The Prankster and the Ghost by R. L. Stedman

Author:R. L. Stedman [Stedman, R. L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: PublishDrive

IV

Jamie and Tayla Take Turns

10

The School

Tayla felt lonely. Even before the accident, he hadn’t had many friends. He liked fixing stuff, so instead of hanging out with other kids, he spent most of his time with Dad, down at the workshop.

Dad. No. He didn’t want to think about Dad now.

In a way, it was a relief to be here in this little space with nothing to do, nothing to see. He could just zone out for a while. Like being asleep, but without the dreams. It was almost annoying when the inspector’s bag clicked open and daylight flooded in.

Turned upside down, the handbag was shaken hard, and Tayla slipped out. Landing on his back with a soft thud, he slid slowly under a desk. The inspector and a man with red tufty hair peered down at him. The man looked annoyed.

‘Is this the boy?’

The inspector nodded. ‘You can come out, Tayla.’

Feeling wobbly, Tayla crawled slowly out from under the desk.

‘This is Mr Potts,’ said the inspector. ‘The principal.’

The red-haired man was as thin as a goal post. He stared at Tayla as if he was a spider. A very poisonous spider. ‘I can’t take him. It’s hard enough keeping the others under control.’

Tayla stood up. Were his arms still here? His legs? Maybe they’d got stuck in the inspector’s handbag, and all he had was a head and a body. Anxiously, he looked himself over. Two arms? Check. Legs? Check. Two feet, on right way round? Two hands, each with five fingers? He wiggled them to be sure. Yep. All present and correct.

‘When you’ve quite finished, Tayla?’ said the inspector.

‘Sorry.’ He tucked his hands behind his back.

‘I’m giving you a holiday,’ the inspector announced, as if kidnapping him in a handbag was a treat.

The principal sniffed. ‘This isn’t a camp. This is a school. We don’t allow students to come and go as they please. We have rules.’

The words sounded bossy, but the man’s face was nervous. What sort of principal was scared of a kid? Then Tayla realised: I’m not just any kid. To him, I’m a ghost.

‘Are you a ghost, too?’ he asked.

‘Of course not. I’m a teacher.’

‘The principal is always able to see the ghosts,’ said the inspector. ‘Mr Potts is one of the most talented principals we’ve had.’

Tayla wasn’t interested in the principal’s talents. ‘Do I have to stay here?’

The inspector looked at him over her ray-gun glasses. ‘But where else would you go?’

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