Final Girl by Michelle Schusterman (beach books .TXT) 📕

happened in Crimptown, when I saw Sonja? Dad was so mad after that, he and Lidia said we couldn’t even watch them film the next episode.”

“But you did anyway,” Hailey said, her expression equal parts admiration and jealousy. “You snuck out of the hotel and went all the way out to that prison, even though you knew Emily was probably there. You guys are really brave.”

Now Oscar looked uncomfortable. “And really stupid. She attacked us.”

“And you should’ve heard the huge lecture my dad gave me after that,” I said. “He almost quit the show, he was so upset!”

“Yeah, Aunt Lidia was seriously considering making me move back in with my other aunt,” Oscar said, making a face. “Which would’ve meant going back to my old school. Ugh.”

Jamie finally looked up. “But instead, they put you both on the show,” he pointed out with a grin. “So now it’s your actual job, sneaking around haunted places.”

I laughed. “Okay, true—but we’re literally not allowed to take one step away from the group without an adult coming with us.”

The elevator doors slid open. Hailey led the way toward the manually operated elevator across the lobby, Oscar right behind her. Jamie tugged my arm, and we hung back.

“Did you tell Oscar the plan?” he asked. To my relief, he didn’t look embarrassed anymore.

“Not yet,” I said. “He needs to focus on hosting, and trying to contact the doorman’s ghost. If I can’t do this thoughtography thing, this still has to be a decent episode. I’ll tell him when we’re finished.”

After we’d left the museum, Jamie had suggested I try projecting the Thing into the video for Graveyard Slot. He figured if I could control it, then that meant I could get rid of it. Neither of us was sure exactly how, but we’d worry about that later.

“Oscar! Kat!”

The four of us stopped and stared at the woman stalking across the lobby, another half a dozen people hurrying along in her wake. Behind them, the doorman was watching closely, his eyes narrowed.

“Do you know her?” Jamie whispered, and I shook my head. She was tall, blond, way too tanned for January, and totally unfamiliar. Beaming, she stuck out her hand at Oscar, who shook it, looking completely bewildered.

“Shelly Mathers, Rumorz. It’s so good to finally meet you!” Her teeth gleamed like Tic Tacs.

Oscar’s expression cleared. “Oh! Hi, Ms. Mathers!” Already, I could see him turning on his TV-show personality. While I kind of hated being on TV, Oscar loved it. He’d even done a phone interview with Shelly back when we were in South America.

“Oh, it’s just Shelly, please.” She gripped my hand next, and I winced. “Kat Sinclair, at last. And you must be Jamie and Hailey Cooper!”

“Yeah.” Jamie kept his hands in his pockets and took a protective step in front of his sister. He regarded Shelly with a cool, almost suspicious look that surprised me. Usually Jamie was nice to pretty much everybody.

Shelly, apparently unfazed, gestured to the people behind her. They all looked younger than her, maybe in college or even high school, and I realized a few of them were wearing P2P hats or shirts. “Apparently I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t resist meeting you all. I assume you don’t mind?” she added, aiming her blinding smile at me. “You did mention on your blog you’d be filming the next episode of Graveyard Slot today. Can’t blame your fans for taking the opportunity to meet you!”

I forced myself to smile back, but my stomach was tense. “I didn’t mention where we were filming, though. How’d you find us?”

“Oh, it was easy enough to find you.” Shelly pulled out her smartphone, tapped it a few times, then held it out to record us. “So! Can you give us a little inside scoop? What kind of spooky stuff happens here at the Montgomery?”

She was looking at Oscar, as was everybody else. He was the host of our vlog, while I did all the behind-the-camera work. And normally, Oscar ate up this kind of stuff. But now he looked uncertain.

“Well,” he said, glancing hesitantly at Jamie. “See that elevator over there? It’s the original, built in 1910 and preserved during this building’s renovation a few decades ago.” His voice grew stronger, more confident. “In 1947, there was a massive blizzard. Some of the gears froze, and the elevator operator was trapped between the top two floors. Before they could rescue him, the cable snapped and the car plummeted all the way to the basement. According to”—he faltered for a moment, glancing at Hailey—“some tenants, the operator’s ghost still haunts the elevator.”

A few of the fans had pulled out their phones, too, and I realized they were all recording and taking photos. My skin prickled, and my palms felt damp. I hated being on camera. And these people seemed perfectly nice, but it was a little creepy knowing they’d read about this on my blog and then come here just to see us. Not to mention Shelly. I shot a nervous glance at Jamie, but he was still glowering at the reporter. Hailey had stepped away from him and started gesturing at the doorman, who nodded and pulled out his walkie-talkie.

Shelly didn’t notice. “Fascinating story,” she was saying. “Can’t wait for the vlog! So I hear you’re taking off for China next?” Oscar nodded, but Shelly went on before he could say anything. “And then the finale will be in South Korea. Rumor has it you’ve got a big guest star planned. Any chance you can give my readers a little hint as to who that might be?”

“We honestly haven’t heard anything about a guest star,” Oscar said. “Sorry.” I squinted at him; he’d gone pale, his TV personality totally vanished.

“Aw.” Shelly pouted in a way she obviously thought was cute. “Well, feel free to drop me an e-mail if you hear anything. And speaking of rumors, Kat, is it true your dad isn’t coming back next season? The old host curse back