Cara – Ghost Girls are Green: Cara the Ghost Girl, #3

By Ralf Leuther

Glowing green and bold as brass, Cara the ghost girl gives Jonathan's life a shake-up! She teaches Jonathan's nasty classmates a lesson with her pranks, and the child-hating caretaker of his apartment building, Mrs Krakenhuber, also gets a taste of Caras ghostly powers. With his new green friend, Jonathan finally gets to have fun again, and the move to Berlin turns out to be not so bad. But then Cara suddenly loses her powers, and Jonathan must do everything he can to help her…

• Language: English
• Publisher: BadPress
• Release date: May 26, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393831006

Book preview

Cara – Ghost Girls are Green

Chapter 1

A Spooky Visit

A loud clattering sound came from somewhere in the apartment.

It must be his parents. Pleased, Jonathan sprang up from his desk. But then he stopped. It was only half past three. They couldn’t possibly be back from work so early.

Again he heard something. Could it be an intruder? He now lived in Berlin, not in the small village of Finkelbach anymore. In such a big city there were probably lots of thieves.

Jonathan grabbed his phone to ring his mother. But then he put it down again. He was probably just imagining the intruder. Most likely there was just a window open somewhere, and the wind had knocked something over. It would be pretty stupid to worry his mother unnecessarily over something like that.

Quietly, he crept out of his room to see what was going on. It was now completely silent in the apartment – weird! If only Tobi was here! With Tobi at his side he had never been afraid of anything.

He looked cautiously into his parents’ room from the hallway. The two boxes containing the new cupboard his father had been meaning to assemble for ages had toppled over. Something black was poking out from under them. He took a closer look and realised it was Mum’s favourite dress that her father had given her on her last birthday.

Suddenly the boxes began to move. He leapt back in fright. Mum? Is that you?

No, it Father Christmas, a voice squeaked. Help me, will you.

Unsure what to do, he remained where he was. Surely that was an intruder under the boxes. Was he was just supposed to set him free? That would be pretty stupid. But he couldn’t just leave him lying there either. The cupboard components were quite heavy.

Hey, are you still there? came the voice again.

Something was trying to lift up the fallen boxes, but couldn’t manage it.

Are you an intruder?

I live here, you swamp toad!

You’re lying! It’s just Mum, Dad and I living here. I’m calling the police!

No, not here in the apartment, here in this building! Now, help me, please! I can’t breathe!

Jonathan hesitated. If it was an intruder, then it clearly wasn’t a very strong one. Otherwise he’d be able to lift up the cupboard parts himself. And if he suffocated? Then he, Jonathan, would be responsible.

Fine. I’ll help you. He tried to lift the boxes. They were heavier than he had expected.

Kindly put your back into it! Or are your arm muscles made of twine? came a squeak from under the box.

He tensed all his muscles. He actually managed to lift the boxes a little higher.

Something came crawling out from under the boxes containing cupboard parts. Something that was wearing his mother’s favourite dress, had red hair and whose hands and face were moss-green. He almost let the boxes drop again in fright.

Man, that took long enough, said the girl. She was about as tall as him, petite, with a snub nose and violet freckles. Under his mother’s dress she was wearing something that looked like a white, moth-eaten princess’ dress. Those are going to turn into some horrible orange spots, she said, and rubbed her shoulder.

The dress you’re wearing, is it really my Mum’s? he asked.

So what? I just borrowed it. To try it out. Maybe I’ll buy myself a similar one.

But now it’s completely crumpled. Mum’s going to be so mad.

Mum’s going to be so mad, aped the green figure.

He was becoming angry. He had helped her and now she was making fun of him. Give it to me right now!

Come and get it! she called mockingly.

What should he do? He couldn’t just let it go. He grabbed at her, but found himself grasping at the air. She was suddenly at least a metre away from him, and he couldn’t understand how she got there. He leapt forward to catch her, but missed and crashed into Dad’s nightstand.

Poops! cried the girl.

He rubbed his knee angrily. The word is ‘oops’, you moon hopper.

Really? How can you be so sure?

Jonathan was furious. Quick as lightning he grabbed her wrist, which felt quite cold. You give me my Mum’s dress right now!

Cheese balls, she said, grinning.

Then something happened that he didn’t understand: the girl raced away and he was simply pulled along after her. Like a toy duck on a string. He wanted to let go, but couldn’t. They raced directly towards the wall.

Aaaahhhh...!

He closed his eyes.

Chapter 2

Vampire Alert

As Jonathan opened his eyes again, he found himself in the kitchen. Was he dreaming? Was he unconscious?

A clanging sound could be heard.

Tong... tong... tong.

It was the green girl. She was sitting on the black marble bench top, which Dad always said you had to be very careful with, and drumming with his mother’s shoes against the stainless steel front below it.

Carefully he tried to move his face and his body. He seemed not to have been injured. The girl didn’t have any bruises or anything either, although they must have crashed into the wall at full speed.

What happened? he asked, baffled.

Nothing.

The girl opened a cupboard and took out a packet of honey pops.

How did we get into the kitchen?

How do think? Through the wall there. The girl pointed to her right. Doors are deathly boring.

That doesn’t make sense. No one can go through walls.

Wanna bet? On this packet of honey pops?

If you like, he replied, wondering if this girl was not only crazy but also dangerous.

Then watch closely, she said, and stood up on the bench. She somersaulted and disappeared head-first into the bench top, emerging again from the stainless steel front. Then the girl hopped through the middle of a wall and shot up out of the floor directly in front of him.

He felt as though someone had been banging a frying pan next to his head, and stared at the girl open-mouthed.

What’s wrong? Can I go through walls or not?

Yes... I guess you can, he stammered.

Thank you, she said.

A second later the girl was sitting on the kitchen table. She had Mum’s big cooking pot in front