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    Ghost Magnet
    Ghost Magnet
    Ghost Magnet
    Ebook108 pages1 hour

    Ghost Magnet

    By Anne Skalitza

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Thirteen-year-old Julie Janner desperately wants to spend summer hanging out with her friends. Instead, her mom takes her to an island straight out of the Twilight Zone, on a vacation that turns out to be like riding a roller coaster through a haunted fun house. Many of the locals are unfriendly ("Go home. Now."), broken dolls visit in the night, and some people aren't what they seem to be.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAnne Skalitza
    Release dateMay 24, 2012
    ISBN9781476047126
    Ghost Magnet
    Author

    Anne Skalitza

    Anne Skalitza is a freelance writer with many short stories, essays, and light verse published. When not writing, Anne can be found at the beach, three blocks from her home. Or she might be in her yard, attempting to garden.So far no weeds have been killed.

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      Book preview

      Ghost Magnet - Anne Skalitza

      Ghost Magnet

      by

      Anne Skalitza

      Smashwords Edition

      copyright © 2012

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold

      or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person,

      please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did

      not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to

      Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work

      of this author.

      Thirteen-year-old Julie Janner desperately wants to spend summer hanging out with her friends. Instead, her mom takes her to an island straight out of the Twilight Zone, on a vacation that turns out to be like riding a roller coaster through a haunted fun house. The locals are just a little unfriendly (Go home. Now.), weird voices call out in the night, broken dolls appear and disappear, and the one family who befriends them--the Tylers--are not quite

      what they seem to be.

      CHAPTER ONE

      My problem started right after school let out for the summer.

      Dad stopped by the house and handed Mom an envelope. I got this letter in the mail. Some relative of mine named Barbara Dooley has a house you can rent for two weeks. It says the key is under a flower pot on the porch, and I just have to send a check to a post office box. Sounds like a good deal. It has her phone number at the bottom. Give her a call.

      Mom frowned and studied the letter. Scrub Island. I never heard of it, have you?

      Dad shook his head. She promises rest and relaxation. Just the thing you need after teaching all year.

      I crossed my arms and scowled. What about me? Don't I get a say in this? My friends and I already had plans for practically every week of the next two months.

      Julie Janner! Were you listening in? Mom pretended to be annoyed but I knew she didn't care what I heard.

      Dad jingled his car keys and made a big show of looking at his watch.Look. It'll be fun. You'll see. I have to go. An appointment. Bye, Julie-girl. He gave me a kiss and left in his new red sports car. Mom said that ever since their divorce, he acted like a kid. I didn't see what was so wrong with that.

      I had an idea. Can Sari come along? Sari Leighton and I had been best friends since third grade and now we were going to be in the same class in eighth grade.

      My mother raised an eyebrow and simply said, No.

      I clasped my hands and pleaded, Then couldn't I stay with her while you go? She's got so many brothers and sisters, her parents wouldn't mind one extra person. I'll bet they wouldn't even know I'm there!

      Mom shook her head and said, No. Your dad is giving this to us and that's that, okay?

      It wasn't okay, but I knew I didn't have a choice and going to the beach wouldn't be so bad. It'd be fun, right?

      There was enough time before this so-called vacation to check out last year's summer clothes, which didn't quite fit. Or look cool. So Mom took me shopping. with Sari.

      But while I tried on shorts, Sari talked and talked about Nicholas Barrent, her boyfriend she met at her cousin's house.

      Doesn't he have the most awesome eyes? And when he smiles at me, I just melt! Sari's blonde ponytail finally stopped bouncing and she got this starry-eyed look.

      I sighed. Sari got a boy who was cute. And he was really, really, rich. I wanted a boyfriend, too, someone to dream about and who dreamed of me. Someone to hold hands with....

      Sari interrupted my thoughts. You know, he's been away for a whole week! But he's been calling and calling. She shoved her cell phone in my face. Here! Let me show you the latest pic he sent from Hawaii!

      I looked at the latest pic he sent from Hawaii. Yup, Nicholas hadn't changed a bit since a few hours ago.That little nagging feeling of jealousy crept up inside of me. Aren't you afraid he'll find some hot girl out there?

      Oh no! she cried. He'd never do that. And having a long-distance relationship is just like a lot of celebrities!

      What's so romantic about that? I thought. They usually only end up getting divorced, just like my parents.

      I had to change the subject.Come on. I think I'm finished, I said, and carried a bunch of clothes out to my mom. Of course my mother eyed the bundle and said, Julie, do you really need all that?

      Sari grabbed my mother's arm. Oh, but Mrs.Janner, they look so cool on her!

      Mom sighed and said that at least Dad was paying for it and pulled out her wallet. I mouthed thank you to Sari behind my mother's back. Now I was back to being glad I asked Sari along.

      Maybe you'll find some really cute guy wherever you're going, my best friend whispered.

      Maybe, I said, but I doubted it. I had overheard Mom telling her friend that she thought Scrub Island was very rural.

      Unfortunately the start of our vacation came too soon.

      Julie! Come on! my mother called from the street by her beat-up blue car.

      I looked out my second floor bedroom window and waved.Mom shook her head and continued to put the suitcases and duffels into the trunk. I studied my figure in my floor-length mirror and grimaced. According to Teen Girlz, my body shape was a rectangle. I hoped by the beginning of summer there'd be more curves. No dice. It was July and I had just turned thirteen.

      Julie Janner!

      Without looking out the window, I knew Mom's hands were on her hips and she was frowning. I quickly brushed my straight reddish-brown hair and tossed it over my shoulders, like those runway models do. I swiped cherry lip gloss onto my lips and grabbed my backpack. Time to go.

      What in the world were you doing up there? I want to beat the rush hour traffic. My mother always wanted to beat the rush hour traffic, even if it was two in the morning.

      Sorry. I tried to sound contrite. That travel agent, Barbara Dooley, told Mom we'd be going to a little island that promised fresh air, quiet, and relaxation. She didn't say anything about having fun. She rented us a cottage that belonged to another one of Dad's distant relatives. I didn't ask, but I wondered: How many distant relatives did I have, anyway?

      After driving for six hours, with a quick stop at a gas station to grab some sodas and sandwiches, we were out in the middle of nowhere. All around us was marsh land. Tall reeds, rivulets of water going every which way, sea gulls making a racket, and a shack or two. The air smelled of seaweed and dead fish, so I rolled up the window, even though our air-conditioning didn't work.

      Are you sure these directions are right? I asked, rereading them for the zillionth time.

      Yes, Julie. Barbara even repeated it to me three times. Said with her directions, we won't need a map or GPS. Then my mother tried reassuring me by patting my leg. It won't be so bad when we get there. Look, we're going over the bridge to the island. See?

      I saw. I also felt as if the car was going to sink through the rickety boards of the ancient overpass. One hand held the door handle, and the other grasped the dashboard. My eyes held fast to the bridge, willing it not to collapse.

      What seemed like eons later, we were on terra firma and I let out a sigh of relief. A rusted metal sign said Welcome To Scrub Island. We drove through a tiny town that consisted of a hardware store (Nuts N' Bolts), a grocery store (Smith's Corner Market--only it wasn't on a corner), a luncheonette (Harry's Haven), and a few other places right out of the dark ages. Then I saw

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