The Ghost and the McGee Twins

Getting the Band(shell) Back Together

One day, Mom and Dad took us to Brighton Hills Senior Center to help out our community in our own McGee way. "Hey, this isn't the National Taco Convention!" Scratch complained. "You lied to me!" "Well, if I'd told you we were volunteering, you would have complained the whole way here." Molly explains. "Which saved me from having a horrible migraine all day." I added. "I can't believe I'm actually siding with Molly." "Wait! We're volunteering at a nursing home?!" Scratch asked, blocking the door. "On purpose?! Over my undead body!" "Hey, Scratch, wanna know my favorite thing about ghosts?" Molly wondered. "You can walk right through them." I explained, walking through Scratch, along with the rest of my family. "What you people just did is considered very rude in the ghost world." Scratch complained. "C'mon, Scratch. Volunteering brings us McGees together." Dad said. "Well, I'm no McGee." Scratch reminds us. "Good point." Mom said. "What is your last name?" "I'm a one name icon, baby." Scratch replied. "Uh, are you sure?" Darryl asked. "Because I thought your last name was..." Darryl used his mini soundboard to play a belching sound. "Ah, man, you get me every time with that thing." Scratch laughed. "You had to buy our son a toy called the Obnoxitron?" Mom asked.

In the nursing home, Molly and I sat down with one of the residents, Patty. Apparently, she knows quite a bit about the history of Brighton. "Wow, Patty. You lived in Brighton your whole life?" Molly asked. "Our family just moved to town." "Mom and Dad say it's our forever home, but they said that the last few times we moved." I added. "Hmm. Well, we all make mistakes." Patty said. "Mine was called Bobby Daniels, and he rode a motorcycle." "Uh..." Molly and I trailed off. "Hey, I think that guy with the napkin is cheating." Scratch points out. "You mean he's also cheating?" I corrected. "I was looking for sympathy from Molly, not judgement from you." Scratch scolded. "Patty, is that you?" Molly asked, looking at an old picture of her on the wall. "What is this place?" "Oh, the old Brighton Bandshell." She explained. "We used to have concerts in the park. Everyone would bring a picnic and dance to the music. Anyway, a tornado tore down the whole bandshell in '79." "That's terrible!" Molly gasped. "Oh my gosh, that's awesome!" Scratch shouted at the same time. Molly and I glared at Scratch. "I mean, tornadoes are awesome, not, uh, it's not awesome that her special place was, you know, ruined." "You're getting there." I said. "But to be honest, I don't feel too bad about it, 'cause I'm not really invested in this woman." Scratch continued. "I'm not even sure who she is." Of course, Patty could only hear Molly and me due to Scratch's ghost powers. Lucky. "Why didn't they rebuild it?" Molly asked. ""Not a priority," they said." Patty replied. "Brighton isn't what it used to be." "Amber, Scratch, I know what we need to do next." Molly whispered. "I'm really hoping it's order a pizza, with pineapple this time." Scratch said while chowing down on a pizza. "I'm gonna assume build a new bandshell?" I asked sarcastically. "Yes! You get me!" Molly shouted, pulling me and Scratch into a hug. "Oh, I get you, alright. I get you 24-7." Scratch grunted. Why does she always go to the extreme.

Molly literally pulled me to City Hall against my will. I bet the City Council won't even listen to her. "Mr Mayor, I've got business so further, it'll melt your mind!" Molly exclaimed. "Hello, Brighton City Council. I'm Molly McGee, this is my twin sister, Amber, and this is my brother, Darryl." "'Sup." Darryl and I greeted. "My kids. Participating in local politics!" Dad cried, hugging Mom. "I've never been more proud." "Dad!" I complained. "I told you I'm never going into politics!" "Consider the future. It's where we'll spend the rest of our lives." Molly explains, unveiling her model. "But what will it hold? The Brighton Mega Arena! It's a 60,000 seat sports complex." "A music venue." I added as Darryl added some sound effects from his new toy. "A world class water park? What?" "A dog run." Molly continues as Darryl pushes a button to sound like a man screaming. "Oops. Wrong button." Darryl chuckled, correcting his mistake with a dog barking button. "And a donut shop!" Molly concluded as Mom tossed some donuts at the City Council. "So, what do you think? Let's build this baby, right?" "Miss McGee, your proposal is certainly bold." The mayor commented. "But sadly, a 60,000 seat mega arena is too big for a small town like Brighton. Thank you and we do hope you'll come back someday with something a little more realistic." As Molly began walking away, she turned around to destroy the arena model. "Psych! That day is right now!" Molly shouted, showing off the real model for the bandshell. "The new and improved Brighton Bandshell!" "A bait and switch!" Dad gasped. "Amber and I watched her make both models and I still didn't see that one coming." Scratch said. "My sister and I just learned about the original Brighton Bandshell and how much it meant to the community." Molly explains. "Whoa, hold on. We're not gonna rebuild the bandshell." The mayor declined. "Times are hard, and we simply don't have the money for a bandshell. I'm sorry." If I'm being honest, other than all the times we've moved, I don't think I've ever seen Molly so upset. Mom tried to take away the donuts from the Council, but Molly stopped her immediately. "No, Mom. They can keep the donuts." Molly sighed in disappointment. "Let them feast on the carcass of a young girl's dreams."

The rest of us followed Molly out the door. "It's okay, honey." Dad reassured her. "We know you tried your hardest." Mom added. "Thanks, Mom." Molly smiled. "But that wasn't my hardest. If they won't give me the money to fix the bandshell, then I'm gonna take it to the streets!" "You're going to protest?" I asked. "Nope." Molly replied. "I've got a better idea."

Molly, Darryl, and I went around a few nearby neighborhoods to ask people to donate money for the bandshell to be rebuilt. At first, not many people helped out, but more people supported as the day went on. Once we filled up a few jars, Scratch came back with a huge bag of cash. "Consider the fundraising over." Scratch announced. "Your hero has arrived." "Do I want to know where you stole that money from?" I asked. "I didn't steal nothing!" Scratch snapped. "I'm just really good with numbers is all." All of a sudden, police sirens went off. "Did you rob a bank?" Molly asked. "Molly and Amber McGee." Scratch said. "Do you really think so little of me?" "Yes!" I exclaimed as Scratch opened the bag to a little surprise. "It was a credit union." Scratch corrected. "Scratch, if you get arrested, you're on your own." I sighed. "Nevermind, you're cursed with Molly." "Take it back! Take it back!" Molly shouted.

Back at home, Molly, Scratch, and I were counting up the money we had raised for the new bandshell. Honestly, a lot more than I thought we would. "Whoa. We raised a lot of money." I said. "Go us!" "But it's not enough." Molly explains. "We can pay for the materials, but not for the labor." "Aw, gee whiz, well, there's no way we can build the bandshell ourselves." Scratch commented. "You know what? To cheer us up, let's go down to the park and make fun of babies! Little dummies can't even walk. I mean, why do they make shoes for them?" "You're right about one thing, Scratch." Molly sighed. "We can't build the bandshell ourselves." "I'm glad you're finally coming around to reason on this one, Moll." Scratch said. "No, I mean we can't build it alone." Molly corrected. "Oh, no. I don't like that face." Scratch realized. "It reeks of hope!" "But what if the whole town pitched in?" Molly wondered. "Oh, no!" Scratch exclaimed. "Stop turning, wheels in Molly's head!" "Like a community work day?" I asked. "Exactly, sis!" Molly replied. "No one's gonna work for free." Scratch and I explained. "Um, yes they will." Molly said. "Because people care, guys. They'll show up. You'll see. And then you'll see my famous "told ya" dance." Molly gives a sample of her famous dance to Scratch just as I went to the attic.

After helping Molly put up flyers all across town, we waited with the rest of the family. Shocking to Molly, no one showed up. "People are totally coming. Don't worry." Molly reassured us. "Any second now." "Yeah, they're not coming." I rolled my eyes. "Oh, excuse me, coming through, boy, it's so crowded around here. Hey, Moll, how you doing?" Scratch teased. "Oh sorry, you know, I was trying to remember who it was that was gonna do the "told ya" dance. Was it you, or was it me and Amber?" "Don't bring me into this, Scratch." I groaned as Scratch began dancing in front of us. "It's no fun if you're gonna be sad." Scratch said. "Tough break, Moll. I'm not really great with the feelings stuff, so I'm just gonna... give you one of these." He pats Molly on the back. "I guess it's just us." Molly sighed. "Anyone know how to use a table saw?" All of a sudden, we all heard something strange. I assumed it was from Darryl's toy. "Darryl, not now with the Obnoxitron." Mom groaned. "It's not me." Darryl confessed, for once. I looked behind to see Patty and a bunch of her friends from the senior center ready to help us out. "Patty!" Molly gasped. "Sorry we're late. Some of us don't travel as fast as we used to." Patty apologized. "Then we'd better get to it!" Molly shouted. "And, uh, hey, Scratch? Amber? Told ya." Molly began dancing her ridiculous dance moves. The seniors were thinking they've gone insane with Scratch being invisible to them.

Once we got started, we eventually got more help from my softball team, and also the majority of the town. And let me tell ya, the finished product was beautiful. "What do you think, Patty?" Molly asked. "Oh, it's beautiful." Patty replied. "Yeah, we tried to make it match the original as close as we could." I explained. "No, not this. This." Patty corrected, showing us everyone who took time out of their day to help rebuild the bandshell. She pulled us both in for a hug. "This is the Brighton I remember. Thank you, girls." "Well, Miss McGee, I must admit I'm impressed." The mayor complimented. "You brought the whole town together and got the bandshell built. So, who's going to play it?" "You didn't choose someone yet?!" I whispered as I glared at my big sister. "Oh. Oh, no, okay, I didn't think about that. Oh..." Molly replied, just as Darryl interrupted by playing with his soundboard toy. "Not you, Darryl!" I shouted. "He's so good at that thing." Scratch chuckles as me and Molly covered our ears.