The sound of stockinged feet shuffling down the stairs announced Lila's arrival. She appeared in the doorway, a small figure swimming in an oversized crop top sweater, her clinical face mask already secured over her nose and mouth. Her short brown hair was a mess, and she rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand, looking more asleep than awake.

"Mooornin'..." she mumbled, her voice muffled by the mask.

"Morning, honey," Maria said without turning around. "Sleep okay?"

Lila slumped into a chair at the small kitchen table, her arms sprawling out in front of her. "N-Nooo. There were noises again. From the attic." Her head rested on her folded arms, her voice a low, tired drone. "Scratches. And... and a thump. Like something heavy fell!"

A light, airy laugh escaped Maria. "Oh, Lila."

Lila lifted her head just enough to fix her mother with a wide, earnest gaze. "I'm serious! It was right above my bed this time. W-What if the sounds are from... G-G-GHOSTS?!"

Maria finally turned, a gentle, knowing smile on her lips. She slid a plate of breakfast onto the table in front of her daughter. "It was probably just cats fighting on our roof again, sweetie. You know how they get. Little territorial monsters." She tapped the plate with a fork. "Now eat. You'll feel less haunted on a full stomach."

The shadowed walls of Lila's bedroom absorbed the faint glow of streetlights outside as Maria stood in front of the bed. Her translucent nightgown clung to her silhouette, the lace edges of her bra and panties visible beneath the gauzy fabric. "Sweetie?" She murmured, her gaze settling on her daughter. "Remind me again why I’m bunking in your room tonight?"

Lila fidgeted beneath fluffy pink pajamas that hugged her small frame, trembling. "B-Because of the ghosts, Mom!" Her voice pitched higher, frayed with tension. "G-Ghosts! Obviously! Last thing I would want is to sleep alone when there are paranormal beings in our house! I-I'm not crazy!"

A soft chuckle escaped Maria as she sank onto the bed, the mattress dipping beside her daughter. Moonlight caught the curve of her smile. "Ghosts. Right." She pulled out her phone, its cold blue light washing over her face as TikTok videos began to play. Against her pillow, Lila squeezed her eyes shut, breathing shallowly—begging to fall asleep quickly.

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The bathroom was a cloud. Hot steam clung to every surface, blurring the tiles and fogging the large mirror over the sink into a sheet of grey. Droplets of condensation traced slow paths down the glass, converging and dripping with a soft onto the marble countertop. The air was thick with the clean, floral scent of shampoo and soap.

Maria, a fluffy white towel wrapped snugly under her arms and tucked tight above her breasts, used the heel of her hand to wipe a wide, clear circle in the fogged mirror. She leaned in, tilting her head and examining her reflection with a critical, yet satisfied, little smirk. "Well?" she said, her voice echoing slightly in the tiled room. "Honest opinion, sweetie. Do I still look hot enough to make Brenda Dinkleberg jealous?"

She glanced at Lila's reflection. Her daughter stood a few feet away, a matching towel secured around her much slimmer frame, her short brown hair damp and sticking to her forehead. Lila was already blushing, the heat of the room doing little to hide the pink creeping up her neck.

"Or am I starting to look my age?" Maria continued, not waiting for an answer. She picked up a bottle of lotion from the counter. "You should make yourself look pretty, too. You know, put in a little effort. Maybe a cute boy will finally notice you at the party."

"Mom!" Lila protested, her voice a flustered squeak. She twisted the corner of her towel, her eyes darting away from the mirror. "It's just Brenda coming over, not... not a party-party."

"Brenda's son and some other people might 'just happen' to stop by," Maria said with a knowing look, uncapping the lotion. "You never know. A little mascara, a nice top... Boys like that."

"I don't care what boys like!" Lila blurted out, her face turning a deeper shade of red. "Besides, getting a boyfriend sounds like a terrible idea." Her voice dropped a little, almost to a mumble, as she added, "...A human one, at least."

Maria paused, a dollop of white lotion on her fingertips. She chuckled, a low, throaty sound. "A human one? What other kinds are there? Are you planning on dating a dolphin, Lila?" She shook her head, laughing to herself as she began rubbing the lotion onto her shoulders, completely missing the genuine, panicked sincerity in her daughter's eyes. "Oh, kids these days. So dramatic."

The muscles in Maria's jaw ached from the sheer force of her smile. It was a masterpiece of social engineering, a bright, welcoming curve of the lips that didn't dare touch the cold fury in her eyes. Forty-eight minutes. Brenda Dinkleberg, her neighbor who seemed to be powered by pure, unfiltered ignorance, had arrived forty-eight minutes early to a party of one.

"Oh, Maria, your pendants are just the cutest!" Brenda chirped, her voice echoing slightly in the quiet living room. She leaned in. "They remind me of the ones I got in Milan last spring. The jeweler said they were practically giving them away, can you believe it? Only three thousand euros!"

Before Maria could formulate a reply that wasn't a felony, Brenda hoisted two sweating cups of beer into the air, sloshing amber liquid onto the freshly polished floor. "WOO! LET'S START THE PARTY!"

Maria's eye twitched. "The party starts at seven, Brenda."

"It's never too early to party!" Brenda declared, taking a huge gulp from one of the cups. "So, where is everybody?"

"They will be arriving," Maria said through perfectly clenched teeth, "at the scheduled time."

Across the room, standing awkwardly near the hallway, Lila fidgeted with the hem of her simple red dress. She hated parties. She hated dresses. And she was almost certain she just heard something from the ceiling right above her.

"Mom, I think I heard—" Lila began, her voice barely a whisper.

"Oh! Is that Lila? You look adorable!" Brenda boomed, cutting her off completely. "So grown up! Still wearing your little mask today, huh?"

Lila instinctively paralized, feeling exposed. Her gaze remained fixed on the attic door, where the small pull-string seemed to be swaying, just ever so slightly, in the still air of the room.