Chapter 10
A Fun Day at the Fair
A few minutes of unconsciousness had passed before Libby slowly opened her eyes to see Molly with a ghost. Confused, Libby blinked a couple of times to make sure what she was seeing was real.
"Wh-What?"
"Oh, I'm so happy to see that you are now awake, Libby! I was starting to worry! Libby, this is Scratch!" Molly introduced Libby to Scratch. "He loves tacos, napping, and acting grouchy, but really he's a big squishy marshmallow, aren't you bud? You're so squishy!" Molly said as she hugged Scratch.
"Come on! I'm not a toy!" Scratch complained as he tried to get out of the hug.
"And Scratch, this is Libby! She's-"
Molly was about to introduce Libby before Scratch interrupted. "Yeah, obsessed with turtles, lousy at softball, way to deep into conspiracy theories! I'm familiar with the Lib!"
It was hard for Libby to process what she was seeing. Molly was friends with a ghost for all these years, and she had no idea.
Libby then took out her tape recorder once more before speaking into it. "Supernatural theory number 37 confirmed! Ghosts do exist, and they're rude!"
At that moment, Libby was taken by surprise when Molly excitedly hugged her and Scratch at the same time.
"Finally, the truth is out! Now, my two BFFs can be BFFs together!" Molly exclaimed.
Scratch didn't like the idea of being friends with Libby. "Whoa, Whoa, Whoa! I do not need or want to be friends with Libby!"
"Same!" Libby added. "I'm very particular with who I let in my friend circle!"
"But, I'm sure there is a way for you two to be friends as well! Maybe I can think of a plan where-"
"No, Molly!" Libby interrupted Molly. "I've known you long enough to know that you would come up with some convoluted plan to force me and Scratch to become friends, so please don't do anything like that!"
Seeing that Libby has had enough of Molly's plans for one day, Molly decided to respect Libby's wishes.
"Okay, Libby! I understand. Maybe someday, you and Scratch can become friends naturally!" Molly hoped.
Hearing Molly talking about friendship caused Libby to suddenly gasp as she remembered something important. "Oh no!"
At that moment, Libby ran back in the direction of the park as Molly and Scratch followed her. Once Molly managed to catch up, she noticed Libby kneeling on the ground with something in her hands.
Molly stepped closer to see that Libby was gripping her friendship bracelet tightly. Tears were running down Libby's face as she was overcome with guilt from what happened between her and Molly not too long ago.
"Oh, Molly! I'm so sorry! I should have realized you had a good reason to this secret from me! I've been so awful to you!" Libby cried.
Feeling bad for her best friend, Molly immediately wrapped her arms around Libby in a hug. "No! Libby, you have nothing to apologize for! If I had been more honest with you, none of this would have happened! I'm so sorry for everything! If you would want me to be your friend again, I promise there will be no more secrets between us!"
Libby sniffed as she smiled at Molly before hugging her back. "Of course! I'm happy that we are friends again!" Libby put on her friendship bracelet once more.
With the drama of today's events over, Molly and Scratch decided to return home and get some sleep. Everything soon calmed down the next morning, as Molly was on her phone, looking at pictures of her and Libby together. That was when Scratch decided to talk to Molly about her crush on Libby.
"So, you and Libby, huh?"
It was at that moment when Molly remembered what she said to Scratch yesterday. "Oh, right. Please don't tell anyone what I said."
"Relax, Moll! I am a ghost, remember? I can't exactly find a lot of people to talk to about it! Even so, you would have to tell Libby how you feel at some point." Scratch suggested.
Suddenly, a portal to the ghost world appeared behind Scratch as the Ghost Council was summoning him once again.
"We'll talk about this later, Molly! I just have to see what the Ghost Council wants from me now." Scratch said before he got sucked into the portal.
This left Molly in her room once more. She silently thought of her relationship with Libby before she heard her door open. It was at that moment when Darryl entered Molly's room, looking for something.
"Hey Molly, have you seen Heidi Hairylegs anywhere?" Darryl asked, searching for his pet tarantula. "She seemed to have escaped from her cage again."
"Darryl, you know how much I don't like Heidi being loose in the house!" Molly lectured her brother.
"Sorry! I'm sure I'll find her soon." Darryl assured before he noticed the pictures of Libby on Molly's phone. "You know, you should tell Libby how you feel at some point, right?"
Hearing this surprised Molly. "What? You know about my crush on Libby?"
"Well, duh! It is pretty obvious!" Darryl casually replied.
Molly couldn't believe what she was hearing! First Andrea, and now Darryl? Does everyone know about her crush on her best friend?
"Listen, Darryl! I really do want to confess my love for Libby, but I just can't!"
"Why not? What's so hard about that?" Darryl asked.
"You'll understand when you are older and have a crush of your own!" Molly explained.
"I really don't see that happening anytime soon. Anyway, I'd better look for Heidi some more!" Darryl was about to leave before he turned to his sister to tell her one last thing. "Also, if you really want Libby to fall in love with you so badly, try taking her somewhere that you would both enjoy!"
At that moment, Darryl left the attic, leaving Molly to ponder what he just told her. Suddenly, Molly let out an excited gasp as she thought of an idea of what she can do with Libby today.
Meanwhile, in the ghost world, Scratch was summoned in front of the Ghost Council once again. He had no idea what the Ghost Council wanted, but he knew it was nothing good.
"Scratch, we have been wanting to speak with you about your performance in Brighton." Grimbella spoke up.
"Wh-What are you talking about, I thought I have been keeping my scare numbers up really well this month!" Scratch defended.
"While your scare numbers have been adequate as of late, we have discovered a new form of joy plaguing Brighton!" Bartholomew explained.
"It would appear that there is some kind of romance blooming, and it is greatly affecting the misery in Brighton!" Lucretia added.
Shocked by what he heard, Scratch froze up in fear, as he had a feeling that he might know who the Ghost Council was referring to.
"It is important that The Chairman is able to feed on the misery of Brighton, but it is not possible with this joy spreading, which is why we've assigned a joy hunter to get to the bottom of this!" said Sir Alister.
Suddenly, Scratch was surprised when the joy hunter Sir Alister mentioned appeared right next him. The joy hunter was a female purple ghost with curly hair and yellow eyes. She floated over to Scratch before shaking his hand.
"Hey! Scratch, is it? Jinx! Hi! Look, I want you to chill, breathe deep, and center yourself! Because together, me and you, you and I, we are going to get to the bottom of this joy thing! Oh, and it is an honor to meet you, Mr. Chairman!" The ghost named, Jinx brought her attention over to The Chairman, who simply stared at her in silence with blank indifference.
"Anyway, Jinx is our most ruthless joy hunter!" Sir Alister explained.
"It's true! I don't want to get all braggy and all, but-" Jinx suddenly had a terrifying look on her face as her voice turned demonic. "I always find my joy!"
"You and Jinx will search for the source of the joy and put an end to it!" Grimbella ordered.
In response, Scratch let out a gulp. "Uh, sure! Just let me get prepared for the assignment, and I'll be right with you guys in a minute!"
With that, Scratch flew through the portal, back to the human world. He soon floated down to the floor before covering his face with his hands. Now that a joy hunter was after them, Molly and Libby were in danger.
"What am going to do?" Scratch said to himself. "Okay! Just calm down, Scratch! As long as Molly and Libby don't spend time together, you have nothing to worry about!"
Right as Scratch said that, Molly approached him with a cheerful grin. "Scratch, I have great news! Libby and I are going to spend time together at the fair today!"
Upon hearing the news, Scratch gave an annoyed groan. If Molly and Libby were going to the fair, there was no doubt that Jinx would find them.
"Hey, I was wondering if you would like to come with me." Molly offered. "I know that you said you don't want to be friends with Libby, but maybe you can give her a chance!"
As much as he didn't want to go, Scratch had to stay around and keep an eye on Jinx to make sure she doesn't hurt Molly or Libby. He didn't want to make it seem too obvious though, so he decided to pretend to not want to go.
"Ugh, fine! I suppose if I have to, I will reluctantly go with you!"
This surprised Molly since Scratch would usually put up more of a fight when he doesn't want to attend these fun activities with her. She simply decided to shrug it off as she decided it was time to leave for the fair.
The fair was crowded today as a lot of people came to have a fun time. Molly searched through the crowd before she finally managed to find Libby.
"Libby!" Molly called out for her best friend.
At that moment, Libby turned and waved at Molly with a friendly smile. They both ran towards each other before embracing each other in a hug.
"I'm so glad you are here Molly!" Libby exclaimed, happy to have a fun day with Molly.
"I know! I'm sure that all three of us are going to have a fun time!"
Libby's smile soon faded when she heard Molly mention the three of them. "Um, sorry. What do you mean by all three of us?"
Libby soon got her answer when Scratch appeared in front of her. It was at that moment when Libby glared at Scratch, she really hoped that it would just be her and Molly spending the day together. Instead she would have to share Molly with her supposed other best friend.
"What is he doing here?" Libby asked, Scratch being the last person she wanted to see.
"Hey, I didn't exactly have a choice in coming here!" Scratch argued.
Feeling awkward about the whole situation, Molly tried to calm her friends down.
"I just thought we could spend the day together! You're both my best friends, after all!"
As much as she didn't want to do this, Libby decided to tolerate Scratch for Molly's sake.
"Alright, Molly. I guess I can give this a chance." Libby replied with reluctance in her voice.
It was at that moment when Molly and her friends started exploring the fairgrounds together. As they admired all of the rides and games, Molly and Libby got some popcorn and cotton candy.
Despite spending the day with Scratch as well, Libby actually considered this to be a fun day with Molly.
"Today has been really fun today, Molly! Thank you for asking me to spend the day at the fair with you!" Libby smiled.
"No problem, Libby! I'm having fun with you too!" Molly happily replied.
"Do you know what else would be fun? Getting something to eat! I haven't eaten all day!" Scratch then took Libby's cotton candy before eating it in one gulp.
Annoyed by this, Libby yelled, "Hey, that was mine!"
"I didn't see your name on it!" Scratch mocked.
It was at that point when Libby just about reached her limit with Scratch. It was hard for her to believe that someone as sweet and friendly like Molly could possibly be friends with someone as rude and grumpy like Scratch.
At that moment, Libby walked up close to Molly and whispered, "No offense, Molly, but I really don't get what you see in Scratch."
"Funny! I was going to tell Molly the same thing about you!" Scratch retorted.
Upon noticing how frustrated Libby was with Scratch, Molly began to realize that bringing her two friends together might not have been a good idea after all. Seeing that her two friends can't stand each other, Molly decided to let Scratch explore the fairgrounds on his own.
"Listen, Scratch. Why don't you look for something to eat, while Libby and I continue to walk through the fairgrounds together." Molly suggested.
"That's the best idea I've heard all day!" Scratch said before he floated away.
As she watched Scratch leave, Libby turned to Molly and asked, "Seriously, is Scratch always this rude?"
"Don't worry! Scratch might seem all grumpy and mean, but he is actually really nice once you get to know him!" Molly explained. "Now, come on! Let's go see what other fun activities we can do!"
As Molly and Libby were having a fun time together, Scratch was floating around the fairgrounds in search for food. He was rummaging for leftovers in a nearby trashcan when he heard a familiar voice.
"Is this what you normally do when you are not scaring people?"
Scratch looked up and was surprised to see Jinx.
"Aaah! J-Jinx! What are you doing here?" Scratch asked in surprised.
"My job! What does it look like?" Jinx retorted before she took out what looked to be some kind of tracker. "My joy tracker has been leading me here, so the happy couple has to be nearby!"
Scratch gulped upon realizing that Jinx was close to finding out about Molly and Libby.
"Oh, really? Are you sure? You're tracker must be malfunctioning! I looked around here and haven't seen anyone being romantic towards each other!"
Upon seeing how nervous Scratch was, Jinx could tell that he was lying. She took one look at her scanner and floated away, simply ignoring Scratch. Desperate, Scratch did his best to keep Jinx distracted long enough for the day to end.
While Scratch was constantly leading Jinx in the wrong direction, Molly and Libby were having a fun day together, neither of them aware that a joy hunter was after them. They walked up to a booth, where Molly threw darts at balloons. As the game came to an end, Molly ended up winning a turtle plushie.
Soon, Scratch and Jinx were getting closer to where Molly and Libby were, and Scratch started to panic when he heard Molly speak.
"Here you go, Libby! I know how much you love turtles!" Molly said, happily handing the turtle plushie over to Libby.
With an excited gasp, Libby replied. "Thank you, Molly! You are so thoughtful!" Libby happily accepted the plushie before she and Molly blushed and shyly looked away from each other.
This ended up getting Jinx's attention. "Did you hear something?" She asked, now more suspicious than ever.
"What? No! There is clearly no romance around here!" Scratch said with a nervous grin.
As he looked behind Jinx, he saw Molly and Libby walking away together, much to his relief.
"Listen, it has been a long day, so why don't we just take a break for the day and let the Ghost Council know that our happy couple isn't here!"
Jinx began to glare at Scratch, knowing that he was hiding something. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't able to find anything, now that her joy tracker lost the signal.
"Very well. Just remember, I always find my joy!"
Without another word, Jinx floated through a portal to the ghost world. With Jinx gone, Scratch let out a sigh of relief.
The sun soon started to set, and Molly said goodbye to Libby after a fun day with her. After returning home, Molly got changed in her pajamas as she was ready to go to bed.
"That was a fun day, wasn't it Scratch?" Molly asked with a cheerful grin.
"Uh, yeah! It sure was, Moll!"
There was something about Scratch's nervous tone that concerned Molly. He seemed bothered by something ever since he returned from the ghost world.
"Scratch, are you okay? You've been acting weird ever since you spoke to the Ghost Council." Molly explained.
Once he realized that he can no longer keep it a secret, Scratch decided to tell the truth. "Listen, Molly! There's something you need to know! Your love for Libby has been causing a lot of trouble for the Ghost Council! They sent a joy hunter named, Jinx after you!"
"Jinx?" Molly repeated. "Is that bad? Are we in danger?"
At first, Scratch didn't know how to reply. He wanted to lie and say that Molly is going to be fine, knew that Molly deserved to know the truth.
"I don't know. The Ghost Council isn't happy about your little crush, but they don't know where the love is coming from yet."
"But what about Libby? Is she going to be safe?" Molly asked, concerned for her best friend.
"Listen, I promise I will let you know when the Ghost Council will send Jinx on another mission." Scratch promised. "Let's just go to sleep for now."
Knowing that there was nothing she could do for now, Molly gave a reluctant nod before she got in bed and turned off the lights. It was hard for Molly to go to sleep after what Scratch just told her. She had no idea who this Jinx was, but didn't want her coming anywhere near her or Libby. Whatever happens, Molly could only hope that Jinx won't hurt Libby.
Meanwhile in the ghost world, Jinx was face to face with the Ghost Council, letting them know about what happened at the fair.
"Have you found out who was causing the joy in Brighton, Jinx?" asked Bartholomew.
"Not yet, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Scratch is lying to me! He is clearly hiding something!" Jinx replied.
"This wouldn't be the first time Scratch has lied!" Lucretia commented.
"Continue to investigate the romance in Brighton!" Grimbella ordered Jinx.
"Remember that we cannot allow anymore positivity! The Chairman needs misery to consume!" Sir Alister reminded.
Upon receiving her orders, Jinx let out a dark chuckle before taking out a scythe. "You have my word that once I find these two lovers, I will have them both eliminated!"