Get your head out of my fridge.

2016

Leah was freezing. Or more accurately, her hands were numb and she could no longer feel her fingers. She rolled over with a groan, pulling her polka-dotted blanket further up her shoulders and sighed. Blissful silence...then the crooning began. Low and sweet, the voice hummed a melody that Leah did not recognise and she wrinkled her nose before flipping onto her side. Moments passed and when Leah continued to ignore the song in her ear, the cold presence moved swiftly from her head towards her toes. Seconds later, her blanket rustled and Leah felt her socks being yanked off her feet.

She growled, lashed out with her arm and smiled when it came into contact with something solid.

"Hey!" The voice yelped and moved to get behind her. "That's not fair!"

Leah buried her head beneath her pillow with a groan and said, "Who said anything about being fair? You're the one bothering me before my clock has even rung."

The voice scoffed and drifted towards her other ear. "I had good reason to do so because there's something you really need to know and–"

Leah didn't hear the rest of the sentence because the soft arms of sleep continued to beckon and nothing would break their spell. She curled up beneath her covers, sinking gratefully back into her dreams and let her thoughts drift freely through her mind. She took comfort in their fleeting presence and the kaleidoscope of childhood memories they brandished before her.

Then suddenly a blast of warm sunlight hit her face as her pillow was ripped from her grasp. Leah snarled, sat up and found herself face to face with her best friend. Although, describing Amelia as her best friend was not the most accurate way to explain their relationship for Amelia was a free-floating, energy sapping, endlessly yapping creature who refused to leave her alone.

In other words, Amelia was a pest.

"What do you want from me?" Leah tugged her hair away from her face and eyed her brush. How bad would it be if she went one day without clearing the knots from her head? She willed herself to get up and out of bed, shuddering when her feet hit the cold floor. Time and time again she'd reminded herself to go get a rug and yet she kept forgetting.

Mornings were already gross enough. The last thing she needed was to make them any worse. Amelia on the other hand seemed to have other ideas. Leah watched her eternally translucent companion drifted across the room while upside down with a small smile plastered across her face. Seconds past and when Amelia reached the spot where she was standing, Leah let out a curt "well?"

"I don't want anything in particular." Amelia folded her arms over her faded green jumper, or more accurately, Leah's old jumper and continued, "but did you know that it's already seven thirty in the morning?"

"What?" Leah shrieked, then quickly clamped her hands over her mouth. Both girls waited for a shout from Leah's parents, but luckily none came.

"Why didn't you wake me up sooner?" Leah hopped around the room, grabbing whatever was closest and emerged from her closet looking like a clown had thrown up on her. But clashing colours would have to do, especially since today was the last day to prove to her parents, and teachers that she was more than capable of going on that school trip.

"I was being considerate." Amelia hovered, hands fiddling with the plethora of junk that Leah had hanging off the back of her bedroom door. "Hey, do you think these look good on me?"

She held up a pair of peanut shaped earrings as Leah bustled past her, school bag in hand. At being ignored, Amelia huffed and dove through the wall to catch up with Leah in the kitchen. "Aw come on, you know I wouldn't have let you actually be late to school."

Leah scoffed. "I know, how about this? I still don't trust you." She held the milk up to the sun and wondered if today was the day when she'd finally get lucky enough not to find lumps in it. She shuddered, poured herself some cereal and wolfed it down with a gulp.

"Really?" Amelia stuck her head through the fridge door with a grimace. "And why would that be?"

"Because you're a ghost who steals my socks," Leah plonked her empty bowl into the sink before gesturing at the ground with her spoon. "And you don't even have feet."

Amelia immediately let out a cat-like grin and vaulted into a sitting position. "I could grow a pair of feet if I wanted to."

"Yeah, right." Leah rolled her eyes, flitting around the kitchen, trying and failing to make a sandwich without causing a ruckus. She snatched an orange from the fruit bowl, shoved it into her backpack, and made a quick mental note not to forget about eating it like the last time. Who knew that squashed, rotting fruit made for an awkward conversation?

Leah rifled through her backpack, double-triple checking that she'd remembered to pack all her homework and when her hand landed on suspiciously sticky sheet of paper, she held it up and turned to Amelia with a sigh. "I think you should know that my ghost ate my homework is not a viable excuse for having nothing to turn in."

"Yeah my bad." Amelia sheepishly shrugged and drifted over to the cupboard. She rummaged around before pulling out a bag of crisps. It rustled in her hands and she tossed it at Leah who caught it with a frown.

"I can't just eat these for lunch."

"I know, but you're making a right mess of that sandwich and at this rate, you'll never make it out that door." Amelia swooped down, snatched the knife from Leah's hands and began quickly pulling ingredients from the open cupboard. She moved swiftly through the motions, piling cheese and greasy ham atop thick slices of seeded bread.

Leah always hated that stuff but her mother insisted that the healthy option was the best way to go. So while her ghost made her lunch, Leah hopped around the kitchen and clumsily tried to shove her socks onto her feet when a sudden thud made her glance up.

Amelia ignored her hurried shushing and dropped a spoon into the sink where it clattered against an unwashed bowl. "Don't worry, your parents are still drooling in their sleep."

"Hey," Leah glanced sharply at her phantom friend and glowered. "That's not very nice."

Amelia shrugged and handed her the sandwich that, to Leah's annoyance, looked perfectly edible. She shoved it into her bag and moments later a clammy hand prodded her on the shoulder.

"If my eyes aren't deceiving me, I believe our favorite tiny redhead is waiting to walk to school with you." Amelia pulled the curtains back and pointed a translucent finger out the kitchen window.

"Amelia, I–" Leah sighed and ignored the lecture she felt bubbling on the tip of her tongue. It was far too early to bicker and although she never fully understood the way her friends teased each other, she just hoped that they were happy. Leah pushed past Amelia's figure standing in the doorway, an easy feat given that the girl was comprised mostly of what seemed to be air and light.

"Don't let Meredith hear you say that because ghost or not, she will find a way to bollock you. Or maybe you should and I'll watch to see what happens."

Amelia laughed and Leah chose to ignore her, instead choosing to wave at her human friend who only pulled a face and motioned for her to hurry up. Grumbling, Leah rammed her feet into her shoes while hopped around the kitchen table towards the front door.

But before she could step foot outside her home, Amelia whirled by with a blast of cool air and settled comfortably on top of a shelf. She pointed at the coat rack. "Don't forget your coat. Ghost or not, even I know that there's a nip in the air."

"Is that so? Then I'll take your word for it." Leah didn't object to pulling the much loved jacket down from its hook. With its worn sleeves and thick hood, it made for a nice hand-me-down from her mother. She would never admit it, but Leah treasured having it nearby and as she pulled it over her shoulders, Amelia drifted down to give her a quick once over before flashing her a thumbs-up and sending her out the door.

It seemed that her ghostly friend was right about the weather being cool for even though summer was supposed to be on its way, spring's brisk touch had yet to go away. Leah hoisted her backpack onto her shoulders, shivered and then raced down the driveway to greet Meredith.

"What took you so long?"

"I bet your pardon?"

"I said, what took you so long?" Meredith giggled and gave her a friendly shove on the back before gently pulling her down the road. "You're usually the one who has to come by and bang on my front door! Besides, today's when we finally hear back on who's been chosen for the annual theater trip."

Leah stiffened, took a quick glance down at her phone and any doubts that her friend might have been wrong were quickly kicked away by the hot pink "Today's The Day!" notification popping up on the screen. She sighed.

"Mr Thompson probably rejected my application on sight. It was a last minute, spur of the moment decision fueled by the desire to pad out my college application."

"I suppose, but submitting it is the first step to trying! Besides, there's always next year." Meredith paused as the two girls paused before a stop sign to let a school bus trundle by. Leah waved at the neighbour's son, Ron, who was just starting middle school. The sight of his brightly coloured backpack reminded her that she had agreed to tutor him during the coming school term.

They crossed the road in silence, a habit their mothers had drilled into them from an early age. Something about always being on the look out for that one rouge car that will run you over. But whether it was true or not, Leah found comfort in old routines and when they reached the other side, she glanced at Meredith.

"Mere, Mr Thompson opened up this year's applications to more than just the theater class. Do you have any idea what sort of competition that has brought on?"

"So?" Meredith's bag charms jingled as she shrugged and wrapped Leah in a quick hug. "We have yet to get the results so for now let us assume that we were both given a place on that trip. If it doesn't work out we'll go get ice cream at Rocky's later on and then find a movie to sob our hearts out to."

At that Leah could not help but laugh. Meredith's optimism was a welcome breath of fresh air in the jumble of thoughts that often chattered through her head and she skipped a couple of steps forwards before turning to face her friend and saying, "You raise good points and I have no rebuttal. But I will hold you to that promise for ice cream and tears."

Meredith chuckled before gently grabbing Leah by the shoulders and turning her around to face a steady stream of students drifting through their school's gates. Snippets of conversation, gossip and stress wafted freely through the air and Leah felt a familiar pressure building in her head. Hearing the joys of other's people's weekends was usually a fun activity. However, when faced with the prospect of finding out that she'd been rejected from a program she really wanted to be part of, Leah found excitement hard to stomach.

But as if on cue, she felt Meredith squeeze her hand. "Leah, I just had a thought. Perhaps there is no harm in checking to see if the threater department has already posted their final decisions. They did say that they would have those up by today?"

Leah blinked, then slowly she nodded and followed her friend into the depths of the school. If they checked now and nothing was out then at least nothing would distract her from the rest of her day, right?