"But first..."
"What?"
"Let go of my hand!"
"Oh, yeah."
He let me go. "Raven--" "What?"
"Be careful!"
I paused. "Jack, do you believe in ghosts?"
"No, of course not!"
"So you don't think there is a ghost here? Of that old woman?"
"Shhh! Don't talk so loud!"
I smiled with expectation. But then I remembered his gang's dare and grabbed his baseball cap. He screamed again.
"Relax, it's just me, not one of those spooky ghosts you don't believe in."
I carefully ascended the creaky steps and bumped into a closed door at the top. But it opened when I turned the knob. I was in a wide hallway. Moonlight was shining through cracks in the boarded windows. The Mansion seemed even bigger on the inside. I caressed the walls as I walked, the dust softly caking my hands. I turned a corner and stumbled upon a grand staircase. What treasures lay at the top of it? Is that where the ghosts of the baroness appeared?
I tiptoed up the stairs, as mouselike as I could in my heavy combat boots.
The first door was locked, as was the second and third. I leaned my ear to the fourth door, and I heard the sound of faint crying from the other side. A cold chill ran through me. I was in heaven. As I listened closer, I realized it was only the wind whistling through the boarded windows. I opened a closet, which creaked like an old coffin. Maybe I'd find a skeleton! The only thing I discovered, however, were several old hangers sporting cobwebs instead of clothes. I wondered where the ghosts were. I peered into the library. An open book lay on a small table, as if the woman who stared at the moon had been reading it when she died. I grabbed Romanian Castles off the shelf, hoping it would open a secret passageway into a spook-filled dungeon. Nothing moved except a hairy brown spider that scooted across the dusty shelf.
But the next moment, I heard a loud sound and nearly jumped through the roof--it was the honking of a horn! Startled, I dropped the book. I had totally forgotten about Jack's gang and my new mission.
I ran back down the grand staircase, leaping over the last steps. A bright light was beaming through the boarded-up windows in the living room. I climbed onto the bay window and peered out, safely hidden behind the boards. I could see the seniors sitting on the hood of their car, the headlights shining up through the gate of the Mansion.
One of them was looking in my direction, so I pushed Jack's cap out through an opening between the boards and waved it like I had just landed on the moon. I felt triumphant. The seniors gave the thumbs up in reply.
I found Jack in a sweat, sitting in a corner of the basement on top of some wooden crates. He must have been thinking about rats as well as ghosts.
He grabbed me like a child grabs his mother. "What took you so long?"
I replaced the cap on his head. "You'll need this."
"What did you do with it?"
"I let them know you made it in okay. Ready?"
"Ready!" And he pulled me back through the window like the place was on fire. I noticed he didn't get stuck this time.
We shoved the board back in place. It looked as if we had never been there. "We don't want this to be easy for anyone else," I said. He stared back like he didn't know what to make of me, or how to thank me.
"Wait! I didn't get a souvenir!" he realized.
"I'll go back in."
"No way!" he said, grabbing my arm.
I thought for a moment.
"Here, take this." I gave him my necklace. A black leather band with an onyx medallion. "It only cost three dollars, but it looks like it was owned by a baroness. Just don't let anyone appraise it."
"But you did all the work, and I'll get all the credit."
"Take it before I change my mind."
"Thanks!"
He weighed the necklace in his hand and gave me a warm kiss on my cheek. I hid behind the crumbling gazebo as he ran back down to his buddies, dangling the necklace in front of their faces, getting high fives. They adored him now and so did I. I held my filthy hand against my freshly kissed cheek.
After that day Jack hung out with the cool club and even became class president. From time to time, I'd see him around the town square, and he'd always have a huge smile for me.
I didn't have a chance to return to my Barbie Dream House. Word spread that Jack had snuck into the Mansion. Fearful that more kids might break in, police patrolled the area at night. It would be years till I visited the Mansion again.
Chapter 5 A Light in the Window
Still sweaty from gym class, Becky and I passed the Mansion on our way home. I noticed something I had never seen before: a light in the window. Windows--they weren't boarded up anymore!
"Becky, look!" I screamed with excitement. This was the best birthday present of all! There was a figure standing in the attic window, staring up at the stars.
"Oh, no! It's true, Raven. There are ghosts!" she screamed, clutching onto my arm.
"Well, this ghost drives a black Mercedes!" I said, pointing to the snazzy car parked in the driveway.
"Let's go," she pleaded.
Suddenly the attic light went out.
We both gasped at the same time. Becky's nails dug into my thrift-store sweater. We waited, wide-eyed and speechless.
"C'mon, let's go!" Becky said.
I didn't move.
"Raven, I'm already late for dinner! We'll be doubly late for Matt's party."
"You've got the hots for ol' Mattie?" I teased, my eyes glued to the Mansion.
But when she didn't reply, I turned to face her. Becky's cheeks were flushed.
"You do!" I said with a gasp. "And you think I'm weird!" I declared, shaking my head. "Raven, I've got to go!"
I would have waited till morning, but whoever was inside wasn't coming out.
The light in the attic window had lit a fire in my soul.
"I saw a Mercedes parked at the Mansion!" I informed my family at dinner. I was late as usual, this time for my own birthday dinner.
"I heard they looked like the Addams Family," Nerd Boy said.
"Maybe they have a daughter your age. Someone who doesn't like to get into trouble," my mother added.
"Then I'd have no use for her."
"Maybe she has a father I can play tennis with," my father said hopefully.
"Whoever it is will need to get rid of all those old mirrors and crates," I added, not realizing what I had said.
They all looked at me. "What crates?" my mom asked. "Don't tell me you've snuck into that house!"