Ghost Program by Marion Desaulniers Read Free Book Online Page A

wish you wouldn’t upset her so.  Isn’t nice.”  Gregg put his arm around my shoulder.  I shivered.  His touch felt like ice.
       Brent looked a little peeved.  “I’m sorry, Sam.  I-I hadn’t meant for you to take it the wrong way.  It looks like the rain’s stopped a little.  Do you want to go for a drive, maybe get some pizza?”  Then his face twisted into an odd expression.  “Do you like pizza, Gregg?”
       “I’ve got to stay home and wait on mother.  I usually dine with her,” said Gregg.  Did Gregg really have a mother?  I’d never seen her and wondered if she was in the house.
       “Okay, you heard him,” said Brent.  “Are you still dizzy?  Can you walk?”
       I stood up and stumbled a little, then steadied myself on the wall.
       “It’s okay,” said Brent.  “Grab onto my arm if you feel you’re going to fall.  I don’t know about you, but I’d like to get out of your house.  It gives me the creeps.”  His voice had taken on a plaintive, whiny quality.  “I’m sorry you’re feeling out of sorts, but I really need a change of scene.”  For a brief moment, Brent looked frightened and child-like. 
       “I’m okay,” I said.  “Can you grab my jacket off the door?” 
       “Oh sure, yeah.”  He wrapped the windbreaker around my shoulders and grabbed his jacket off the chair.  I pushed my arms into the sleeves.
     
       I grasped Brent tightly as we walked slowly downstairs.  Mom must have been in the den.  I didn’t see her.  If I left now, I could avoid being asked a lot of questions by my father.  He was probably stuck in traffic trying to get home.  I felt like throwing up, but I wouldn’t let Brent know that as I wanted to be out of that house as much as he did.
     
       My head was spinning as we stepped outside, and for a minute, I saw two of everything.  A cool mist fell across my shoulders and hair.  The downpour, at least for now, had abated and been replaced by a slow falling drizzle.  The wind, however, seemed to be increasing in intensity, and it began to make a howling noise as it swept over the roof of the house.  We walked to Brent’s car which was parked in the driveway.  He hit the automatic unlock, and I opened the passenger door.  He slipped the key in the ignition and revved the engine, then we backed out of the driveway.  We’d need to turn down a few side streets to get to the main highway which led to town.  Brent maneuvered his small car expertly, and we soon hit the main road.  Washington doesn’t have very good roads, and our local two-lane route had often been called “the highway of death” by news reporters and locals alike.  As we sped down the road, I saw at least a dozen homemade crosses marking spots where people had died. 
       “I’d thought the lightning was done for today, but I’ll tell you something,” said Brent.  “It’s getting dark all of a sudden, and I don’t like the look of those clouds up ahead.”
       “It’s gloomy,” I replied.  “It makes me feel like...well, I don’t know, but I meant to say that I know what you mean.”
       “It’s a storm,” Brent said, his hands tight on the steering wheel, his eyes gazing ahead.  “As if it was sent here just for us, so it could ruin our day.  I’ve got to drive back to Seattle tonight.  I don’t know how I’ll do that if the winds get any stronger.”
       “Is it okay?” I asked.
       “Okay?”
       “I mean, you looked kind of uncomfortable in my room.  What, with Gregg , and all.  I can’t always see him, but I think he’s always there.”
       “Oh, yeah.”  Brent seemed as if he didn’t know what to say.  What can you say when a quaintly dressed ghost shows up in your friend’s bedroom?  “I guess I was a little weirded out, kind of the reason I asked if we could get out of there.  I’m sorry if I come across as too forward, but I’ve decided that I like you.  Have you