Page 44 of Trick or Stalk

“And then she'd tell them you were going to be a professor.”

“Before I actually became one.”

“Obviously.”

I laugh softly. “Yeah. She would’ve.”

We talk for another few minutes before Stella enters her classroom.

“I’ll talk to you later. Love ya!”

“Love you, Stel.”

After hanging up, I start gathering the empty boxes.

Penny chases a leaf across the yard.

“Stay close!”

She ignores me. Naturally.

I carry the first box inside.

Then the second.

When I return for the last one, I stop.

One of the hanging ghosts is crooked. Its white fabric has twisted around the string, leaving the poor thing facing the side of the house instead of the yard.

I stare at it. “Seriously?”

I glance at the stepladder I used earlier to reach the hooks. Then at the ghost.

My legs ache.

My arms ache.

And I've spent most of the afternoon climbing up and down that damn thing.

“Nope.”

Penny trots back onto the porch.

“I’ll fix it tomorrow.”

She looks up at the crooked ghost.

“Don’t judge me.”

Her tail wags.

“It's Halloween. It looks possessed.”

I grab the last box.

The breeze moves through the trees behind me. Leaves rustle.

For the briefest second, I stop and listen.