Ghost of a Chance by Lauren Barnholdt Read Free Book Online Page B

Lily.”
    â€œLily,” I say. “Okay, sounds good!” I turn around and start to walk back toward the front of our group, but she calls my name.
    I turn around. “Yes?”
    â€œCan I ask you one more question?”
    â€œI guess.” We’re almost at the door to the elementaryschool now, and I’m this close to getting away from her.
    She tugs on a strand of her hair and looks around, confused. “How come nobody can hear me but you?”
    *  *  *
    Great. Lily’s a ghost. How, how, how does this keep happening to me? Seriously, until recently, none of the ghosts I saw had any personal connection to me. Now, in the span of, like, a month, I’ve attracted Brandon’s mom, and now Madison’s sister. (And Micah’s sister too, but she doesn’t really count. I mean, I found Micah because of her, not the other way around.)
    I have a vague memory of Ellie telling me something about Madison Baker’s sister dying. But that was a few weeks before school started, and for some reason I just assumed Madison’s sister was a lot older than us. Like, twenty-five or something. Plus Madison wasn’t really on my radar at that time—I didn’t have a crush on Brandon then, so she didn’t really have any bearing on my life.
    I really should start asking everyone I know about their dead relatives so I can be better prepared for this. Or at least start keeping a list.
    â€œI don’t know why no one can hear you but me,” I say, turning and walking quickly toward the elementary school. I follow the line of my classmates into the school, letting the warm inside air envelop me like a nice cozy blanket. My new plan is to just ignore Lily. No way I want to getinvolved with anyone related to Madison Baker. Plus I kind of have no choice. I can’t talk to Lily when people are around. No one can hear her. They’ll think I’m crazy and talking to myself.
    Mr. Jacobi is standing in the lobby, looking down at a clipboard and talking to another teacher, probably from the elementary school. I didn’t realize it when I first walked in, probably because I was so distracted by Lily, but there’s already a bunch of middle school kids standing around in the lobby. Must be kids from other classes at our school who are also involved in the program.
    I look back up toward Mr. Jacobi. Why aren’t we getting this show on the road? I really want to get this over with. But he’s not showing any signs of being productive. He’s just chatting away with the elementary school teacher. She’s short and pretty, with long red curls and a fair complexion. Probably he thinks he’s going to make a love connection with her. At the expense of his own class.
    Lily’s in the corner now, frowning as she stands on her tiptoes and looks around. I hope she’s looking for her sister and not me. I quickly turn around and get very busy staring at the wall, where a bunch of second graders have hung up their art projects. Hopefully, if I don’t meet Lily’s eye, she’ll get the message that I don’t want to be bothered.
    Wow. These art projects are actually really good. One of the kids drew a picture of a donkey, and it looks just like areal donkey. Every time I try to draw pictures of animals, I always end up messing up the legs. But this kid really knows how to draw. I look at the name on the bottom. Drawing by Tatiana Shaw. She’s probably some kind of seven-year-old art savant or something.
    This picture’s probably going to be worth millions someday. That’s totally how people make big money in the art world. They have an eye for talent, and they snatch up paintings before anyone’s ever heard of the artist, and then, when the artist gets big, the buyer sells the paintings and gets rich. That’s what Ellie’s aunt used to do. Of course, then she ended up making a mistake and sinking all her money into