Ghostsitters (Page 8)
I was still standing guard when Wanda came back from shopping. She didn't see me as she walked past with two really big bags full of stuff. "Whoooooo, " I said in my best spooky voice. "Whoooooo . . . " "Argh!" she squeaked. "Don't do that, Araminta!" "Whoooooo . . . What have you got in those baaaaaaags?" I said, flapping my arms like Edmund sometimes does.
"Nothing, " said Wanda, which was obvi ously a lie. A big lie. Then she tried to change the subject. "Anyway, what are you doing there?" "I am on guard, " I told her. "Why?" I was about to tell her that I was stopping our best ghost from leaving forever when a huge crash came from the basement. Wanda rushed off and I followed. I figured Sir Horace would be safe because at least now I knew where Ned and Jed were. They were in the first-kitchen-on the-right-just-before-the-laundry-room. The first-kitchen-on-the-right-just-before-the laundry-room is where Aunt Tabby keeps stacks of plates--but not anymore.
Just as we got there the door flew open with a bang and a stream of plates came flying out and hit the wall opposite. Smash, smash, smash, smash, smash, smash, smash, smash! Wanda screamed and dropped the shop ping bags and I am sure that I heard the crunch of cheese and onion chips getting squashed. I can hear the sound of squashed cheese and onion chips from miles away. We took cover until the plates had stopped, then we peered around the door. Yes, you guessed it--Ned and Jed were sitting at the kitchen table, grinning, in the middle of a sea of broken plates. I added the plates to the Things that Aunt Tabby Will Not Like When She Comes Home list. "Hello, little girls, " they said. of -118
"They can stay in there now, " I told Wanda. "Good riddance. " "But they are ghosts, Araminta, " said Wanda. "Ghosts can go through doors. " "They wouldn't dare, " I said.
Wanda had done some weird shopping. She had bought lots of gummy bears, three tins of baked beans, some cheese, a packet of Choco- Drop Krackles, and a whole ton of bananas. There were only two teeny bags of cheese and onion chips plus a whole bunch of stuff that for some reason I was not allowed to see, which was very annoying. When I asked Wanda why I couldn't see it she said that Mathilda had told her that I mustn't.
But Ned and Jed were still there--and Mathilda was there too. "Oops, sorry, " said Wanda. "Wanda, I asked you to keep Araminta out of the way.
"Sorry, Mathilda. I didn't know you were in there, " said Wanda. "Why is Wanda trying to keep me out of the way?" I asked. "That's not fair. "
If she was going to keep secrets with Mathilda, then I would keep my ring secret, so there. And even if I didn't get any other birth day presents--which I was pretty sure I wouldn't, considering how horrible Wanda and Mathilda were being--I didn't mind. Sir Horace's ring was special. Really special.