Ghost Club 2
Page 15
Before Angeline or Edgar could answer, Principal Primm arrived to collect more poppies for important guests. ‘I need a few more . . .’ She was suddenly arrested by the presence of Mr Gloom and dabbed at her hairdo. ‘Who do we have here?’
‘This is Mr Roderick Gloom,’ Angeline answered. ‘And this is –’
‘Penelope Primm.’ She held out her hand, which Mr Gloom delicately took into his own and kissed.
‘Enchanted.’
Principal Primm did something she had never done before: she giggled.
Angeline and Edgar swapped confused looks.
‘And you are the delightful and illustrious leader of this fine educational establishment of which I have only ever heard the very best,’ Gloom continued in his praise.
Principal Primm did something else she had never done before: she blushed.
‘Shall I show Mr Gloom to his seat?’ Edgar asked.
‘No!’ she almost shouted. ‘I mean, no, I shall do the honours.’
The two sauntered into the crowd.
‘Okay,’ Dylan said. ‘I’ve seen a lot of strange things in the brief time I’ve known you two, but was your principal just flirting with Mr Gloom?’
‘We’ve seen it happen quite a lot with Gloom, but that is the quickest his charms have worked on anyone.’
‘Charms?’ Dylan protested. ‘But he –’
‘Yoo hoo!’
Angeline looked up to see her mum and dad waving at them through the crowd. Angeline waved back and smiled, until she saw what her dad had in his hands. ‘He’s brought a plate.’
‘Of what?’ Edgar asked.
‘Scones.’
‘No!’ Edgar’s head fell in his hands.
‘Is that bad?’ Dylan asked.
‘The last person to eat one of his scones nearly choked to death on their own broken tooth,’ Angeline said.
‘We can save the world from paranormal menace, but can we save it from Dad’s cooking?’ Edgar complained. ‘Excuse me, but I have to find a way for them to accidentally end up in the bin.’ He took a deep breath. ‘Wish me luck.’
He wove his way through the crowd as the vision of an old man shimmered into view. ‘Grandpa Huffman,’ Angeline whispered. ‘You made it.’
‘Of course! I’d never miss the chance to celebrate the achievements of my amazing grandchildren.’ He kissed her on the head. ‘Another successful catch, Dylan?’
‘Yes, sir. And Angeline was amazing.’
‘You’re telling me!’
‘We did it together,’ Angeline said.
‘Not only did you stop the haunting of the school,’ Grandpa said, ‘but you also taught a certain someone a few manners.’
Travis was at that point helping an elderly woman into a chair.
Ms Gently tapped softly on the microphone. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats for this morning’s celebration of our local war heroes.’
‘Better go,’ Grandpa said. ‘Don’t want to miss the show.’
He floated into the air and positioned himself above the crowd for a clear view.
‘There’s one thing I don’t understand,’ Dylan said to Angeline. ‘Why didn’t Robert Thompson come back? It was his name that was the most damaged in all this.’
Angeline handed poppies to the last of the guests scurrying to their seats. ‘Some ghosts are happy to leave their problems behind, others are more determined to right wrongs and can be inspired to come back and fix things on someone else’s behalf.’
‘The inspiration for Bridie’s return being Travis’s bullying.’
‘Yes,’ Angeline said. ‘Who would have thought he’d ever come in useful for a catching?’
‘You could have left him dangling in the air.’
‘It wouldn’t have been right.’
‘It would have been satisfying,’ Dylan said.
‘For a second, but then I would have felt bad for breaking the Ghost Club code. Anyone, including Travis, deserves to be rescued from paranormal peril.’
‘You’re a good person, Angeline Usher.’
‘I’m just doing my job.’
‘No, you do much more than that, in fact I think –’
‘Angeline!’ Travis pointed to a seat next to him.
‘I spend my life talking to ghosts, eradicating poltergeists and atomising vortices, but do you know what the strangest thing is?’
‘Mr Gloom?’
‘No,’ Angeline said. ‘Travis being nice to me. I’ve become used to years of teasing . . . and now this?’
Travis waved her over again.
‘I’ll see you for our next call-out.’
Angeline walked off, a slight spring in her step that she’d never had at school, and one that left Dylan feeling like a scarecrow with all the stuffing pulled out.
‘I’ll look forward to it,’ he whispered.
Angeline and Edgar might be kids, but they’re also two of Ghost Club’s youngest ghost-catchers. Got a problem with a ghost, poltergeist or ghoul? Can’t sleep because of all the rattling chains and cackling laughter? Angeline and Edgar are the experts to call.
So it’s entirely logical that when new kid Dylan joins Ghost Club, Angeline and Edgar are the perfect candidates to introduce him to everything he needs to know, from which ghost-catching gadget will do the trick to when to run like crazy to avoid being splattered with ectoplasm.
The trouble is, Dylan’s not quite sure he wants to be a ghost-catcher . . .
OUT NOW! (Also available in ebook format)
Having always been short and a bit of a coward, Deborah dreamed of being braver and stronger, which is probably why she writes books about spies, ghosts, soccer legends and characters good with swords who take on sea monsters and evil harbour lords. She is the author of the Max Remy Superspy series, Jasper Zammit (Soccer Legend) series, The Remarkable Secret of Aurelie Bonhoffen and Grimsdon, about a flooded city, a group of lost children, sneaker waves and flying machines. She’s won awards for her books but mostly hopes, one day, to be as brave as the characters inside.
Deb is currently hard at work on the third book in the Ghost Club series. Find out more about what she’s up to at www.deborahabela.com.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Random House Australia. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
Version 1.0
Ghost Club 2: The Haunted School
ePub ISBN 9781742750842
Copyright © Deborah Abela, 2012
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
A Random House Australia book
Published by Random House Australia Pty Ltd
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Addresses for companies within the Random House Group can be found at www.randomhouse.com.au/offices
First published by Random House Australia in 2012
National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication Entry
Author: Abela, Deborah, 1966–
Title: The Haunted School [electronic resource] / Deborah Abela.
ISBN: 978 1 74275 084 2 (ebook)
Series: Abela, Deborah, 1966–. Ghost club; 2.
Target Audience: For primary sch
ool age.
Subjects: Ghost stories.
Dewey Number: A823.4
Cover and internal illustrations by Juhi Yi
Cover design by Leanne Beattie
eBook production by Midland Typesetters, Australia
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