Excerpt from A WEIRD CASE OF SUPERGOO
by Kenneth Oppel
Illustrated by Sam Sisco
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Aunt Lillian was a supernatural specialist. She told fortunes, real palms, interpreted tarot cards and made astrological predictions. She was an expert on ghosts, goblins and ghouls.
She was Mrs. Barnes's younger sister — and no matter what his mom said about Aunt Lillian, Giles liked her. He liked the way she dressed, with scarves and headbands and too much makeup on her cheeks and eyes. He liked the ghost stories she always told. He liked the dramatic way she talked and did things, like reciting old poetry and flambeing vegetables for dinner. The only thing he didn't like about Aunt Lillian was her smoking. She smoked the stinkiest cigarettes he'd ever smelled.
"She'll be here in fifteen minutes," said Mrs. Barnes in a dazed, hollow voice.
"How long is she staying?" Giles asked, trying not to seem too enthusiastic.
"About two w-w-weeks," his mother stuttered. She turned to Giles's father. "I don't know if I'm going to make it."
"It'll be fine, Elizabeth," said Mr. Barnes. "You'll be working at the university most days, and in the evenings we'll all be here to help you cope with her."
Mrs. Barnes nodded silently, taking quick, desperate sips of her tea. Giles knew that Aunt Lillian drove her crazy. It went way back to when they were kids. Mom said she always had to take care of Lillian, clean up after her and get her out of trouble. Whenever she did something messy or bad — which was almost every day, and sometimes twice, Mom usually ended up taking the blame. According to her, she had been the most overworked babysitter in the world.
From A Weird Case of Super-Goo. Copyright © 1996, 2002 by Kenneth Oppel.
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