Billy Booster’s Landing

“Boos and Ghouls, listen up,” Miss Spookington told her class. “Today we are going to learn something every young ghost needs to know.”

“Oh, great,” whispered Tommy Screemright, the tallest ghost and biggest bully in the class. “Last time she said that, we spent four hours rattling chains.”

Several ghosts laughed. Nobody wanted Tommy angry with them.

Miss Spookington looked straight at him.

“Since you are feeling so clever, Thomas, perhaps you would like to go first. Today we are learning how to fly. Unless you are afraid, that is.”

The room fell silent.

“I’m not scared!” Tommy said. “I’ll go first!”

A few minutes later, the class stood outside beside a box as tall as a refrigerator. Smaller boxes made steps to the top.

“Flying is easy for a ghost,” Miss Spookington explained. “You simply tell yourself, ‘I know I can fly. I believe in myself.’”

Tommy climbed to the top, crept to the edge, and jumped.

To his surprise, he floated in the air.

The class cheered.

Everyone except Billy Booster.

Billy was the smallest ghost in school, and Tommy reminded him of it almost every day. Billy’s voice was so quiet that the others said his “Boo!” would not scare a fly from a piece of Halloween candy.

“I’ll never be able to do this,” Billy thought.

Tommy swooped over him.

“Hey, Billy! You’ll never fly!”

Then Tommy dropped hard to the ground.

“Your flying was excellent,” said Miss Spookington, “but your landing needs work. A trained ghost should land as gracefully as a dancer.”

The class lined up to try. Billy quietly took the last place.

One by one, the ghosts jumped and flew.

At last, it was Billy’s turn.

He climbed to the top, shut his eyes, and stepped into the air.

For one hopeful moment, he heard nothing.

Then—

BUMP!

Billy opened his eyes and found himself flat on his back.

The others laughed.

“You’ll make a good paperweight someday!” someone shouted.

“Class!” Miss Spookington called. “Just because Billy did not fly today does not mean he cannot learn.”

But Billy did not believe her.

When the bell rang, the other ghosts flew home. Billy walked.

A tear struck the dirt, sending up a tiny puff of dust.

“Even the dirt can fly,” Billy thought.

At dinner, Billy did not touch his food.

“What happened?” his mother asked.

Billy stared at his plate. “I can’t fly. Everybody else can. I tried, but I fell. I’m not a very good ghost.”

“If you tried your best,” said his father, “then you are a very good ghost.”

“But on Monday we have to try again. And we are supposed to practice our landings.”

Mrs. Booster smiled. “Flying is something you must believe you can do. But landing is different. That, we can help you practice.”

“When your mother and I first met,” said Mr. Booster, “I did not drop beside her with a thud like the other young ghosts. I landed slowly and gracefully.”

“That is how he won my heart,” Mrs. Booster said.

Billy smiled a little. “But what good is landing if I can’t fly?”

“Do your best,” said his father, “and don’t worry about the rest.”

After dinner, Billy and his parents practiced until bedtime.

On Monday morning, everyone bragged about their new landings.

“My mom says I look exactly like a bird,” Tommy announced.

“My parents say I could be in the Ghoulympics,” said Sally Scareall.

Soon the class was outside again.

Tommy flew first. He stretched out his arms and landed with a thud.

Molly Moanmore wrapped a chain around her feet and landed with a clang.

One by one, the ghosts tried clever new landings. Some went headfirst. Some curled into balls. But every one of them struck the ground hard.

At last, it was Billy’s turn.

“Look!” Tommy cried. “It’s Billy the Brick!”

Miss Spookington frowned. “You do not have to do this today, Billy.”

“Yes, ma’am, I do. I still can’t fly, but maybe I can land.”

Billy climbed to the top and took a deep breath. He placed one arm gently in front of him and the other behind him, just as his parents had taught him.

“Here goes,” he whispered.

He jumped.

Billy shut his eyes.

The schoolyard became silent.

His little body turned slowly through the air, light as a feather. He spun gently toward the ground and landed softly beside Miss Spookington.

When Billy opened his eyes, she was staring at him as though she had just seen a human.

“That is the best landing I have ever seen!” she cried.

The class cheered. Tommy, Sally, Molly, and the others lifted Billy onto their shoulders.

“Billy’s the best!” they shouted.

Billy closed his eyes and smiled.

Then he heard Miss Spookington’s voice.

“Billy Booster! Open your eyes!”

Billy slowly looked down.

The other ghosts were standing several feet away.

They were no longer holding him.

And for the first time—

BILLY BOOSTER WAS FLYING!