Keep Your Head Up

"Keep Your Head Up" is the third story of the Universal Clarification Series. It begins one week after the previous story with a brief summary of one important event, and then expands on the course of one full day.

Synopsis
Disclaimer: There is mild foul language, graphic imagery, and some sexual themes present in this story. The boys have become more familiar with Claire after spending time with her outside of school, including seeing her skull collection for themselves. Unfortunately, Sock finds that he is competing with her for Jonathan's attention. His suggestions to kill Claire as a means of obtaining a new co-haunting friend leads to a nasty argument, which reveals that Jonathan's feelings are more complex than Sock originally thought. They put their fighting aside and the teenager's will is put to the test when Claire shows up at his door with the most disgusting object he has ever seen in his entire life.

''What kind of person keeps latex gloves in their backpack? More importantly, is Jonathan mentally capable of being Claire's friend?''

Associated Music

 * "Run Like Hell" -- Pink Floyd
 * "Elemental" -- Tears for Fears

The Story

 * Part 1
 * Part 2
 * Part 3

Voice Cast

 * Jonathan -- Doug Hudson
 * Sock -- Ann Mendenhall
 * Claire -- Numbuh 404

Trivia

 * This story was originally the ending half to "A Little Death," but after some further development, the two were separated to conserve a a number of PPS (Parts Per Story).
 * In the Word Document, this story is twelve pages long and exactly 6,201 words. It was written between July 7th - 17th and revised to completion by August 10th, 2015.
 * In Part 1 when Sock is displaying crude sexual gestures, there is a description of "a filthy sex track with a heavy bass – probably from a rap group of the early 2000s." The author's personal choice for this track is Pony by Ginuwine.
 * In Part 2, Sock describes a raccoon as a Procyon lotor, which is the creature's latin term. This is a clue to Sock's hidden intelligence and further evidence of his (often disturbing) curiosity in animals.

Continuation

 * Story Two -- "A Little Death"
 * Story Four -- "Discomfort Food"