Ghost Time

they sent one of those little vans and even had a lift. I guess for all the old people in town.
    After I hung up, I got the strangest feeling. Well, probably because I knew we were going to get in trouble, but I’d been hauling my bag around all day. So, right before the cab came, I put it down and pulled out Hubble, and I said, Mel, do you think I could leave this here? She shot me this look, and she said, Are you sure? It was strange, I know, because I’ve never let our notebook out of my sight, but I just had this feeling I shouldn’t carry it around the mall with me.
    Hide it under my mattress , Mel said, and I said, You sure? Then she got the strange feeling, too, I could tell, because she changed her tune and said, Positive. Leave it here. What safer place could there be in this town than my bed? she said, and I just nodded, I’m not touching that. She goes, No, seriously, no one will ever find it if you hide it between the bottom mattress and the bedspring , she said. So I folded back her mattress, and I placed Hubble just under where her pillows were, then covered it back up, making sure her bed was perfectly tidy before we headed back out.
    The cabdriver got out to open the doors for us, and when we got in the cab, we just started giggling, Melody and I. She goes, We’re going to get in so much trouble , and I go, I know. Isn’tthis great? Then I turned off my phone. I told the driver, I said, It’s our birthday, and he looked at me in the rearview, and he goes, Yeah? You two sisters? And I go, Twins —Mel said it at the same time, and I go, Jinx! And she said it, too, same exact time. Like I said, grinning, I was so happy. She made the guy nervous, Melody did, I could tell. Which is good, because he ignored us the whole way. I had to ask her again, I go, Are you sure about this? And she goes, I’m sure , and I used the money she had in her piggy bank, like she told me to, but I saved her a surprise.
    I waited until we got there, and then I saw this bench that was free, so I wheeled her there, and she goes, What are we doing? And I go, I got you something, and she goes, No! Thee, no—I thought this was our gift , she said, meaning our trip to the mall, right? I go, It is, but I got you a little something, and I pulled her gift out of my bag. It was small, soft, wrapped. I made the wrapping paper—I drew a picture of her on Kraft paper and I showed it to her. Thee , she whined, because she felt bad, and I go, You want me to open it or not? She just grinned at me, and then she goes, Open it! So I undid the piece of tape at the back, saving her drawing, and I opened her gift and showed it to her, holding it up.
    She goes, Ohmygod. Oh. My God. I go, You like it? It’s vintage, and I looked at it, holding it up. Took me eight days of hand-to-hand combat bidding on eBay, but I got her an original Meat Is Murder T-shirt. I even kept the envelope it was mailed in, I said, it came all the way from Manchester. She goes. No! I go, It’s true. I’ll show you, and she goes, I can’t believe it! I go, Youwant to wear it? And she goes, Yes, yes! I go, Over your shirt? And she goes, No, I hate this shirt! Burn it!
    So I took her to the bathroom and we changed her clothes, and I didn’t burn it, but I threw her shirt in the trash—I did—she told me to. Then Mel goes, I’m ready—let’s do this. I couldn’t help laughing, but I go, Let’s, and we went back to the mall, and she goes, Thee? I stopped and bent over her, looking at her upside down, and she goes, I didn’t get you anything , and she felt so bad. I go, You did, too—you got me my best friend forever , and then I leaned forward, giving her butterfly kisses. Then she goes, Ohmygod, Thea, that was so sweet, I think I gagged. All right, enough. Let’s do this already, I said, ignoring her, pushing her toward the front doors.
    When we got into the mall, the center of the ring, Mel freaked out. Just total sensory overload, you know, and she clenched her jaw, and she goes, Thee, people are staring at me. I go, Don’t flatter yourself: they’re staring at me, and Mel goes, You know, you’re very funny for a sixteen-year-old girl , and then it hit me. I was just like, Wow, I’m sixteen. I go, Mel, we’re sixteen, can you believe it? And she squealed, I know! Gave me the chills. I go, Seriously, it’s not you, it’s your shirt: they don’t get many vegetarians in this neck of the woods, Mel, and she started laughing. People were gawking,