The Ghost and the McGee Twins

Scratch The Surface

After school, Molly and I caught up with Libby and Cleo. "Hey, bestie!" Molly greeted. "Hey, guys." Cleo waved. "Sup?" I asked. "So, what'd you do this weekend, guys?" Libby wondered. "Oh, Libby, we had the craziest Friday night..." Molly began, remembering that thing with the fish. I was hanging from its tail. After that, Scratch kept it in my bed for a few hours. "We..." "No, no, no! You can't tell Libby and Cleo about our ghost adventures." Scratch interrupted. "Um, yeah. This weekend, it was crazy. Uh, because Mom had been looking for this scented rainbow ribbon candle which she is just nuts for. And so we just went all around town looking for it, you know." Molly lied. "We looked in Brighton, and then Perfektborg, and then Mewline, and then, uh Oconohaw." "And?" Libby asked. "Pfft! No rainbow candle!" I chimed in, glaring at Scratch. "Which probably would've smelled better than a bed with a dead fish." "You did this all for a candle?" Cleo asked. "Hmm, that is crazy." Libby said, walking away with Cleo. "Hmm, I give that lie a 7 out of 10." Scratch said. "Weird enough to be true, but boring enough that there are no follow up questions. Good job." "Sweet baby corn." Molly and I groaned.

Later at home, Molly and Scratch were building a puzzle together while I caught up with some reading. "Aw! I hate lying to Libby!" Molly complained. "She's my best friend, Scratch. She should know about you. I'm getting stress hives from all the lies!" "You think I like lying to Cleo?!" I asked. "She almost found out at Turnip Fest and at the talent show!" "Girls, don't you see that the more people who know about me, the less scary I am." Scratch explained. "And I'll just be some kind of friendly ghost!" "But, I like friendly ghosts." Molly groaned. "Well, the Ghost Council doesn't!" Scratch snapped. "If I don't keep my scares up, they'll send me to the Flow of Failed Phantoms! Forever! Now, do you have any edge pieces?" "The Flow of Failed Phantoms?" I asked. "I never realized how dangerous the afterlife must be." "Hi, Mrs McGee!" We heard Libby say at our front door while her and Cleo were carrying a huge candle that perfectly met the description of the lie Molly told. "No wonder you had trouble finding this. Abe and Allie at the candle store, they said they've never even heard of a rainbow ribbon candle!" "Careful, Libby!" Cleo warned, grabbing one side of the candle. "Anyway, Mrs M, we made this one ourselves!" "Thanks, I guess." Mom thanked. "Just one question. Why..." "Why, Libby, Cleo! How thoughtful of you to make a candle from scratch." I interrupted. "Oh, right!" Mom exclaimed. "Mmm! Smells like rainbows?" "Well, you've saved the day yet again, girls! See you later!" Molly exclaimed, pushing our friends out the door and slamming it shut.

The next morning, I woke up to find a bunch of papers on my bed. "Molly, did you stay up all night again?" I asked. "It was for a good reason." Molly replied, fixing her vision board. "I had the funniest dream." Scratch yawned. "I was riding a dog, the dog started speaking French... Whoa! Whoa! Amber, what the heck happened in here?" "Ask her yourself." I replied. "You're right, Scratch. Libby and Cleo need a new best friend." Molly said. "Which is why I created Milly and Ember, Libby and Cleo's new BFFs!" "Um, they're both pictures of you and Amber." Scratch commented on her drawings. "Well, there's a familiar resemblance, sure, but they are clearly our Canadian cousins, Milly and Ember!" Molly explained. "You see the flag?" "Clearly. Oh, yeah, I didn't see that at first." Scratch replied. "Milly and Ember have blue hair and are exchange students staying with the McGees." Molly continued. "Meanwhile, 'Molly' will be up in..." Molly falls asleep mid-sentence before getting woken up by Scratch. "...Canada! Anywho, what's important is that Milly and Libby's friendship and Ember and Cleo's friendship is 100% lie-free and pure. So as long as we keep our friendships separate, it'll be fine!" "I'm not doing this." I refused. "I'm not pretending to be you either. We don't even have relatives from Canada!" "So, the answer to lying to your friends about me is to tell an even bigger lie about yourself?" Scratch asked. "It's either this or tell the truth." Molly replied. "Well, if it's gonna keep me out of the Flow of Failed Phantoms. Hello, Milly!" Scratch exclaimed, putting a blue wig on Molly's head. "Mom!" I shouted, going downstairs. "Am I adopted by any chance?"