2 OFF TO SCHOOL

CHAPTER 2 OFF TO SCHOOL No," Beckett said the next morning while he and Kaz drifted around Claire's bedroom. Claire was in the bathroom, brushing her teeth. "You can't go traipsing off to school with that solid girl when you have your own lessons to work on right here." "My lessons are coming along fine," Kaz said. "Are they?" Beckett raised an eyebrow. "Can you glow? Can you wail? Can you pass through a solid object or even hold one in your hand? These skills don't develop by themselves, Kaz. You have to practice them."

"I know," Kaz said. "And I will practice." "When?" Beckett asked. "Later," Kaz said. Claire skipped back into her room. "Are you ready to go, Kaz?" She twisted the top off her water bottle and held it out to him. Beckett folded his arms across his chest. "I have to go to school with Claire," Kaz told Beckett. "We have a case to solve. That case could help me find my family." Not that he needed Beckett's permission. Beckett wasn't his parent. He wasn't even Kaz's grandparent. "Fine. Go." Beckett waved his hand. "We will work on those skills later!" "Sure," Kaz said. He shrank down... down... down until he was small enough to fit inside Claire's water bottle. Claire twisted the bottle closed, grabbed her bag, and thundered down the stairs. "Bye, Grandma," she called as she reached for the door.

"Have a good day, dear," Grandma Karen said as she walked into the entryway. Claire's grandma was the librarian there. She was a lot like Kaz's grandma, except she had a pink stripe in her hair. And she wasn't a ghost. "Is your ghost friend in there?" Grandma Karen peered into the water bottle that hung from Claire's shoulder. Claire's grandma couldn't see Kaz, but she knew all about him. And, she knew that Claire could see ghosts when they weren't glowing. Grandma Karen used to see ghosts, too, when

she was Claire's age, but she couldn't see them anymore. Grandma Karen also knew that Claire was trying to help Kaz find his family. Claire's parents didn't know any of that. They were detectives, but they weren't around very often because they had big cases of their own to solve. None of their cases involved ghosts. They didn't believe in ghosts. "We've got a case to solve at school," Claire told her grandma. "Someone saw a ghost there, so we want to see if it's someone in Kaz's family." "How exciting," Grandma Karen said. She talked above Kaz's head. "I hope you find your family, Kaz." Claire lifted her bottle so Kaz could see her grandma better. "Me too," said Kaz, even though he knew Grandma Karen couldn't hear him. Claire's school was bigger than the old schoolhouse. Noisier, too! Kaz had to put his

hands over his ears to block out all the footsteps, voices, and banging doors. Claire stopped in front of a wall of metal doors and set Kaz's water bottle on the floor so she could take off her jacket. "Aaaah!" Kaz yelled as a bunch of giant FEET rushed toward him. "Pick me up, Claire! PICK ME UP!" He covered his head with his hands. "Why? What's the matter?" Claire grabbed the bottle.

The boy next to Claire gave her a funny look. Kaz knew he had to be careful about talking to Claire in front of other solids. If she answered him, other solids would wonder who she was talking to. They would think she was weird. But Kaz couldn't help himself. "All those feet," he said, peeking out between his fingers. "I'm afraid someone will step on me or kick me down the hall." Claire lowered her voice. "Okay, I'll put you inside my locker." She moved Kaz's bottle to the floor of her open locker. "Better?" "Yes. Much better," Kaz said. Claire hung her jacket on a hook way above Kaz, then picked up the bottle again. "Okay," she said cheerfully, as she twisted the cap off. "Time to go find a ghost." Kaz huddled at the bottom of the bottle. "I think I'll stay here," he said. "Inside the bottle? You'll never find the ghost in there," Claire said.