One visible spirit.
Two phantom thieves.
Three courageous
friends.
When June Haunts May
The Haunting of Pinedale High #10
by Celaine Charles
Genre: Cozy YA Paranormal Ghost Story
June Brookes has haunted the library at Pinedale High for decades, without attention. Until one day, new sophomore, May Blakely, notices.
Could this be June’s chance to cross over to the hereafter? If only she knew what needed to be finished from her old life.
Angsty May prefers solitude. Her deadbeat dad may have ditched her in this small town, but she has no interest befriending this strange girl, or the cute boy across the street.
June’s hereafter hustle goes haywire when two phantom soldiers plot to hijack her passage to peace, at the expense of hurting fellow students. June saves May’s life, igniting their joint efforts to protect the school. Can May help June to her happily ever afterlife?
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“Have you ever seen her
in a class?”
What was he getting at?
“We don’t have any classes together. But I don’t have any classes with you
either.”
“Okay, so how about the fact that she was cold as ice when I touched her shoulder?”
The chills she’d sensed from June had felt like relief in the blazing sun, but she had noticed them.
“What are you saying?”
Reid pulled her underneath a yellowing oak in an empty yard. Ignoring her look of annoyance, he glanced over his shoulders before whispering low and close to her ear. “Did you know Pinedale High is haunted?”
First the woods and now the whole school? May stepped back, hands up in feigned surrender. “Okay-okay, I get it. Prank the new kid. You know, I’m sorry I even thought about checking in on you. I don’t have time for this.” She about-faced and strode down the
sidewalk without him.
“Wait, what? I’m not pranking you.” He caught up in only a few strides, his long legs veering her off to the side. “Please, hear me out.”
May’s mind flipped through any example of a high school boy wanting her to hear him out. This had to be a trick. “No, you listen to me. I’ve been the new girl far too many times than I care to count. And I get it. I’m easy prey…perhaps even a
challenge.” She thumped him in his too-close-to-her chest. “But I’m not playing.”
“I think June’s a ghost. I’m not kidding or pranking you. And I need you to listen.”
Flashes of her strange interactions with her new friend…if she could even call her that…flickered through May’s mind. They’d only known each other for a couple of days, but she had sensed something off.
She turned away from him,trying to put everything together. Bouts of June’s chilliness, yes. But earlier, it had been strange how fast she’d flown down the spectator stands. Before that, she struggled to push open the main school doors.
May had attributed June’s glossy hollow eyes to the lighting, but maybe it was because of something else. She closed her own eyes for clarity, kicking her foot into the grass. Maybe allergies?
She tucked her hair behind her ear, running the strands between her fingers as more details registered. June’s peculiar way of speaking was odd, and her clothes that first day, like a blast from the past. She was still wearing her penny loafers…with
pennies inside.
May dropped her backpack, shook her head at Reid, who was waiting for her to process. But her brain wasn’t cooperating. “Ghosts?” The word spat off her tongue like she’d swallowed a flick of her cat’s tail.
“I know I sound insane. I’m not. I promise.” He glimpsed her with creamy brown eyes. They were the color of Great-Grandma’s sweet tea, and she was overheating inside and out, ready for a tall glass.
“Is this why you’ve been crying at the pond during lunch?”
“What?” His face scrunched, cheeks burning past the eighty-degree temperature outside to a brighter shade of full-blown embarrassment. “No. I mean—I’m not crying at the pond. What are you talking about?”
“What are youtalking about?”
They stood at an impasse, shock etching along both their eyebrows and drawn lips. Her mind raced for something to say, and if she had to guess, he was in the same boat.
Don’t miss the rest of the Haunting of Pinedale High books!
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Celaine Charles lives in the enchanted Pacific Northwest, teaching elementary school by day and writing by the stars at night. She’s an award-winning, multi-genre author who balances her dual life creating poetry, fantasy, and contemporary romance shorts, while blogging about her journey on Steps in Between. In addition, she’s embarking on the world of children’s picture books.
She’s published collections of poetry through Egret Lake Books and Palmetto Publishing Group, and fiction through The Wild Rose Press and Eliza Storm Books.
Celaine is a member of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association, Storyteller Academy, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and reads poetry regularly with the Museum of Northwest
Art, Writing’s on the Wall series.
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Author Guest Post
Can you, for those who don’t know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?
Hello! My name is Celaine Charles. I write stories across genres from poetry to young adult fantasy and paranormal. I’ve recently added a slice of contemporary romance on the side. That’s been fun! I’m also dipping my toes in the vast sea of children’s picture books…so keep your fingers crossed. As a writer, my goal has always been to shine a little light in the dark corners of life because a little reading escape goes a long way.
The enchanting state of Washington has been my home for most of my life. I’m an elementary school teacher, with most of my years spent in third grade. After raising three amazing children, I finally decided to focus on a little me-time and embarked on my writing career…hopefully not too late.
I believe becoming an author found me in the midst of age and transformation. As a young girl, I never thought I dreamed of becoming an author. Just the other day, my sister came across an old high school journal of mine. Inside was a list of things I wanted to accomplish in my lifetime. Right there along with the typical travel-the-world type adventures, I listed, write a book. I don’t remember writing that down…I don’t even remember making the list. But it’s funny how things find you even if you’re too busy to remember them.
Things I do recall…When I was a nanny in New York, far too long ago, I daydreamed of creating children’s picture books. I still have those ideas nesting in the back of my mind. I’ve written poetry for all my teen and adult life. And later, after my own children grew older and started reading their own books, I started reading more too. That’s when I came across the Toni Morrison quote, “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” That’s when I started peeling back the layers of possibility that I might have a story inside me.
From there it was a l-o-n-g process of writing terrible stories, then taking classes, reading craft books, and finding my voice just to get to here, which still, to be honest, doesn’t feel like I’ve arrived yet. It seems the finish line keeps moving farther away…and I keep dipping into new genres of writing…keeping everything new and challenging. This surely keeps me going but also keeps me refining my craft.
One event that helped me to truly focus and get myself out there was starting my blog, Steps In Between. I wanted a way to keep myself grounded and accountable. Sharing each step in my process and tips from my writing journey with other struggling or new writers was a way for me to manifest myself. I was calling myself a want-to-be-writer until finally, I dropped the want-to-be and allowed myself to become the writer I already was…am.
Currently, I teach by day, working with eight and nine-year-olds who keep me hopping. At night, I draft in the small pockets of moonlight, using a rainbow timer for 25-minute writing sprints. I’m definitely a weekend warrior of a writer, stealing as many hours as I can on Saturdays and Sundays to simply write, write, and write! It’s easier now that my children are grown, although I’m still working full time, and I still want to be an accessible mother, wife, and friend. It’s tough. I’m tired a lot. To help, I take many walks through the woods and eat mounds of allergy-free chocolate!
