EXPAND When ghosts make themselves larger GLOW What ghosts do so humans can see them HAUNT Where ghosts live PASS THROUGH When ghosts travel through walls, doors, and other solid objects SHRINK When ghosts make themselves smaller SKIZZY When ghosts feel sick to their stomachs SOLIDS What ghosts call humans, animals, and objects they can't see through SPEW What comes out when ghosts throw up SWIM When ghosts move freely through the air WAIL What ghosts do so humans can hear them Woof! Woof!" "Cosmo! No!" Kaz grabbed Cosmo about a second and a half before he passed through the craft-room window and into the Outside. Kaz peered out the window. He didn't see what his dog was all excited about. "You can't go into the Outside," Kaz scolded. "What are you thinking?" Cosmo lowered his eyes. His tail drooped. "He's a dog, Kaz," Claire said, glancing up from her homework. "He doesn't know it's dangerous for ghosts to be outside." Claire reached out to pet Cosmo. But Claire was a solid, so her hand passed through him. "He should know," Kaz said, holding his dog tight against his chest. "He's seen what happens when ghosts go into the Outside." Kaz and Cosmo used to live in an old schoolhouse with Kaz's mom and dad; his grandmom and grandpop; his little brother, Little John; and his big brother, Finn. Finn liked to stick his arm or leg through the wall to the Outside just to scare Kaz and Little John. But one day when the ghost boys were playing Keep Away, Finn stuck his head a little too far through the wall, and his whole body was pullllled into the Outside. Grandmom and Grandpop tried to rescue Finn, but they ended up in the Outside, too. And they all blew away. "Plus, Cosmo has been in the Outside himself, too," Kaz reminded Claire. Last summer some solids came to the old schoolhouse with their big trucks and their wrecking ball. They destroyed the old schoolhouse, and the rest of Kaz's family was forced into the Outside. Like Finn, Grandmom, and Grandpop, they were all scattered in the wind. Kaz ended up here at the library. He felt lucky to have found Cosmo a few weeks ago when he and Claire were out solving a ghostly mystery. He hadn't seen anyone else in his family for so long. Now Cosmo wiggled and squirmed in Kaz's arms. Kaz hugged him even harder. "I don't think your dog likes to be held so tight, Kaz," Beckett said. Beckett was the other ghost who lived at the library. He'd been here way longer than Kaz had. Kaz loosened his grip on Cosmo, and the ghost dog pawed his way out of Kaz's arms. He paddled right back toward the window. Kaz sighed. What is out there ? he wondered. Cosmo had never been so interested in the Outside before. "Claire, could you please close that shade?" Kaz asked, grabbing his dog again. "If Cosmo can't see what's out there, then maybe he'll settle down." "Why don't you close the shade, Kaz?" Beckett said. "I can't," Kaz said. And Beckett knew he couldn't. Kaz simply didn't have the skills that other ghosts did. He was working on them. Really, he was. But ghost skills were hard. And he didn't like to practice. What ghost did? "How do you know you can't close that shade?" Beckett asked. "Have you tried?" "That's right, Kaz," Claire said. "Now that you can pick up solid objects, maybe you can pull the shade." Kaz had only just learned to pick up solid objects. He still wasn't very good at it. And picking up a solid object wasn't the same as pulling on a shade and making it move. But he was willing to give it a try. With one arm wrapped firmly around Cosmo, Kaz grabbed the shade with his other hand and pullllled it down. The shade didn't move. "Squeeze it harder," Claire suggested. Kaz squeezed harder, but his thumb passed through the shade. Claire went over and yanked on the shade. Cosmo let out a low groan as it came down over the window. "Now you can be free," Kaz said as he opened his arms and released his dog. Beckett clucked his tongue. "How will Kaz learn to do things for himself if you do everything for him?" he asked Claire. Excerpted from The Five O'Clock Ghost by Dori Hillestad Butler All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
