My Sister The Ghost #2;

Escape From Ghostland

by

Linda Joy Singleton

The movers had arrived with Mom’s and my stuff.

A big lump formed in my throat, and I felt scared. Up until now everyone’s focus was the wedding. But the wedding was over, and two adults plus five kids would begin their lives together. And the worst part was that instead of having a bedroom to myself, I had to share Heather’s room and I already knew she didn’t like pink. My quilted bedspread was pink, my curtains were pink, and some of my stuffed animals were pink.

How could Heather and I possibly share a room?

While Heather and her brothers raced into the house, I stood uncertainly in the driveway. Mom had to call my name three times before I finally trudged inside the house. Timidly, I entered Heather’s room and peered inside our bedroom.

"Oh, no!" I cried. "This is never going to work!"

One room multiplied by two sets of furniture equals disaster. My trundle bed, desk, and dresser were squashed together against one wall. The other three walls had Heather’s stuff: sports trophies, car models, posters, grubby piles of clothes, a desk, a dresser, and a huge waterbed.

"Whatsa matter?" Heather asked, coming up next to me. She shut the door behind us and plucked a crumpled pair of striped overalls from a pile.

"I can’t live like this!" I told her.

"Huh?" She was already unzipping her frothy pink gown and tugging on her overalls.

I made a sweeping gesture. "Just look! Your stuff is everywhere and my stuff is crowded in a corner."

She shrugged. "So? What’s the problem?"

"It isn’t fair!"

"I was here first," she said in her old bully tone. "You should be glad I’m willing to share." Heather plopped on her waterbed, which made a swishing sound. "And you’d better not put anything pink in my room!"

I was so mad I couldn’t speak. If Donovan Drew hadn’t knocked and entered right then, I might have said something terrible to Heather. Instead, I whirled on my new stepdad and insisted, "I want to go back home!"

Donovan frowned and ran his fingers through his dark-blond hair. "Miranda, this is your home now."

"But there’s no place for me! Heather is hogging the room! And it’s so messy! I can’t live here!

Mom appeared behind her groom. She’d changed out of her bridal gown and into neat slacks and a floral print blouse. "Is there a problem?"

"You bet there is!" Heather answered, pointing at me. "She’s the problem."

"Me?" I squawked.

"Yes! Who needs a sister anyway? Three brothers is more than enough."

Mom and Donovan exchanged tense glances. I expected Mom to hug me and make everything better, but instead she walked over to Heather and hugged her!

"Heather, calm down," Mom said gently. "I’m sure you and Miranda can work this out."

"I offered to share my room. I tried to be nice,"

"You’re as nice as can be, honey," Mom said, stroking Heather’s wispy blond hair as she used to do with me.

Which hurt.

I wanted to hurt Mom back, so I snapped, "Heather is not nice! She’s a gross slob! And I don’t want to live with her!"

Donovan rubbed his chin. "Simmer down, Miranda. We can work something out."

Mom gave me a stern look. "I think you owe Heather an apology. You insulted her."

"But I didn’t do anything!"

Mom’s gray eyes clouded over. "This is supposed to be a day for celebrating our new family, not arguing. I’m disappointed in you, Miranda."

I glanced down at my clasped hands, feeling guilty.

Mom had been uptight and stressed lately. Quitting her job, starting a new business, and marrying a man with four kids was a lot to deal with at once. I knew she didn’t need problems from me, too.

Donovan gently rubbed Mom’s shoulders. "Relax, hon. In a few hours we’ll be on our way to Lake Tahoe. Two nights alone, away from all worries."

Mom gave a weary sigh. "I can’t wait. Thank goodness the kids have spring vacation and Aunt Mary won’t have to deal with their school schedules. Your aunt is a saint. I only hope the kids don’t give her any trouble," she added, her gaze traveling to me and Heather.

My stepsister flashed Mom a sweet smile. "No trouble at all! You can count on me, Katherine. If Miranda wants more space in here, we can move my stuff around."

"Thank you, Heather, You’re very generous. I’m proud of you."

Proud of her and disappointed in me? I thought to myself. "But Mom--" I sputtered. "You don’t understand…"

"I’m afraid I do," she said sadly. "You’re used to being the only child, and I may have spoiled you. But now you’re part of a family and you’ll learn to share."

Mom hardly ever got mad at me. And if she did, I knew I deserved it. But I didn’t deserve it now. She was being totally unfair. They all were!

I’d never felt so alone in my life.

For the next thirty minutes Donovan, Mom, and Heather rearranged the room. They ignored me, so I went through my boxes and tried to organize my things. I placed my stuffed animals around my pink-quilted bed and folded clothes neatly in my dresser. Then I reached for the most important box, the one I’d carefully packed my beautiful glass figurines in and labeled fragile. But when I held the box, I heard a horrible rattle, like broken glass.

This was too much!

The tears I’d been holding back streamed down my cheeks, and I pushed the box away. I couldn’t bear to look inside, so instead, I jumped from my bed and ran out of the room.

I didn’t even know where I was running, but I ended up in the backyard by the pool. I sank down on a bench, and buried my face in my hands. How had everything gone so wrong?

The day had started off okay. I’d felt special as the maid of honor, and I’d had fun with Diane at the reception. But now I couldn’t stop crying.

I wished I could run away. That would show everyone! I’d leave Heather her dumb room and I’d disappear. Mom would be sorry then. She’d realize she loved me best, and she wouldn’t hug Heather anymore.

Yeah, running away would be a good idea. If only I had the nerve to do it.

There was a sudden, swishing sound and I blinked back my tears and whirled around quickly. But no one was there.

"Up here!" someone said.

I whirled again, and looked at the pool. I gasped, unable to believe my eyes!

Floating above the calm blue water was a ghostly girl with bright red curls.

My twin sister was back!

"Melody!" I exclaimed joyfully. "I’ve missed you so much! I can’t believe you’re really here!"

"Believe it." Her green eyes sparkled as she floated over to me. Her feet never touched the ground. But then, she was a ghost.

I stared at my twin, amazed all over again at how much she looked like me. Thin figure, chin-length auburn hair, and wide mouth. Of course, we were dressed differently. I still wore my maid-of-honor gown, which seemed dull next to her lime-green miniskirt, wide black leather belt, and silver blouse with a metallic, jade-green vest.

Melody wrapped her cool arms around me. "I’m so happy to see you, Miranda!"

"Me, too. I was afraid you would never come back."

She nodded. "I promised I would, and this time I’m here to stay."

"For how long?" I asked eagerly.

She twirled in the air and announced, "Forever! Miranda, I’ve run away from Ghostland!"