Jemma opened her eyes to find that a little crowd had gathered around.

“It’s okay,” she mumbled as heat flared up her neck and into her cheeks. “I’m fine.”

She gazed up at the anxious faces peering down at her. Damn, why do I have to be so bloody clumsy? Her way of dealing with the humiliation that always followed these frequent accidents was to pretend that nothing had happened. Like now. She sat up then straightened her back and tried to look unfazed. If only everyone would stop staring at her. Isn’t it enough that I look a complete fool without these people making me feel worse? Are they laughing at me? She scanned the crowd again. No, they weren’t laughing at all. In fact, they looked horrified.

“She’s dead,” someone cried.

“Who, me? No, I told you, I’m fine, and will you please stop staring at me?” This was getting annoying now. Haven’t they ever seen anyone fall over before?

Confused and with growing unease, Jemma started to stand, but instead of watching her, the crowd continued to stare at the spot on the floor where she had fallen. She followed their gazes and that’s when she saw what they saw… Her body was lying lifeless on the floor, with a woman checking for her pulse and someone else calling an ambulance.

“But I’m fine,” she whispered, although this time she knew she wasn’t fine at all.

Stunned, all Jemma could do was stare down at herself in disbelief. This had to be some sort of weird dream.

Then the truth hit her like a slap in the face. She had just died. As her brain scrambled to process what was going on, one question kept poking at her. How could she be dead, but also be standing here looking down at her own body?

“Oh God,” she cried as panic gripped her. “I must be a ghost. What the hell am I going to do?”

 * * * *

 Three Days Earlier…

“The bats have left the bell tower.”

“Huh? Bats?”

Jemma opened her eyes. An intense pain seared through them into the deepest pits of her already sore head.

“I must have died and gone to hell,” she groaned, although it wasn’t very easy talking when she had grown fur on her tongue.

“Got a bit of a headache?” Alice grinned at her, fresh and chirpy, much to Jemma’s annoyance. “Serves you right for finishing off the punch.”

“What was in that stuff anyway, rocket fuel?” Jemma raised her head off the sofa. “Ooohhh, my head, turn that racket down, pleeease.”

“How can you call this a racket?” Alice looked outraged as she turned down the volume. “It’s Bauhaus and they’re amazing. Anyway, it’s a damned sight better than the rubbish you were dancing to last night. Here, I’ve made you a coffee.”

“Thanks.” Jemma reached for the mug and inhaled the rich aroma steaming into her nostrils. She took a sip and sighed as the strong shot of caffeine burned its way to her stomach. Mmn, that’s good. Feeling more human, she blinked as she became aware of her surroundings. They were in a large, comfy living room strewn with empty glasses, wine bottles and stale crisps—always the sign of a good party. Now that her head was a little clearer, the events of the night before started to come back to her.

“Where’s Jack?” she asked before taking another sip of her coffee.

Jack was the guy whose party it had been. He and Alice had hit it off straight away and had spent most of the night putting the world to rights. At four o’clock in the morning, after the last guests had left, Jack had said he didn’t want them walking home on their own and had offered to let them stay over.

“Clearing up in the kitchen.” Alice grinned and leaned closer to Jemma. “Guess what? He’s asked me out.”

“Really? That’s great, babe.” Jemma smiled as Alice’s cheeks glowed. Well, at least one of them had struck lucky. They’d been invited to the party last night by a friend and, on the way there, they’d joked how this was the night that Jemma would meet the love of her life. Only it seemed that on this occasion, it was Alice’s turn to meet Mister Right.

“Do you remember what we talked about last night?” Alice’s voice grew serious.

Jemma took another sip of her coffee. “No, I don’t believe I do.”

“Come on, Jem, I know you do. We made a pact and I’m not about to let you forget about it.”

Jemma shrugged. It was no use acting dumb, as it was clear that Alice wasn’t going to let the subject drop. Last night, under the influence of too much alcohol, they’d made some stupid pact about changing their lives. If Jemma remembered correctly, she had agreed to enroll at college and get herself some qualifications so she could get a better job.

At twenty-eight, Jemma’s career consisted of a mixture of waitressing, cleaning and shelf stacking. Nothing wrong with that, but it was time to experience the thing called job satisfaction and that meant doing something positive about her lack of career prospects instead of just moaning about being bored and broke. It had been very easy being positive and proactive when she had been enjoying the effects of a tasty punch, but it was quite different the next day when she was nursing a hangover.

“Yeah, all right, but let’s wait until we get home. We can discuss it then. Right now all I want are some painkillers and my bed.”

“Did someone mention bed?” Jack popped his head round the door, grinning, and Alice promptly went a deep puce.

It was easy to see why Alice fancied Jack so much. Alice liked her men with long hair and Jack’s floppy dark curls were just long enough to meet with her approval. He wore the same alternative-style clothing that Alice preferred and had the same taste in music. That was a pretty good start.

“Jack, thanks for the party last night and for letting us crash on your sofa.” Alice gazed at him with a demure smile. “So do you still fancy meeting up again some time?”

Jemma nearly choked on her coffee. Alice was never this forward.

“Well, if you’re still interested, I’ll see you next week. You’re coming over on Wednesday, aren’t you?”

This time it was Alice’s turn to look blank. “Am I?”

Jemma grinned. Alice must have had more punch last night than she’d realized.

“You know, for the psychic workshop. You said you were interested in developing your psychic skills. Remember?” There was no flirtation in Jack’s voice, just the friendly, efficient manner of a mentor welcoming a new student.

Jemma glanced at Alice as her friend must have realized that she had mistaken Jack’s invitation to join his paranormal group for something more romantic. Poor Alice, she looked mortified.

“She’ll be there, won’t you, Alice?” interrupted Jemma, knowing that Alice was about to make some pathetic excuse not to go.

“Er, yes, of course. Right, see you next week. We really must go now.” Abandoning her coffee, Alice grabbed her jacket and ushered Jemma to the door.

As soon as Jack’s door was shut and they were alone, Alice wailed, “Shit, Jemma. I remember now that we talked about meeting up, but I had forgotten the bit about the workshop on Wednesday. I’ll never be able to face him again. He must think I’m completely stupid.”

“Look, don’t worry about it, he’s a guy. He probably has no idea that you fancy him and you will see him again because we’ve got a deal. Remember?”

“Maybe we were at bit hasty,” Alice backtracked.

“No, I know how much you’ve wanted to find someone who can help with this psychic thing and now this great guy has invited you to join his group. It’s perfect. I’ll keep my part of the deal if you do. Tomorrow I’ll enroll at college, okay?”

As Alice grunted some sort of agreement Jemma decided to make damn sure that her friend didn’t find an excuse to back out.

They walked on in amiable silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts. It was a lovely morning—the roads were quiet because it was Sunday and the warm September sunshine felt welcoming and soothing. They decided to go back via Belsize Park and have breakfast in their favorite café. The coffee there was so strong it could grow legs and walk on its own.

The walk from Swiss Cottage, where Jack lived, to Belsize Park was just long enough to help clear their heads. By the time they reached the café Jemma had managed to convince Alice that Jack had had no idea that she had misunderstood his invitation and that, with a bit of subtle flirting, he was still within reach. With the worry gone, they found an empty table and waited for the server to take their order.

Belsize Park was one of Jemma’s favorite areas of London, with its wide tree-lined roads packed with boutique shops. Several cafés and restaurants spilled out onto the pavement, giving the place a Parisian feel where young cosmopolitan couples enjoyed their morning coffee while reading the Sunday papers.

About half an hour later, while Alice was trying to get the waiter’s attention so they could order more coffee, Jemma sat back in her chair, closed her eyes and basked in the warm sunshine. It was amazing what some caffeine and a bacon sandwich could do and now, sitting in contentment as the world went by, she started to feel more positive about this college idea.

Ambition wasn’t something that had seemed that important to her in the past and she had always been happy to plod along earning her way as and when she could. Maybe losing Mum at such a young age has left me without the direction I’d needed to work for my GCSEs? When she had gone to live with her aunt in Tunbridge Wells she had pretty much been left to her own devices and when she had discovered boys, cigarettes and cheap cider she had stopped going to school altogether.

She opened her eyes again and found Alice watching her. “Penny for them?”

“What? Oh, I was just wondering what I’m going to study at college. I’m not exactly the academic type. I’m not really good at anything.”

“Don’t put yourself down,” scolded Alice. “You’re a lot more clever than you give yourself credit for and I’ll bet there are loads of things you’ll be good at. How about doing some sort of foundation course that lets you try out a few subjects before you decide for real? A bit like ‘try before you buy’.”

“Hmm, I guess I could. In fact, that’s not a bad idea. Why didn’t I think of it?”

“Because I’m psychic and I know what you want before you do.” Alice winked at her and held up her coffee cup. “Here’s to us, babe.”

Jemma picked up her already empty mug and they toasted their new lives. “What are you going to do after this workshop? If you do have a gift, how are you going to use it?”

Alice’s eyes lit up. “Well, I’d love to be a healer and perhaps also help people who have lost loved ones by working as a medium. Maybe the people I meet on Wednesday will be able to help me.”

“Oh, so you are going, then?”

“Oh, absolutely. If you enroll at college tomorrow, I’ll be there on Wednesday, and I’ll be as cool as a cucumber around Jack.”

“So what’s the story with Jack then? How come he lives in that big house all by himself?”

“Well, I don’t know too much about him, but I think he inherited the house from his grandparents. Apparently he lives there alone because nobody else will live there. Every time he finds someone to share with they leave after a few weeks.”

“Why, do the ghosts scare them off?” said Jemma, laughing.

“Actually, yes. Seriously, the house is haunted. I felt it last night. That’s how Jack and I got talking. I said that I could feel some sort of presence and asked if the house was haunted. He told me that he believes there are two, or maybe even three, ghosts there.”

“Oh come on, you’re not serious, are you? Alice, there’s no such thing as ghosts.” Although Jemma begrudgingly accepted Alice’s beliefs, she didn’t believe in all that stuff herself. “The only spirits I came across last night were in the form of a very potent punch.”

“I’m telling you, something isn’t right in that house. Anyway, come on.” Alice stood up and stretched. “Let’s get back to the flat. If you have any more of that coffee you’ll be like a hyperactive gecko.”

“Gecko?”

“Yeah, climbing the walls.”

When they arrived back at the small flat they shared in Camden—well, Chalk Farm really, but Camden sounded so much cooler—Jemma went to her room for a rest. She had a serious hangover to recover from and, besides, it was her turn to do the washing-up. Jemma was allergic to washing-up…and tidying…and cleaning. She had learned a long time ago that if she retreated to her room for ‘a rest’ the chore would somehow be done by the time she came out again. Poor Alice couldn’t bear clutter. She was a complete ‘clean freak’, the exact opposite of Jemma, who believed that a little bit of clutter never hurt anyone.

After a few minutes of tossing and turning on her bed, Jemma got up again and headed for the kitchen. She was too restless to sleep. Alice had been right about all that coffee.

“Here, let me help you with that.” Jemma picked up a tea towel and reached for a glass.

“I thought you were tired,” said Alice as she rinsed a plate.

“Couldn’t sleep. I can’t stop thinking about going to college. Are you sure it’s such a good idea? I mean, I’m in my late twenties, totally set in my ways and I’m not exactly the student type.”

“That’s why you need to do this, hun,” said Alice, sighing. “Your age is irrelevant, but you do need to unset your ways and I think you’ll find that once you find something you like there’ll be no stopping you.”

They chatted as they worked and it wasn’t long before they had finished the dishes. “It’s quite therapeutic, this washing-up lark, isn’t it?” mused Jemma.

 * * * *

 Later that evening, sitting alone in her room, Jemma logged on to her laptop and did a search for colleges. She found a site that listed every college and university in London along with a comprehensive list of their courses.

“Wow,” she exclaimed aloud. “I had no idea there are so many subjects.” As she scrolled through the website she became more enthused by all the possibilities that seemed available to her.

Eventually she found a small local college that offered a one-year foundation course. They said it would help to improve her general education and offered access to university degrees on completion of the course. Core subjects included English, maths and study skills plus additional choices from a long list of more specialized subjects.

Excitement surged through Jemma as she devoured the information. The more she read about it the more inspired she became. This was the course for her. This was going to change her life. Without giving it another thought, she clicked on the ‘enroll now’ icon. Ah, just one small problem—the fee. She had forgotten that it would cost money, but hey, it couldn’t be that expensive. Another click. “How much?” She nearly fell off her chair in shock.

This couldn’t be right. The information on the screen said that the one-year foundation course was one thousand two hundred and fifty pounds! Deflated, Jemma sighed. She had been so excited about finding this course, but now she might not be able to do it. There was no way she could afford that.

Hang on. One of her credit cards had just had the credit limit extended by a thousand pounds, and last month she had managed to make an extra payment. There was a chance that she might have enough credit available to pay for the course. There was just one problem. Where the heck was the card?

She glanced around her small room. Suddenly the clutter wasn’t quite so harmless because somewhere among the piles of clothes, stacks of magazines and heaps of shoes, handbags and makeup was a small plastic card that was the key to her whole future. She had to find it.

Over an hour later her room looked like a hurricane had torn through it. Whereas before the clutter had been relatively organized, now each pile, heap and stack was one giant mound of rubbish, but it didn’t matter because she had found the card. It was just a shame that she hadn’t searched in her top drawer before turning her room upside down, as that was where she had left it last month.

Once back at her computer Jemma entered the credit card details and held her breath as she clicked ‘Pay Now’. Would there be enough money on the card? She hardly dared look. ‘Congratulations, your enrolment has been successful.’

“Yes!” She jumped up, sending her chair flying backward. Leaving the chair where it had landed, she rushed into Alice’s room and threw herself onto her bed. “Guess what?”

“Go away, I’m asleep.” Alice buried her head under the duvet.

“No, you’re not. Come on, Alice, wake up.”

Alice sighed and appeared resigned to not getting any more sleep for a while. “Go on then, what’s so urgent that it can’t wait until morning?”

“I’ve done it. I’ve enrolled at college. I just did it online now. I found the perfect course and it’s only in Hampstead. I’ve already enrolled and paid for it. And you’ll never guess what?”

“What?”

“I start on Wednesday.” She prodded Alice to get her attention.

“Yeah right, Wednesday,” muttered Alice, yawning. “Great.”

“Alice, wake up, dopey. Wednesday is the same day you go to your workshop, remember? Don’t you see? This is meant to be. You know, I’ve got a really strong feeling that this is the start of something big for both of us.”

Alice glared at her then seemed to grudgingly accept that Jemma wasn’t going to go back to bed any time soon. “Okay, let’s make some hot chocolate and you can tell me all about it,” she said, sighing as she dragged herself out of bed.

With steaming mugs in hand, they snuggled up together on the sofa and chatted about how their lives were going to change.

It was four o’clock before they got tired. By that time Alice was a world-famous medium with her own TV show. She and Jack had four children and lived in his haunted house while Jemma was Managing Director of her multimillion-pound empire with two male personal assistants to attend her every need.

“It’s destiny,” mumbled Jemma just before she dropped off to sleep on Alice’s shoulder. “This is so right, it’s meant to be…”