"Well, I'm starved. How long are we going to wait for him?" Mikel asked.

     "I don't know," I answered, "I'm really surprised he didn't at least call SOMEONE to let us know he was going to be late and what time we could expect him. I don't know him very well though, Mikel, he's YOUR friend. Does he do stuff like this often?"

     "No, he's usually where he says he's going to be. If he's late at all it's only by a few minutes, especially if it's for dinner. You know about being a starving college student. You never turn down a free meal. I can't figure out where he is but I'm ready to eat. How about you guys? Shall we take a vote to see if we eat or wait?"

     "I'm all for eating," Randy, one of our upstairs neighbor said and Cindy, his date for the evening, agreed.

     "Yah, me, too," Chris, Randy's roommate offered his opinion.

     "Well, I think it's just plain rude not to let us know," Gwen, my roommate stated. "I say let's eat." Jerry, Gwen's boyfriend, was also ready for dinner.

     Chris's girlfriend, Pam still hung back. She was feeling sorry for Megan, her roommate and Peter's date for the evening. "I suppose we should start before everything's ruined," she finally agreed, "as long as we save plenty for Peter when he gets here."

     Megan just seemed embarrassed, as if it was her fault.

     Really, eating seemed the only sensible option. We had waited long enough that our conversations had dwindled to Start . . . Stop . . . Start . . . Stop. Either we had run out of things to say or our growling tummies were interferring with our ability to make speach. So far the last half hour had been almost entirely devoted to Eat . . . Wait . . . Eat . . . Wait.

     Gwen took the lid off the pan and everyone dug in. Even Pam seemed to breathe a thankful sigh in spite of the position she had taken. We had fixed chicken and rice with green beans and a salad. This was the only dinner party we'd ever had and a dark cloud hung over the whole thing. I was really disappointed and Gwen was just plain mad.

     The guys upstairs brought ice cream for dessert and Jerry, as always, brought beer. I didn't drink beer and really disliked the smell, but it was the drink of choice for most college kids.

     We had pretty well polished off everything but the one plate held aside for Peter and everyone had relaxed. We laughed over Peter's whereabouts. Mikel finally decided to call his house and ask his folks if they knew where he was.

     "Well, his mom hasn't heard from him, either. She thought he was here. Now I think I've got her worried so I'm sorry I even called," Mikel informed us after hanging up.

     "Probably found some good-looking blond hitch-hiking on his way over here and got way-laid," Jerry offered, then laughed at his own pun. Jerry had had too much beer by that time and was getting pretty disgusting. I didn't like him.

     We put some records on and sat around visiting since it was still pretty early. Gwen hauled out some cards and she and Pam took on Jerry and Chris for a game of pinochle. Gwen figured Jerry was drunk enough they'd win easy. It was a noisy game.

     Randy headed upstairs and returned with a Ouija board. I'd never seen one before and was really curious. He and Cindy demonstrated how it was supposed to work. I put my fingers on the wedge-shaped piece and drew them back as if they had been burned. Goose bumps raised along my arm.

     "Go ahead, you guys, but I think I'll pass on this one," I said.

     Randy, however, noticed the goose bumps. "You are JUST the person who should do it if it affects you like that."

     "Yah," Mikel agreed, encouraging me to take part in a little test of the Ouija board's powers.

     "I don't think so. You guys go ahead, though and I'll watch," I was really uncomfortable about the whole thing.

     "Oh, come on, don't be a spoil-sport," Cindy chided me. "Are you afraid of it?" everyone laughed. Then, of course, those playing cards had to know what was going on. I listened to jeering from eight people and finally agreed to try it.

     Randy arranged the board on the coffee table and it was agreed that Megan and I would put our fingers on the wedge and ask whatever questions were presented to us. Cindy would write down any answers we got from it.

     Mikel sat on the floor and pulled me down in front of him. "Don't worry," he whispered in my ear, "I'll protect you." He laughed and wrapped both arms around my waist. I placed my fingers on one side of the wedge. Megan placed hers on the other. I closed my eyes and waited.

     "Ask it if Gwen's sleeping with Jerry," came Chris's voice and Megan repeated the question amidst general snickering. I waited. Then the wedge began moving. I stiffened and Mikel increased the pressure of his embrace. The wedge moved and then stopped. I waited. Again the wedge moved, this time in circles, slowly, before stopping again. A third time the wedge moved slowly and stopped. Uproarious laughter exploded in the room. I opened my eyes.

     "Well," I asked Cindy.

     "Y-E-S!" she laughed, holding her sides, "but everyone already knew that so it doesn't even count." From the table, Gwen stuck her tongue out at the group in general.

     I looked at Megan. "Were you watching?" I asked her.

     "No, I had my eyes shut tight," she told me with an intense stare.

     "Me, too," I said. So even if everyone already knew, neither of us was looking at the board in order to direct the movement of the wedge. I shivered and Mikel scrunched himself up even tighter behind me.

     "Come one, guys, ask it something hard this time," Randy said.

     "OK, ask it who's going to win the game tomorrow," Jerry called from the table, "Maybe I can win a few bucks."

     Megan and I again put our fingers on the wedge and closed our eyes. I waited for a couple of minutes before the wedge began its movements across the board. Move. Stop. Move. Stop. Move.

     Stop. It continued, sometimes slowly and sometimes more rapidly.

     The Phillies!" Cindy cried out, "Look!" She held up her piece of paper with the letters carefully printed out.

     "OK, I know, ask it where the heck Peter is tonight," Randy offered.

     Megan and I put our fingers on the wedge and closed our eyes.

     "Where's Peter?" I asked clearly and waited. The wedge began moving immediately, swinging back and forth across the board but without stopping. I waited, my arms moving with the wedge and wondering if Megan was pushing it. The wedge made three slow circles and stopped.

     "Ask it again," Randy said.

     "Where's Peter?" I asked again and Megan echoed my question softly.

     The wedge pulsed back and forth as if on a current of air and then began to move slowly. Start. Stop. Start. Stop. On it went. Each time it stopped I was tempted to lift my fingers but I didn't know if we were done. Goose bumps were raising on my arms again and Mikel was hugging me closely. Start. Stop. Start. Stop. Its movements were slow but definite. Without hesitation it continued. I could hear everyone in the room breathing. Those at the table got up quietly and I could sense them standing around the table. Still I kept my eyes shut and still the wedge continued to move.

     I heard a small gasp and a distinct cry from Gwen. Or was it Cindy. Mikel let go of my waist and removed my fingers from the wedge. I opened my eyes. Megan and I sat on opposite sides of the coffee table and simply looked at each another. Everyone else looked shocked.

     "What?" Megan finally asked. I was afraid to ask.

     Cindy placed her piece of paper on the coffee table where both Megan and I could read the letters printed there.

     "P-E-T-E-R-I-S-D-E-A-D" the note read. I pushed back from table and stood up, out of Mikel's embrace.

     "I've had enough," I said. "This isn't funny. It isn't fun, either." I went to the kitchen and opened a Pepsi.

     "Hey, come on, it's only a game," Randy said from the living room but no one paid any attention to him. Our party was shot. Everyone got their coats and left within 10 or 15 minutes. Randy took the Ouija board with him and I was glad to see it gone.

     "Come on," Mikel said, "let's go for a walk." He threw my jacket at me then took my hand and led me outside. I didn't have much to say, though. I felt pretty creepy. Where WAS Peter, anyway?

     The phone rang about 8:30 Sunday morning. It was Mikel.

     "Peter crashed his car into a tree on his way to your place last night," he informed me. "They found his body this morning."