky having been left behind. But Franklin’s mention of a hurricane catches my attention. “It’s April, Franklin. Hurricane season doesn’t start until June.”
    Franklin shakes his head. “Not in Lincoln. We’ve been known to have weird weather patterns. Like El Niño just picks on us for the hell of it.”
    “El Niño?”
    “Yeah, it’s the name they gave the wacky weather pattern that warms the central and eastern Tropical Pacific waters. Causes all sorts of storms and weather anomalies.”
    I stop walking because I’m at the door to Biology now. “And what are you, the town meteorologist?”
    He laughs, then reaches out a hand and touches my hair. The touch is light but it moves him a lot closer to me. My heartbeat falters a bit but I blink quickly and it goes away.
    “Nah, that’s my father. I’m just really interested in things that aren’t normal. I like to find oddities and see what makes them tick.”
    Well, he’d picked a great oddity in me. I try to smile and move out of his grasp at the same time, with finesse so he doesn’t notice that I’m uncomfortable with him touching me.
    “Can I sit with you at lunch?” he asks.
    “No,” I hurry up and answer, remembering my lunch intrusion on Friday. “Are you even on my lunch period?”
    Franklin shakes his head, still smiling. “Yeah, I am. Do you want to sit with me instead?”
    I open my mouth, almost asking him which side he sat on, but we’re interrupted.
    “Hey, Franklin,” Sasha says in a cheery tone as she comes up to stand next to us. She’s wearing a long crinkly skirt that starts out this dark shade of teal at the bottomand gets lighter heading to the top. Her blouse is white and cinched around her tiny waist with a thick gold belt that matches her earrings and her shoes.
    I try not to envy how cute and stylish she looks, seemingly without even trying, when she says, “Hi, Krystal.”
    It is way too early in the morning for all this cheerfulness. “Hey,” I mumble as I hear Franklin speak to her, too.
    The bell rings and everybody looks up above the door where one of the speakers rests. We stare at it for a few seconds, as if our looks alone will shut it up.
    “I should go,” I say, recovering first.
    Franklin takes a step back, adjusting his books in his arm. “Yeah, me, too. If I’m late for English, Mr. Tordy will be too happy to give me detention.”
    “Ugh, Mr. Tordy is the worst,” Sasha adds.
    “So I’ll see you in the cafeteria?” Franklin asks me.
    I really don’t want Sasha hearing this conversation, but since she’s looking from me to him, her perfectly arched dark eyebrows lifting in