Legend of the Ghost Dog by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel Page A

juice.”
    â€œOkay,” Quin said easily, unzipping her fleece as she walked into the room I had pointed to.
    Jack had abandoned the bowl and spoon where they fell and was sitting at the table eating Cap’n Crunch by the handful out of the box, reading an old He-Man comic book. He barely seemed to notice me as I placed the bowl and spoon on the table, filled the bowl with cereal, and pouredmilk over it. When I handed him the spoon he scooped up a heap of cereal and crammed it into his mouth, his eyes still never leaving the comic book.
    â€œWhat do you say?” I asked, grabbing the pitcher of juice and a couple glasses.
    â€œThapp yuh,” Jack said as politely as he could with his mouth full.
    â€œYou’re welcome,” I replied. “Quin and I are going to hang out in my room for a while. You and I need to get online and check what work you have to do after. At least do some of the long-division stuff. One hour, okay?”
    Jack nodded and gave me a little wave, which probably meant he hadn’t actually listened to what I was saying. Fine with me. We had one thing in common — neither one of us wanted to deal with third-grade long-division assignments via the Internet.
    When I walked into my room, Quin was standing by the shelf where I’d unpacked all the books I’d brought with me, her head tilted to one side as she scanned the titles. I was dying to get back to talking about Shadow now that I wasn’t huffing and puffing, but seeing Quin there made me realize why I felt like I knew her. She reminded me of myself, in many ways. For example, if I went to someone’s house and noticed a bookshelf, I did exactly the same thing.
    â€œThe vampire book was a gift — don’t hold it against me,” I said, setting the glasses of juice down and sitting on the edge of my bed.
    Quin turned and gave me a mischievous grin that said she was already holding it against me.
    â€œSuuuuurrrre,” she said. “And you’re just holding this Zodiac Guide to Besties and Boys for a friend, right?”
    I smacked my hands over my face and flopped backward on my bed.
    â€œThat one’s mine. I like the quizzes, okay?”
    â€œI love astrology quizzes,” Quin said, plopping down next to me. “Let’s do me. I’m a Libra.”
    I sat up.
    â€œSo am I!” I said.
    â€œLook at us — we’re living The Parent Trap ,” Quin said. “In about a week of comparing notes we’ll realize that we’re identical twins who were separated at birth.”
    â€œExcept you’re tall and have red hair, and I’m short and have black hair,” I pointed out.
    â€œExcuse me, but I have strawberry blonde hair and I’m considered medium height,” Quin said. “And you aren’t short.”
    â€œI’m shortish,” I said.
    â€œPetite,” Quin corrected, flipping through the book.“‘Question one. On your ideal date, would you most enjoy (a) a dinner at a trendy new restaurant, (b) a long walk on the beach, or (c) a burger and an evening of bowling?’ That’s it? Those are my only choices?”
    â€œI choose (d) spinsterhood,” I said.
    â€œRight,” Quin agreed. “Or (e) browsing the stacks at Barnes & Noble.”
    â€œPlus, we need to know who the date is with,” I said. “Bowling can be dangerous if your partner has terrible aim.”
    â€œAnd we need to know what state we live in,” Quin added. “Is this beach we might walk on in Malibu or Maine?”
    â€œYeah, and this hypothetical burger at the bowling alley … I mean, does it come with fries or anything? Can I get a milkshake?”
    â€œDefinitely not enough information,” Quin said. “Let’s move on to question two. ‘When you and a boyfriend call it quits, do you prefer to (a) stay friends, (b) never speak again, or (c) take a break then try to hang out after things have