The Ghost in Room 11 (8 page)

Authors: Betty Ren Wright

I still don't believe in ghosts, but someday

I may write a book about a haunted school.

If I do, I'll put a boy named Matt in the story.

Mrs. Sanders had scolded the class for making too much noise on the way back to their room. “The Book Fair's over. It's time to get busy,” she'd said firmly. She handed out a new list of spelling words and told Matt to keep up the good work.

Matt's mother wouldn't admit anything unusual had happened, either.

“How was the Book Fair?” his dad asked at dinner last night. “Did everything go smoothly?”

“Merry gave a nice talk,” Matt's mom replied quickly. “But then a steam pipe burst in the ceiling and the lights went out, and everyone got excited. It was a huge fuss over nothing.”

“A steam pipe put the lights out?” Matt's dad sounded puzzled.

“What about the chalkboard?” Matt demanded. He wondered how his mother could explain that.

She had just shrugged. “I was so far back I couldn't see the chalkboard. I did like the list of books Merry talked about, though. They were ones I read when I was a girl.”

Matt dragged a foot to stop the swing. He scooped up a stone and pitched it across the playground. It landed in the teachers' parking lot, next to a crumpled piece of paper.

“Hey, Barber!” Charlie and Jason came around the corner and waved. Matt waved back and then ambled over to Mr. Beasley's place in the parking lot. He picked up the paper and smoothed it out.

FROM THE OFFICE OF THE PRINCIPAL
was printed in large letters across the top of the page. Below that were two columns of words in Mr. Beasley's neat handwriting:

WELCOME Â Â Â WELCOME

Matt grinned and folded the paper. He put it in his jeans pocket. Now he knew there was at least one grown-up who believed the ghost of Healy School was real, even if that person wouldn't admit it.

Without turning around to check, Matt made a thumbs-up gesture, just in case Miss Whipple was watching from a window. Then he ran across the playground to join the rest of the team.

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover design by Connie Gabbert

ISBN: 978-1-5040-1343-7

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