Girl Meets Ghost by Lauren Barnholdt Read Free Book Online Page A

continues, “Daniella was right back out there as soon as the doctor said it was okay. I would have been scared, but not her.”
    â€œShe was daring,” I say, nodding my head.
    â€œShe was,” Jen says. She smiles, remembering. “So what was your favorite move she did on the beam?”
    â€œOh, I liked them all,” I say. For some reason my voice cracks. I really should have done a little more research on gymnastics before I came here. But I was assuming Daniella would be around to feed me info. But I guess not.
    â€œYeah,” Jen presses, “but which one was your favorite?”
    The bus is getting closer to my house now, and so I start to panic. Not only haven’t I gotten any good information, but somehow Jen is the one who’s interrogating me. “I likedher cartwheel,” I try. Daniella was doing cartwheels the first time I saw her, so I’m hoping maybe it’s, like, her signature move or something. Plus who can really mess up a cartwheel?
    â€œDaniella’s cartwheels on the beam were horrible,” Jen says quietly. Oopsies. “And the beam was her weakest event.”
    â€œYeah,” I try, “but that’s why I liked Daniella so much as a gymnast. She never gave up trying to make those cartwheels better.”
    The bus is getting closer to my stop, and I’m starting to lose it. I have to get back on track here. But something’s telling me I need to back off talking about Daniella and abort this mission, fast. “So we never really got a chance to talk about your gymnastics goals,” I say in an effort to change the subject. “Are you hoping to get a college scholarship?”
    She turns to me, her green eyes cold. “Are you looking for gossip or something?”
    My mouth flops open. “Gossip?”
    â€œNo, of course not,” she says, sounding like she’s talking more to herself than to me. “You’re too young to know any of us, but maybe you have an older sister or someone who sent you?”
    â€œNo,” I say, shaking my head. “I don’t have an older sister. And I’m not looking for gossip. I don’t know what you’re—”
    â€œThen why are you so interested in Daniella?” she asks. The bus is turning onto my street now, and I have about thirty seconds before I have to get off.
    â€œI told you,” I say. “I’m a fan of hers. I love gymnastics, and—”
    â€œOh, please,” she says as the bus pulls to a stop at the corner near my house. “You don’t know anything about gymnastics.” She stands up, giving me an icy stare. “And I don’t want you to bother me ever again.” And then she gets up and moves to another seat. And I’m left to run up the aisle of the bus like a crazy person so that I don’t miss my stop.
    â€¢Â Â â€¢Â Â â€¢
    Wow. So that whole thing was a complete and total disaster. I mean, Jen was onto me! Who knew Daniella’s friends would be so smart? Once I’m off the bus, I run up to my room, grab my red notebook, and then head over to the graveyard. I’m hoping I’ll be able to come up with some new plan to help Daniella. Preferably without ever having to see Jen again.
    I settle down on my fave bench, open to a fresh page, and write “ PLAN B ” in big letters across the top. Now I just need to come up with an actual plan B. I’m still racking my brains when Daniella shows up.
    â€œOh, fancy seeing you here,” I say, kind of snotty. “Where the heck have you been? She was asking me allthose stupid questions about gymnastics! You had to know she was going to do that!”
    â€œI just . . . I couldn’t stay,”Daniella says, ignoring the fact that I’m yelling at her. “It was too hard.” She shakes her head, and I almost feel sorry for her. I mean, Daniella actually looks upset, like she’s going to cry or