Twelve-year-old Claire and her father are in a bookstore looking for books about ghosts. Her father wrote a mystery novel called Ghosts of Chicago and now runs a ghost tour company. Claire hates everything to do with ghosts and prefers science. She sees her best friend, Casley, with Casley’s new friend Emily and feels a surge of jealousy because Casley did not invite her to hang out. Since she started hanging out with Emily, Casley has changed. She now likes things like makeup and clothes, which makes Claire feel alienated. Claire begs her dad to leave before Casley notices her, but he dawdles. Claire wishes her dad had normal interests. Ghost stories used to scare her, but now she knows they are all fake.

On the way home, Claire worries that her dad’s profession will make other kids tease her. She wishes that Casley would ask her to hang out. Her dad drops her off, and Claire walks down the frightening alley that leads to her house. She counts the 54 steps to the back door to keep calm. Her older brother, Sam, comes out from behind a dumpster and scares Claire; she screams.