Ghost Town by Phoebe Rivers

the six kids’ tickets and usher them through the front door.
    The evening light suddenly faded, as if a huge shade had been snapped shut. The night grew dark. And cold.
    â€œHey, Sara, you listening? What flavor is your fave?” Lily’s voice floated in from somewhere in the distance.
    I couldn’t turn away from the haunted house’s door. I shivered. Something felt wrong. Very wrong.
    â€œSara,” Lily tried again. “Don’t you want to come?” I frantically searched the front of the house. What was wrong? What was happening? Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. David hung a CLOSED sign. People wandered past. But I could feel it. Darkness.
    â€œI don’t want to stand here all night,” Miranda complained.
    â€œSara—” Lily tugged the hem of my shirt.
    â€œOh, um . . .” I saw Miranda waiting impatiently several feet away. “I’ll catch up with you in a second,” I told Lily.
    â€œYou sure?” Lily seemed conflicted.
    â€œSure. Be right there.” I forced the fake smile again.
    Tentatively I stepped toward the house. Chills caused my body to tremble. My eyes canvassed every inch of the exterior. Why did it all look fine? Every nerve in my body told me it wasn’t fine.
    â€œWhat’s up with you?” David asked when I stood before him.
    â€œYou know that bad feeling I told you about?” I couldn’t look at him. The house. I had to watch the house.
    â€œI guess.”
    He didn’t remember, I could tell. “Could you check everything out now? Please?”
    â€œI’m checking for what again?”
    â€œI don’t know. But disaster is on its way—”
    David let out a deep laugh. “I never pegged you for one of those wacky doomsday people.”
    I hated that he laughed. The iciness in the air grew colder. I shivered.
    â€œSara,” Lily called.
    I glanced over at her. Then at the house.
    â€œOh, all right.” David waved his arm dismissively. “I’ll look around for your Great Evil. Go eat ice cream ’cause you’re starting to freak me out.”
    â€œReally?”
    â€œReally.”
    â€œHey, listen.” Lily returned to my side. “You shouldn’t be worried about Miranda. She likes you. She’s supernice if you get to know her, it’s just at first she’s a bit harsh. So you should come with us—”
    Lily’s soft brown eyes brimmed with genuinewarmth. She was trying really hard to include me. To be my friend. And I was acting, well, weird.
    I so didn’t want to be the weird girl here.
    This house isn’t my problem, I decided abruptly. I couldn’t let it ruin my new life. I took a deep breath. “I’m thinking raspberry chip. I’ll race you!”
    I ran halfway down the pier alongside Lily and Miranda. I didn’t allow myself to look back. The August heat wrapped its familiar arms around me and the twinkling lights of the boardwalk brightened the night sky.
    Nothing is going to happen , I told myself. The darkness was gone.
    Lily’s Uncle Paul—who surprisingly wasn’t related to her but was a close family friend, so she called him uncle too—found us a table in the corner of his shop, Scoops.
    â€œLook, they left the whipped cream here,” I remarked, pointing to the silver can on our pink tabletop. “And sprinkles. And chips.”
    â€œThat’s the cool thing about Scoops,” Lily explained. “All the toppings are on the table. You make your own sundae.”
    â€œAmazing!” I reached for the bowl of caramel the waitress left for us. I actually like the toppings best. I just use the ice cream as an excuse. I began to pile on whipped cream and caramel. “I love do-it-yourself.”
    â€œEw, what’s with the cherries?” Lily squealed. “Check out Miranda.”
    I looked and my eyes briefly registered the bouquet of maraschino cherries Miranda