Ivy and Bean and the Ghost That Had to Go (7 page)

Bean sighed softly. She should just trim it. This was
what Ms. Aruba-Tate called making a mature decision. Mature decisions were not as much fun as immature decisions, but sometimes you had to make them.

Bean leaned over the pillow and began to snip very, very quietly.

Food coloring didn’t change the magic of a potion. It just made it look better. Most potions, Ivy had learned, came out greenish brown. Sometimes, they were pinkish brown, which was even worse. So Ivy fixed them up with food coloring.

“Wow,” said Bean, when she saw the thick blue liquid in Ivy’s jar. “That’s really blue. How much did you put in?”

“Almost a whole thingie.”

“Doesn’t your mom get mad when you do that?” asked Bean. But she knew the answer. Ivy’s mom didn’t get mad about using things up. She got mad about messes. All parents were different.

“Did you get the hair?” Ivy asked.

“Yeah.” Bean pulled a plastic bag out of her pocket. “It’s just little bits. She didn’t even notice.” Even though that’s what Bean had wanted, she had still been disappointed.

Ivy understood. “Maybe she’ll notice later.”

The two girls crouched down and carefully
added the bits of hair to the jar. After they put the lid back on, they took turns shaking the jar until the hair was mixed in. Then Ivy whispered some magic words while Bean plugged her ears. Even with the oath of liquids, Bean wasn’t supposed to hear Ivy’s magic words.

When she was done, Ivy put the jar in her backpack. The girls started walking to school. “Did you bring a present for the ghost?” Ivy asked.

“I’m going to give it my half-dollar,” said Bean, showing a bright silver coin. “What about you?”

“I brought one of my fossils. The shell one.”

“That’s a good present for a ghost.” Fossils and ghosts were both leftovers of dead things.

When the girls got to Emerson School, Leo was waiting for them. “Are you guys still going to expel the ghost?” he asked.

“Of course. We made a potion,” said Bean.

Leo shook his head. “You guys are nuts,” he said. But then he asked, “What’s in it?”

“Secret,” said Bean.

“All we can tell you is that this potion is very powerful,” said Ivy in a mysterious
voice. “And at lunch recess, the ghost will be expelled. Never to return.”

Leo dropped his ball and gave it a soft kick. “I’ll help if you want.”

By morning recess, all the kids in the second grade knew that Ivy and Bean were going to expel the ghost at lunch. Everyone gathered around the play structure again.

“Ms. Aruba-Tate said you weren’t supposed to talk about the ghost anymore, Ivy,” said Zuzu. She snapped the waist of her skirt.

“That’s not what she said,” Ivy said. “She said she expected that she wouldn’t hear any more nonsense about a ghost in the bathroom.”

“And she’s not going to because we’re going to expel it with our potion,” added Bean.

“That’s why we’re doing it,” said Ivy. “For Ms. Aruba-Tate. If it was just us, we wouldn’t. We don’t mind it.”

“My uncle knows a guy who saw a ghost, and his hair turned white in one second!” said Eric.

“Ghosts are dead!” said Drew. “They’re going to eat your brains!”

Ivy and Bean rolled their eyes. “That’s zombies,” said Bean.

“The ghost was here first,” Ivy said, trying to be patient. “The school invaded its resting place. We have to send it back to its grave, but we’re going to give it presents like the Egyptians did with their dead people. It’s going to be a ceremony.”

Zuzu snapped her waistband again and said, “Well, I don’t believe in ghosts, and I’m going to tell Ms. Aruba-Tate what you’re
doing.” She turned toward the classroom.

Uh-oh, thought Bean. Trouble.

“HALT!” It was Ivy’s voice, louder than anyone (but Bean) had ever heard it.

Zuzu halted.

Ivy glared at Zuzu. “You have insulted the ghost of Emerson School. The ghost is now your enemy!”

Zuzu’s face got bright pink. “No it’s not! There’s no such thing as ghosts!”

Quickly, before Ivy could get really mad, Bean said, “Don’t worry, Zuzu. We’re going to expel the ghost. We’ve got a potion.”

“I’m not worried,” Zuzu said in a high voice, “but she said it was my enemy, and she’s not supposed to talk about it.”

“It’s not your enemy, I promise,” said Bean firmly. “She was just kidding.” She looked hard at Ivy.

Ivy smiled sweetly. “But if you wanted to make extra sure, you could give it a present, too. Just to be on the safe side.”

“What?” said Zuzu.

“You could give the ghost a present,” said Ivy. “For it to carry to the grave. Just in case there is such a thing as ghosts.”

Zuzu stared at Ivy. “I don’t have a present.”

Ivy looked her over. “That hairclip is nice,” she said.

Zuzu thought for a moment, and then she unhooked her pink butterfly hairclip. “You can have it. I have lots of better ones at home,” she said, giving it to Ivy.

“I’m sure the ghost will like it a lot. Even if it doesn’t have any hair,” said Bean.

“It can use it for decoration,” said Ivy.

The bell rang.

The second grade ate its lunch faster than ever before. Dusit choked on his sandwich and almost threw up, but then Eric hit him on the back. After that, he was fine.

Ivy couldn’t eat her lunch at all. Bean only ate her cookies.

Soon, all of the second grade and some of the first grade gathered around the play structure. They stared at Ivy and Bean and the jar of blue potion in Ivy’s hand.

The two girls started toward the haunted bathroom. About twenty kids followed along to watch. When they got to the breezeway where the bathroom was, everyone sat down on the benches along the sides.

Bean started to feel a little sweaty. She tried to think about Ms. Aruba-Tate saying that the bathroom wasn’t haunted. But she kept thinking about an army of ghosts.

There was the portal.

There was the bathroom door.

It was just her and Ivy. And Leo.

“Leo’s going in the girls’ bathroom!” hollered Eric from the bench.

“Leo’s a girl!” yelled Dusit.

Leo gave a little jump and said, “I’m not going in, you goons. I’m keeping watch.” Turning to Ivy and Bean, he said, “If the Yard Duty comes, I’ll throw the ball at the door.”

They nodded.

Ivy took a deep breath, reached out, and pushed the door open.

Together, Ivy and Bean entered the bathroom.