The next morning the snowy roads were cleared and everyone went back to school. Everyone except Jeffrey. He had a bad cold and lay on the living-room couch sneezing and coughing. He was wrapped in a cocoon of blankets to keep warm.
At first, Jeffrey was miserable. Was there anything worse than being sick and not being able to play in the snow? On top of that, there was no one to keep him company. His friends were all in school. And his mom was busy with her work. She was writing an article for the newspaper. That meant Jeffrey couldn’t watch television because it was too noisy.
But at about ten A.M. Max appeared in the doorway. As usual, he was wearing an old-fashioned flannel plaid shirt. Max was from the 1950s. Everything about him was from another time.
Jeffrey smiled at his ghost friend.
“Max!” Jeffrey said. “Are you going to keep me company?”
“Sure, but not here,” Max said. “Let’s split this scene, Sleeping Beauty.”
“I’m not sleeping. I’m sick,” Jeffrey mumbled to Max.
Max came over and picked up the thermometer. He put it in his own mouth. “Daddy-o, like, once I had a temperature that was so high, they baked a pie right on my forehead.”
Jeffrey laughed and rolled his eyes. According to Max’s stories, everything had happened to him. Only it was better, or bigger, or worse than what happened to anyone else.
“What should we do for fun?” Jeffrey asked his friend.
“Are you kidding? This is fun,” Max said. “I mean, what could be more funsville than staying in bed and being waited on by your mom all day?” He immediately turned on the TV—loud.
“You’d better turn it off, Max,” Jeffrey said.
“But, like, this is medicine, Jeffrey,” explained the ghost.
“No TV. My mom needs quiet to write.”
“Why doesn’t she use a pencil like everyone else?” Max asked. Then he cracked up at his own joke.
“Jeffrey!” Mrs. Becker called. She walked into the living room a few seconds later. “Jeffrey, you know better than to turn on the TV while I’m working.”
“Uh, well, Mom,” Jeffrey said. “I had to turn it on. Im using TV to fight my cold.”
“This I’ve got to hear,” Mrs. Becker said. She turned off the TV, crossed her arms, and waited for an explanation. But before Jeffrey could answer, Max turned the TV back on again.
“Not funny, Jeffrey,” his mother said. “Let go of the remote.”
“But, Mom! I can’t! You know how you always tell me that too much TV will rot my brain?” Jeffrey said. “Well, I just read that the part of the brain that rots is the same part that makes you get colds. So I need to rot my brain to fight my cold.”
Mrs. Becker ran her fingers through her hair. “Keep the volume down, Jeffrey,” she said. “I’ve got to finish my work.”
“Whew. That was a close one,” Jeffrey said as his mother returned to the den.
“Naah,” Max said. “Like, she’s a mom, dig? That’s her job—cooking and cleaning and taking care of the kids.”
“Moms aren’t always like that anymore,” Jeffrey said. “Boy, are you living in the past.”
The ghost looked thoughtful. “I know how to make you feel better,” he said. “What dessert do you dig the most?”
“That’s easy,” Jeffrey answered. “Strawberry shortcake with ice cream and whipped cream.”
“All right,” Max said. “Now tell your old lady to get on the stick and make it for you.”
“Are you crazy, Max?” Jeffrey sputtered. “No way is my mom going to spend hours in the kitchen making me strawberry shortcake. Especially not when she’s got a deadline for the newspaper.”
“Hey, dig this, man. Like, when I was sick, I had my mom running around in circles doing special scenes for me. And it worked. Believe me, if you had strawberry shortcake, you’d get better in ten seconds,” Max said. “Go ahead. Just ask her. Be sure to tell her lots of whipped cream.”
“Forget it. I’m not calling her, Max,” Jeffrey said.
Max grabbed the remote and pointed it toward the TV. Once again, the volume blasted out. Mrs. Becker came charging back into the living room.
“What is it, Jeffrey?” she asked. “I know you’re trying to annoy me to get my attention.”
“No I’m not,” Jeffrey said. “I’m just hungry, Mom.”
“Oh. Well, that’s a good sign. You must be getting better,” Mrs. Becker said with a smile. “What would you like?”
“How about strawberry shortcake with ice cream and lots of whipped cream?”
“Jeffrey,” his mother said sternly. “If you’re well enough to drive me crazy, you’re well enough to get your own lunch.”
With that, she walked back to the den.
“Terrific idea, Max,” Jeffrey grumbled. “Now what do we do?”
“Now we fix lunch,” Max said cheerfully.
Jeffrey got off the couch and shuffled out to the kitchen. Max, floating several inches off the ground, followed behind.
Jeffrey sat down on a tall, yellow kitchen stool. “Well, what are you going to fix, Max?”
“Me?” asked the ghost. “I already told you, my mom did the cooking. I never dug the pots and pans scene.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not too good at it, either,” Jeffrey said with a sigh.
Finally, they decided to have cereal. Jeffrey got out two bowls and Max got out the milk and raisins. When Max poured the cereal, the free prize fell into his bowl. It was a small stamp pad with a cow’s face on it.
They ate their cereal and stamped each other’s hands with the toy. After that they played board games and watched old Abbott and Costello movies on the VCR until Jeffrey’s father came home. Then Max disappeared.
Jeffrey was sick the next day, too. But it wasn’t as much fun on Wednesday as it had been on Tuesday.
For one thing, Melissa had brought Jeffrey’s homework over the night before. Jeffrey put it on his desk and tried his best to ignore it. But his eyes kept going back to it. Then Jeffrey and Max couldn’t agree on what games to play.
And Jeffrey missed his other friends. Ben and Kenny couldn’t possibly be getting along without him—or could they?
“I’ll bet right now Ben is explaining the structure of the atom to the entire class,” Jeffrey said.
“Hey, Daddy-o,” said Max. “Dig this plan. Like, maybe I’ll bop over to the little red schoolhouse and check out the scene. See who’s hip and who’s zip.”
That idea improved Jeffrey’s spirits immediately.
“Great,” Jeffrey said. “You could be my eyes and ears.”
“Yeah, but, like, I refuse to be your nose,” said Max. “It’s all red and drippy. I’ll be back in a flash after school. See you later, alligator.”
A full report about what was going on at school! That was going to be great! Jeffrey blew his nose and looked at the clock. He couldn’t wait for three-thirty to come.