11- Pop-ularity (Cornelia)

Rodrigo seemed a little more depressed. He took Cornelia off the shelf and placed her on the table. He muttered something about the spike in rent.

A newspaper was open beside him. A place circled. Cornelia wished she could read.

Cornelia was opened up. "There's a bit of smoke damage on this one." He rummaged around in a box of spare parts before pulling out the one he needed.

Once the job was done, it was time for the testing phase. Rodrigo plugged Cornelia in and fed her unpopped kernels. Minutes later, she spewed them into the bowl.

"This works."

Cornelia sat on the table for a little while, watching Rodrigo pore over the classified ads. "The old St. Peters' place is still up for sale. Guess no one wants it." He walked to the phone and dialed the number provided.

"Hello, I'm interested in buying the shop." He paused. "What? It's haunted? You've got to be kidding me."

Cornelia couldn't hear the rest of the conversation. The workmen dragged her off to the storefront.

A burly man with a few tattoos on his arms walked inside the shop. A young redhead girl walked in behind him: his daughter.

"Dad," she said. "Our neighbors a popcorn machine. Why don't we get one?"

The man looked at the price tag. "Well, this one's cheap and Mom said we should eat healthier, so I'll buy it!"

The man took Cornelia the counter. After paying, they left.

The girl looked happy. "Now, I'm just like Julie next door."

Cornelia twitched. Wait, did she know a Julie? That was her old master's daughter. She then wondered how Poppet was doing.

Cornelia found herself sitting on a kitchen counter.

Her new master and her old master stood outside, talking.

"Well, at least I'm in a home." She said. "What team do they support?" She hopped off the kitchen counter and walked to the living room.

On the mantelpiece was a picture of her new master in his football days. The symbol on his helmet was unmistakable. Light City Bulbs.

Cornelia smiled.

Chris called her father's shop, looking for an update.

"Have you found some place to move to?" A few moments. "So, let me get this straight. Some kook believes the shop is haunted and won't sell it to you without an exorcism."

After the conversation ended. "Rob, do you know any ghost hunters?"

Rob sat on his bed. "Let me think. We need to find out what kind of ghost we're dealing with."

"How about we swing by Dad's shop tomorrow?"

Rodrigo's computer woke up. His gaze darted around the room.

"My, a little financial problems really bring down the mood," he said.

"But where will he move to?" a drill asked. "He's gotta think of something!"

The computer sighed. "Knowing Master, he has a solution already prepared.

"Do you believe in ghosts?" a small voice from the workroom asked. The soldering iron managed to enter the storefront. "Well, we're going someplace haunted."

The Computer took one look at the soldering iron. "Is this true?"

The iron nodded.