"Oh, Claudia, this is Juno, our caseworker." Adam made the introductions.
"Sure, sure. I'll be seeing her shortly. What you said about him isn't true, by the way. He hasn't been 'on the loose'. He apparently has been acting like he's been 'put back', but recently escaped and came here. He's still rather sore about the sandworm incident you pulled on him, Barbara."
"So he hasn't been off and scaring the daylights out of people?" Adam inquired.
"Correct. So just put him back and I can be on my way with you two in tow."
Barbara sighed. "Beetlejuice…Beetlejuice…Beetlejuice!"
There was a sudden pop in the room, and a muttering from the closet.
Adam went over and pulled his model out from the cupboard, setting it up in record time. When the group looked down on it, Claudia was surprised in more ways than one. The first being how incredibly accurate the model of the town was. The second being her catching sight of a miniature figure sitting on a tombstone in the small cemetery.
"You losers do know I was enjoying myself! Ten years of listening to Juno yap and the least you could do is…hey!"
The little man had caught sight of Claudia.
"Who's the chick?" He looked up at the Maitlands, waggling his eyebrows.
"No one you should be talking to, you egotistical lecher." Mrs. Maitland scowled down at him.
Adam looked at her through new eyes. "Barbara!"
She turned to him. "Well, it's true."
Claudia couldn't take her eyes off the man below. He was exactly like the person she had seen hanging in her closet, only dozens of times smaller.
"What're you staring at, babes? You like what you see?"
This remark almost sent Claudia reeling. A retch welled up in the back of her throat and she made a disgusted face. This guy was so filthy, so unkempt and so old…
Juno sighed and started for the door.
"Hey! Wait a minute!" Claudia called to her. "You aren't just gonna leave this guy in my room, are you?"
"I don't have any control over where he stays, kid. Just make sure he isn't around when you're changing."
And with that, the woman disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Claudia stared at the empty space where her last hope had been standing just seconds before.
"You've gotta be kidding…"
The Maitlands looked at each other. Claudia saw their shifty eyes and realized what they were about to say.
"Oh no. Not you too!"
"Well, we didn't want to say anything, but our haunting contract has expired. We're going to have to leave." Adam tried to look strong for the girl, who was progressively becoming more and more overwhelmed by the second.
"No. There is no way you are going to leave me alone with this…this pervert!"
"We don't have any choice, Claudia. Juno was just here to tell us that." Barbara stroked Claudia's hair.
"So that means…that this Beetlej-…"
Adam put a hand over her mouth, stopping her just in time. "Claudia, if you know what's what, you will never say his name, not even once. Three times and then he really will be able to hurt you."
"I don't need to be big to make a big impression, Maitland!" the tiny voice called from below.
"Be strong, Claudia. We'll see if we can check in once in awhile." Barbara smiled sadly.
"And take care of my model." Adam walked over to a wall, which had been covered in drywall and wallpapered. But knocking three times, a door appeared in the wall and opened, revealing a green light beyond.
The couple walked in, giving Claudia a final wave. As the door closed, the two kept walking on, into the unknown.
Claudia's jaw hit the floor.
"No. There is no way this is happening."
"Trust me, kid. It's happened. And until I can get out of this model, I can't leave. So either you say my name three times or get used to me being here." Beetlejuice sounded as smug as he looked.
She turned to him, eyes blazing.
"It is bad enough that I have to move to Hick-ville, you nasty excuse for what once was a human being. But to have you in the same room with me is just too much. This model, along with you in it, is going back into that closet and you can rot there for as long as you feel like staying. But under no circumstances am I going to say your name, do you understand, Beetlejuice?"
The shock of her breaking the number one rule so soon hit her like a ton of bricks.
"Twice more. Two more times and I can leave. Think about it."
"Go to Hell, you little cretin."
Claudia picked up one of the sections of the model and placed it back in the closet. Beetlejuice was still on the one that was in the room.
"Hold on! Just gimme a chance! Don't put me in there! C'mon, even a ghost needs sunlight!"
Claudia eyed him warily. "You're a ghost?"
"The Ghost with the Most, babes. I can do more than any other supernatural being on this earth."
"Good for you. Enjoy the closet."
As she bent down to pick up the second half, his voice rose up.
"Wait, wait, wait! How can you be this way? You know, I thought you might actually be worth getting to know! No one's ever just tossed me aside like this!"
She laughed sarcastically. "If that's the case, then you better get used to it. Like I said, a ghost belongs somewhere dark and creepy. Like the closet. Up you go."
She lifted the second part and placed it on a shelf a few feet above the ground so that it wouldn't crush the first half. Starting to close the door, she heard his little squeaks and curses.
"You know what? FINE! Close the door! I'll get out of here! That's right! You watch me!"
Shaking her head, Claudia shut the door and locked it with the small key.
