The Haunted House Project

by Tricia Clasen

  Copyright © 2016 by Tricia Clasen

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Sky Pony Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are from the author’s imagination or used factitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

  Cover design by Georgia Morrissey

  Cover illustration credit: Sean Hayden

  Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-0712-2

  Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-0713-9

  Printed in the United States of America

  Interior design by Joshua Barnaby

  For Grace and Faith.

  Because raising you to follow your dreams reminded me of my own.

  Chapter One

  I knock on the door three times and then lean in close, listening for the rustle of the bedspread or the thud of feet hitting the floor. I don’t hear anything, so I crack the door and stick my head inside.

  “Time to get up, Paige,” I call out.

  My sister greets me with a groan. “Go away, Andie.” She throws the covers off, though, so I take that as a good sign. I back away, leaving the door open.

  Even though she’s seventeen and I’m thirteen, I’m always the one to make sure she’s up. It didn’t used to be that way. She used to beat me out the door every morning with her chestnut hair blown dry and her lips perfectly glossed. She would breeze past me in the kitchen and pat me on the head while I shoveled eggs into my mouth. Now she stumbles through mornings, grabbing whatever jeans lie on the floor by her bed and pulling her hair into a ponytail.

  Then again, lots of things changed this year.

  I stop outside my dad’s bedroom door. Sometimes I think I can still smell her here. Right now, I’d love even a hint of the stuff she used to spritz that made her smell like a tropical island. I inhale deeply. Nothing. It’s probably for the best. Even if I could catch a whiff, I know I’d be imagining things. Because she’s gone.

  They say she didn’t know what hit her. No pain. No life flashing before her eyes. Just here, then gone. They say that was for the best. I’m not so sure. My mom liked to be in control. I sort of think she would have wanted a chance to argue her way out of what was coming. Not that you can talk to a semi speeding toward you at seventy miles an hour. Still, if anyone could, it would have been her.

  I can almost hear her: “What do you think you’re doing? Oh no, you don’t get to just plow into me like that. I have way too much to do. Move. Now. Go.” It would be like when she used to rush us out the door in the morning. I never thought I’d miss that. Or the yelling. But I’d give anything for just one “Andie, hurry up!” or even a “Don’t you dare give me that attitude. Get in the car. Move. Now. Go.”

  Then again, maybe if she’d known she was about to die, it wouldn’t have been fair, because her last thought would have been about the storm that would brew in her wake and how it would rain down all kinds of stink on my life. She wouldn’t have wanted that.

  I don’t bother knocking on my dad’s door. There’s only a fifty-fifty chance he’s in there at all, and even if he is, he wouldn’t wake up if I played the drums next to his bed. He was always a sound sleeper, but late nights at the casino and whatever he drowns himself in besides grief knock him out for the long haul. Paige and I used to try harder—we didn’t want him to be late to work, or worse yet miss it altogether. I gave up after he lost the second job. I’ve got enough to deal with.

  It doesn’t take me long to get ready because I cut my hair short a couple of months ago. It’s not as brown as Paige’s, and I think it probably looked better long. But this is easy, just like the jeans and plain gray T-shirt I’ve thrown on. And it gives me time for one last story before breakfast.

  Ghost stories have kind of always been my thing. That sounds weird, more like silly ghost stories, Goosebumps-type stuff or the ones about the ghost cat who solves mysteries. But I’ve moved on. My new hobby is reading stories about paranormal activity. I’ve read like a gazillion that I’ve found on the web. Most of them are stupid and really fake, but I can’t stop reading.

  I skim quickly through the list of entries on a message board. “My Experience with Ouija.” Lots of those on here. “The Devil May Have Called Me.” I roll my eyes at that one.

  Then I stop breathing for a second and my heart races.

  My hand shakes a little when I click on “Visit from My Mother?”

  Last night, I was watching some old home movies with my son. I wanted him to see the videos of my mom, and the first one up was from a Halloween when I was about eleven. I was all dressed up as a witch, begging my mom to hurry up so we could go trick-or-treating. We watched as the doorbell rang, and she gave some little girls in princess costumes some candy. I paused the video to tell my son about how my mom had made the witch costume for me. Suddenly, our doorbell rang. I ran to the front door. Nothing there. No kids running away or bags of poop. Chills ran down my arms. I went back to the family room and pressed play. The video skipped ahead to us out walking around the neighborhood. The camera followed me up a driveway while I pressed a neighbor’s doorbell. I yelled out, “Trick or treat!” My mom waved to the neighbor. Then, our doorbell rang again.

  My mother’s been dead for over ten years, but I think she may have wanted us to know she was here. Who knows?

  It’s a stupid story. Still, I’m jealous. I’d give anything for one phantom doorbell ring. I close the page in frustration and head downstairs.

  In the kitchen, I open and shut every cupboard a few times. I guess I could have canned peas for breakfast. But besides the fact that peas make me gag, I can’t imagine how old they are. There haven’t been many vegetables in the house lately. I pull a bag out of the bread box and find a semi-crushed hunk of white bread, along with the heel. I open the bag and sniff. They still smell good. I pop them both in the toaster, then open the fridge and dig around for some butter. No luck, but there’s enough jelly to cover at least one of the pieces. And, surprisingly, there’s milk. But when I take a whiff of that, the sour stings my nostrils. I hold my breath as I dump the chunky milk down the sink.

  Paige slinks into the kitchen, her eyes weighed down by sleep and sadness that won’t ever go away. She rests her elbow on the table and leans her face against one hand. I toss her a piece of toast, and she bites immediately.

  I approach her slowly, like she’s a stray dog. She’s pretty tame, but you never know what will set her off. “Um, Paige, my lunch account at school is empty. They say they sent a note. I can’t get hot lunch until I put more money in.”

  She sighs and rubs the back of her head with her hand. “I don’t have anything. Not until Friday when I get paid.” She doesn’t say anything else, but I know what’s she’s thinking. Not even then, really, if she puts gas in her car and pays the electric company something. I saw the big red letters on the front of the envelope. It’s not her fault. I know that, bu
t I’m still mad.

  “Ugh. What I am supposed to eat? There’s nothing here. What is wrong with everyone in this house?” I stomp over to the sink and run the water, trying to rinse the room of the smell that lingers from the milk. But that’s not really the stink I want to get rid of.

  And now I’m mad at myself, too. Paige doesn’t need me acting like a brat.

  “I’m sorry, Andie,” she says. Her voice comes out cracked. “I’ll try to get another shift this week.”

  I glance at the empty bread bag. I shouldn’t have had the toast. Bread and jelly would have been easier to take for lunch than canned peas.

  “Do you think—” I pause. We try not to talk about Dad. “Well, do you think he’s got any money?”

  She shrugs. “You want to wake him up to find out?”

  I close my eyes and remember how we used to pile on Mom and Dad’s bed on Sundays, giggling and bouncing. Dad would pretend to stay asleep, fake snoring, until he’d jump up and tickle us. Now if we try to wake him up, he either growls, swears, or throws a shoe at the door. Besides, even if he had money, he’s probably spent it. I’ve heard him and Paige fighting about him throwing money away at the casino. Mom’s money. There wasn’t that much. He paid off the house with some, which is good because at least they can’t take that away. If we lost the house, there’d never be a chance I could smell her again. There’s some money in two special accounts—one for Paige and one for me—but we can’t get it until we’re eighteen. Paige only has to wait four more months, and I’m a little worried that as soon as that day comes, she’ll be gone.

  So I try not to bug her too much.

  “I guess not.”

  “I’ll go check all my jeans to see if I have enough change so you can get something in the cafeteria.”

  I shake my head. “Never mind. I’ll figure out something.”

  “Sorry,” she says again.

  I turn away so she can’t see my tears. It’s not fair. For her or for me. I take a breath and blink to clear my eyes. My mom always said, “Crying will make you feel better, but it doesn’t solve anything.” My mom was big on solutions.

  I wish she was big on doorbells, too.

  Chapter Two

  At school, the morning drags. By second period, my stomach twists and groans, and my head pounds. My eyelids droop as Mr. Jackson writes on the board. I can’t say I love pre-algebra, but usually I can at least follow along. Today, the numbers and letters blur together, and I let my head rest on my desk. Someone brushes me as they walk past my desk. I jump and wipe a bit of drool off my chin. I look around quickly to see if anyone has noticed, but they’re all rushing out of the room without looking back. Ugh, class is already over.

  Then I catch Mr. Jackson’s eye, and he raises an eyebrow.

  I shrug and sigh.

  “That’s twice this week, Andie.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.”

  My stomach lets out one of those long slow grumbles right at that moment.

  “I guess you’d better get to lunch.”

  “Yeah.” I nod, but I can’t look at him.

  Mr. Jackson’s voice gets quieter. “Andie, is everything okay?”

  I never know how to answer a question like that. I mean, no, it’s not. It’s never going to be okay again. But that’s not what people want to hear. Like Paige says, sometimes telling the truth about how you feel is just not worth it.

  I shrug. “Are my grades bad?”

  “No, not really. You’re doing fine. It’s just that … well, just let me know if you need anything, okay?”

  “Okay.” That’s another one of those statements that I don’t know what to do with. What can people do? Can they bring my mom back? Can they get my dad to go to work every day? Do they really expect me to ask for groceries?

  I fake a smile, because I’ve learned that makes people feel better.

  Lunch is better than I expect.

  “Are you on a diet?” Leah asks. She’s got a carrot hanging out of her mouth and she talks around it as she reaches up and pulls her black hair into a bun.

  I shake my head. “Grocery day.”

  Three heads turn in my direction. I suspect they know things aren’t great, but we all pretend that it’s just another year. Another day. No one died. No one’s dad gambles away all the money. No one only has a can of peas in the house to eat. They try to be supportive, but they don’t understand at all. Paige says people expect you to stop talking about it after a while, and I think she’s right. Like, in the beginning they would listen and give me hugs, but they don’t want to see me cry when they’re thinking about quizzes and school dances. It’s better for them when I’m just the same old Andie. Carefree. Funny. The Andie who sticks celery sticks up her nose and wears lime-green shirts and big bows in her hair.

  Without saying anything, food suddenly comes my way.

  “Yuck, why does my mom keep putting grapes in my lunch? She knows I can’t stand them.” Leah holds the bag out to me. Her blue eyes sparkle and her pink lips are pursed together in a tight smile. I ignore the pang in my heart when she mentions her mom and reach for the grapes.

  A few minutes later, Becki leans back. “I’ve been such a pig lately. I better not touch these cookies.” She pushes them toward me. Lately, she’s always complaining about being too big. The problem is she’s the tallest girl in class, so she’s always going to be bigger than the rest of us. Of course, Becki can’t just let me eat the cookies without a dig. Lately, there are lots of digs. “You never have to worry about weight since you don’t have to put on a cheerleading uniform.”

  I ignore the tone that says I’m not as great as she is, because I want the cookies. Still, Becki is one more thing that changed this year that I sure wish hadn’t. I glance around to see if anyone else noticed her comment, but everyone’s focused on their food. Kind of like me and no food, we pretend Becki didn’t get meaner after her parents announced they were getting a divorce. The cookies rock, though. Soft chocolate chip, my absolute favorite.

  We’ve all been friends pretty much forever. Becki and Leah took dance lessons together when they were only three. I met Leah in preschool, but all of us really got close when we had to do a Thanksgiving play together in second grade. We were cast as Pilgrims One through Four. I was Pilgrim Two. With three lines, Gisela spoke the most. That meant we all did a lot of waiting around at rehearsal. And we had a blast together. Mr. Rushall, the music teacher, yelled at us almost every day for giggling too loud. That was the way it always was with us. We had so much fun together even though we’re all pretty different from each other. Since starting middle school, the differences are standing out more. Leah’s so busy she doesn’t always have time to breathe, let alone talk to anyone. These days Becki really worries about what everyone else thinks all the time, especially the other cheerleaders. Gisela’s the constant—she hasn’t changed as much.

  I’m lost in thought when she hands me her bottle of water. “I’m going to grab a juice instead,” she says before standing up and heading back to the à la carte line.

  I can’t say I’ll walk out of the cafeteria full, but at least my belly won’t attack me from the inside out. I appreciate the snacks, but sometimes this is lonely. I know my friends don’t really understand how bad things are at our house. And they’ve all got problems, too. Gisela’s parents don’t have “papers,” as she calls them. I know she worries about that, and their English isn’t so great, so she has to help them translate a lot, too. Becki’s parents split up just over a year ago. She brags about it at Christmas when she gets double the presents, but I know it still bothers her, and she hates dividing her time. Leah, well, her life is pretty good. Leah’s never really had anything bad happen; she’s just caught up in her own very busy and very organized world most of the time.

  “So, I’m calling for a sleepover Friday,” Becki says, my thoughts interrupted once again. “I’ll be at my dad’s house and he won’t care.” I nod immediately, wishing it wasn’t only Wednesday
. I love sleepovers. Sleepovers are all about happy families, lots of snacks, and usually pizza. And all I have to do in exchange is pretend to be happy for a few hours. At this point I’m pretty good at faking it.

  Leah shakes her head. “Can’t. I have to study for Battle of the Books, and I’ve got soccer Saturday morning.” I sink a little.

  If Gisela can’t go either, maybe Becki won’t want just me to come. I’m not even sure I’d want to go. Gisela tilts her head. “I have to check with my parents. One of my cousins is having a birthday party, but I think it’s on Saturday afternoon, so it should be okay.”

  “Cool,” Becki says. “Andie, need my dad to call yours?”

  My face crinkles up as I try to figure out why her dad would want to talk to mine, but then I remember that my mom always insisted on talking directly with parents before playdates and sleepovers. That’s what moms do, but then again, mine really did like to be in control. She always had to know where we were.

  “Nah,” I choke out. Then I add a lie. “I’ll talk to him tonight.”

  After lunch we scatter in different directions. Unfortunately, our class schedules don’t overlap much this year. It stinks, especially for Becki, who really hates going to class by herself. “Why couldn’t any of you take choir? Just one of you!”

  Leah giggles. “Why couldn’t any of you be on the quiz bowl team?”

  Becki rolls her eyes. “Andie, you’ve got it the worst. I can’t believe you got stuck with Isaiah Hardy as a science partner. He’s so weird.”

  They all groan and nod. Isaiah’s weirdness seems to be the one thing everyone can agree on.

  I mean, yeah, about once a week, he wears a bow tie to school. The other days he’s usually in a T-shirt with some dorky science saying on it, like the one that says, NEVER TRUST AN ATOM; THEY MAKE UP EVERYTHING. Okay fine, that one makes me giggle. But does he have to wave his geek flag so high with that blue TARDIS shirt? Don’t even get me started on those glasses he wears that take up half his face. Still, I don’t mind him. And it’s not just because he’s always got the right answers. He leaves me alone more than anyone else, and he doesn’t act any different around me now.