Mr. Glaze screeches up
to our house in his car:
“You’re a brave kid to go
across the lake after Austin,”
he says to me
after he collects Austin
bundles him in his car:
“You both could’ve gotten
killed out there. I don’t understand
why that crazy guy who owns
the dollar store didn’t see the raft?”
if the ghost can talk out of Evie’s mouth
it can possess someone driving a boat
Evie, Austin, and I have
a silent agreement about the ghost
we make a pact with our eyes
Evie’s with their edge of scariness
Austin’s dulled to grey
but with a little spark way back in his head
we aren’t telling our parents
about the ghost
not yet
or ever.