it looks like high tech city and galileo high school are going to be staples in any and all of my jimmy neutron fanfics. oh well, it blends with the world, i think, so i don't see a prob

I wasn't really happy moving from High Tech City to this rinky-dink town called Retroville. Apparently my father got a new job here and my mother thought it would be better for me if we moved out here. I am what people may consider a genius, but in High Tech City I was considered average. High Tech City hosts many smart people and so Mother thought that I was lost in all the other people to show what my true potential could be. She thought that coming to Retroville may help me to apply myself better since I'll technically be above everyone else academically. Truth is that it really doesn't matter to me since I choose to apply myself as much or as little as I please to anything I want.

True, in High Tech City I was kind of looked over, but I was okay with that. I knew I was smart and I knew I did well. I didn't need dumber kids to tell me that. Now, with sub average curriculum, I probably won't have to apply myself at all.

We stopped in front of the small house and Dad undid his seatbelt.

"Well, here we are."

I looked at the house and frowned. It was quaint…

"Doesn't this look great, darling?" Mother asked as she looked at the house.

"It's alright." I said with a shrug.

I mean, it wouldn't beat out our old home, especially in size, but it was quaint and seemed to fit in with a name like Retroville. A shed caught my eye and I walked over to it, looking inside the window. It seemed like a normal shed until I went to try and open it. It was locked with a weird keypad that was attached to it. Actually, now that I look at it, it looks more like a retina scanner or a DNA scanner. Why would someone have such a high tech lock on an old shed?

"Cynthia, come inside!"

I ran o the house, putting the shed on my list of things to figure out.

I walked up the stairs to my room and looked at the bare display. It was a dreary room, but I noticed something covered in the corner of the room and lifted the sheet. It was a desk and it had a note laying on top of it, so I picked it up to read it.

Dear new tenant,

I don't expect you to stay very long due to the nature of this house, but please be aware that this is still my house. You may not see me, but I can definitely see you. I'm sure we'll be in contact.

Sincerely,

The Ghost Boy

The Ghost Boy? I thought, looking over the letter again. The house was creepy enough but not it just got 10x creepier with this letter and a ghost? I'm not exactly into superstitions like a ghost, but I'm not going to take my chances.

I walked out of the room with the note down the hallway to Mom and Dad's room. I knocked on the doorjamb and held up the note.

"Did you guys get a creepy note too?"

"Creepy note?" Dad said, looking at the top of the room for some reason.

"Yeah. There was a desk in the corner and I found this note there."

He turned to me and I handed it to him. He read it over and nodded.

"Yes, yes, it's from the ghost in the house."

My jaw dropped at him. "You knew the place was haunted?"

"Of course I did. That's why we got it at such a cheap rate."

"We don't believe in any of that nonsense anyway, so what does it matter, Cynthia?" Mom said.

"Uh," I held up the note again. "this is kind of threatening. Ghost or not, someone wrote this and stuck it in my room."

"The ghost is just a rumor the town made up about the house and I'm sure someone heard new people were moving in and is playing a little joke on us. Don't take it to heart."

I frowned but went back to my room.

I went back to my room and unzipped my suitcase to get some of my travel clothes out of it. I went to the closet and opened it, finding that the full length mirror that had occupied the inside of the door had been smashed to pieces, lying in shards on the floor. I pick up a large shard and turn it over when I swear I see a face behind me. I gasp, dropping it, and turned around. Of course, there's no one there but I get the distinct feeling that I'm not alone. I don't believe in ghosts but I can feel someone staring at me.

"You can't make us leave." I say, trying to act like I don't care as I got over to my suitcase and take things out of it. "And your note was silly. Didn't scare me at all. So, I suggest you try a different approach, Ghost Boy."

I don't know why I thought that was a grand idea but a second later, the door opens all on its own and I stare at it in fright. If nothing else, way to make a first impression…

As we started to move in, I swore that every once in a while I would see a face in the upper windows or when I was checking my phone and then I turned it off, I saw a face behind me. I think I psyched myself out and now I'm seeing things.

Since we moved during the summer, I won't have to start school in the middle of the year. Despite my intellect, I had a secret fondness for drama and I enjoyed taking karate. Galileo High seemed like it might have some offbeat extracurricular activities there, so maybe they had something complimentary to karate. All in all, I hoped I could make some good friends here and maybe even get a boyfriend. I never could get one in High Tech City (too smart and all) but maybe I can wow some nerdy kid with my intellect and we'll go steady.

Pfft, fat chance of that happening. My intellect would only attract someone of the same intellect and from what I've seen of Retroville, there probably isn't a man in town that would know what I was talking about.

so it looks like cindy is in for a treat with these 'rinky-dink' people. and is she just hallucinating or is there really a ghost in the house?