Today at school, during lunch, Molly and I noticed Andrea promoting the upcoming school talent show to her 'Fandreas'. "A talent show?!" Scratch gasped. "Oh, this is gonna be the best day of my afterlife!" "Really? You're into talent shows?" I asked. "Doesn't seem like your type of thing, Scratch." "Amber, you could not be more wrong if you tried. I love talent shows!" Scratch replied. "You see, in the Ghost World, they're the gold standard for misery." "Oh, boy." Molly sighed. "I mean, look, you got stage fright, you got backstage meltdowns, your face plants, forgotten lyrics, and then, there's always someone who's confidence is so huge, it crushes everybody else!" "Aw, so cute..." Andrea says to Kat, who was playing with a yo-yo. "...that you think of that as a talent." "See?" Scratch wondered. "Harsh words, Davenport." I said. "Kat, I love yo-yo tricks!" Molly encouraged Kat. "And I can't wait to see you perform!" "Your positivity is exhausting, Molly." Scratch said, hiding as soon as Libby and Cleo joined us for lunch. "Ooh, the talent show sign up sheet is up." Libby said as both of them walked over to sign up. "Yep, and everybody's got a talent to share." Molly replied. "What's yours, Libby?" "Oh, no, no, no, Molly. I have no talent." Libby replied, signing the wrong side of the paper. "But I do like to help out backstage. I mean, sure, I admire the bravery of the kids who face the blinding spotlight, but with all my anxieties, that is definitely not me..." Libby gasped and dropped the pen on the ground. "You know, you could've just handed me the pen." Cleo said, signing her name on the paper. "What? What? What happened? What's wrong?" Molly asked. "I signed up on the wrong list!" Libby panicked. "In pen!" "Yes!" Scratch exclaimed. "I'll just cross it out." Libby said, turning around to see that the list was gone. "I gotta get that sign up sheet back!" "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Libby!" Molly shouted as she, Cleo, and I stopped her. "Don't you see? This was no accident!" "It wasn't?" Libby asked. "No!" Molly replied. "This was your subconscious telling you that you actually want to perform. Deep down, you know you have a talent, and you want to share it!" "Well, I guess I can, uh, sing?" Libby questioned. "You sing?!" Molly gasped. "How did I not know this?" "Probably because you never asked." I replied.

Libby invited all of us to the library after school. Let me tell you, Libby is awesome, but her singing voice was not that great. "Guys, why are you looking at me like that?" Libby asked. "Strike! Misery is back in the game, folks!" Scratch shouted. "Oh, no! You guys hate it!" Libby cried, hiding inside her sweater. "No, no, no. That's not it!" Cleo reassured her. "Amber, your thoughts?" "Libby, you don't want to know what I think." I said. "Molly, what did you think?" "I thought it was, um..." Molly began. "Awful? Atrocious?" Scratch interrupted. "Appalling?" "...awesome!" Molly finished. "Really? You like it?" Libby asked. "I've never heard anything like it!" Molly commented. "Alright, that's true." Scratch agreed. Cleo and I nodded. "You know, girls, knowing you think I can do it, makes me think I really can do it!" Libby stated. "Oh, she really can't." Scratch snickered. "She's gonna be a disaster!" "Yeah." Molly said. "Yeah."

Back at home, Molly was getting worried about Libby's performance. Scratch, on the other hand, is looking forward to seeing Libby humiliate herself. "Oh! Libby's gonna humiliate herself in front of the entire school!" Molly panicked. "How do I stop this?" "You can't! You either let your friend humiliate herself in front of the whole school, which is a solid option, or you crush your friend with brutal honesty." "Oo-kay, I don't like the sound of "brutal honesty."" Molly said. "Is there a "tender honesty" option we're overlooking?" "Nope! All honesty is brutal." Scratch replied. "What Libby needs is voice lessons, but even so, she probably wouldn't be ready for the talent show." I commented. Molly groaned with frustration. "Okay, okay. Think, think. Hey! How about this? If the music industry has taught us anything, it's that a little studio magic can make anyone a star!" "You sat on my chips, Molly!" Scratch complained.

We went over to Brighton Middle to help Libby practice, this time with autotune. Libby began singing as soon as Molly played the song on her phone. However, even the autotune was terrible. "Molly, what the heck is this?" Libby asked. "Just, uh, giving your song a little oomph!" Molly replied. "A little pizzazz! Pizzoomph if you will." "Stop making up words!" I groaned. "You're ruining my grammar!" "Um, I appreciate your help, Molly, but what I really need is..." Libby said. "Maybe she needs some different music to sing to." Cleo suggested, dragging a cello into the auditorium. "Whoa! Cleo!" Molly gasped. "You play the cello?" "Since the 6th grade." Cleo responded. "I'm actually gonna perform a piece myself for the talent show." "I can't wait to hear it." I smiled. "Sorry, Libby. Continue." "Well, what I was going to say was I needed..." Libby began. "A backup dancer, or two!" Molly interrupted. "To distract... I mean, dazzle the crowd with movement!" "Molly, I'm not dancing." I said, just as Molly began dancing around and Libby tried singing again. "Molly, I know what's going on here." Libby said. "You do?" Molly asked. "Yes, but singing is my gift, Molly." Libby responded. "You need to find your own talent. And don't take this the wrong way, but it's not dancing. Ooh, my mom's waiting outside. See you tomorrow night." "See? She can be brutally honest!" Scratch pointed out. Molly ran outside after Libby. "So, we both agree that Libby needs voice lessons?" I asked. "Yup." Cleo agreed. "Hey, out of curiosity, what are you performing for the talent show?" I wondered. "I actually composed a medley of different video game soundtracks." Cleo replied. "Think of it as an evolution of gaming music."

The next day, Molly, Scratch, and I came to the school to support Cleo and Libby the best we could. Well, Molly and I did. "A veritable feast of fear! A cavalcade of calamity!" Scratch exclaimed as Libby was doing vocal warmups. "And our dear Libby will be the cherry on top of this fiasco sundae. "No, Scratch! No, okay?" Molly shouted. "I can still find a way out of this. A way that doesn't hurt Libby's feelings or humiliate her." "Yeah, like what?" I asked. "I mean, the talent show is here, man." Scratch added. "What could you possibly do?" "There's only one thing I can do." Molly said. "What's that?" I wondered. "I gotta stop her from performing." Molly replied. "No, you're not stopping anybody!" Scratch refused. "I need those misery numbers!" "I'm doing it!" Molly exclaimed, about to stall Libby. "You're not getting any numbers from Cleo." I explained. "She's been practicing all week." "Oh, we'll see about that." Scratch chuckled maliciously, about to sabotage Cleo's performance, minutes before her queue. "Scratch, where are you going? You're supposed to be messing with Molly, not me! Scratch!"

I ran after Scratch in the orchestra classroom, where Cleo was almost finished practicing. "I swear, this is not gonna end well!" I shouted at Scratch as Cleo stopped. "What's not gonna end well?" Cleo asked. Not again! Think, Amber! Change the subject. "Uh, Molly thinks that Libby's singing sucks." I confessed. At least I told her the truth. "She hasn't told her anything yet, and Libby is probably going to embarrass herself." "I kind of figured that this might happen." Cleo said as we heard a loud crash coming from the instrument storage. "What was that?" "Um, I think Molly's trying to stall Libby!" I exclaimed. "You know what? You're about to go on soon. Why don't you go grab your cello and head to the auditorium before something bad happens? I'll help you out!" "Why would something bad happen?" Cleo wondered. "It's a middle school talent show." I replied, grabbing Cleo's sheet music. "You never know if someone might sabotage your act!"

Back in the auditorium, Cleo and I got everything set up for her act. "Break a leg, Cleo." I said as Scratch was most likely thinking about breaking Cleo's leg. "Not literally." Cleo picked up her bow and began playing her video game medley. I'm not gonna lie, it brought me to tears. Until close to the end of her song, I noticed Scratch strumming the strings of Cleo's cello to a terrible sound. "What's going on?" Cleo wondered, just as Scratch cuts the strings with a pair of scissors. "Scratch, no!" I groaned. I hesitated, but I ended up going onstage to try and stop Scratch. While I obviously couldn't help with fixing the cello, I was able to take away the scissors from Scratch before he could do more damage. Cleo ran offstage almost in tears. I followed her immediately after. "Cleo! Wait! I'm so sorry." I apologized. "You didn't do anything wrong, Amber." Cleo said. "You were right. Someone tried to sabotage me." "I got the scissors away from him before things could get worse." I explained. "Away from who?" Cleo asked. "Uh, some kid." I lied. "Maybe a friend of Darryl's. I'll talk to him for you." "Thanks." Cleo sighed. "I think I'm just gonna go home. I'll see you later." "Cleo." I sighed, turning to Scratch. "What's wrong with you?"

After Cleo went home, it was Andrea's turn. She made a performance, alright. Or should I say a plug promoting her daddy's store? "Boo! Get off the stage!" I shouted from backstage. "Who even buys those products?" "I am sold! She's got me." Scratch exclaimed. "From this day forward, consider me a Fan-drea. I'm gonna go buy a T-shirt." "I hate you even more, Scratch." I grunted. "See? Libby couldn't follow that!" Molly said. "Good thing she's in the capable hands of the US postal service!" "You sent your best friend through the mail?!" I gasped. "Oh, yes, which reminds me." Scratch remembered, holding up a package. "Special delivery for Miss Molly McGee." Molly yelped as Scratch dropped the package, allowing Libby to escape. "Phew! That was close. I'm up next!" Libby sighed with relief. "And my mom's in the front row." "Oh, just look at her. All full of false confidence." Scratch taunted. "Not to mention mom in the front row. I mean, it's the perfect storm. And all thanks to so-called 'best friend' Molly McGee." "Libby! You can't go out there!" Molly shouted. "Why? Did I lose a sequin?" Libby asked. "No, you can't go out there because... brutal honesty time." Molly sighed. "You're a terrible singer!" "But, you said..." Libby said. "I know. I lied." Molly interrupted. "I'm sorry. I just... I didn't want to hurt your feelings." "So, you waited until now to tell me?!" Libby exclaimed. "When I'm about to go on?!" "Well, uh, don't worry! Because there's a trapdoor in the stage." Molly reassured her. "And we can tunnel away and escape into the night!" "You aren't criminals, Molly." I said. "I am done being scared." Libby confessed. "I have to go out there." "What are you gonna do?" I asked. "Improvise." Libby replied, dressed to perform slam poetry. "Oh, no!" Molly panicked. "Oh, yes!" Scratch exclaimed.

Libby was still nervous about her performance, but she still went out onstage to show her talent to everyone.

I have a voice,

Hear my battle cry.

The spotlights blind me.

My fears confine me.

I'm scared, but I still gotta try.

Thrown into the fire,

Kiss my comfort goodbye.

I feel the heat on my skin,

My head starts to spin.

I'm scared, but I still gotta try.

I'm not giving up.

Gonna look my doubt in the eye.

We watched Libby from the wings as she performed her poetry. "She's actually good!" Molly gasped. "And for real this time!" "I wish I could do that." I sighed. "Ha! Go, Libby!" Molly cheered. "Boo, Libby!" Scratch shouted. "Her misery was gonna set me up for afterlife! That's it! I'm going in." "No, no!" Molly snapped, going onstage, making a fool of herself since Scratch was invisible to everyone else. "I'm not going back out there." I said. "I should've brought some popcorn."

I'm facing my fears.

Gonna hold my dizzy head high.

I won't be cowed by the crowd.

Gonna make my mom proud,

I'm very scared, but I still gotta try.

Do not stay silent.

Don't clam up 'cause you're shy.

If you have something to say.

Speak up, don't delay.

You can be scared, but you still gotta try.

You can be scared, but you still gotta try.

Everyone gave Libby a standing ovation after her amazing performance. "Slam dunk, Libby!" I heard her mom shout. "Hugs? Happy tears?" Scratch cried. "This was supposed to be the most miserable night of the year! And now the only miserable one is me! Little Scratch! You think that counts for my misery numbers?" "Scratch, my whole life is miserable." I replied. "Well, you were right for all the wrong reasons, Scratch." Molly admitted. "From now on, I'm going to be completely honest with Libby, no matter what!" "Hey, guys." Libby said. "Who you talking to?" "No one!" Molly responded very quickly. "Whoa! Molly!" I warned. "Calm down!"

Later that night, back at home, Molly and Scratch were already asleep, out like the lights. All of a sudden, I got a phone call from Cleo. Why was Cleo calling me so late at night? "Hello? Cleo?" I asked. "What's going on? It's midnight." "I needed to talk to you about something." Cleo replied. "It's about what happened at the talent show." "What do you mean?" I wondered. "While I was onstage tonight, I saw the pair of scissors kind of floating towards me. I know, that sounds crazy, and I can't really describe it, but it was like someone or something was there, watching me." Cleo explains. "Actually, you were watching me in the wings. Did you happen to see what happened?" I looked over at the dollhouse that Molly gave to Scratch when we first moved in. "Like I said, it was possibly one of Darryl's friends. He can be a bad influence on people sometimes." I sighed, lying to her again. "You okay?" She asked. "Yeah, I'm just thinking." I lied. "You really missed an incredible performance by Libby tonight." "Actually, I saw the whole thing." Cleo explained. "Andrea had posted the entire video on her feed, but Molly was grabbing air for some reason. What's that about?" "I don't know." I lied again with a frown. "There might've been a fly onstage." "You sure you're okay?" Cleo asked. "Yeah, all good." I replied, hanging up the phone and sighed. "I just have a ghost friend that I can't tell you about."

Cleo's starting to get suspicious! Stay tuned for the next chapter! -Mal.