(𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞) On The Off Chance

                                    

                                          
The next morning, Lydia came downstairs half an hour after the Maitlands had and found them both standing in the living room with the ouija board that Lydia had gotten the previous day lying in the middle of the floor. They had their eyes focused on it confusedly. Lydia made her way into the living room, coming to a stop in front of them and sitting herself down on the carpeted floor. She focused her attention onto the two ghosts, concern laced within her voice.
                          
"What's going on?"
                          
Barbara pointed a hand at the ouija board and Lydia turned her attention down towards it, just now noticing that the planchette was facing a completely different direction than it had been the previous night. Lydia rolled her eyes, turning the planchette so that it was facing upwards and putting it back in its box before putting it away.
                          
She and the Maitlands headed into the kitchen area as Charles and Delia came downstairs, Barbara getting started on making breakfast and Delia going to join her. Adam and Charles had moved over to the living room and Lydia took a seat at the kitchen island. A plate of freshly made pancakes was levitated down in front of the waiting teenager, as well as a glass of milk, and she got started on the uppermost one as Delia and Barbara conversed, the two adult females eventually moving over to the living room.
                          
Lydia finished up the last of her breakfast and set the empty plate and cup into the sink before joining the rest of her family in the living room.
                          
"You guys up for playing a game?"
                          
All four adults looked up when they heard her getting out one of her favorite board games and then at one another, playful, confident, and determined smirks flashing across each of their faces as Lydia set the chosen board game in the center of the living room. Barbara stood up and moved to sit by the waiting teenager, followed by the rest of the family, the five of them now sat in a neat circle around the game. Lydia opened the box, setting up the game as Barbara levitated the box off to the side.
                          
"What are we playing?"
                          
"Ask Me Anything. It's similar to trivial pursuit. Except in that it's played differently."
                          
Barbara nodded.
                          
"You want this piece, ghost mom?" Lydia asked slightly amusingly and playfully as she held a green play piece out towards Barbara.
                          
When the female ghost reached out a hand to take it, Lydia held it just out of her reach.
                          
A playful and sly smile crossed Barbara's face as she placed her right hand on her hip and eyed the laughing teenager. "Hey! You kidder!"
                          
Lydia rolled her eyes and tossed the piece to Barbara, who caught it with her powers.
                          
She set it on the board. When everyone else picked their play pieces (Lydia had amusingly decided to pull the same joke she pulled on Barbara on the rest of her family, which in turn had caused them all to erupt in a twenty minute bout of laughter) and set them on the board (Lydia was black, Delia picked the clear one, Adam had settled on the blue piece, and Charles had decided to use the red one), Adam levitated the instructions out of the box.
                          
Or rather, snapped his fingers and made the instructions teleport out of the box.
                          
"The game starts with the youngest player rolling the two dice and going first. Then the rest of the players take their turns going clockwise. The different colored squares on the board are each represented by a similarly colored stack of cards that each have a different category written on the back. When a player's piece lands on one of the colored squares, the player will pick up a card from the matching stack and ask one of the other players a question."
                          
"Okay then! Lydia, your turn!" Barbara floated the two dice out of the box and set them down in front of Lydia.
                          
Lydia picked up the two dice and threw them gently onto the carpeted living room floor, rolling two threes. She carefully picked up her black play piece and moved it ahead six spaces, landing on a pink space. She reached over and picked up the topmost matching pink colored card, reading out the category on its back to herself before looking around at the rest of her family, her eyes landing on Barbara.
                          
"Hey, Barbara," she said, directing the attention of the female ghost onto her. "Have you had any boyfriends before Adam?"
                          
Barbara looked off to the side for a few minutes, deep in thought, then turned her attention back over towards the teenager with an amused smirk plastered on her face. "Aren't you only supposed to ask silly questions based on what category you pick?"
                          
Oh... right... Lydia rolled her eyes.
                          
"Barbara, what're the sexiest and least sexiest names?" At that, the rest of the family burst into laughter, then got quiet as the female ghost thought up her answer.
                          
"Hmmm... sexiest name would be Adam's. As for the least sexiest, probably Betelgeuse's."
                          
Everyone else froze when she spoke Betelgeuse's name for the first time in the few months they'd been a family of five, then Adam, Charles, and Delia looked at one another before turning their attention back over to the female ghost.
                          
"I thought we agreed to not say Betelgeuse's name after what he did," Adam pointed out rather warily. Everyone else turned their attention onto him. A second time.
                          
"I know, but Lydia just happened to ask that and Betelgeuse was what popped into my head when she said least sexies-..." Barbara's voice faltered and she trailed off before she could finish her sentence, clasping a hand over her mouth. Oh no!
                          
The lights started flickering for a few seconds, the power going out. When the power came back on not even a second later, the five of them looked up as an even brighter flash of light appeared in the far corner of the living room. When the light faded away, Betelgeuse stood right where it had initially been, gazing over at the rest of the family; who had backed away. And the game that they had been playing was now put away.
                          
A look that was a mix between a wicked grin and a sorrowful smile flashed across Betelgeuse's face as he turned his attention over to everyone else. The Maitlands and the older Deetzes were all now stood protectively in front of Lydia, shooting angered, furious glances in his direction. And to that, he held his hands out in front of him.
                          
"What? Are none of you happy to see me?"
                          
"Not..." Barbara hissed. "In the slightest."