The Yard is a former gathering place near Heritage Middle School that the Ghost selects for a forced meeting with Ken. Though remembered as a spot where students gathered after school, its seclusion makes it a site of coercion: the Ghost sets a deadline for Ken to reach it, while Will recognizes that the location gives the Ghost a decisive advantage.

Setting and Earlier Use

The Yard had been a place where people who smoked pot gathered after a day at Heritage Middle School. At the time of the threatened meeting, it lay no more than three miles from Will and Katy Miller. Its proximity makes the deadline more immediate for Will, even as Ken says he is not on the East Coast.

The Ghost’s Choice

The Ghost names The Yard and gives Ken three hours to get there. The demand turns the location into the destination of an ultimatum; the available evidence establishes the deadline but does not show Ken arriving there or what the Ghost intends to do if he fails to appear.

A Place Made into a Trap

Will understands why the Ghost chose it: The Yard is easy to control and especially secluded in summer. Once someone enters, Will judges that there would be little chance of getting out alive. As Katy Miller closes her eyes, Will realizes his actions have only made matters worse; with two hours remaining, the place’s former familiarity has given way to the immediate prospect of entrapment.