In the last chapter, Tim and Sheila were out having lunch together when Tim brings up the subject of their relationship and then proposes to her.
Whilst all this is happening whilst Casper and his friends Chris and Jennifer, Kat Harvey and her dad James Harvey were inside the resident Whipstaff Manor. Chapter Four explores where Kat and Jennifer explore the playroom. This was where Casper remembered his past and Casper shows Chris the up n atom machine leading to McFadden's Secret Laboratory.
Chapter Four
The second floor of Whipstaff Manor.
Chris and Casper were taking a walk across the hallway where the walls were covered with paintings and candle lights which lit up the whole room. Chris was enjoying seeing the pictures of some of Casper's late relatives and his father's new paintings as well until they found their way to the library room. Casper leads him to an armchair before he speaks. "Come on Chris, over here. Go on sit down."
"So why are you telling me to sit in this chair, Casper?" asked Chris.
"It's a shortcut to my dad's secret laboratory, I would hold on and wait until I see what it looks like." Casper said. "What do you mean?" asked Chris but Casper only pulled the secret trigger on the lampshade next to the chair.
In the instant, the chair went backwards leading towards the stairs, it spun around a bit before stopping as the stairs folded down into a track. In the next few seconds after that, Chris went sliding down in the chair towards the hidden trapdoor on the bottom of the stairs.
"Woah!" Chris wiled as he went down the trap door. The next thing he knew was that he was in a tunnel, riding along the rail track when he passed two ramps that activated the Up and at'em machine. Only it had been remodelled and modified with Doctor Harvey's ideas on how to improve it.
Chris sat still in his seat as the up and at'em machine activated on his arrival.
The first contraption Chris faced was the powder puffs that automatically powdered his face. Next, he leaned forward on the auto toothbrush and toothpaste that cleaned his teeth. But he had to lean back when the shaving foam sprays squirted out from both sides.
Next was two newly modified shaving razors which went up and down for about thirty seconds before they retracted. After that Chris got sprayed with water from the showerhead before he received a blow dry from the hairdryers. The next one was the hair combs. The three hair combs brushed his hair back and the last thing was two new mechanical hands that held a cup of coffee on one hand and a warm towel on the other, for Chris to take from the hands.
He took the towel and the cup but didn't drink the contents in it.
Rubbing his face in it, Chris enjoyed the warmth it provided as he reached the end of the tunnel. Chris soon entered the secret lab. Riding along the railing, the chair soon stopped at MacFadden's desk where Casper was waiting for him.
Once he stopped at the desk Chris sighed, placing the cup and towel on the desk before he stood up from the chair. Casper looked at his friend and he spoke. "Well, what did you think of the ride?"
"I think the ride was a little exciting but I just want to ask what was the machine I went through, it looked like a carwash?" asked Chris.
"Oh that's the "Up and At 'Em" machine. My dad was a great inventor, but he had a little trouble getting going in the morning. But thanks to some improvements that Doctor Harvey and I made, we were able to add a caffeine machine to it to serve cups of coffee in the morning"
"Oh, well at least its a genuine improvement to the invention itself. But I'm not sure about the razor blades." Chris said to Casper who simply shrugged.
"Yeah, I see what you mean. Although Doctor Harvey and I are still making the necessary improvements to change it, it is just a slow process to get funds to modify it. Kat was helpful with her ideas on installing some buttons on the chair encase her dad likes a shave and shower or anything else."
"Oh cool, it is a fantastic machine but I think it best if I can go through a door. So is this your father's secret Lab?" Chris asked looking around the large structure of the cave.
"Yeah isn't it great? My dad built this place, he used to drop what he's doing and play games with me." said Casper.
Meanwhile in the attic.
Whilst Chris and Casper were exploring the secret Laboratory, Kat was taking Jennifer all the way up to the attic.
As they venture further into the levels of the whole house Kat spoke to Jennifer about her live on the road with her dad, they talked about how many schools Kat went to and how lonely she was since she couldn't make any friends until she moved to friendship and started to live in Whipstaff manor where she met Casper.
Jennifer told her of how she met the ghost through her friend Chris who would have ended up as a ghost if Casper hadn't saved him from the bomb in Applegate Mansion, Kat laughed at the fact that Casper turned into a white balloon that inflated throughout the household.
Once they reached the stairway leading to the attic, Kat was about to go up the stairs when Jennifer asked her.
"Where exactly are we going?"
"Well the attic is where the playroom is, come on. I'll show you what is inside." Kat said before she went up the stairs and Jennifer followed her.
As soon as they were near to the hatchway leading to the attic, Kat opened the hatch and went in before Jennifer came up to the floor of the attic, brushing her hands on her top whilst Kat walked a few steps towards the playroom.
Kat stopped at the door and waited for Jennifer who was looking around the attic which was clean and tidy.
There were stacked newspapers and boxes moved about as Jennifer walked across to where Kat was standing before she stopped.
"So are you ready to see the playroom after exploring the attic." Kat asked with a sly grin. When Jennifer nodded, kat then opened the door and stepped inside a room that was filled with toys. As Jennifer entered through the doorway, her face was amazed by the sight of multiple toys that were working automatically.
There was the old Ferris wheel toy and the carousel which was part of a carnival set, the circus cage and the harp that sat on the floor along with a furnace heater that was connected to the room.
It was so magnificent for a visitor to Casper's playroom.
"Oh wow, this is an amazing toy room. I really like this room Kat."
"Yeah me too, I usually like to come up here to be alone or just enjoy the sound of old toys. When I was exploring the attic to find a piece of information that would tell me about Casper, I came across the doorway leading into this room. It was filled with wooden boxes that contained these antique toys from the early 20th century.
After some time rebuilding it, I found out that it was once Casper's playroom. There was a toy model of the Eiffel tower here but Casper and I decided to sell it so that we can redecorate the secret Laboratory downstairs."
Kat explained the story to Jennifer as she went slowly around the room seeing the toys that stood on the table and on the shelves.
On the rims of the ceiling was a toy train that was moving across the tracks.
"Wow, Casper must have had a happy childhood when he was ten years old. So this was his playroom?"
"It was and he used to play there all the time and all these toys were from his dad, he built this place just for him before he passed away of Pneumonia," Kat told her as she walked across the room and then took her seat by the window ledge.
Jennifer went to the window ledge and stood looking out the window to the view. Feeling so sorry to hear that Kat's ghost friend was a kid when he became a ghost.
"How old was he when he died?" asked Jennifer.
"He was around twelve going on thirteen." Kat answered looking up at Jennifer, who was starting to feel sad for Casper. She then went past the harp before she sat down on the other end of the window. "Its a shame that he died so young, especially when he was about to experience the teen years of high school and making friends, chasing girls like us and asking them out on dates." Jennifer spoke of the perks of being a teenager which made Kat laugh.
Jennifer laughed along with her as she spoke.
"Yeah, but his father worked hard to find a way to bring him back since he gave him a sledge for him to go sledging in the snow. And his father tried to get him to stop but Casper was having so much fun that he didn't listen and then he got sick. At least one good thing happened last Halloween."
"Really and what's that?" asked Jennifer. Kat moved closer to Jennifer as if to tell her a secret when she spoke.
"I got to dance with Casper when he was a human, and he gave me my first kiss before he turned back into a ghost and frightened most of my classmates."
Jennifer gawked at the news as she looked at Kat's grin. Regaining composure Jennifer spoke to Kat. "Wow, I think I remember Casper telling us that he was a real boy for this one time on Halloween. I wish you got a picture of him."
"Well, it was a magical night for me." Kat replied before she turned to the window to see the view.
Jennifer turned to look at the toys again when she saw Casper appear from the attic floor, she smiled waving to him before she spoke. "Hey, Casper."
Kat turned away from Jennifer to see Casper come through the doorway.
"Hi Jennifer, do you like my old playroom? It used to be one of my favourite places before I passed away."
Jennifer nodded to the ghost, looking around before he spoke.
"It's very nice, I really like it a lot. You must have had quite the childhood when you were so young."
"That he was but what really made me sad was that he died of Pneumonia and his father lived alone for years when he found that he was haunted by the ghost of his dead son." said Kat.
"How horrible, to die of pneumonia at a young age." Jennifer said starting to feel so sorry for Casper.
"Well, it would have been worse and if things were different I could have experienced being in a relationship and becoming a father of my own kids but if I didn't pass away so young, I never would have met you and Chris or Kat here." Casper explained.
Jennifer thought about it and drew a crooked grin at Casper's point of view.
"You're probably right, although you would have been an adult ghost instead of a kid ghost. So I'm glad that I got to be friends with you Casper."
Casper nodded to Jennifer when they heard footsteps coming from outside the playroom and turned to the doorway. Casper drew a grin when he turned and spoke. "That must be Chris finally catching up."
But it turned out to be Doctor Harvey who appeared from the stairs.
He climbed up to the last step before he turned his head to the path leading to the doorway of the playroom.
Walking past a dozen boxes and chests filled with old stuff from the McFadden family, Doctor Harvey made his way to the doorway leading into Playroom where he found the girls sitting and chatting together. "Ah girls, I thought that I heard you talking. When Chris asked where Jennifer and you were doing, I told him you were hanging out in Casper's playroom in the attic. He's just coming up now." Doctor Harvey explained before he turned his head to the attic stairs, "Chris!" he called out before the top Chris' head appeared from the doorway followed by his body. "I'm coming Doctor Harvey." Chris responded climbing up the steps to stand on the attic floors.
Once he was up the steps, Chris turned to see Doctor Harvey standing outside the doorway of the playroom.
Jennifer stood up from her seat and went out through the doorway when Chris walked over towards the playroom but slowed down to meet him at the door.
"Hey it's about time you came up here, you should see this playroom. Its so amazing." Jennifer said stepping back from the doorway.
Chris stepped forward to come through the doorway to see the Playroom filled with toys and ornaments, it was such a magnificent place to be in as Chris entered.
Looking around the whole room of Casper's playroom, Chris couldn't help but be impressed with all these new toys and ornaments that were man-made.
"Wow" Chris said as he looked from left to right. "Impressed?" Kat asked as she stood near the centre.
Chris looked straight at Kat before he nodded to her, stepping into the room. He was almost close to the centre when he spoke.
"Is this really Casper's playroom?"
"Of course it is, its been closed up in storage before I found it and decided to take all these toys out to jog Casper's memory." Kat replied turning around to gesture to all the fancy toys that were in the playroom. Chris became so intrigued with these handcrafted toys that were inside the room before he accepted that these were incredible.
"This is great, I mean I thought that Casper could be too old for all this." he said.
"Well when you're a twelve-year-old boy who lives in the early 20th century, all this is like treasure to Casper. These are valuable memories to him." Kat said to Chris, who nodded to her. Jennifer drew a small grin knowing that she's lucky that her boyfriend is not dead like the friendly ghost himself.
Back in Deedstown, California.
It was on a sunny afternoon of their lunch date at the cafe.
When Tim pulled out the box containing the ring he held inside.
Sheila sat in her seat and watched him stand up from his seat and step up to her side, bracing herself for what might come next.
Tim took a moment to breathe in before he exhaled. "Sheila, I'm aware that we've had a rocky start over this past year..." Tim started.
"Oh my God, Tim is this what I think it is? You're proposing to me?" Sheila interrupted, cutting to the chase.
Tim bowed his head to what Sheila concluded before he spoke. "I'm afraid it is Sheila. and If you'll let me, I will let you decide for yourself."
Suddenly Sheila brought her hands to her face, feeling speechless as Tim spoke on. "I've fallen in love with you for months since we started dating and as my son and a child ghost has brought us together, it has been the start of an enchanting journey and I now feel ready for another adventure. Sheila Fistergraff, will you marry me?" he asked, opening the box to show his ring to her.
Upon seeing the ring in the box, Sheila's eyes started to become watery as she drew a small grin. Speechless about the proposal she took the time to think about it. Tim noticed that she was thinking so he spoke.
"You don't have to answer right away, take some time to think if you want."
Standing up from his kneeling position he went back to his chair, but when Sheila regained her composure she looked at Tim's face. "Actually I've decided."
She paused for a few seconds before she spoke. "I would like to marry you, Tim Carson. You can be such a lovabe person most of the time, but life is short here. so my answer is yes." On hearing her answer to his marriage proposal, Tim drew a grin.
He stood up to take the ring out of the box to put it on Sheila's finger. Sheila stood up before she raised her and allowed him to slip the ring on her finger which he did. Afterwards, Sheila wrapped her arms around Tim's neck as he embraced her.
Back at Whipstaff Manor, Friendship Maine.
It was around an hour after Kat, Jennifer and Chris spent the time in the playroom with Doctor Harvey and Casper.
When they heard the doorbell downstairs, Casper flew out to find someone at the door so Doctor Harvey went down to answer the door.
Thirty minutes later Kat came down the stairs to the first floor with Chris and Jennifer following behind her, they were coming to the next stairway when Doctor Harvey opened the door to see Jennifer's parents outside.
"Ah Mr and Mrs Elliot, hello there and welcome to Whipstaff Manor." Doctor Harvey spoke, pulling the door further to allow Jennifer's parents to enter.
"Thank you Doctor Harvey." Mr Elliot replied as he and Mrs Elliot stepped through the doorway. They looked around the place to see the whole area of the main room.
It was the same as when Doctor Harvey and his daughter came into the manor and stood with their belongings.
Although it had some new furniture like tables and chairs from the Halloween party, it still looked pretty much like a home. Once he closed the door, Doctor Harvey approached the Elliots.
"So can I get you two something to drink whilst we wait?"
"Actually Doctor Harvey we were just here for Jennifer and Chris, are they still here?" asked Mrs Elliot.
"Yes, they're just hanging out upstairs with my daughter." Doctor Harvey replied.
"Okay then, we'll just stick around here until they come down." said Mr Elliot.
"Great. Can I offer you a cup of tea or coffee whilst you wait?" asked Doctor Harvey as he escorted the Elliot couple across the downstairs lounge.
The Elliots decided to have a cup of tea whilst they wait, so once they entered the lounge which was a nice place with loads of furniture to sit on Doctor Harvey told them to make themselves comfortable before he went off to grab the tray with a teapot and a few cups for them.
As they walked over to one of the couches and sat down, the Elliots looked around the surroundings of the lounge which was a nice place. It was also clean as a whistle except that it had some small noises in small places.
Outside the lounge, five minutes later.
After coming down from the attic of the household, Jennifer and Chris were coming down the stairs from the second floor to the first floor. Kat was still upstairs with Casper whilst Chris and Jennifer made their way down the stairs to the ground floor.
They were just halfway near the ground when Jennifer heard some talking coming from the lounge. Jennifer looked up to Chris before she spoke. "That must be my dad."
Chris nodded and replied. "I guess it means it's time for us to go home."
"Yeah, it was fun while it lasted." Jennifer said, and she and Chris went off to the lounge.
They made their way from the stairs towards the lounge to see Jennifer's parents and Doctor Harvey chatting together.
The three were having a laugh when they turned to see Jennifer come through the doorway.
"Hi Jennifer," Mrs Elliot was the first to speak when she stood up and came over to Jennifer. "Mom, Hey." said Jennifer, raising her arms up whilst her mom approached to hug her and she returned the hug to her mom. Withdrawing from their embrace, Mrs Elliot looked at Jennifer and spoke. "So are you ready to go back to the hotel dear?"
"Almost, I'm waiting for Chris to come down." said Jennifer.
Nodding to her as she was happy to wait for her daughter's boyfriend to arrive, Mrs Elliot turned and went with Jennifer to the couch.
The two ladies waited whilst Mr Elliot and Dr Harvey were busy chatting up a storm.
Both men were getting into such subjects as sports or the study of people among other things in general, but Mrs Elliot was hoping that her husband might finish up so that they may leave this house. Jennifer could see that her mom was a little uneasy but she squeezed her hand to assure her that things are fine.
Mrs Elliot suddenly jumped at the sound of the ghostly trio's laughter. "What was that?" she asked.
"Oh that must be some new sound effects that my daughter has been working on. She got some equipment from a friend at school and promised that she could test it for him." Doctor Harvey lied to Mrs Elliot, who started to feel relieved by the fake explanation. Mr Elliot gave a chuckle at her and spoke.
"Don't worry, my wife isn't used to being in a big house like this."
Mrs Elliot was about to protest when Chris finally appeared. "Mrs Elliot, hey. I'm sorry I took a long time I was just saying goodbye to Kat."
"Great, cos we've been waiting for you for five minutes. Doctor Harvey, it was a pleasure meeting you." Mrs Elliot said standing up from the couch to approach Chris.
Jennifer stood up as well and walked up to Chris whilst Mrs Elliot went to the front door whilst Mr Elliot turned back to shake Doctor Harvey saying his goodbyes to him.
As Doctor Harvey escorted Mr Elliot to the door, Jennifer and Chris spoke together whilst they strolled to the door.
"Let me guess, those three crazy ghosts were acting spooky again?" asked Jennifer.
"Yeah, they get that way sometimes." Chris replied.
"Well they did spook my mom, which is why she's insisting on leaving the house." said Jennifer. Chris nodded with a sly grin.
"I just hope they don't show up to scare us out the front door." Jennifer said when they heard the laughter again, which made her wish she didn't say that. So she went up to her mom and told her that she and Chris will be out in a few minutes and they can wait in the car.
Mrs Elliot looked at her daughter and spoke.
"What do you mean, you already said goodbye to Kat."
"Actually Mrs Elliot. I wanted to ask Doctor Harvey some advice on careers." Chris stated, stepping forward.
"Careers, but you're still a kid Chris." Mrs Elliot pointed out. "Yes, but it doesn't hurt when you could get started on something that might lead to a new life. I mean Jennifer was just talking to me about careers herself and I wondered if there was any advice that she and I could take from him." Chris explained.
Mrs Elliot turned her head to see Jennifer nod in agreement, so she reluctantly accepted their request.
"You get five minutes Jennifer and you too Chris, I'll be waiting in the car." with that she raised her head taking one last look around the house before she turned to the front door. As she went out through the doorway she spoke. "The place could use a woman's touch." that was when the door slammed behind her, giving her a fright that made her turn back to look at the door and hear the laughter again.
"Okay, its time to get in the car." she said before heading to the passenger door, much to the amusement of Mr Elliot.
Back inside the house, Jennifer and Chris were still in the house talking with Doctor Harvey.
"So you're thinking about a career to become a paranormal psychologist, huh?" he asked. "Yes, Doctor Harvey, or someone who investigates the supernatural." Chris answered. "Hmm, sounds like the type of area of expertise I used to be in before I settled for treating people instead of hunting ghosts. But wouldn't you rather be doing something productive with your life?" asked Doctor Harvey.
"Well I could always be a teacher or something if Parapsychology doesn't work or anything." Chris answered after seeing James Harvey's point.
But Jennifer was the one to speak. "It is an option but you shouldn't give up Chris, just a few years ago I didn't believe in ghosts until you introduced me to Casper and that was the one day that changed my life completely."
"Yeah, but that was the same day I almost got killed by that explosive that goon Bill Case planted in the Applegate Mansion." Chris pointed out.
"You almost got killed?" asked Doctor Harvey. "Yes Doctor Harvey, my ex-friend Brock and his gang locked Chris in." asked Jennifer.
"Oh, at least you're still alive, unlike the time I died on Halloween and came back to life thanks to Casper." Doctor Harvey said. "What do you mean?" asked Chris.
"Umm, its another story for another time Chris. So if you're still considering becoming a paranormal psychologist, I do know a few good colleges that might take you in." said Doctor Harvey, trying to change the subject which made Chris smile. "Thanks." he said.
"And what about you Jennifer?" Doctor Harvey asked Jennifer who then answered, "I'm thinking of getting into medical school to become a doctor or maybe a support worker. But I like to keep my options open for a new career on the horizon."
"Good for you Jennifer, you can tell me all about it someday. Now I think you two better get going, I don't want to keep your parents waiting. Do you?" said Doctor Harvey. Suddenly laughter coming from the Ghostly trio echoed aloud from upstairs.
"You know I think that's our cue to leave. so you can give my best to those three crazy ghosts." Chris responded before he went out the doorway
"Yeah, it was nice meeting you, Doctor Harvey," Jennifer said, shaking his hand she then followed her boyfriend out the door before it closed.
Once they were gone, Stretch appeared from above and floated next to Doctor Harvey. "Aww, ain't that nice. The kid still remembers me and the boys."
"Yeah, that boy does and he will always remember his good friends as I do you sorry boys." said Doctor Harvey. Stretch gave a chuckle before the other two ghosts Stinky and Fatso joined Stretch's side and laughed alongside him.
Later that night.