Scaredy Kat Read Online Free Page B

thought about
     it, the better I felt.
    I got up and plugged the camera’s memory card into my computer. I examined each picture as it came up. The shots I’d taken
     outside the house showed nothing out of the ordinary. When I came to the shot of Tank’s room, I drew my breath in sharply.
     I recognized the walls and window of the room, but obscuring the painting was a ball-shaped sphere of light suspended in the
     air.
    A spirit orb.
    I had only read about and seen pictures of them, but I knew one when I saw it. Spirit orbs were supposed to contain the soul
     and life experience of a dead person. I couldn’t remember much more about them. So I Googled the term, and got a hit on a
     site I’d visited before called spiritworldcenter.com. The site explained:
    An orb may represent a single spirit, or it may be a community of souls. Orbs can be as small as ping pong balls or as large
     as watermelons. They are frequently observed shooting through rooms and pass easily through solid material, though some orbs
     are known to hover around certain humans, for reasons that remain unknown.
    What the site didn’t explain was how I could catch a spirit orb with my camera when I had seen nothing with my own eyes. I
     had seen Tank, after all. Was the spirit orb separate from Tank—something unrelated to him? It seemed likely, because Tank
     hadn’t been sitting by the painting, he’d been over next to the window. I hadn’t thought to take a picture of the message
     written on the glass. Or I hadn’t wanted to. Something about it wasn’t sitting right with me.
    “Mail call!” my computer chirped.
    I was glad for the distraction. I clicked on the envelope icon, and was pleased to see Jac’s name in my Inbox.
    To: Voodoo Mama
    From: Maestra
    Well, we may be seeing each other sooner than planned. Can’t go into it now, but there’s been quite the blowup here. I’ll
     call you when I’m home. Could be as soon as tomorrow morning.
    And thanks for the picture of you and your tongue. What’s with the light show?
    Peace,
    Jac
    Whoa. Jac coming home early? A blow-up? I could only imagine what that was supposed to mean.
    Whatever had gone on, Jac would be back soon. I needed her here more than ever. Not being able to talk about the stuff going
     on next door was just about killing me.
    My eye fell on the last line of Jac’s e-mail. Light show? What was she talking about? The sentence seemed to be referring
     to the photo I’d e-mailed her. I minimized the e-mail screen and clicked through the photo images until I found the one I’d
     taken of myself.
    There I was in all my glory, my dark hair long and flat, my eyes slightly bugged, and my tongue stuck out at the camera. But
     that wasn’t all the camera had captured. As I examined the picture, I could see right away what Jac’s e-mail referred to.
    Behind me, clearly visible, were circles of light. Not just one or two, but dozens of them. They were all over the place,
     but many of them were clustered just behind me. A shiver ran up my spine as I stared at the picture, transfixed.
    My room was teeming with spirit orbs. Great.

    I faked an upset stomach that night. I didn’t feel good about these multiple episodes of being dishonest with my mother, but
     I had to have a reason to go to bed. She had a way of getting me to talk when I was upset about something. This time, I was
     determined to keep my fears to myself. I needed a convenient, noncontagious ailment that would explain my odd mood and my
     need to retreat from the world into the safe cocoon of my pillow and blanket. Stomach troubles covered all the bases, and
     required practically no further explanation.
    My mom tucked me in, put a beeswax candle and a mug of peppermint tea by my bed, and lit a stick of Lord Buddha incense. Usually
     the familiar, heady scent instantly relaxed me, but at the moment I felt overwhelmingly anxious, as if something bad was going
     to happen.
    “Is there anything else I can do for