Read Online One Ghost Per Serving by Nina Post - Free Book Online

said, her arms crossed. She appraised her Dad’s appearance with blue ‘Michael Corleone at the end of
The Godfather Part II
’ eyes. She was in her usual fluorescent orange high-tops, jeans, faded t-shirt (fungi assortment), and denim jacket as a concession to science fair formality. Her hair was tied back with plastic fluorescent orange balls.
    “The judges did their review and I was disqualified,” she said.
    Eric’s heart fell. He sighed then lowered himself onto a metal folding chair. “I’m sorry, Gibby,” he said, using her pet name. “I’m so, so sorry.” He rested his head against the wall, then inhaled and leaned forward, arms outstretched “I’ll fix it. I’ll talk to the principal and –”
    She put up a hand. “No, Dad, I’ll take care of it. Thanks for trying. You can leave the cooler here. I’m getting a ride with Amy’s family.”
    Eric stood. He wanted to hug her, but hesitated, and instead picked up the cooler and handed it to her. She opened her mouth as though to say something, but changed her mind. She held up a hand in a still wave goodbye, then returned to the labyrinth of exhibits.
    Rex materialized next to him. “Bummer.”
    Eric whirled around to glare at him and spoke in a low, tense voice. “If you hadn’t told me to take the service road –”
    Rex backed away a step. “I merely
suggested
you take the service road. You should have done whatever you thought was best. How is this my fault?”
    Eric leaned in closer and tried to talk without moving his mouth. “Because you showed up and I asked for your opinion.”
    “Which is normally infallible,” Rex said. “But I don’t take the roads. I mean, did you see what I just did with the wall?”
    Eric checked the busy floor for Taffy, with a dim hope that maybe she would come back. He spoke to Rex while looking straight ahead at the fair. “Did you steer me the wrong way on purpose? Will you ever be done with screwing up my life?”
    “I’m
helping
you,” Rex said.
    “You’re about as helpful as whatever Taffy had in that cooler.”
    “I’ll come back later when you’re less fussy, since I don’t have a cookie to give you.” Rex disappeared.
    Eric wanted to go see Taffy, but he’d just embarrass her, considering he looked like he fell off his bike and into a wet ditch then knifed by a thug. And if she wasn’t actually mad at him, she was … not pleased. He wanted to see her exhibit and be there for her, but knew she wouldn’t want him around, and he hated that he let her down again. He was having such a great day, he considered topping it off by having his doctor image everything in his body so they could find something suspicious.
    No, screw this, he thought. He was being an idiot. He was going to see Taffy’s exhibit. He strode up to the center of the fair and twisted around, scanning the booths for her face, for her orange hair thing, for her t-shirt.
    “Hey, are you going to –” he heard Rex say, and it startled him. At first Eric thought he was hearing him even when he wasn’t there, feared for his sanity, and turned around. As he did, he pushed a large promotional sign into a student’s booth, which knocked over a couple of beakers of fluid that incited a plume of smoke and then a small fire.
    “Everybody out!” Security started to herd everyone to the exit doors and an alarm sounded.

    Taffy stood in front of Eric looking like a 1930s-era hard-boiled investigator. The parking lot was full of students and teachers waiting for the okay to go back inside the auditorium.
    “Any idea why we had to evacuate the fair?” she asked, head tilted, eyes narrowed.
    “Nope,” Eric said.
    “I thought you left ten minutes ago.”
    “Nope.”
    “I heard you bumped into Liam’s project.”
    He looked to the side. Looked back at her. He tried to smile, but held off when it felt like his appendix was about to burst.
    “Dad.”
    Someone announced they could go back in and Taffy gave Eric a look that he