Hollywood Ghosts

Myrriah and Gus stepped out of the mansion and onto the front porch as she heard the car roar down the cobblestone road. Water sprayed up in great torrents on either side of the stretch limousine as it cruised across the soaked street. As it drew nearer, she could just make out the forms of Ezra and Phineas sitting on the bumper, looking very miffed. Gus, of course, laughed at this. The limo rolled to a stop in the driveway.

Phineas and Ezra grumbled as they hopped down off the bumper. "Must be a full car if you guys had to sit back there," said Myrriah with a friendly smile, trying to make light of whatever situation had them so peeved.

Ezra scowled, his usual skeletal grin contorted into a frown. With a mock British accent and a nasal tone, he snapped, "No, they're just 'touchy about space'."

"Well, at least you boys have a ride home, whereas myself, however, am without a vehicle." She furrowed her brow. "Where's my car?"

"Oh, it's in the middle of a cow pasture," said Phineas conversationally as he picked up his carpetbag. "You oughta junk the heap and get yourself something nicer, with a little more class, something more befitting a lady such as yourself." A large smile lit his round face and Myrriah couldn't help smiling back. If the hitchhikers had to be classified individually, Phineas would be "the sweet one" or even "the one with a little bit of a conscience". "We're sorry, ma'am," he continued. "We did all we could. You should just get it towed. Ezra said he'd pay for a cab fare for you."

"I didn't really mean…" Ezra began.

"That's so nice of you!" gushed Myrriah.

"Yeah, that's me," grumbled Ezra. "Nice." He forced a fake smile for her, and as soon as she walked over to the limo, he crept up behind Phineas with his hands out as if he was going to strangle him.

"You did say…" said Phineas coolly without even turning around.

"I was caught up in a moment of blind rage!" He sneered at Gus. "What are you laughing at, shorty?"

"Sucker!" cackled Gus.

The driver side door opened up and Dustin stepped out. He caught sight of Myrriah and grinned and waved. "Good morning, Miss Harolds!"

"Good morning, Mr. Dust!" She had been very close to the genial, often anxiety prone Englishman and had regarded him as sort of surrogate uncle when she haunted the mansion thirteen years ago. It had been Dustin who had driven them to the Liberty Square Hospital when she and Courtney found out that their bodies were being kept on life support systems, and Dustin had been the one to go into the mansion with her when Leota was wreaking havoc, and he had been the first friend she made in Gracey Manor.

"Sorry about your motorcar. I'm sure it can be fixed, though. You just need some professionals to work on it." He smirked at Ezra and Phineas teasingly, who in turn, mimicked him childishly. After giving Myrriah a hug, he asked, "My, you've grown. How've you been? I take it the cane isn't for mere decoration." His green eyes darted onto the object in question.

"Oh, it's nothing," she said with a light, hollow chuckle. "Sciatica-something-or-other. Nothing to worry about." She smiled in a way she hoped was reassuring. When she first met him, he said something that always stuck with her: It always bothers me to see someone so young here. He genuinely cared for people and was especially sympathetic towards children. After they had arrived at the hospital, he had been so happy for Courtney and Myrriah. Telling him that she had lived just to develop severe health problems afterwards would probably devastate the poor man.

"Um, Courtney and Paul just had a baby girl," she said, eager to take the subject off of herself.

"That's wonderful!" Dustin beamed. "I do hope they bring the child here sometime."

"Nothin' like emotionally scarring a kid," quipped Ezra, making Myrriah suppress chuckles.

"I never meant-" Dustin was cut off as a female voice called out from inside the car, "Driver!" Dustin winced. "Sorry, miss Crosset!" He dashed to a car door and opened it. Out stepped a beautiful blond in a pearl white gown wearing matching gloves and holding a matching clutch. Everything about her, her looks, her voice, brought to mind classy actresses of the silver screen.

Dustin smiled shyly and took off his top hat and bowed. "Welcome to Gracey Manor."

"Thank you," she said, smiling back at him. To Ezra, Phineas, and Gus, she said, "Our bags are in the trunk. Remember, we don't tip if everything is not handled with the utmost care."

Phineas was indignant. "Do we look like footmen to you, lady?"

Ezra clamped a hand over his mouth. "Phinny, let these people think what they want; they're loaded!" He removed his hand.

Phineas wiped his mouth. "Cha-ching?"

"Cha-ching!"

"Right, in the trunk you say?" And off the trio went to collect the luggage.

A tall, sophisticated looking man wearing a tuxedo stepped out after the woman. He dusted off invisible dirt from his sleeves and straightened his jacket. A thin mustache sat just above his upper lip. He sniffed. "A little less… grand than I expected." His British accent sounded even more upper class than Dustin's. Upon seeing Myrriah, he cocked a dark eyebrow skeptically. "This isn't your home, is it?"

"No," she said flatly, not in the least bit impressed by him. But she tried not to be rude. "I'm Myrriah Harolds. I'm just staying for a short time." She cocked an eyebrow. "And you are?"

"Gilbert London, actor. This is the lovely Carolyn Crossent, singer, and also with us is…"

"Hi everyone!" cried out the most sugary voice Myrriah had ever heard. A young girl, probably no more than ten, hopped out of the limo. She had perfect little white teeth in her perfect little smile and perfect little dimples in a perfect little face surrounded by perfect little blond curls. "Golly gosh, it's so wonderful to be here." She did a perfect little curtsey in her perfect little pink dress. Myrriah could swear she heard a perfect little ting when the girl grinned.

"Sally Shine," Gilbert groaned softly. "Child star. And her nanny, Emmaline Patridge." As he finished the introduction, a stern, solid looking older woman got out. She was clutching a large handbag and wearing a hat that seemed far too tiny for her. She wore a simple maroon wool coat over her dress, and flat heeled shoes.

"Nice to meet you," said Myrriah in what she hoped passed for sincerity. What had George been thinking?

"D-don't f-forget m-me!" shouted a pathetic voice as a short man in a maroon uniform clumsily clambered out. "I-I'm Dewey Todd, bellhop." He ran to the trunk. "D-did someone already get the luggage?" He looked positively crushed. "B-but I'm supposed to get the luggage!"

"Calm down, Dewey," said Carolyn. "You've been a nervous wreck since…well, ever, but, you've been extra nervous since the trip began. Go inside and relax for a while, it's been taken care of."

"How can I relax? There's no one to care for the hotel and-and someone else is doing my job!"

"Switch to decaf, little man," said Ezra as he walked back out. "George is waiting for all of you in the foyer."

"Ooh, foyer, sounds swank," said Carolyn. "Come on, let's go. We don't want to keep our host waiting."

Myrriah and Dustin lingered behind. "Do you get some bad ju-ju off them?" she asked the driver. "Dustin?" He had a dreamy look on his face. "Dustin?"

"Huh?" He blinked several times. "Oh, right, yes, odd." He sighed wistfully. "Practically bewitching."

She arched an eyebrow and followed his bespectacled gaze to Carolyn.

A/N: The names of the ghosts come from the Tower of Terror movie, but the personalities are different. (Just wait 'till you see Sally Shine's true colors…tee hee hee…) "Cha-ching" was a small reference to the movie. One of the characters, Q, said it quite a bit.

Melanie Gracey: The spider from the second chapter is on the WDW ride. In one of the hallways, there's a whole bunch of giant, bright orange spiders. Thanks for all the kind reviews!