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Jay swung her car into a parallel parking spot a block from the hospital and jumped out, just barely missing getting hit by a car speeding past. Her heart racing for more than one reason, she jumped onto the sidewalk and dashed toward the hospital, rehearsing apologies to Kyle in her mind.

Twenty-three minutes later, the judges emerged from the tent. From the looks on their faces, the decision had not been unanimous. Oh well, Jay thought. I just need to see if I won and get out of here.

Jay’s alarm blared her awake not nearly long enough later. She groaned, almost swiping Snooze before remembering. “The cupcake.” She looked at the time – 8:00 AM. Only an hour to get dressed, load up the cupcake, drive thirty minutes to downtown, and check in for the contest. She groaned and rolled off the couch.

Jay arrived home about an hour later, with her purse and her phone which had been in it, thank goodness. She longed to just collapse onto her sofa, but one look at her sauce-covered, filthy dress drove her toward the shower instead.

Jay sank against the building as the car drove away. “How am I supposed to raise $1200 in two days?”

Jay’s dazed stare followed the panicked pointing of the crowds forming on the street. High up on the garage level of the building, the back end of the pickup truck dangled past the crumbled barrier, slowly tilting toward the street—right over Jay’s head. Massive stacks of what looked like foil containers filled the pickup’s bed.

Usually the ghosts just bullied Jay and spouted veiled threats about the house, though they had never been actually dangerous until recently, when the bank sent the foreclosure notice. Now, they were outright admitting they needed Jay's help, or at least this ghost was. Perhaps they were getting desperate.

A fire alarm blared overhead as Jay dashed into the lobby. Hospital staff rushed in every direction. Jay pressed her hands to her ears, trying to make sense of the scene.

Jay sat in the hospital waiting room a few hours later, cleared by the CT scans as still having a normal brain, her ribs declared bruised but not broken. A small bandage covered the cut on her head.

Jay groaned and blinked dust from her eyes. She wiped at her forehead, and her hand came away wet. Blood. Her heart raced with panic. She probed her forehead with her fingers and winced. It was sore, but only bleeding a little, judging from her fingers. Her vision cleared with a little blinking, but it was dim. She coughed, and pain shot through her side. Dust puffed up from the ground beside where she lay, stirred by her breath. She felt dazed. Where was she?

The Talent Coordinator rushed past Jayana and whipped the curtain open.

The curtains split. Jay was blinded by spotlights as big as a car as the announcer’s shrill voice echoed through the sound system: “The finalists for the Miss College Town Belle Regional Pageant!”

Ghost Trouble Crystal Crawford © 2018-2022 Crystal Crawford All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, cont