After Thursday afternoon’s big group practice, Robert stayed behind. He wanted to talk to Coach Amber about what was happening in Oak Manor. She had been part of the camp for years. He thought she might know more about the ghost.
As Coach Amber was packing up her tote bag, Robert walked up to her.
“Hey, Coach Amber,” he said. “Can I walk to dinner with you?”
Coach Amber turned to the other coaches. “I’ll catch up with you later,” she said.
She put her hand on Robert’s shoulder. “How are you doing?” she asked. “I know it’s been a rough week, and I’m sorry that you’re not having the best time at camp.”
Robert shook his head. “It’s okay,” he said. He yanked at the bottom of his shirt, which had come untucked during practice. “Do you believe in ghosts? Ones that pull pranks?”
Coach Amber laughed. “No. But the legend of Heather gets passed down every year.” She looked at Robert. “You don’t really think a ghost has been causing these problems, do you?”
“No,” said Robert. “But it would be so much easier if it was. Then people wouldn’t blame me for everything.”
“Well, who do you think could have pulled the pranks?” she asked.
“That’s the thing—I don’t know,” said Robert. “Everyone in our cabin has been pranked, except for me. And I’m not guilty!”
He pulled his water bottle out of his backpack. “It would be hard for anyone else to break into our cabin and lock the bathroom or tie up the shoelaces.” He paused for a moment. “Wait a minute. You’re not Heather, the Ghost of Oak Manor, are you?”
Coach Amber gave him a sad smile. “Nope. Trust me, it’s not me. I worked very hard to get into my position at camp. I wouldn’t throw it away with some knotted-up shoelaces.”
Robert looked down. “No, I guess you wouldn’t.”
“If my college found out that I had been fired from camp, I might get kicked off the varsity football cheer squad,” Coach Amber said. “And I can’t afford to go to college without my cheer scholarship. Plus, it’s my favorite thing to do at school. Eventually I want to coach my own cheer team.”
Robert thought that Coach Amber would make a good head cheerleading coach.
“Yeah, if I got kicked out of camp, I might have to leave my team back at school,” he said. “And I’m really worried that someone is going to pull a prank at the showcase tomorrow. Someone could get hurt.”
“Can you think of anyone in the cabin who would maybe do this?” she asked.
“Not right now,” he said, “but I’ll think about it tonight.”
“Let me know if you think of something,” Coach Amber said. “Or if you need my help.”
Coach Amber turned and headed toward the mess hall. Robert went back to Oak Manor to drop off his backpack and meet up with the Dream Machine.
As they stood in the long line for the salad bar, Maryam asked, “Robert, are you okay?”
Kiley said, “We obviously don’t think that you’re the ghost.”
Robert nodded as he used tongs to grab a single leaf of lettuce. He hated salad and planned to fill his plate with pepperoni, chicken, and cheese.
He couldn’t stop thinking, Who is the Ghost of Oak Manor? Why can’t I figure it out?
After dinner, the Dream Machine used the tumbling room to work on their small group routine. Maryam and Kiley worked out a compromise: Kiley got to choose the music and Maryam would choreograph some dance moves.
That night, as he was getting ready to fall asleep, Robert went over all of the clues in his head. Suddenly he sat up in bed.
CRACK!
Robert had forgotten that he was in the top bunk, and he hit his forehead on the ceiling. But he didn’t feel a thing.
Robert knew who the Ghost of Oak Manor was.