The Secret Room #5

EXPAND

When ghosts make themselves larger

GLOW

What ghosts do so humans can see them

HAUNT

Where ghosts live

PASS THROUGH

When ghosts travel through walls, doors, and other solid objects

SHRINK

When ghosts make themselves smaller

SKIZZY

When ghosts feel sick to their stomachs

SOLIDS

What ghosts call humans

SPEW

Ghostly vomit

SWIM

When ghosts move freely through the air

TRANSFORMATION

When a ghost takes a solid object and turns it into a ghostly object

WAIL

What ghosts do so humans can hear them

Kaz!” Little John called from behind the wall of books. “Kaz, you’ve got to see this!”

Kaz and Little John were brothers. Ghost brothers. They used to live in an old schoolhouse with the rest of their family. Now they lived in a library with their ghost dog, Cosmo, another ghost named Beckett, a solid girl named Claire, and Claire’s family.

Claire could see the ghosts, but no one else could. Not unless the ghosts were glowing.

“What’s back there?” Kaz called to Little John. He knew there was a secret room behind that wall. Beckett often went back there to get away from the solids. But Kaz had never passed through the wall himself.

“Come and see,” Little John called back.

“In a minute,” Kaz said.

Little John poked his head through the wall of books. “Why ‘in a minute’?” he asked. “Why not now?”

Beckett snorted. “Because, Little John, your big brother is still scared to pass through a wall.”

“I am not!” Kaz protested. He had passed through walls four times already today. He was getting used to it. Sort of. “I just want to wait for Claire. Otherwise she won’t know where I went.”

“I don’t think Claire will be looking for you anytime soon,” Beckett said.

He was probably right. Claire’s parents had been away all week at a conference for private detectives. The family had some catching up to do.

“Fine,” Kaz said. “I’ll show you I’m not scared!”

“Hooray!” Little John cried. His face disappeared from the wall of books.

Kaz’s heart went thumpety-thump. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and swam into the bookshelf. As the books, the shelf, and the back wall passed through his body, Kaz started to feel skizzy. He pumped his arms and kicked his legs harder and harder . . . until he finally felt himself floating freely in the air again.

Little John giggled. “Open your eyes, Kaz. You’re here!”

“Woof! Woof!” Cosmo barked cheerfully.

Kaz opened one eye, then the other. “I did it!” he said with a short laugh. “I passed all the way through to the secret room!”

Beckett drifted through the wall behind Kaz. “I never would’ve believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes,” he said.

Kaz was pretty amazed himself.

“See what I mean about this place?” Little John said as he waved his hand around.

The room was small. And dark. It didn’t have any doors or windows. But the most interesting thing about it was that it was full of ghostly objects! A doll . . . several sets of keys . . . a catcher’s mitt . . . four balls . . . some socks . . . a strange-looking statue . . . two teddy bears . . . an old shoe . . . a yo-yo . . . some books . . . They all floated there in the air with Kaz, Little John, Beckett, and Cosmo.

“Where did all this stuff come from?” Kaz gazed around the room in wonder.

“Different places,” Beckett replied. “A lot of it was here when I moved in. The rest was left by various ghosts who have come and gone.”

“This looks fun,” Little John said as he picked up a ghostly box. A little crank stuck through one of the sides.

Little John turned the crank, and music began to play. All of a sudden, the top of the box opened and a clown popped up.

“Ahhh!” Little John and Kaz shrieked.

Beckett laughed. “Are you scaredy-ghosts afraid of a little jack-in-the-box?”

“No!” Little John said, puffing up his chest. “I’m not afraid of anything!”

Cosmo swam over to Kaz and Little John with a ghostly shoe. There was something familiar about that shoe.

“Hey! Is this—” Kaz began.