The Ghost of Oak Read Free Page B

left
of the larger plate, was a tall glass of freshly squeezed orange
juice. Then, she noticed that her setting was the only one
there.
             "Where is your place setting, Mom?" she asked. "And
Dad's?"She added.
     
              Mrs. Smith laughed. "I made the breakfast just
for you on your first day of summer vacation, sweetie." Was her
reply. "Wow!" She continued. "My little girl only has one year left
of elementary school."
               Katie blushed briefly, as she thought of going to
middle school in less than two years.
             "Kids these days, they grow up too fast." Katie's mother
said, more to herself than to her daughter. Mr. Smith walked into
the kitchen, and smelling the breakfast that Katie had just began
to eat, he grumpily got out a box of raisin bran cereal, and a
gallon of milk. He knew better than to complain about not getting a
breakfast like Katie's, for he was a grown man, who knew that
Katie's breakfast was special, and only intended for her
consumption.
             Mrs. Smith scrambled a couple of eggs for herself, and sat
down at the table. "Katie, you look very tired." She commented,
noticing bags under her daughter's eyes.
            "She Does" replied Mr. Smith. "Katie, did you sleep well?" he
asked, sounding concerned.
            Katie shrugged. "I guess so." Was all she said. She brought
her plate to the sink, and carefully placed it in. then she stalked
out of the room.
             She went upstairs to her bedroom, and grabbed some clothes
from her drawer. She looked at the selection. Underwear, a pair of
jeans, her favorite T-shirt, and a pair of socks. Good enough. She
opened her closet door, and pulled out a pair of sneakers. She
thought that she heard a loud squeak, and it frightened her
greatly, but she decided that she didn't hear anything, and she
went into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Once in the
shower, she felt a lot better, as the warm water calmed her down,
and made her think peaceful thoughts. She was enjoying the feel of
the water so, that she nearly forgot to bathe. Realizing that she
had been in the shower for a while, she washed her hair and body as
quickly as she could wash herself, and actually be washing herself.
When finished, she got out of the shower and grabbed a towel. She
dried off, and wrapped the towel around herself. In doing so, she
caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, seeing not herself, but
the face of another young girl. This one was about her age, but she
looked as if from a different time. Then, the girl's face changed
into that of an elderly woman. Katie looked away. She had to be
imagining things, again. And, besides, she saw the "girl" in such a
quick flash, that it simply could not have been
real.
           Katie grabbed her clothes from the counter, and
dressed quickly. Then, she ran down the stairs, and into the living
room, where her parents had been waiting for her. They asked Katie
why she had taken so long, and she shrugged as she had earlier that
morning. They just laughed, and led Katie out of the house and into
the car. Then, they explained to her that they were going to take
her shopping for some mew summer clothes, as she had gotten taller,
and outgrown her old ones. Although she could care less, she was
quiet the whole ride to the mall, and did not make even the
slightest complaint about anything.
     
  Chapter
Four
     
    After nearly a half-hour, the
Smiths' car pulled into the mall parking lot. Though she liked to
look somewhat decent when she had to, Katie wasn't big on fashion.
But, since her mother was, she didn't say anything when her parents
dragged her to the mall at the start of each season for new
clothes, even though it was quite unnecessary to do so. Katie
didn't see the big deal with wearing worn out jeans that had little
holes and frays, and that showed her socks. Stores even sold jeans
that were meant to look worn. Katie's parents urged her to get