Jackie laughed and wished she could be part of the adventure with the resident witch and two ghosts.
Anna laughed, too, and so did the ghosts as they flew up high. When they came down, all the lights were turned on in the homes of Manchester Falls. Anna and the two ghosts had awoken everyone with their ghostly hoots and howls.
In one place where the three landed in the dark, they spied a home to haunt. Anna cast a spell, making her party of three into slender coils of light. Keeping to the shadows of the walls, they entered the dwelling and tried out their haunting handiwork.
Quietly stepping into the home, closer and closer to the bedrooms, Anna cast her wand to the first man sleeping in his bed. The wand spelled out nightmares to enter his mind. Then Tomfoolery and Boo did their part, shaking chains with earth shattering effects. They awakened the human occupants who became too frightened to scream or shout, especially when Boo squeezed in with them for a quick nap.
CHAPTER 12
The three attic residents could have sat and admired their handiwork from a night of spooking. Instead, they ran out of the house, laughing and hooting and hollering.
Still excited, Anna yelled to her friends, "Get on the broom and we'll go to another house. Hurry while it’s still dark out!"
Boo and Tomfoolery were tired from the evening's excitement and Anna flew them back home before it reached daylight.
Jackie was asleep and half frozen by the time Anna, Tomfoolery and little Boo came back to the attic window. She had stayed in the attic the whole time, waiting for the three to return home. Anna, seeing Jackie asleep, carried her down the stairs to her bed and tucked her in for the night.
Anna took the opportunity to sit by Jackie's bed, making sure she was all right, and tucking her teddy Russell under her arm for protection. Boo and Tomfoolery watched over her, too, and then headed back to the attic.
Before she left, Anna whispered in Jackie's ear, "Until later, little darling."
When morning came, Anna heard footsteps walking down the hall to Jackie's room. The witch hid under Jackie's bed when Amanda came in.
"Wake up, sleepy head," Jackie's mother said. "Time for breakfast, then off to school."
Anna liked Jackie's mom and thought she did a good job of keeping calm with all the fright nights that had been thrown her way. Amanda believed it was just the building settling in its old age.
Jackie awoke, not remembering the night before. Anna hid until the coast was clear and then went back to the attic.
"Is Jackie okay?" Boo asked.
"Yes, she's just heading off to school. She's fine."
"Good," Boo said. "I didn't want her to get sick from waiting for us all night. She needs to come with us one night and feel the freedom of one of your broom rides."
Anna needed to think about the first living human out at night, spooking. "We'll see."
***
A few weeks passed when Anna overheard Jackie and her dad talking one night in her bedroom. Anna stopped to listen at the door but, being too curious, she snuck into one corner of the ceiling to watch.
"Jackie, before you go to sleep, I want to talk to you," Anna heard Steve say.
"Okay, Daddy. What?" Jackie picked up Russell from the pillow and crawled under the covers.
"Mommy and I spoke to your counselor today. She said you're doing better at school." He sat on the edge of the bed and patted her foot under the blanket. "But..." clearing his throat, he went on, "we're worried that you're not making any friends."
"Oh, Daddy. I have friends." An innocent smile graced her face.
"At school? The teacher says you don't."
"Not at school. No."
"Then where?"
Jackie glanced around the room and pulled Russell closer.
"You mean your teddy bear?"
"Yes, but there's Anna and Boo and Tom..."
"Wait. I haven't met these friends. Where do they live?"
Resting her chin on the top of Russell's fuzzy head, she remained silent.
"Honey, where do your friends live?"
"Here," she whispered.
"Here? In this house?" Steve shook his head and gestured across the room. "No one lives here but you, Mommy and me."
"They do so live here." Anna watched Jackie's eyes turn defiant. "In the attic."
Anna froze. The last thing she needed was a nosy adult human traipsing through there.
"The attic." Steve sounded like he finally understood. "So, you mean you have pretend friends who live in the attic. That's fine, sweetheart, but one day you should make some real friends — from school maybe."
"Anna is real!" Tears clouded Jackie's face and, for a moment, Anna wanted to materialize right in front of Steve, just to prove Jackie right.
"It's all right, honey. If she's real to you, that's all that matters for now." Steve stood and kissed his daughter's forehead before tucking her in. "Sleep well."
He clicked off the lamp and left the room, closing the door behind him. In the dark, Jackie flung herself onto her stomach and cried into her pillow. "I'm not lying. I'm not lying, Daddy."
Anna couldn't stand to see Jackie cry. She hurried to the attic and paced back and forth, muttering to herself. Ignoring her friends' questions of what was wrong, she walked to the window to stare at the night sky. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw her broomstick propped up in the corner, and a twinkle glimmered from her eye.
Anna waited until Steve and Amanda had gone to bed and been asleep for an hour. Then she woke Jackie and asked her to come up to the attic.
"We're going out the whole night," Anna said.
"Going out where?" The little girl yawned and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.
"For a ride."
"On a broomstick?" Jackie guessed.
"Yes. Would you like that?"
Jackie happily agreed, grabbed Russell and started for the door.
"Get your coat," Anna warned. "It's a chilly night."
Wearing her warm jacket, she followed Anna upstairs and saw the smiling faces of Boo and Tomfoolery.
"Glad to have you," Boo said.
"Welcome to the night flights," Tomfoolery added. "You will enjoy this tremendously."
Anna got on the broom and pointed to Jackie. "You sit behind me. Then Boo, then Tomfoolery."
When everyone got situated, Anna adjusted the owl feather in her hat and said the magic word. The broom lifted several feet from the floor and hovered by the window. Jackie grabbed onto Anna's waist for balance and looked down at her dangling feet.
"You ready?" Anna asked over her shoulder.
"I...I think so," Jackie answered.
Anna flew the broom a few yards out from the window and stopped, letting the little girl get used to it. Twisted branches from the old oak tree in the front yard reached into the night, and the resident owl hooted its greeting. Below them, the family car glinted moonlight from its bumpers and windows.
"Can you go higher?" Jackie asked.
Without a word, Anna started the broomstick again and circled the house once, climbing higher as they went. She quit worrying about Jackie when she heard her giggle.
"Hang on!" Anna warned, and zoomed away from the house. The breeze blew against Jackie's face and, for the first time in her short life, she felt free. Up here, she wasn't stupid, or slow, or shy.
"Faster!" she begged. Below them, houses and roads got smaller and smaller. Above them, Jackie thought they were close enough so she could touch the moon, or at least wear a cloud for a hat.
"Anna!" Boo called from behind Jackie.
"What?"
"You know where I want to go. I bet Jackie would like it, too."
"Okay." Anna swooped the broomstick to the left and they flew over a small creek before coming to a nearby town.
"Where are we going, Boo?" Jackie asked.
"A thieving rampage," he answered.
"A what?"
"His favorite candy store," Anna exp
lained.
"Does he have a non-favorite one?" Tomfoolery teased from the back.
Anna commented, "They carry the best watermelon hard candy that I've ever had."
They landed on the shop roof and got off the broom. Anna tilted her head to study Jackie for a moment.
"I need to cast a spell to get you inside. Is that okay?"
Jackie nodded and closed her eyes. For a second, she felt her arms and legs tingle and her stomach tickle. When she opened her eyes, she stood inside the store, surrounded by glass cases and shelves full of every candy imaginable.
Jackie went to the Tootsie-pops first and put a few in her pocket. Grape and cherry were her favorite. She watched Boo run from shelf to shelf, shoving some candy in his mouth and leaving a wake of candy wrappers behind him. Anna was seen by Jackie placing silver coins in the man's cash register on the counter. Anna was not dishonest by any means.
Tomfoolery and Boo snapped gum and ate too much taffy. They took a bag of goodies with them and got back on the broomstick. They ate their fill of candy on a cloud in the night sky and then buzzed off again.
Around and around they flew until Jackie felt like she would get sick from so much candy and from being dizzy. She had definitely turned green. Anna saw it was time to take Jackie home so she could get some sleep, while Tomfoolery and Boo pulled popped bubblegum off of their robes.
When Jackie climbed back in bed, she stopped Anna from leaving.
"Thank you for being my friend," she said.
"Your real friend," Anna added, then left so the girl could sleep.
CHAPTER 13
Many years passed. Steve, Amanda and Jackie remained at the manor. Anna, Tomfoolery and Boo managed to live happily in the attic, out of view from the parents. Jackie had now grown to a young girl just about Anna's age of sixteen and was now well acquainted with the attic residents.
Russell, the teddy bear, was now old and ragged. Jackie asked Anna if she could spell a charm to keep him looking brand new. Anna agreed and thought it was funny that Jackie's parents couldn't figure out how the teddy bear always looked so new despite its age.
One day new people moved in next door. The old house had been empty for over ten years. Jackie wondered who they were.
A few days later, Jackie woke up, already bored at the thought of the long day she would have to go through before night came and she could see her friends upstairs again. She got out of bed, ran her fingers through her hair and then dressed in a sweatshirt, shorts and a pair of pink flip-flops.
She heard a click at her door and hoped it was Anna sneaking down to see her. The handle turned and Jackie's father came in, but he was not alone.
"Hello, Jackie," he said. "You have a visitor."
Jackie turned her head and put the other person's face in perspective. A girl, not a child and not an adult. Maybe around fifteen to seventeen. She wore flat boots, jeans and a long-sleeved shirt.
"Honey," Steve said. "I'd like you to meet Elizabeth. She's the daughter of our new neighbors, Frank and Jessica Coleus. They just moved in." Steve's words were drowned out silently by the girls' cold faces to each other. "This is a golden chance to have at least one friend who you can talk to, and Elizabeth happens to go to your school, too.”
Jackie said, "Father, I have friends."
"I know." He shook his head at Elizabeth to indicate no she doesn’t.
"Yeah," Elizabeth added, "I go to the same school, but not in that special class you're in."
"Of course not, dear," Mr. McCaulou agreed. "Elizabeth is doing a project about you for school, so I thought she might want to meet you. Go ahead, Jackie. Say hello to Elizabeth," he pressured.
"Hello." She forced the words out.
"I'll be right by the door if you need me, pumpkin," Steve said and he walked out. Jackie edged herself farther into the corner of her bedroom to hide.
Elizabeth stood where she was and didn't move or speak for a moment, and then she said, "So what? Are you shy, too, on top of being stupid?"
"I'm not stupid, I'm smart," Jackie said.
"Umm yeah, I bet," Elizabeth commented. "Is that your teddy? You still carry a teddy bear?" She pointed to the bed.
"Yes, it was a gift from my parents."
"I heard you don't talk much. That's okay, I don't either," she said in a kinder tone. "We don't need to talk about anything if you don't want to. I can tape our interview." Elizabeth showed a small black and silver tape-recorder in her hand.
Jackie rubbed her arms nervously and started to come out of the corner. "Okay, that's fine." Jackie felt certain that Anna would be watching through the floorboards from the attic and that Boo would keep an eye on her, too. "So, what's this school project about? My class doesn't have projects like this."
"Oh, umm…I picked this one. To be honest, I made a big stink about wanting to do this," Elizabeth said. "Picture the open page alone…a teenage girl living in a manor that is hundreds of years old and haunted."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Jackie said, looking away.
"I'm talking about kids living in a haunted building."
"Oh…"
"I wanted to know one." The visitor tipped herself forward to stare at Jackie.
"I guess," Jackie said. Her glance ricocheted back and forth. "Then you are out of luck!"
"I heard so much about this place when I moved here and learned a girl grew up in this house. Did you know the other kids call you the haunted demon girl?"
"Why is that?" Jackie asked, arms crossed and frowning.
"I heard that you talk to yourself or to the demons hidden in the house and that you're plum loco."
"I've only lived here for a few years though," Jackie said. "I'm not crazy."
"Hmmm, well…I wanted to write a short story on what it's like here and maybe have a sleepover in the attic."
Jackie shouted, "Attic, no!" She knew she couldn't ever let this happen.
Elizabeth walked over to Jackie who backed away.
"You're all sweaty. What’s wrong?" Elizabeth asked. "Want me to call your dad? Have I upset you in any way? I'm sorry if I did."
Elizabeth secretly turned on her recorder to catch anything Jackie might say. But Elizabeth's life was about to change forever.
"Don't touch her!" a strong female voice commanded from the ceiling. A quick succession of footsteps ran across its length.
Elizabeth stared at the ceiling, her mouth opened. "Good grief, is this normal?"
"What?" Jackie asked, playing dumb.
"The walls speak to you? Is it the ghost of Waverly Manor?"
Jackie said, "It's just mice. We have loads of mice and rats."
Elizabeth stuttered. "M...m...mice don't speak like that."
Jackie's father ran in and looked at Elizabeth standing on Jackie’s bed, tapping the ceiling, and said, "No funny business, little lady. This is a nice home."
"No...no, Mr. McCaulou. This house is haunted. I heard a ghost!"
"What?"
Tears formed in Elizabeth's eyes and she couldn't hold them in. "The dead just spoke to me." Too much emotion filled her mind and for a moment, she looked demented.
Jackie let out a shout, amazed at what Anna had done.
“Shhh, it's ok, pumpkin,” Jackie’s father's soothing voice said, seeing how upset both girls were. After a moment, he asked, "Jackie, is everything okay?"
"Yeah."
"Well," Steve said, "I think it's best you go home, Elizabeth. You girls can talk some other time."
Jackie was relieved, and smiled. She walked with her father and Elizabeth out of the room. No one saw Elizabeth drop her recorder that had been left on.
Boo and Tomfoolery looked out the little basement window to see Elizabeth start to walk home after Steve and Jackie escorted her to the front door, apologizing for the fright. Then she realized she'd dropped her recorder during the excitement.
Elizabeth asked Jackie to run back upstairs and find it. Elizabeth took a few steps off the
path and waited until Jackie came back and returned her recorder.
"Here you go. Thanks for coming by," Jackie said with a fake smile. "It was nice to have met you, Elizabeth."
Elizabeth thought wait until the kids hear I met the crazy McCaulou girl of Waverly Manor.
Jackie followed her dad inside and went to her room.
Steve closed the front door and said, "Good grief, what a nut case."
"What happened?" Amanda asked.
"She thought she saw or heard a ghost in Jackie's room."
"You two should get along nicely."
"Very funny, dear."
Now upstairs, Boo looked out the attic window with Tomfoolery. "Uh oh," he said. "This is not good. The girl won't forget her experience here."
"Yeah," Tomfoolery agreed. "We'll have to talk to Anna about this one. Not everyone will understand us like Jackie, and that means our days might be numbered here."
Anna snuck up through the stairs to Jackie's room and crawled up the foot of the bed and under the bed skirt.
Anna said, "Whooooh, I am the dead speaking to you, little girl."
Jackie broke out laughing. "Where are you?"
"I'm where the speaking dead live — under the bed. Whooooh."
Jackie got down on her knees, lifted the bed skirt and saw Anna.
"What a fool this girl Elizabeth is telling your dad the dead spoke to her." Anna slid out from under the bed and sat on it with Jackie. "So what's the deal with this girl? Why a book report on this old place and you, of all people?"
Jackie shrugged and sighed. "Beats me."
"She'll be a pest if we don't do something. I do declare a haunting will begin in her house soon."
Both girls laughed.
"Not to worry," Jackie said. "I will tell Elizabeth no to the interview and sleepover if she asks again."
***
That afternoon Elizabeth sat on the edge of her bed after telling her parents all about her experience at Waverly Manor. Her parents didn't believe her so she did the next best thing and called her Uncle Washouts T. Felton, a real live ghost hunter. He gave her instructions on what to do next.
Elizabeth listened on her recorder to the ghost sounds that came from Jackie's bedroom, and let her uncle listen in on the phone. She was horrified she captured so much.
She heard first the voice from the ceiling, buried under the noise of muffled talking in the same room.