Chapter 6

Best Pal-tergeist

"So then, I tried wiring it to an IC board instead of a full panel one," Hugh began laughing, "and the whole thing just blew up on me. Hah, talk about a rookie mistake, right kids?"

Jessica and Spencer just stared silently at Hugh while they continued eating. They had gotten used to his invention stories, even though they would never understand them. Jessica took another spoonful of cranberry sauce while Spencer eyed his camcorder sitting on the counter. The fact that it wasn't on was really bugging him, but his mom didn't like him using it at the dinner table.

"Who wants seconds?" Jane asked, bringing a second plate of drumsticks straight from the oven.

"Ooh me, me! I do!" Billy excitedly raised his hand from under the table.

"Oh uh, I'll have some Mom." Spencer picked up two drumsticks. He put one his plate, but casually lowered the second one under the table for Billy to eat.

The ghost snatched the chicken from Spencer's hand and starting devouring it. "Mmmm. Thanks Sweet Brotato. Your mom's cooking is stellacious."

"Okay Wright family," Hugh gathered the attention of the table, "Meeting time!" Spencer and Jessica both moaned quietly. Wright family meetings were always tons of fun. "First thing on the agenda is-"

"Wait wait wait." Spencer quickly interrupted his Dad. "Can I please get the meeting on tape? Please, please? It's our first family meeting in the house." Spencer practically begged.

Jane crossed her arms. "Spencer you know how I feel about-" The mom was cut off by the sudden, sad puppy dog look that Spencer had formed on his face. Through years of practice and execution, he had perfected the ultimate parental persuasion technique. Jane sighed. "Alright, alright. Get your camera."

"Yes! Thanks mom." Spencer grabbed his camera and set it to record.

Billy flew up from under the table and smiled. "Whoaaa Spencatorium, that was some Class A Cobra manipulation. Hah, well done." The ghost clapped, genuinely impressed.

Spencer chuckled under his breath and got his camera into focus. "Okay, 'Wright Family's Big Move—First Family Meeting'. Aaaand, action!" Spencer zoomed in on Hugh's face.

"Wha-oh. Okay. Now, um, what was I going to say again…" Hugh had completely lost his train of thought.

"I think we were on agenda #1 Dad." Jessica sighed, resting her already bored head on her knuckle.

"Right, yes—Agenda numero uno: We decide if there are any changes to the house that we'd like to have, and then we can vote on them."

"What WHAT?!" Billy, previously not paying attention, snapped out of his daydream and flew right in front of Spencer's dad. "What do you mean 'changes'?" Billy asked, with a rising tone of anger in his voice.

Spencer looked at the ghost worryingly and echoed Billy's question for the family. "Uh Dad, what do you mean by 'changes'?"

"Well son, you know there are a few rooms in the house that may not be extremely useful anymore."

"Like that recording studio?" Jessica asked, her head perking up a little bit in interest.

"Right, exactly. Maybe we could turn it into something that we'll actually use." The dad explained.

"Ooh! We could turn it into a gym!" Jessica suggested, suddenly very excited. "Or a sparring dojo, or a boxing arena, or-"

"Or I could turn it into a workshop. You know, for my inventions." Hugh smiled.

The specter, already foaming at the mouth, finally snapped. "You are not turning the Cobra's studio into a sweaty gym or Santa's Little Workshop!" As Spencer watched in horror through his camera, Billy grabbed a bowl of peas from the table and aimed it straight for Hugh's head.

"Dad!" Spencer was able to push Hugh backward just as Billy launched the pea bowl toward him. The bowl barely missed the dad's head and shattered against the kitchen wall. Ceramic shards and globs of mashed peas flew everywhere on impact.

"AAHHHHHH!" Spencer's mom screamed as peas splattered onto her clothes. Jessica sprang from her chair and took cover. "What was that?!"

Billy's expression remained seething and his teeth were still gritted. The ghost flew back to the table and picked up the plate loaded with drumsticks. Everyone, except Spencer, watched as the plate seemed to float high into the air on its own.

"What's happening?!" Jane cowered from behind the kitchen counter while the floating plate stopped near the ceiling.

Billy began throwing a barrage of drumsticks all around the room. Spencer's parents screamed as chicken began splattering all over the walls and floor. After throwing the last drumstick, which Hugh had managed to catch in his mouth, Billy then swooped back down to the table and began throwing whatever foods he could get his hands on.

"It's a ghost!" Spencer's dad began freaking out as he dodged flying carrots and ham slices. "I knew it! My horoscope told me this would happen, but I didn't want to believe it!"

Spencer tried calming his screaming family down. "No, no wait! Guys relax, I-" Splat!

The teen was cut off by a handful of cranberry sauce that flew right into his face. He dropped his camera and began trying to wipe it off.

"Alright, that's it!" Jessica suddenly came up from under the table and assumed a fighting stance. "Let me at it! I'm not afraid of any ghost!"

"Oh ho, so you want a piece of the Cobra's fangs huh?" Billy smiled deviously. He stretched both of his arms and picked up the entire kitchen table. Jessica and her parents watched as the table appeared to levitate into the air. Billy then grew his ghost hands to an enormous size and proceeded to squish the table together with ease. The table instantly splintered into several mashed up pieces of wood and twisted metal, which Billy then casually tossed toward the ground.

The huge hunk of table wreckage dropped with a loud crash right in front of the girl, knocking her off her feet. Hugh, who was now covered in dinner scraps, pulled her back. "Honey you can't fight ghosts! They're already dead; they don't have anything to lose!"

"C'mon!" Jane pulled them both. "We have to get out of here!"

The three ran screaming out of the kitchen just as Billy threw the last bit of potatoes toward them. It managed to hit Hugh in the back of the head, tripping him up a little before he continued running.

"Yeah that's right!" Billy laughed, seeing the trio run up the foyer's staircase. "That'll teach you to mess with the Cobra's stuff!"

The ghost felt a strong pull on his leg and was yanked toward the ground. He rotated his head 180° and saw Spencer gripping his leg. From what little he could see of the teen's cranberry covered face, he could tell Spencer was furious.

"Dude! What the heck is wrong with you?!" Spencer shouted.

"Me?! Didn't you hear your Dad? He was totally gonna jack my studio!"

"Yeah and you totally wrecked my kitchen and probably scarred my family for life! Besides, I could have talked him out of it. You didn't need to go all postal on them!" Spencer rubbed his cranberry smeared forehead in frustration. "Man, what am I gonna do?"

Billy tapped his chin, thinking. "I got it dude! Okay first, we board up the studio so your folks can't get into it. You go get some wood, and I'll grab some chains from the-"

"No toolbox! I meant what am I gonna do about you!" Spencer shouted, cutting the ghost off. Spencer walked out of the kitchen and started pacing angrily in the foyer.

"What? What about me?" Billy frowned, floating behind the teen.

"I might have to call a priest or something to get rid of you. Dude, I can't have you going ballistic every time you get mad."

"Hey it's not my fault! I'm used to throwing diva-fits and getting everything I want. It's part of my superstar rocker lifestyle!" Billy pouted.

Spencer just glared exhaustedly at the ghost.

Billy clasped his hands together and began forming a sad puppy dog face.

"Okay that's totally not going to work dude." Spencer crossed his arms and shook his head.

Billy's body morphed into an incredibly cute little blue puppy. His puppy dog face was getting sadder and more adorable by the second. Spencer bit his lip and tried to look away, but finally couldn't resist the face anymore.

"Alright, fine! I forgive you! Just stop!" Spencer begged, trying to shield his eyes from the intense cuteness levels beaming from the ghost puppy's face. Despite years of training, apparently he was no match for Class A Cobra manipulation.

Billy morphed back into his human form and flew around in celebration. "Woohoo!" He floated up behind Spencer and lifted the teen into the air, giving him a hug. "Thanks Jelly Bronut. I was worried you were gonna end up hating me forever. Kinda like my back-up band. And my sound crew. And all my ex-girlfriends-"

"Yeah yeah, don't mention it. But right now we have a bigger problem."

"…Saving my studio?" Billy guessed cluelessly.

"No dude, my family! They think the house is haunted by an evil spirit or something now."

"Hey I'm not evil! I am kind of a bad-boy though." Billy smiled, smoothing his blue hair back.

"And now they're probably going to want to move out."

"What?!" Billy clutched the teen in his arms while they both floated high above the floor. "You can't move out! You just got here! I finally had someone to hang out with and talk too! I've been going crazy in this place! I don't want to be alon-" Billy suddenly cut himself off. Spencer just stared at the ghost, who was now squeezing nearly all the oxygen out of his body.

Billy quickly faked a cough and cleared his throat. "Uh, I mean, yeah it'd be a real bummer if you had to leave. Haha, yeah."

Spencer gave a puzzled frown. "Sooo, could you put me down? It's kinda hard to think like this."

"Oh, hah, yeah truthin'" The ghost had to practically pry his arms off the teen and lowered Spencer back onto the ground.

Spencer fixed his food smothered shirt and walked to the elevator. "Okay we need a plan ASAP."

"Hmmm, maybe we could tell them it was all a dream?" Billy suggested.

"No that'll never work." Spencer stepped into the elevator with Billy floating in after him. "We'd never be able to convince them they were all dreaming the same thing. Plus the trashed up kitchen and food on their clothes kind of destroys our case."

The elevator lifted them up to Spencer's room. The teen jumped onto his bed. Billy floated over him, trying to think.

"Maybe I could just tell them to chill myself. I have a certain way with words." The ghost smiled.

"No way man. We don't want to spook them out even more. My family isn't really into the ghost and zombie stuff like I am. They'd totally freak if they saw you." Spencer dismissed.

"Huh. Well I got nothing." Billy shrugged, putting his hands behind his head. "It's too bad you never got to show them that movie you were making. I bet they'd like ghosts a lot more if they saw a ghoul flick starring the Cobra."

"BILLY!" Spencer suddenly shouted. The startled ghost fell from the air and dropped onto the bed beside Spencer.

"Ah! What? What is it?" Billy asked, slightly frightened.

"You're a genius!" Spencer smiled, jumping off the bed and grabbing his laptop. "Can you go get my camera from the kitchen? Make sure not to touch any buttons on it though; it should still be recording from when I dropped it."

"I'm on it dude." The ghost zipped and phased through the floor. Spencer turned his laptop on and pulled up his editing software. A few seconds later, Billy came riding up the elevator holding Spencer's camcorder and tossed it to the teen.

Spencer checked the camera and smiled. "All right! We're in business!" The teen hooked up the camcorder to his laptop while Billy watched. "The camera got your whole food fight freakout on tape!"

"Um, am I missing something here Christopher Brolan?" Billy scratched his head. "Weren't we trying to get your folks to forget about that? Why is this a good thing?"

"You'll see. C'mon we gotta hurry." Spencer grabbed his camera and walked to the elevator with Billy floating behind him, still clueless. They both stepped inside and descended to the foyer.