Why I'm Not Afraid of Ghosts Read Free

him.
    Robbie jumped. He totally lost his concentration.
    Nell gasped. She ran downstairs.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” Robbie yelled at Dora. He hated it when she startled him! “ I was going to scare her.”
    â€œIt didn’t take much,” Dora commented.
    Robbie glared at her. “I’m going down to check outOliver’s room now. You better not scare him before I do, or you automatically lose the contest!”
    * * *
    Robbie lurked in the doorway of Oliver’s room.
    Shawn perched on the desk chair, leafing through some comic books. Oliver sat on his bed, playing a weird-looking guitar.
    It didn’t look like any of the guitars Robbie remembered seeing while he was alive. It was flat instead of hollow, and it was made out of some shiny red stuff that didn’t look like wood. It had black knobs on it. Also, it made hardly any sound.
    Robbie remembered seeing guitars like Oliver’s on televisions that had been in the house before. The families who owned the televisions never stayed in the house long, which frustrated Robbie. He loved TV.
    Dora always wanted people to move out pretty soon after they moved in. Lifers irritated her.
    Robbie thought that was stupid. The rules of haunting said you could haunt only people who lived under your roof. Or people who were connected to people who lived under your roof. So when nobody lived here, who was there to haunt?
    People were much more fun to play with than spiders and bats and rats.
    Wait a second! What’s wrong with me? Robbie scolded himself. I should be coming up with a really good scare!
    Back to business. What can I use here in Oliver’s room to scare Oliver into believing in ghosts?
    Robbie scanned the room. A big black three-ring binder decorated with green lightning bolts sat on the desk. A zip pouch full of sharp new pencils and a package of filler paper lay next to it. There was a stack of textbooks on the desk too.
    A computer sat on the desk. The monitor had fish swimming across it.
    A glass-sided tank sat by the window. Dirt, a geranium plant, and a bowl of water were inside.
    Robbie drifted closer. He peered through the glass.
    Yikes! A giant hairy red-legged spider stared back at him!
    A tarantula!
    What kind of kid had a tarantula for a pet?
    Robbie hated spiders.
    â€œSo—do you play any instruments, Shawn?” Oliver asked.
    Robbie jumped. Did Oliver have to talk so loud?
    Shawn shook his head. “Nope. Mom made me take piano lessons when I was nine, but I hated them.”
    â€œToo bad. I want to start a band.” Oliver carefully placed the guitar on the floor.
    Robbie wished the old piano were still downstairs. He used to take piano lessons too, and he liked to play.
    He bet Oliver wouldn’t know any of the songs he knew though.
    Robbie hadn’t had many opportunities to listen to current music. People moved out of the house way too fast, and they took their radios and TVs and CD players with them.
    Still, he was sure he could learn a new song easily. He was sick of the old ones he knew. And it would be cool to be in a band.
    I’m doing it again! Robbie thought. Thinking about making friends with some dumb lifer! Being a traitor to ghosts!
    If the piano were still here, I could use it to scare Oliver, Robbie told himself. That’s what I should be thinking about!
    He peeked over Shawn’s shoulder to check out the comic book. All he saw were lots of people in weird masks and underwear.
    Funny papers sure had changed since Robbie was alive.
    Just as Robbie leaned in for a closer look, Shawn clapped the comic book shut and put it on the floor. Frustrated, Robbie drifted toward the door.
    â€œGot any bright ideas, little brother?” Dora asked, appearing right in front of him. “Or are you just mooning around as usual?”
    Robbie narrowed his eyes and glared at his sister. He wished he had an idea, but Oliver’s room hadn’t inspired him.
    Aside from the