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As Friday approached all too quickly, my nerves stretched<br />

tighter and tighter inside me. I almost called Tucker and backed out<br />

about thirty times over the course of three days, but every time I held<br />

strong. Gunner was practically writhing on the floor with envy, and<br />

when I bumped into my dad in the kitchen Thursday morning, he<br />

was ten brands of enthusiastic. I didn’t mention it to Michelle, and<br />

she didn’t ask.<br />

Finally, it was 5:00 on Friday night, and I was in my room<br />

hopping out of a towel and into a pair of jeans. What were you<br />

supposed to wear to a para<strong>no</strong>rmal investigation? I picked the jeans<br />

because, well, I always wore jeans. But as far as shirts went, were<br />

flashy colors a <strong>no</strong>-<strong>no</strong>? Did we need to look professional? Should I<br />

dress warm in case the people had their air conditioning on killer<br />

high? Or would they need to keep the AC turned off in case of<br />

allegedly ghost-caused cold spots?<br />

Gosh, I was spending more time trying to pick out an outfit<br />

for a ghost hunt than I did for senior prom. Finally I decided on a<br />

black polo, which seemed to be the most ambivalent item I could<br />

find.<br />

Once I was dressed, I headed out into the family room for a<br />

better view of the street. Gunner was perched stiffly quite literally<br />

on the very edge of the big arm chair in the corner, his eyes wide as<br />

he scanned the pages of the book in his lap.<br />

“You okay, Killer?” I asked. “You look like you just pooped<br />

yourself.”<br />

He took a few seconds more to finish reading whatever<br />

sentence he was on before raising his eyes very calmly. Regardless<br />

of how engrossed he had been, I hadn’t startled him in the least. <strong>The</strong><br />

kid was way too desensitized from all those horror movies. “I’m<br />

fine. I’m reading the story behind the Amityville Horror.”<br />

“Oh, sounds like wholesome family fun. Please refrain from<br />

sharing until after I’ve marched into the ghost pit,” I requested,<br />

planting myself on the couch across from him.<br />

Gunner sighed longingly and closed his book, being sure to<br />

use his index finger to hold his place. God forbid he should fold a<br />

corner. “You are so lucky.”<br />

37

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