Casketball Capers by Peter Bently Page A

changed back into a vampire.
    â€œRemember, don’t POP! too loudly or Fangless folk might hear,” she said. “Right, now you all try.”
    Lee, Bella, and Billy soon found that changing into a bat wasn’t as easy as it looked.

    At first, Lee only managed to change his arms…

    And Bella changed everything except her head…

    Billy changed himself into a cat …
    and then a rat .

    But finally there was a POP! and suddenly Lee was flapping around the room.

    â€œI did it! I did it!” he squeaked. “I’m a bat!”

Chapter 3
    Boris the Bat
    By lunchtime the classroom was full of little bats giggling with glee.

    â€œWell done, class!” said Miss Gargoyle. “After recess we’ll practice hanging upside down. There’ll be a little time before the werewolves arrive for the casketball game.”

    At recess Lee and his friends hurried outside. They couldn’t wait to practice turning into bats.
    It was a lot trickier without Miss Gargoyle there to help. First of all, Lee’s left half became a bat but his right half stayed the same…
    Bella turned into a huge ball of bat fur…

    And Billy turned into a bag.
    But at last they did it. With a POP! POP! POP! they were all fluttering around the playground.

    â€œCome on,” said Bella. “Let’s all play hide-and-seek! I’ll count to twenty.” She shut her eyes.
    â€œOne, two, three—”
    Quick as a flash, Billy darted out of sight. Lee looked around for a hiding place. On a window ledge? No, Bella would spot him too easily.
    â€œFour, five, six—”
    Inside the school trash cans? Poo! Too smelly!
    â€œSeven, eight, nine—”

    â€œAha!” thought Lee. “Behind the school gates!”
    But Billy was already hiding there.
    â€œBuzz off, Lee!” he said. “You’ll give us both away!”
    â€œTen, eleven, twelve—”
    â€œYikes!” cried Lee. “This is harder than I thought!”
    â€œThirteen, fourteen, fifteen—”
    DONG! The school clock struck midnight.
    â€œThat’s it!” Lee thought suddenly. “The clock tower! What better place for a bat to hide than in a belfry?

    â€œSixteen, seventeen, eighteen—”
    Lee made it to the tower just as Bella cried, “Nineteen, twenty. Ready or not, here I come!”
    Lee darted through a hole in the school clock—and bumped straight into another bat.
    â€œHey, watch where you’re going!” said the bat.

    â€œSorry!” said Lee.
    He didn’t recognize the other bat, so he said, “My name’s Lee. What’s yours?”
    â€œBoris,” grunted the bat gruffly.

    â€œHi Boris,” smiled Lee. “I’m in Miss Gargoyle’s class. Which class are you in?”
    â€œClass?” snorted Boris. “Oh, I’m not one of you silly vampire kids. I’m a real bat.”
    â€œA real bat!” gasped Lee. “Wow! Cool!”

    â€œThat’s right,” said Boris. “You vampires think you’re so clever, turning into bats and all. But you can’t do half the things a real bat can do. Watch this!”
    Boris folded his wings and dropped like a stone, all the way down to the bottom of the tower.
    â€œHey!” yelled Lee in terror. “Watch out!”

    Boris was just about to hit the ground when he opened his wings and pulled up at the last moment. He fluttered back up to Lee.
    â€œSee?” said Boris. “Now you go and play with those vampire friends of yours. Belfries are for real bats.”
    â€œBut I’m supposed to be hiding,” said Lee. “Can’t I stay for a while? I’d love to learn some real bat tricks. They’re so cool!”

    Boris shrugged. “Well, all right. Just for a little while though. I don’t want any of my friends to think I hang out with vampires.”
    Lee was delighted. With Boris to help he tried