"are you sure this is a good idea? " asked regan for the fifth time.
"think about how impressed everyone will be," horatio replied. "the entire freshman class will look up to us. in fact, i bet even seniors will be impressed by our courage."
"don't worry, regan," said orsino. "we're only going to walk through the old andreeson place and then go home. we'll stick together, and nothing will happen to us." his voice wavered slightly as they stood before the looming specter of the dark house. the three of them crept forward slowly, trying to forget the ghost stories and rumors they had heard.
"this looks even creepier than i imagined it," said regan. she followed horatio onto the rotting boards of the front porch. horatio walked confidently through the front door and into the living room.
"be careful of the steps that lead down to the living room," warned horatio. his friends stared at him in surprise.
"how did you know about that? " asked regan. "you act like you've been here before."
"yeah, what's going on? " orsino wondered.
"well, i have been keeping a little secret from you guys," admitted horatio. "the andreesons are related to my great-uncle. i grew up playing in this house, but i haven't been here since they abandoned it."
"so it's not haunted after all," said regan gratefully.
"i guess no one will look up to us for our courage now," groaned orsino.
"why not? " horatio asked as he wandered into the kitchen. "no one has to know that i've been here before. as far as they'll know, we were as brave as those guys on ghost trackers." suddenly, a door creaked on the second floor. regan grabbed orsino's arm as horatio raced back into the living room. even in the gloom, his face was as pale as a sheet.
"did you hear that? " horatio whispered. the three of them turned to face the stairs. a shadow darted down the steps and hurled itself at regan, who screamed in panic.
"it's okay," called orsino. "it's just a stray cat." the cat jumped into regan's arms and began to purr. she tried to stop her hands from shaking as she patted the cat and talked to it in soothing tones.
"let's get out of here," horatio said. "we've had enough excitement for one night."
"i think i'll name the cat casper," remarked regan as she carried her new pet outside. " goodness the only 'ghost' we saw tonight was friendly."