3 ANOTHER NEW GHOST

CHAPTER 3 ANOTHER NEW GHOST? Really?" Claire set her orange juice bottle on the floor while Kaz and his family looked around. They didn't see any ghosts. "Have you actually seen this ghost with your very own eyes?" Claire asked the baker. "I sure have," he replied. "Many times." "Can you see us?" Finn asked. Little John wiggled his fingers and stuck out his tongue. Grandmom and Grandpop waved their hands in the baker's face.

The baker didn't even blink. He picked up a towel and started wiping the counter. "He can't see us," Grandpop said. "That means Dave was glowing!" Little John said. "If Dave was actually here," Kaz put in. "Why would Dave glow?" Mom asked. "Why would he want this solid man to see him?" "There are lots of reasons ghosts glow, Mom," Finn said. Claire took out her notebook. "When did you see this ghost?" she asked.

"This morning. Yesterday morning. I see him almost every morning," the baker replied. "Then it's not Dave," Finn said. "Dave's only been missing since yesterday." "The Dave from the movie theater has only been missing since yesterday," Little John pointed out. "This ghost could still be our Dave." Kaz scratched his head. They were looking for a ghost named Dave. But was there one ghost named Dave or were there two? Was the Dave from the movie theater and Mom's long-lost brother, Dave, the same ghost? This was confusing. Little John cupped his hand around his mouth and called, "Hello, Ghost? Where are you? Come out, come out wherever you are!" "There's another room back there," Finn said, straining to see through a small window in a door behind the baker. "It looks like a kitchen." "Let's go see if Dave is in there," Mom said as she and Finn sailed up and over the baker's head.

"Wait for me!" Little John cried. He followed Mom and Finn through the door. Kaz and the others stayed where they were. Claire opened to a new page in her notebook. "So, it's a boy ghost," she said as she started to draw a ghost. "Yes," the baker said. "Can you describe him?" "Sure," the baker said. "He looks like a ghost!" Grandpop snorted. "That's helpful." Claire looked up from her drawing. "Is he young or old?" "Youngish," the baker replied. "What was he wearing?" Claire asked.

The baker laughed. "Silly. Ghosts don't wear clothes!" "We don't?" Grandpop said, snapping the straps on his suspenders. "Since when?" Mom, Finn, and Little John returned from the kitchen. "We didn't find any ghosts in there, either," Little John said. "Can you describe the ghost's hair?" Claire asked the baker. "Is it long? Short? Curly? Straight?" The baker laughed again. "You have some funny ideas about ghosts," he said as he folded his towel and set it on the counter. "They don't have hair!" Finn clucked his tongue. "This guy doesn't think we have hair?" "He doesn't think we wear clothes, either," Kaz said. Claire tipped her head to the side. "Are you sure you've seen a ghost in here?" she asked.

"Yes!" The baker picked up a pan of cookies and a spatula and started putting the cookies in the display case. "But I don't think you've ever seen one, young lady." He waved the spatula at Claire. "So let me tell you about them. First, ghosts don't look anything like us. They look like floating white sheets with black holes for their eyes, noses, and mouths." Pops crossed his arms. "There's no way this man has seen a ghost." "We could change that," Little John said, rubbing his hands together. "I think we should change that," Finn said. "Oh, no," Kaz said. "On three," Finn said with a grin. "Ready? One... two... three!" The whole family (even Cosmo!) started to glow. Everyone but Kaz. The pan of cookies slipped from the baker's hand and clattered to the floor. His face was as white as his apron and his hat. "Wh-wh-what's