Ghost of a Chance Read Online Free Page B

room.
    Two boys were lounging around a large pool table and a girl was slumped in a chair with her legs tucked under her, gazing out the window.
    E.D. walked past her and turned to the boys. ‘Hey, guys, want a game?’ he said, grabbing one of the cues.
    ‘Beat it,’ the girl said. ‘We were here first.’
    E.D. looked at Angus. ‘It’s cool. We’ll wait till you finish.’
    ‘Didn’t you hear what I said?’ The girl swung her legs off the chair and stood up.
    ‘You own the table, do you?’ E.D. said, not flinching.
    ‘Come on, E.D. We’ll come back later.’
    ‘Good idea.’ The girl folded her arms and
    glared at E.D.
    ‘Or we can challenge you to a game?’ E.D.
    picked up a small cube of chalk from the edge of
    the table and started vigorously rubbing the tip
    of his cue.
    ‘E.D., I’ve never played before,’ Angus hissed in his ear. E.D. ignored him and watched the two boys talking.
    ‘Can we, Kristy?’ one of them said, finally.
    ‘Oh, whatever,’ she sighed, slumping down in the seat again and staring glumly out at the ocean. ‘Take on the losers, then.’
    E.D. pocketed three balls on his first break then went to chalk his cue for his next shot. He looked at the table and frowned.
    ‘Hey, who moved the white ball?’ he demanded, looking incredulous.
    ‘It never moved,’ the boy replied.
    ‘You wanted to play,’ Kristy said from her chair.
    ‘Someone’s moved the white ball. It wasn’t behind the 8-ball before and now it is.’
    ‘Must have been the wind.’
    ‘Yeah, from your—’
    ‘E.D., come on,’ Angus said, grabbing E.D. by the arm and steering him towards the door. ‘We’ll come back later.’
    Kristy stood up and crossed her arms, looking threatening. ‘Yeah, go and play with your girlfriends.’
    It took all of Angus’s strength to get E.D. out the door. ‘Come on, mate. I’ll get you some chips from the vending machine.’
    E.D. glared at the girl. ‘We’ll leave you with your boyfriends, then.’ He dodged the cue that came flying out the door and let Angus lead him away.
    E.D. was still looking angry when he walked into the girls’ room twenty minutes later.
    ‘What’s up?’ said Gabby. ‘Stub your toe in the dark?’
    ‘We had a little discussion with some kids in the games room.’ Angus sat on the floor and passed packets of chips around.
    ‘They’re probably locals and Mrs Dalrymple lets them use the games room,’ he said. ‘I don’t know what their problem was.’
    ‘That’s very nice of your Aunt Susan,’ said Gabby. E.D. looked at Gabby and shook his head.
    ‘So,’ said Angus. ‘What’s the next move? We haven’t found out much, only that there was a boat accident and some kids drowned. Sad, but it doesn’t help us with Ling’s ghostly friend.’
    ‘You need to speak to her again,’ said E.D., his grumpiness gone. He reached for more chips and stuffed them in his mouth.
    ‘Right,’ said Hannah. ‘And how do you get to speak to a ghost again? Call it? Text it? Online chat perhaps? Or open the window and shout very loudly?’
    Ling’s face reddened. ‘I’ve been thinking about that. When I saw her it was the last night I was here with my parents. It was in this room.’
    ‘Nothing happened last night,’ said Gabby. ‘And I reckon I stayed awake most of the night.’
    ‘No,’ said Ling. ‘It didn’t feel right last night.’
    ‘What do you mean—didn’t feel right?’ asked Hannah.
    Ling shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I just sometimes…feel these things.’
    ‘Does it feel right tonight?’ said Angus.
    Ling looked up at him. ‘It feels better.’
    ‘Maybe Gabby scared the ghost away,’ said E.D., grinning. ‘She’s pretty scary.’
    ‘Oh, ha, ha, E.D.’ Gabby glared at him.
    ‘Maybe E.D.’s right,’ said Angus thoughtfully. He looked quickly at Gabby. ‘You aren’t scary, Gab. But maybe there were too many people in the room last night. Maybe if Ling was alone the ghost would come out.’
    Everyone shifted