“Soggy French fries are the best!” Jake Story cried. He grabbed a cold, limp French fry from the cafeteria food line and popped it into his mouth. He smiled and pushed the mushy mess through his front teeth with his tongue.
Usually Charlie and Eugene were more than eager to join Jake in grossing out the girls with a mushy food frenzy, but today was different. Today was serious.
“We’ve gotta figure out how to get into that house, Charlie,” Eugene said. “Any ideas?”
“Maybe we can ask our dads to go with us?” Charlie asked hopefully. “You know, as sort of a ‘take your dad to superhero duty day’?”
“No way, dude!” said Eugene. “We’re trained superheroes! Our dads may be experts at barbecuing, but we don’t know what’s inside that house! It might have tentacles or fifty eyeballs or fifty tentacles with eyeballs!”
“F-fifty eyeballs?” Charlie looked at his cheese-covered lunch. He suddenly wasn’t very hungry anymore.
“I know exactly what’s in that house,” Meredith Mooney said as she sat down at the last open spot at Eugene and Charlie’s table. Both boys slid away from Meredith to make room for her pigtails tied with pink ribbons. Her ribbons matched her pink shoes, pink socks, and pink dress.
“Hey! They were saving that place for me!” Sally Williams said, holding her tray of food.
Meredith stuck out her tongue and turned back to Charlie and Eugene. Sally sighed and sat at the next table.
Meredith turned back to the boys. “My older sister, Mary, went inside that house last Halloween on a double dog dare,” she told them.
Meredith’s claim was met with gasps from kids at several tables.
“Double dog?” Eugene let out a soft whistle.
“Now, that’s one serious dare,” Charlie said, shaking his head.
“Well, you don’t just go into a house like that on a normal dare, do you?” Meredith said with a snarl. “The moon was full . . . and it was a dark, dark night! My sister opened the door and went inside, but none of the lights worked.”
Just like my dream! Eugene thought.
“And then she heard it! CREAK! STOMP-STOMP! CREAK! STOMP! MOAN! GROAN!” Meredith said.
Eugene’s eyes were bigger than baseballs. He sat in stunned silence. I don’t believe it! I dreamed that, too!
Meredith continued. “My sister turned and looked . . . and she saw the headless ghost of the Sunnyview Spirit!”
“Ah! I hate ghosts!” Jake Story shouted, and ran away from the cafeteria, leaving behind a full plate of cold fries.
No one else moved a muscle. They all stared at Meredith Mooney like they were zombies.
“The S-S-Sunnyview S-Spirit?!” Charlie stammered.
“The one and only,” Meredith said spookily.
“What’s the Sunnyview Spirit?” Eugene asked.
