The Ghost of Specter Elementary

Mia sank low in her seat as the car rolled to a stop. She looked at her third new school in two years. She was starting to feel like she moved more than a checkers piece. Last time, she didn’t even bother making friends. What was the point, knowing that it wouldn’t last? Best friends forever—what a joke!

“I’m going to be late for work, honey,” said her dad.

Mia stared at her new school with a scowl.

Specter Elementary was an old, ramshackle house with creaky windows. The building was taller than it was wide, sitting on top of a hill.

“Do I have to go?” Mia whispered.

“You’ll be great,” her dad said.

Mia wished he’d never taken this new job. Why did she always have to give up her life just because her dad made a choice without her? It wasn’t fair!

Mia slammed the car door shut and stormed into the front office. An older kid led her to her new classroom. She looked at all her classmates.

These weren’t her friends. This wasn’t her home. This would never be home.

At lunch, Mia chose to sit by herself. A few kids tried to say hi, but she looked away. She ate with her head down. She used to have friends, before her first move. And she had friends after her second move too, but it hurt so badly
to leave them. It was easier to not make friends at all.

That whole first week at Specter, Mia ate alone, invisible to everyone. But to her surprise, on Friday, two people sat down next to her.

“What are you doing?” Mia asked.

“Joining you,” said a girl in pigtails. “I’m Natalie. And this is—”

“Travis,” the short boy next to Mia said. He blushed as he talked.

“So, what do you want?” Mia asked curtly.

“We just came to see how your first week was going,” Natalie said. “You’ve been kind of quiet. So we thought we’d say hi. In case you were shy or something.”

“I’m shy,” Travis added in a whisper.

Mia sighed. She wasn’t shy—she just didn’t want to get attached. “Uh, Specter’s fine.”

“Just fine? Then I guess no one told you about THE GHOST,” Natalie exclaimed.

“The ghost?” Mia said.

Natalie wiggled her fingers. “The ghost of Specter Elementary! Legend has it that there’s a ghost who haunts the halls. If you put your ear up to the wall, sometimes you can hear a whistling sound.”

“My brother told me that if you say ‘Specter ghost’ three times fast into a mirror, it will appear and suck your soul out of your belly button with a straw,” Travis said.

Mia frowned. “You’re making fun of me, aren’t you?”

“What do you mean?” Natalie asked, taking a bite of her turkey sandwich.

“You think I’m that gullible? You want me to put my ear to the wall or talk into a mirror, and then look stupid in front of the whole school.”

Natalie quickly put down her sandwich. “That’s not what we—”

Mia’s eyes filled with tears. She ran out of the cafeteria.

Mia didn’t stop running until she was safe in the bathroom, locked inside a stall. Hot tears slid down her cheeks. Suddenly, she thought she heard a whistling sound coming from the walls. But it was all in her head, right? She walked out to the sink, seeing her own nervous face in the mirror.

“Don’t be silly,” she said aloud. “There is no Specter ghost.”

But then she whispered “Specter ghost” twice more—just to see.

There were two sharp knocks on a stall door behind her.

Mia almost screamed. She thought she was alone. “W-who’s there?”

“Boo,” said a muffled voice through the door.

“Boo who?” asked Mia.

“Don’t cry! It was just a joke!” replied the voice.

A knock-knock joke?! Mia thought, confused.

“Who are you?” Mia asked. A shiver slid down her back. The air was colder somehow. She could see her breath. Then something came into view—the shimmery outline of a kid. It didn’t look like any kid Mia had seen before. The figure was almost completely see- through.

“I know, that’s a dreadful joke. Wait—dreadful . . . or deadful?” the ghost said, grinning.

“What are you?” Mia asked.

“I think you know.”

“Are you going to suck my soul out of my belly button?”

The ghost yawned. “If I knew you were going to call me here just to ask me silly questions, I wouldn’t have come.”

“Can I ask what you’re doing here?” Mia asked.

“My job is to help out students who are in danger of disappearing.”

“In danger of what?” Mia rushed to the mirror. Her brown eyes, thick hair— everything looked normal. Then she moved to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. But she couldn’t see the tips of her fingers! She really was disappearing.

“There has to be some way to stop this. Please! Help me!” Mia begged.

“Once the change is complete, there is nothing I can do. But you might be able to stop becoming invisible,” said the ghost.

Mia looked at her fading fingers. “What can I do?” she asked quietly.

“If you spend your whole life missing the past instead of living in the present, then you’re going to disappear. Want to hear another joke?” asked the ghost.

“No,” Mia said. “I’m going to recess.”

“Excellent!” said the ghost.

Mia marched out of the bathroom and ran down the hall. Outside, she found Natalie and Travis talking under the slide.

“I’m sorry about lunch,” Mia said. “Can I join you?”

Natalie looked surprised, but she and Travis moved aside to make a spot for her. As Mia sat down, she looked at her hands and smiled.

They were back.