The Key To Ghost World Page 6

  Jaedon glanced at mom who shot him a dirty look.

  “I think that was just our imagination,” he offered.

  “He’s your friend,” Sam insisted. “He didn’t give you a wedgie.”

  “Well, he didn’t give mom a wedgie either so is he her friend, too?”

  “Is he mom?” Sam looked at her.

  “I think you boys have active imaginations. I’m going to make some hot chocolate and then it’s time for bed.”

  Jaedon enjoyed the hot chocolate but was happy to climb the stairs to his room. Brushing his teeth and changing into pajamas, he crawled into bed. He stopped to think that it was nice to have a nice clean bed - not a bed covered in jelly.

  “Good night, Jaedon.” He heard Randy say. He barely had time to say “good night” back when he was fast asleep.

  Chapter 13 - The Fat Man returns

  The next morning, Randy was watching Jaedon brush his teeth while he casually picked lint from Jaedon’s pajamas. “I wish I could go to school with you”, he said wistfully.

  “I’m glad you’re not.”

  “But I had so much fun! Man! I loved it when Mrs. Bloom peed her pants. I’d like to do that every day.” Looking at Jaedon he added, “But I won’t. I am going to spend the day with Carolyn. I’m going to learn how to be a good ghost.”

  “Great. Then let me get my stuff together and I’ll talk to you after school. Now, go away.”

  Randy disappeared with a wave and a smile.

  “Life is good.” thought Jaedon. Just a week ago John was living here, yelling at him and making him do Sam’s chores. Sam was trashing his room daily and doing everything he could to get Jaedon in more trouble. Now John was gone and Sam was starting to act like a real brother. Jaedon was sure that Randy had a lot to do with this turn of events.

  And even better, Randy was going to learn how to act like a responsible ghost. Jaedon couldn’t wait for this afternoon to see what new tricks Randy had learned. He hurried downstairs to grab breakfast before going to meet the school bus. Stepping into the kitchen, he was startled to see mom sitting at the table, drinking coffee and reading the want ads. A couple jobs were circled.

  “Whoa, you scared me!” He said.

  “Sorry. I thought I would see if you wanted a ride to school before I take Sam. He’s always a little late, but I could drop you off and come back and get him.”

  “Nah, I like riding the bus. Alex and Emma would miss me if I didn’t.” He grabbed an Apple Cinnamon Fruit bar.

  “You want me to make some toast instead of that?”

  “I like fruit bars. They are my favorite breakfast.”

  “OK. Well, do you want me to pick you up from school this afternoon?”

  “If you want, but I like riding the bus. But, if you aren’t going to be home when I get here, could you remember to leave a key out?”

  “Of course I will. You know that I always tried to be home. John didn’t want me to leave a key out. But, if I’m not here, look under that rock by the back gate.”

  “Thanks. See you tonight. Good luck with job hunting.”

  She smiled. "We’ll do just fine. There are a couple jobs here that look pretty nice. If I don’t get one of them, there is always McDonald's.”

  Jaedon glanced out the window and took a step back when he saw the Fat Man staring back at him.

  “Mom,” he whispered. “Do you see the Fat Man?”

  “What Fat Man?” Samantha asked, bewildered.

  “He’s looking in the window.”

  “Where?”

  “Right there. He’s staring right at me!” Jaedon insisted.

  “Jaedon!” her voice was hard. “Stop it this instant. I am tired of your active imagination. There is no one looking in the window.”

  Jaedon decided it was better not to argue. Picking up his book bag, he gave his mom a quick kiss on the cheek. “See you tonight.”

  Chapter 14 - Jaedon and Alex get in trouble at school

  Alex and Emma were waiting at the bus stop. Alex was full of plans for surfing. He talked nonstop until the bus pulled up in front of the school. He was discussing shark repellent as they got off the bus.

  Hannah waited at the bottom of the steps. “Hey, Jaedon.”

  “What do you want?” Alex got between Jaedon and Hannah and crossed his arms over his chest. “We’re busy.”

  “I just wanted to talk to Jaedon.”

  “Well, I’m talking to him. Talk to Emma. She’s not busy.”

  “Stop it, Alex.” said Jaedon. “I want to talk to Hannah. I’ll catch you later.”

  Alex stared at them as they walked away. “And I thought you were my friend,” he muttered.

  Jaedon looked back at his friend. “I’ll see you at recess.”

  “Not if I see you first.” Turning on his heel, he stalked through the school doors.

  Watching him stalk away, Hannah shrugged. “He’ll get over it. Now, what did you think of my great-grandma Carolyn?”

  “She’s so cool! Do you think that she can help Randy?”

  “I know she can. She is really smart. And she liked you. She says that you need a lot of help, too.”

  “What does it mean to “pop”?” Jaedon blurted.

  “It’s a way that ghosts get around. They call it popping because when they leave it makes a little popping noise. And, even if you can’t see ghosts, you can hear the pop. Popping wears them out though. Since they exist on energy, when they use so much to pop, they have to rest. Any more questions before class?”

  “How come Carolyn feels like a marshmallow?”

  “What?”

  “When she held my hand, it felt like a marshmallow.”

  “Oh.” Hannah laughed. “Ghosts do feel different, don’t they? I don’t know. I never thought about it. I guess it's just because they are ghosts and we aren’t. Did you talk to Randy when you got home last night?”

  “No time. I had hot chocolate with mom and Sam and then went straight to bed. It’s really weird. Sam had my chores done when I got home. Usually I do his chores. He’s never been nice to me before.”

  “So why’s he being nice now?”

  “It’s because of Randy. Sam knows that Randy is there; he just can’t see him. Mom is being nicer too. I can understand Sam. He doesn’t want another invisible wedgie, but mom doesn’t believe that Randy is real.”

  “There’s the bell. Can I come over to your house after school?”

  “I’m not allowed to have anyone in the house if mom’s not home and I don’t know if she will be home. But call me later and find out.”

  When Jaedon sat down next to Alex in class, Alex turned his back.

  “I’m sorry, Alex. I wanted to talk to Hannah.”

  “'Scuse me, I don’t hang with sissy boys.”

  Jaedon reacted to the stinging remark. “Hey! I just wanted to talk to Hannah. What’s wrong with you?”

  “Don’t talk to me. I thought you were cool, but if you want to hang with the girls, then go hang with them. Just stay away from me.”

  Jaedon couldn’t hold his anger back. “You are a freaking jerk!” He jumped up facing Alex, his fists balled up and his elbows sticking out – just as Miss Ketcher walked in the classroom.

  “Jaedon!” Walking swiftly across the room, she stood in front of him. Her eyes were hard.

  Jaedon sunk into his chair.

  “Come with me, Jaedon.” Turning, she headed out of the room. At the door, she turned back and looked at Alex. “You, too.”

  Alex followed Jaedon. Miss Ketcher led both boys away from the classroom. “Stand here.” She said, pointing at the lockers. “You first.” She nodded at Jaedon.

  Jaedon couldn’t think of anything to say so he said nothing.

  “You can either tell me or you can tell the principal. What was that all about?”

  “He called me a sissy boy.”

  “Alex called you a sissy boy so you felt that the right response was to call him a dirty name and threaten him.”


  “Freaking isn’t a dirty name.”

  “It is in my class. And even if it wasn’t, ‘jerk’ is.”

  Jaedon tried hard to concentrate on his shoes. He noticed a stain on the toe of his left shoe. He wondered what kind of stain it was. Probably Sam’s cat, Pickles, had peed on his shoe.

  Miss Ketcher turned to Alex. “Why did you feel the need to call Jaedon a sissy boy?”

  “I don’t know,” muttered Alex.

  “For no reason you called him a sissy boy?”

  “He was talking to Hannah.”

  “And that makes him a sissy boy?”

  “No.” Alex spoke so softly that Jaedon could barely hear him.

  “Might it be that you were just a little angry because your friend here chose to talk to a girl rather than you?”

  “Maybe.”

  “I think I see the picture here. I think you both acted wrong. Now, what am I going to do about it?”

  Jaedon snuck a peek at Miss Ketcher. He wanted her to say “I think I will send the freaking jerk to the principal’s office.” But, instead, she just looked at them.

  “Any ideas?” she asked Alex.

  “No.”

  “How about you, Jaedon. Any ideas?”

  “No.”

  “Alright. I’ll let you two think about it. After lunch, instead of going outside to play, I want both of you back in the classroom. Understood?”

  Both boys nodded. Jaedon was disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to talk to Hannah at lunchtime.

  Walking back into the classroom, Jaedon tried to ignore everyone looking at him. He wished the clock would fall off the wall or the window shade would twirl itself to take the attention off him, but neither happened. He was thankful when Miss Ketcher told the class to open their history books to page 220.

  Chapter 15 - Alex forgives Jaedon

  Miss Ketcher tapped her pencil on the desk while she studied the boys. Jaedon noticed that Alex had a milk mustache. Normally he would tell Alex about it so Alex could wipe it off, but now he just ignored it. Let Alex look like a dweeb.

  “Alex”, Miss Ketcher said. “Wipe your mouth. You have a milk mustache.”

  Jaedon felt a giggle try to sneak out and held it back. He enjoyed the red flush that crept into Alex's face. “Serves him right.” he thought.

  “Now, which one of you wants to tell me why you boys are fighting?”

  Jaedon looked out the window trying to find Hannah in the crowd of kids playing outside. She was by the swing set with a group of girls. How could she look so normal and still be so different? If he had looked at her a week ago, would he have guessed that she could see ghosts? No. A week ago he didn’t even think of ghosts except when they were in scary movies.

  “I’m waiting for an answer. Neither one of you is leaving until I get my answer.” Miss Ketcher was looking straight at Jaedon.

  “I’m sorry I called Alex a jerk.”

  “Actually, you called him a freaking jerk. That sort of language is not allowed in my class. I don’t like hearing any name calling and yours was pretty bad.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Can you tell me why you felt the need to call Alex a jerk?”

  “Cuz he called me a sissy boy. And every time I kept telling him I was sorry for talking to Hannah, he just kept calling me a sissy boy. I got mad and I called him a jerk. I’m sorry.”

  “Alex,” Miss Ketcher turned to look him in the eye. “Why did you call Jaedon a sissy boy?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I think you do. Were you jealous of Hannah?”

  “No, if he wants to hang around with girls, I don’t care. He can be a sissy if he wants.”

  “Alex, do you think talking to Hannah makes Jaedon a sissy?”

  “Well, he’s supposed to be my friend, and I was talking to him. And we were getting off the bus. And there’s Hannah. All of a sudden, Jaedon decides that she’s his best friend and tells me ‘see ya later’.”

  “Jaedon,” Miss Ketcher was smiling. “Is Hannah your new best friend? Are you dumping Alex?”

  “No. I wanted to talk to Hannah because her dad said I could go fishing with them this summer.” Jaedon knew this wasn’t a lie because Hannah’s dad had said they would take him fishing. He knew he couldn’t tell Miss Ketcher or Alex that he wanted to talk to Hannah about ghosts. “I just wanted to talk to Hannah. I didn’t want to be her best friend. I want Alex to be my best friend.” This wasn’t a lie.

  Miss Ketcher stood up. “Alex, I think you found out what jealousy feels like. You were jealous that Jaedon wanted to spend time with Hannah. Do you understand that it doesn’t mean he didn’t want you to be his best friend anymore?”

  Alex looked at Jaedon. He grinned. “I am a dork. I’m sorry.”

  “I’m sorry I called you a jerk. But you were one.”

  “I know.”

  Miss Ketcher smiled. “Do you boys think you can be friends now?”

  “Yep.”

  Smiling, Miss Ketcher dismissed them. “Good. Now go outside and play.”

  Alex," she added. "If Jaedon wants to talk to Hannah, are you going to think that he doesn’t want to be your best friend?”

  “Nah.”

  “You understand that it’s good to have many friends and a best friend is special?”

  “Yeah. If he wants to be friends with Hannah, it’s OK. I’m still his best friend.”

  “You are my best friend,” said Jaedon as they left the classroom and went to join the rest of the class. “I like Hannah and I want to go fishing with her dad. You are going to be gone all summer and I don’t want to be bored.”

  “There’s no way I’m gonna be bored with Randy around,” thought Jaedon. "but I can’t tell Alex that."

  He was surprised to see Hannah sitting with her back against a tree reading a book until he noticed Randy sitting next to her. He had often seen Hannah wander off from her friends and settle down with a book. Now he knew she hadn't always been reading. It was a way to talk to a ghost without looking like you were talking to yourself.

  "Hey, Alex. Do you mind if I go talk to Hannah?"

  "Nah. I'm going to go play some dodge ball. Catch ya later, best friend." Grinning, he hustled off to join the dodge ball game.

  Jaedon sat next to Randy. He positioned himself so that if anyone looked their way it would appear that only two people were involved in this conversation.

  "Randy was just telling me that Grandma Carolyn has been teaching him a lot." Hannah said.

  Randy grinned. "Yeah, she told me that I've learned enough for one day. I'm supposed to go practice. I'm practicing now. See, I can be at school without causing you trouble."