Squishy Taylor and the Vase That Wasn't Read Online Free PDF

squishy.’
    Jessie half-laughs, half grunts, then she’s over the top and climbing down the other side. Her foot catches my curls and yanks at them.
    ‘Ow!’
    ‘Sorry!’

    We stand, breathless, by the Rooftop Access sign.
    ‘You better be able to pick that lock,’ Jessie says.
    But, just like I thought, the lock is the same as the one on our balcony. All it takes is just the right jiggle , and I’m done. Awesome. I push the door and it swings open.
    We’re out on the roof. It’s wide with a wall all around the edge. The main thing I notice is the city, out beyond the wall. It’s huge and sparkling all around.
    ‘ Eeee! ’ squeals Vee, running out across the clear space and spinning in a circle.
    It’s stopped raining and the air is cold and clear. I can hear the sound of cars below, but so far away.
    Behind us, the door we came out of looks like the entry to a little shed.
    It’s the perfect place.
    Vee scatters a circle with the basil and places the recipe book perfectly in the middle. I mark our foreheads with turmeric, swiping up with my finger like they did at my grandma’s funeral.
    Jessie hunches over the iPad.
    ‘What are you doing?’ I ask, leaning over her shoulder.
    ‘Getting the footage of the ghost,’ she says. ‘Hang on … it’s pretty low on battery … but … here we go.’
    The ghost is still there, standing tall and still on the screen. We all stare at it as it fades to white and disappears into an empty corridor.
    Then Jessie touches the screen. ‘I’ll put it on loop,’ she says. We watch, mesmerised , as the ghost appears and disappears. Jessie places it beside the recipe book in the middle of the circle.
    ‘Hands on the book,’ Vee says, as we sit cross-legged around it. We place our fingers on the cover.
    Vee looks up and says, ‘Now we need to chant.’
    ‘Chant what?’ Jessie asks, looking a bit embarrassed.
    I think about the Om Namah Shivaya chant my grandmother used to do, but that doesn’t seem right.
    ‘What about, go away ghost ?’ Vee asks.
    But I shake my head. ‘We don’t just want it to go away,’ I say. ‘We want justice. We want to return the vase to the temple.’
    Then Jessie gets inspired. She’s the one who knows good words. ‘Ghost be gone and justice will follow.’
    Vee grins and I say, ‘Perfect.’
    So we all chant together:
    ‘Ghost be gone and justice will follow.
    ‘Ghost be gone and justice will follow.
    ‘Ghost be gone and justice will follow.’
    We sway around the recipe book with the screen light shining up on our faces. Jessie is looking down at the iPad, and Vee and I are looking out into the darkness. My voice sounds different and special when it’s exactly in time with the others. The night feels enormous , spreading out from the roof. Our voices get louder and louder until it feels like something big will happen. The wind blows our hair, smelling of dried basil. We slowly stop chanting.

    Everything feels quiet and good.
    ‘Do you think it worked?’ Vee asks.
    I nod. I think it must have.
    Jessie is still focused on the iPad. ‘Hey,’ she says, snatching it up. ‘It was a hoax! Look – the video’s been edited.’
    She points her finger to the screen, at the doorframe behind the ghost. The frame jumps sideways when the ghost appears, and the shadows get darker in a flash . It jumps back again when the ghost disappears.
    ‘Someone pasted video over the top here,’ Jessie says. We stare as it loops again and the doorframe jumps.
    ‘So there was no ghost?’ Vee asks.
    ‘No ghost,’ I say. I’m actually disappointed.
    ‘But there was someone who edited video and stole a vase,’ Jessie says, as if to make me feel better.
    The iPad’s battery is showing 2% charge. I watch the loop flip through again. There’s still a mystery to solve.
    Then, out of nowhere: BANG!
    The door at the top of the stairs slams shut.
    Vee screams and we all scramble to our feet and run for the little shed.
    There’s no handle on the