building during this time of the year.”
“This time of the year?” Emily asked the question with a hint of doubt in her voice.
“Yes, some say that they have seen the ghost around this time. Now, I haven’t seen it myself and don’t want to anytime soon. I hear that the ghost can be seen in all her beauty and fierceness if you’re lucky.”
“It’s a female spirit?” Emily asked. She didn’t know about this part, although she was well aware of the ghost rumors in the library. “And who do they say the ghost is? Or is it related to somebody?” she asked.
At first, Mrs. Skinner didn’t answer back, but kept quiet. After several moments had passed, she answered, “I have heard it is a female ghost, but I don’t know the answer to your second question.”
Then the assistant dean stopped abruptly. Emily figured that there was nothing more Mrs. Skinner was going to tell her. The administrator’s patience had run out and Emily saw her looking at her watch frequently. She thanked the assistant dean, and then gathered her belongings. Just as she was about to leave, she was called back by Mrs. Skinner.
Mrs. Skinner looked at her and in a not-so-friendly tone said, “You belong to this university, and so whatever you write be careful. I don’t want the reputation of the institution to plummet”.
Emily nodded and thanked Mrs. Skinner several more times. Then she left the administration building. This was not the information Emily was after and she wasn’t sure how this story would help her. Ghost stories were lurking all around and Emily was never bothered by them. So this information didn’t shake her. However, what concerned her most was that there was something connected to the library. It wasn’t the ghost or Mr. Mitchell that she cared about, it was the fact that all the information she gathered led to the library. Some of the talk of ghosts seemed extreme, but it was in the middle to which the facts revolved. Emily was sure of it. She had to find the connection and there were others she needed to ask. She headed across campus to question some students who had their ear to university gossip.
Jamie was known to be a gossip monger. She was a junior to Emily and kept up with all sorts of news that went around in the university. It was a known fact within the campus that nothing was ever hidden from her. Emily thought she might hold some more information that would surely help her. Jamie wasn’t her friend though and Emily didn’t know where to find her. She asked Sarah and Nicholas if they had any idea of where to find her, but they didn't. Another student named Mira directed her to the second floor balcony where she said she saw Jamie on her way up.
Emily raced down, hoping she would still be there, and she was, standing at the edge of the balcony and talking on the phone. Emily called to her from behind, but she didn’t respond and went on talking on the phone. So she called Jamie again, and this time she got her attention. Jamie turned back around and had a look of annoyance on her face, as if she didn’t want to be bothered.
“Yes? Do I know you?” she asked.
Emily was unfazed by the initial harsh attitude. “Can I talk to you?” she asked.
“You are already doing it,” Jamie said in a mocking tone.
“I wanted to ask you something, and it’s because you keep up with all the things that go on in the campus.” Emily said in a tone as not to offend Jamie.
Jamie didn’t look impressed, but decided to reply to Emily anyway. “What do you want to know?” she asked. She couldn’t resist gossip.
“Nothing much,” Emily said slyly, “but do you know of any teacher who is associated with the fourth floor library?” she asked.
“Any teacher?” Jamie quoted back. “I know a ghost lives there,” she casually said.
“I know ….heard that, but that is not what I want to know,” Emily said.
“So, what do you want to know?” Jamie asked again.
“I want to know if there is
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