Mehgan dares to peek from the covers
The ghost was in her room again
She squints in the dark, says, "who are you?"
He says, "I'm Alexander, I'm a friend."
She shakes her head, "why me? why now?
I'm scared and I don't understand."
The ghost says, "listen closely dear
And I'll tell you how it all began."
(Alexander!) I'm the spirit you sense in the room
(Alexander!) I'm the glimpse you catch in the gloom
(Alexander!) I'm the whisper that slips through the crack
(Alexander!) I'm the flickering light in the black
St. Christopher's Boarding School, the old western wing
9 am lessons, 1915:
Headmaster Boardman shouts at his cla**
"all you children are dolts and none shall pa**!
Now get to your books, I've a matter to mind
And I'm locking you in to keep you in line."
He heads down the cellar where he's hidden some gin
And soon he's well in his cups and the trouble begins
He staggers and falls on the boiler controls
Sealing the fate of the innocent souls
With the old man out cold, the old thing gets hot
Exploding in flames and the children are caught
In the papers, the old, sooty boiler is blamed
They call Boardman a hero, and the school is renamed
The tragedy fades as 80 years pa**
Till the west wing's rebuilt and reopened at last
I was there when the souls came back
But no one believed me until I was attacked
Now I've been elected by a cla**ful of ghosts
To see justice is served on the name the school boasts:
"Boardman."
Mehgan's eyes are wide as moons
"I can't believe all the stories are true!"
The ghost says, "now, there's one more thing
Before it's light that you must do..."
(Alexander!) I'm the spirit you sense in the room
(Alexander!) I'm the glimpse you catch in the gloom
(Alexander!) I'm the shiver that slips down your back
(Alexander!) I'm the flickering light in the black
It must've been a dream, she thinks
Stretching, rising from her bed
Until she sees the Os and Rs that she stole
Now every Boardman sign says "B a dman" instead
And it seems that Alexander
Got around to lots of other kids
Because there's fliers hanging everywhere
That say "Boardman, we know what you did!"
And someone found some court report dirt
In a stack of old microfiche
And the kids all signed petitions saying
"We want buried files rereleased."
In days, the truth is throbbing
Like an angry, open sore
Boardman's name's defiled
St. Christopher's restored
In town, the people speculate:
Which good soul led the fight?
And in the playgrounds, children's voices
Sing a name into the night:
"Alexander! Alexander! Alexander!"
---
.