Ollie Oxley and the Ghost: The Search for Lost Gold
capital D small E-E Whatever drama queen For the record that’s so dumb Spelled capital D-U-M-B Stop Mom held out her arm to block Ollie’s way You know the rules No one crosses the threshold until I roll out the red carpet Oh brother He rolled his eyes This isn’t a Broadway premiere Don’t be silly Mom said racing ahead to roll out the red Welcome Home mat Every day is a premiere More like a bad movie he muttered unloading his suitcase from the car Snapping the handle in place he dragged the bag over the buckling sidewalk and up the stairs to the front door Can’t we just be a normal family for once We are normal Mom shook out the mat A cloud of dust billowed into the air We’re just a different kind of normal Normal people don’t move all the time He blinked furiously his hazel eyes watering from the dust Mom draped a reassuring arm around his sagging shoulders Sweetie I’m tired of moving too Uh-huh Ollie raked his fingers through his straw-colored hair and zoned out on a black beetle as it scuttled across the porch He watched until it disappeared beneath a stack of yellowing newspapers This time it’ll be different I promise Mom laid the Welcome Home mat at his feet The Bingham Theater has been here since I was a kid It’s not going anywhere and neither are we Can you just try and be happy she asked digging through her purse for the house key Ollie nodded but stayed silent He wanted to be happy Really
he did But ever since his dad left five years ago everything had gone horribly wrong His mom went back to work which wasn’t a bad thing except now they moved every time she landed a new job directing some lame play or indie movie They never stayed in one place for long and he was always getting in trouble He’d done more time in more principals offices than well most principals Moving sucked but on the bright side every new school came with a fresh new start Just then the beetle crawled out from under the newspapers and froze after getting hit with a spray of snot from DeeDee’s fat pug Hank I know how you feel little dude Somebody’s always raining on my parade too Found it Mom cried jingling a set of keys in the air Don’t forget to wipe your feet on the red carpet for good luck She jammed the key into the lock turned the knob and shoved hard with her shoulder The door swung open with a slow creaking moan as if to say turn back now Ollie stepped over the red carpet and walked inside A musty smell crept into his nostrils followed by a whisper of cool air He stood still for a moment letting his eyes adjust to the gloomy interior Ugh He rubbed his eyes What A Dump The walls were the color of scrambled eggs which paired well with the old floorboards that resembled long strips of burnt bacon Dusty cobwebs dangled from a crystal chandelier in the foyer and faded curtains swayed in the breeze that came in through a broken window It was definitely a dump but at least it was better than the last dump or the dump before that or the dump before that
Heads-up Buttercup DeeDee pushed by him and bounded up the staircase with Hank hot on her heels Moments later she leaned over the banister and yelled I call dibs on both rooms up here What Ollie threw his hands up in the air Why should DeeDee get two rooms Mom dropped the box of books she was carrying with a loud thud Puffs of dirt swirled about her feet like mini tornados Sweetie DeeDee could use the extra space for her costumes There’s a lovely room for you right here she added opening a door off the living room Ollie peered inside the cramped quarters You’d think the fact that I’m twelve and she’s only ten might count for something but I guess not He sighed and lugged his suitcase into the tiny space A pair of dust bunnies rolled across the floor like tumbleweeds The room or lack of room looked barely big enough by his calculations to fit his bed his green dresser and his red beanbag chair A round window that reminded him of a ship’s porthole looked out across the street at a yellow cottage with a white picket fence He crossed the room and pressed his face up against the glass There was a sign painted on the weathered boards of the fence Miss Sally World-Famous Medium he read aloud Why does a world-famous medium live in a crummy little house on Peach Street Before he could give it much thought Gus padded into the room His massive paws clicked on the hardwood floor Butting his head up against Ollie’s backside he barked in loud sharp bursts nudging him toward the door
All right buddy Ollie chuckled Let’s go check out your new digs Gus made a mad dash out of the room and down the hall skidding to a halt when he reached the back door Ollie rattled the glass doorknob back and forth After a few stout tugs and a swift kick the door jerked open and Gus barreled by to find the closest tree Scrambling to get out of the way Ollie banged into the doorjamb and nearly lost his balance Thanks a lot Gus he grumbled scoping out the scenery Wow This place is about as cheery as a graveyard The backyard hummed with summer insects that swarmed over a carpet of dandelions Overgrown bushes and weeds had staged a hostile takeover of the garden A series of old stepping-stones led to a small outhouse smothered in ivy The sprawling yard reminded him of an old cemetery he’d once visited while on a historical tour in New Orleans I hope that’s not a mausoleum he thought eyeing the outhouse The above-ground burial chambers he’d seen on the trip had given him the willies He half-expected a door to swing open and a zombie to creep out A white cat appeared from around the corner of the house and slinked through the tall grass Gus sprang into action and chased the feline up a towering oak tree The cat stared down from its perch with an amber gaze while Gus circled below growling and scratching at the tree Ollie watched the commotion with amusement until something unusual caught his eye A bent piece of metal was poking out from the trunk near the foot of the tree The metal seemed to have grown with the tree twisting and molding itself around the
