Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Whisperer! I only own my OCs, the Quay family (which is based upon my own aunt, uncle, and cousins, for whom I babysit!)

Enjoy the first chapter!

One warm summer afternoon in Grandview, New York, Melinda Gordon was sitting on her elegant, white bed, reading the latest issue of Seventeen magazine. Her beautiful brown eyes were quite active as they moved from side to side along each sentence of an article. She was wearing a black tank top and a pair of jean shorts. Her long, curly brown hair was pulled up into a high ponytail.

Though no one could tell, Melinda was not a normal person… She had a gift… Melinda could see and communicate with the spirits of the dead… Her mother, Beth, and grandmother, Mary Ann, could do the same. Beth ignored the ghosts if they ever came to her, which was the cause of her constant headaches. She also refused to allow her daughter to learn about the gift. Regardless, Mary Ann taught Melinda all about it and how special it was.

The clock on the night stand next to Melinda read 4:35. The sheer curtains in front of the open window flowed with the nice, cool breeze. Her black and white kitten, Ollie, was curled up in a little ball next to her. Beth was at work so the house was completely silent…right up until the phone rang downstairs…

Melinda sighed and set the magazine down upon hearing the distant ringing coming from the kitchen downstairs. She hopped off the bed carefully, as to not wake Ollie, and left the room. She walked down the hall and descended the carpeted stairs into the living room, which she crossed through and entered the kitchen.

The phone on the wall rang once again before Melinda picked it up and put it to her ear.

"Gordon residence," She spoke into it. "This is Melinda speaking."

"Hi, Melinda," replied a somewhat familiar and cheery voice, "This is your neighbor, Myrna Quay."

"Oh! Hi, Mrs. Myrna!" said Melinda, realizing who was speaking. Myrna Quay was a very pretty woman in her thirties. She was happily married to her husband, Matt, and had four children: Megan, Carmen, Ethan, and Colin. She and her family lived a few streets away from Melinda and Beth.

"How are you doing?" Melinda asked, leaning against the wall.

"I'm good, thank you," answered Mrs. Myrna, "I'm enjoying this summer so far. How about you?"

"Oh yes! I'm so glad school's out!" She absentmindedly started twiddling the phone's cord with her fingers.

"Oh, I know. My kids are ecstatic about it!" said Mrs. Myrna with a laugh. "So do you have any special summer plans this year?" Melinda thought for a moment as she continued to fiddle with the curled cord.

"No, not really," she replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I wanted to see if you would be interested in babysitting my kids for me and Matt whenever we go out. But I wasn't sure if you already a summer job or if you were going to a camp or something of that sort."

"That would be wonderful!" replied Melinda. "I would love to babysit for you!"

"Really? Do you think it will be alright with your mother? Is she home?"

"She's at work right now, but I will definitely talk to her when she gets home. Could I have your number so I can call you back then?" Melinda quickly strode over to counter where a notepad and pen sat. She wrote the numbers down as Mrs. Myrna relayed them.

"Alright!" said Melinda, setting the pen back down. "Thank you so much, Mrs. Myrna! I will be back with you later on tonight."

"Thanks, Melinda! Talk to you then!"

"Bye," Melinda hung up the phone and smiled to herself delightfully before heading back upstairs.

Two hours later, Melinda's stomach had begun grumbling at her for food, so she went back down into the kitchen. She warmed up some leftover mashed potatoes, corn, and chicken before sitting down at the dining room table to eat. She was halfway finished when she heard Beth unlocking the side door. A second later, her mother came into the kitchen.

Beth was tall and thin with straight, short brown hair that came a little above her shoulders and matching eyes. The single mom was wearing an aqua blue t-shirt, a pair of jeans, and flip-flops. Her white purse was slung over her shoulder and her keys were clutched in her hand.

"Hey," Beth greeted her daughter as she set everything down on the counter. "What are you eating?"

"Corn, mashed potatoes, and chicken," Melinda replied through a mouthful of corn. Beth nodded approvingly before opening the fridge.

"There's some spaghetti in there from the other night if you want that," stated Melinda as she watched her mother.

"Yeah…" replied Beth, taking it out and shutting the fridge. She dumped the spaghetti onto a plate, set it in the microwave, and began reheating it.

"So what's up?" Beth asked her daughter a moment later. "What'd you do today?"

"Nothing really," shrugged Melinda. "I got a call from Mrs. Myrna a little while ago. She wants me to babysit for her whenever she and her husband go out."

"Oh really?" remarked Beth interestedly. "What did you say?"

"I told her I'd be happy to do so, seeing as I've got nothing to do this summer," replied Melinda, now poking at her food with her spoon. "But I wanted to run it by you first…"

"Well, I've got nothing wrong with that," said Beth. "It'll give you something to do every now and then and you'd be making some good money."

"Cool," Melinda smiled to herself just as the microwave began beeping, signaling that it had finished reheating Beth's spaghetti.

After dinner, Melinda dialed the number Mrs. Myrna had given her and waited for someone to pick up.

"Hello?" asked a young voice. Melinda guessed it was one of the children.

"Hi, this is Melinda Gordon. Is Mrs. Myrna available?"

"Yeah, she is. Hold on."

"Okay, thank you." Melinda waited patiently for Mrs. Myrna's voice to reach her ear.

"Melinda?"

"Hi, Mrs. Myrna! I talked to my mother and she said it was fine with her if I babysat for you."

"Awesome!" Her voice was filled with relief and delight. "Oh, that's great to hear! I already have a date for you to put down on your calendar!"

"Really?" Melinda asked excitedly. "Alright! When do you need me?"

"This Saturday at 7 PM," replied Mrs. Myrna. "Are you available then?"

"Of course!"

"Great! Matt will come and pick you up at 6:30 so that we can show you the house and get you settled in."

"Alright! I'll see you then!"

"Thanks, Melinda!"

"Bye!" She hung the phone back up and sighed elatedly. This Saturday at 7 PM…

I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you for reading and reviewing!