As Tiny sat on the bench at halftime, someone tapped her shoulder. She turned to see Maude just behind her, a worried look on her face.
“You haven’t forgotten our plan, right?” Maude dropped her voice to a whisper.
“No,” Tiny whispered back. “I guess I’d better find my moment soon?”
“I think so,” Maude told her friend. “You got this!” she called as she clambered back up to her seat in the bleachers.
“Huddle up!” Tiny shouted to her teammates. “We can do this,” she told them. “We need to hold them off and grab every scoring opportunity! Keep boxing them out, but play clean. Hands in!” she called. Each girl put a hand into the center of the circle, stacked on Tiny’s hand at the bottom. “Go, Boo!” Tiny called.
“Boo La La!” the girls all cried as they lifted their hands into the air.
They were nearly to the fourth quarter before Tiny saw her chance. She’d been very busy watching Ms. Finley, who actually had an awesome hook shot. Finally, they were alone running down the court, Ms. Finley dribbling furiously. Tiny sprinted up behind her and, taking a deep breath, put on a burst of speed and headed directly toward Ms. Finley’s back.
“Watch out!” she heard Mrs. Von Howl cry.
The next thing she knew, Tiny was on the floor, looking up at the bright lights of the gymnasium.
“Are you okay?” Ms. Finley’s worried face appeared to be floating above her.
“What happened?” Tiny asked, confused.
“You ran right into Ms. Finley,” Mrs. Von Howl said. “You bounced back about four feet!”
“I’m so sorry,” Ms. Finley said. “I guess I shouldn’t have stopped short like that!”
“Nonsense,” Mrs. Von Howl said. “We’re playing a game of basketball here! Tiny should have watched where she was going!”
A huge smile split Tiny’s face. She sat up and searched the crowded bleachers for Maude and CJ. They were both sitting up, beaming at her. Maude was giving her two thumbs-up.
She’d done it! She’d tried her best to pass through Ms. Finley and had miserably failed. She couldn’t be happier! Ms. Finley couldn’t be a human!
Mrs. Von Howl was looking at her strangely.
“I apologize, Ms. Finley,” said Tiny, carefully wiping the giant smile from her face. “I hope you weren’t hurt.”
“Not at all, dear,” Ms. Finley said, straightening her glasses on her face. “I’m made of tougher stuff than that!”
“If you’re sure,” Mrs. Von Howl said, “perhaps we can finish up this game?”
“Sure thing!” Tiny said happily.
“Let’s go!” Ms. Finley agreed.
When the final whistle blew, the score was 72–60, with victory going to the student team. Despite her tumble, Tiny was the leading scorer with thirty-two points.
As quickly as she could, Tiny found Maude and CJ.
“Did you see that?” she asked.
“We sure did,” Maude answered.
“You bounced back like Ms. Finley was a trampoline!” CJ said.
“There’s absolutely no doubt she’s a ghost!” Maude assured them.
“You played very well, Tiny,” Lucinda said, coming up behind them. “Thanks for helping us beat the teachers.”
Tiny was shocked at Lucinda’s kind words. Where was the Lucinda who never missed a chance to say something mean? Who loved to be the center of attention?
“Um, thanks, Lucinda,” Tiny answered. “You were pretty good yourself.” And she was surprised to realize that she meant it. Lucinda had been a good teammate. She’d followed Tiny’s suggestions on the court and had even scored a few baskets. Was it possible Lucinda wasn’t so bad all the time?
Maude quickly jumped in. “Well, you all worked together,” she said. “Boo La La!”
Back in the dining hall that evening, sixty hungry ghost girls wolfed down the traditional Field Day celebration dinner: pizza. Lots and lots of nice cold pizza!
“I am so hungry!” Tiny said.
“Me too,” said CJ.
“And you didn’t even play in the game, CJ,” Lucinda butted in. She was passing by the three friends, her dining tray piled high with pizza.
“Good point, Lucinda,” CJ said sweetly. “Guess I’m just a growing ghost!”
Lucinda scowled and took her seat at the next table.
“It seems Lucinda is still Lucinda,” Tiny muttered.
CJ and Maude just nodded back at her, their mouths full of pizza.
Principal Von Howl stood up at the faculty table. “Who’s ready for ice cream?” he called.
“We are!” everyone screamed. (Except for Maude—she didn’t like ice cream.)
“Thanks to the dining room staff, there’s a make-your-own-sundae bar in the kitchen. Please help yourselves!” Principal Von Howl urged. “While you’re scooping, we’ll be tallying the Field Day results.”
“I hope we won!” CJ said as they walked into the kitchen.
“Me too,” Tiny answered. “But even if the blue team didn’t win, I’m happy that the students won the basketball game!”
When the girls were done scooping ice cream, ladling fudge sauce, and squirting whipped cream, they all trouped back to the dining room. Maude’s bowl was filled with nothing but whipped cream and fudge sauce.
“Yummy,” she said.
“That’s such a strange sundae,” Tiny said.
“One ghost’s strange is another ghost’s normal!” The three friends laughed together.
Soon Mr. Von Howl was standing at the front of the room again. “I have the final tally,” he announced. “But first, Mrs. Von Howl is going to make one presentation.”
“You all played, glided, and threw very well today, girls. I’m extremely proud of you!” Mrs. Von Howl began. “In particular, one student stood out for her efforts on the basketball court.”
Everyone immediately looked at Tiny, who blushed and looked down at the table.
“The faculty and I are recognizing Tiny as the basketball game’s Most Valuable Player.”
“Hooray, Tiny!” Maude shouted.
“Tiny! Tiny! Tiny!” the other students chanted, banging their spoons on the wooden table.
Principal Von Howl allowed them a few moments to celebrate, then called them to order again.
“As MVP, Tiny’s team is awarded extra points,” he began. “All six teams were very close in points, but Tiny’s recognition puts the blue team ahead.”
“We won!” Maude cried. “Hooray for Tiny!”
“Go, Blue!” shouted CJ.
“Congratulations, blue team!” Principal Von Howl said.
Tiny called her nine teammates over and lead them all in a cheer. “Boo La La! Blue La La!”
After a few minutes, Ms. Finley came over to them. “Come along, girls,” she said. “You’ve all had a long day and must be exhausted.”
The third graders cleared their places and followed her out of the dining room.
“Well done, all of you!” she said as they reached their hallway. “I am so proud of each of my girls. You brought honor to Coffin Hall. And congratulations to the third-grade members of the blue team!”
“Thank you, Ms. Finley,” the girls said as they disappeared, in groups of three, into their rooms.
“What a relief!” CJ cried as soon as they were alone in their room.
“Wait a minute, we can’t go to bed yet,” Maude announced.
Tiny groaned. “I’m so tired! Aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am, but we need to speak to Ms. Finley first,” Maude answered darkly. “I have just a few unanswered questions.”
“Really?” CJ asked nervously. “Aren’t you satisfied? Ms. Finley can’t be human, right? Didn’t Tiny prove that on the basketball court? I was so scared, but now I feel much better. I love Ms. Finley, and I’m so happy she’s a ghost—”
“We need to ask her about a few things,” Maude interrupted. “It will all be okay. Come on, let’s get this over with.”
Reluctantly, CJ and Tiny followed Maude to Ms. Finley’s room.
“Come in,” she called when Maude knocked on her door.
She was not yet in bed, but she was dressed in her white nightgown, with her hair in its long braid. On her feet were fuzzy gray socks.
“Hello, ladies,” she said. “I hope everything is okay!”
“Um, yes, Ms. Finley,” Maude began.
She looked at CJ and Tiny, but they had no idea what to say.
“Achoo!” Ms. Finley cried.
“Boo!” said Maude, CJ, and Tiny.
“You are such polite ghosts!” Ms. Finley said. “Please excuse me, I just need to grab a tissue.”
As she hurried into her bathroom, CJ and Tiny looked at Maude. What were they doing here? What should they say?
Ms. Finley came back, wiping at her nose with a tissue.
“This cold is driving me crazy!” she said. “It was bad enough sneezing nonstop, but now my nose won’t stop running. I just don’t know what to do!”
“You have a cold?” Maude asked.
“Yes,” Ms. Finley said, “a real doozy!”
“Does it keep you from smelling?” Maude asked.
“Why, yes, it certainly does!” Ms. Finley said. “It’s been just beastly.”
“Is that why you couldn’t smell the burned porridge our first morning here?” CJ asked, catching on to Maude’s line of questioning.
“What? Oh, yes,” Ms. Finley said. “I couldn’t smell anything for days! And, as you know, not having a powerful sense of smell is a very unusual situation for a ghost!”
“Yes,” Tiny said. “We know!”
“But you girls didn’t come to hear about my health.” She laughed.
“Well, um,” Maude said, “we … we have a question for you.”
“Yes?” Ms. Finley asked.
“Why do you wear shoes?” Tiny blurted out.
“What?” Ms. Finley asked.
Maude, feeling bolder now, said, “We noticed that you wear shoes.”
“None of us have ever seen a ghost wearing shoes. But you do,” CJ added.
“Yes, I do,” Ms. Finley said. “You might not be able to guess now,” she explained. “But when I was here as a student at Boo La La, I was quite the athlete.”
“You were?” Tiny asked.
“Oh, yes.” Ms. Finley laughed. “I won a number of first-place ribbons in my day. Unfortunately, I may have run a little too much as a young ghost. Now my feet give me all sorts of trouble. The doctors said I should wear my shoes whenever possible.”
Maude, CJ, and Tiny were astonished.
Ms. Finley continued, “It took me a while to get used to them. After all, what ghost wears shoes? Not many of us, I can tell you that. I have to special order them! But I do find that when I wear my shoes, my feet feel much better.”
“But how do you pass through walls?” Maude wanted to know. “Don’t your shoes stop you?”
“Of course,” Ms. Finley said. “So I take them off before I pass through anything.”
“Just like that?” Maude asked.
“Just like that,” Ms. Finley said firmly. “Now, is there anything else you’re curious about?” she asked.
CJ and Tiny looked at Maude. She answered for them all, “No, Ms. Finley.”
“Excellent,” Ms. Finley said briskly. “Then I suggest we all turn in for the night. You three must be exhausted after today’s events. I know I am!”
“Good idea,” Maude agreed. “This has been a very busy week.”
“Yes,” Ms. Finley said. “I hope you girls are enjoying Boo Academy. It’s a wonderful, precious place to be.”
“Yes, Ms. Finley,” the girls answered together.
“Very well, then,” Ms. Finley said. “I’m delighted to know that you’re settling in so nicely. I know that we’re going to have a spooktacular year together!”
Maude, CJ, and Tiny laughed, and knew that she was absolutely right. They were together again, their new dorm mother was definitely a ghost—a funny and kind one—and their team was the Field Day champion. They couldn’t wait to see what Boo La La had in store for them next!
Read on for a sneak peek at Maude, CJ, and Tiny’s next adventure at
“I stayed up way too late last night,” Maude whispered to her friends. “If you two hadn’t woken me this morning, I definitely would have slept through breakfast!”
“Why did you stay up so late?” Tiny asked.
“I just couldn’t put down A Complete Behind the Scenes Guide to Boo La La. It’s fascinating!” Maude answered.
“Can I see the book again?” Tiny asked.
“Sure,” Maude answered, as she eased it gently out of her bag.
“It’s so old!” CJ exclaimed.
“It is very old,” Maude agreed. “Just like Boo Academy. And there’s so much great information inside!”
Tiny started leafing through the pages. “Hmmm,” she said. “I just see a bunch of charts and floor plans. I’m not sure what you’re so excited about, Maude.”
“Hey! What’s that?” CJ asked, pointing at folded piece of paper peeking out near the back of the book. “That page is not the same color as the rest of the book.”
“I don’t know,” Maude answered, using two fingers to pluck out the paper. “It fell out last night when I was finally going to sleep. I just stuck it back in anywhere.”
She smoothed out the paper on the table in front of them. It was a hand-drawn map! BOO ACADEMY was written in spidery script at the top of the page. Maude recognized a few of the school’s current buildings. There was a compass rose in the lower-right corner. And in the upper-left corner there was an X drawn above the words MY TREASURE.
“What?!” Maude cried in astonishment.
“It’s a treasure map!” Tiny said, her eyes wide.
Don’t miss any of the haunted adventures at Boo La La!
#1: School for Ghost Girls
#2: Spooktacular!
Text copyright © 2016 by Rebecca Gómez
Illustrations copyright © 2016 by Scholastic Inc.
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
First printing, September 2016
Cover art © Monique Dong
Cover design by Lizzy Yoder
e-ISBN 978-1-338-19014-4
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
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