Dudes, the School Is Haunted! by R. L. Stine Page A

morning, I heard some kids saying that Thalia was
stuck-up. That she thought she was soooo beautiful, and that’s why she
was always paying so much attention to her looks.
    She didn’t seem stuck-up to me. She seemed really nice. She was pretty
awesome looking too. I wondered why she thought she needed to wear makeup at
all.
    Thalia and Ben look a lot alike. They could be brother and sister, but
they’re not.
    They are both tall and thin. And they both have blue eyes and curly blond
hair.
    I’m short and a little chubby. And I have black hair that sticks straight out
like straw. It’s real tough hair. I can brush it for hours, but it still goes
wherever it wants.
    My new mom says I’ll be really handsome as soon as I lose my baby fat. I
don’t think that was a very good compliment.
    Anyway, Thalia, Ben, and I were painting some big banners to go up on the gym
wall. Thalia and I were working together on a banner that read BELL VALLEY ROCKS!
    Ben started to paint a poster that read DANCE TILL YOU PUKE! But Mrs. Borden
poked her head in and asked him to think of a better slogan.
    He groaned and grumbled and started over. Now his poster read WELCOME,
EVERYONE!
    “Hey—where’s the red paint?” Thalia called to Ben.
    “Huh?” He was down on his hands and knees, using a thick brush to paint the w
in WELCOME.
    Thalia and I were also down on the floor, painting the black outlines to our
poster. She climbed to her feet and stared down at Ben. “Didn’t you bring any
red paint down to the gym? I only see black.”
    “I thought you were bringing it,” he replied. He pointed to a stack of cans
under the basketball hoop. “What are those?”
    “All black,” she told him. “I asked you to bring down some red—remember? I
want to put red in the middle of the letters. Black and red are the school
colors, you know.”
    “Duh,” Ben muttered. “Well, I’m not going upstairs for it, Thalia. The art
room is on the third floor.”
    “I’ll go!” I volunteered, a bit too eagerly.
    They both stared at me.
    “I mean, I don’t mind,” I added. “I can use the exercise.”
    “You really did hit your head—didn’t you!” Ben joked.
    “Do you remember where the art room is?” Thalia asked.
    I set down my brush. “Yeah. I think so. You go up the stairs in back—right?”
    Thalia nodded. Her curly blond hair bounced whenever she moved her head.
“Right. You go up three flights to the top floor. Then you go straight down the
hall to the back. Turn right. Then turn right again. And it’s at the back.”
    “No problem,” I said. I started jogging to the double gym doors.
    “Bring at least two cans!” she called after me. “And some clean brushes.”
    “And bring me a Coke!” Ben called. He laughed.
    What a joker.
    I started running at full speed to the exit. I’m not sure why I started to
run. I guess I was trying to impress Thalia.
    I lowered my shoulder. And burst through the double doors.
    And barreled at full speed into a girl standing in the hall.
    “Hey—!” She let out a startled cry as we both toppled to the floor.
    I landed on top of her with a groan.
    Her head made a loud CRACK as it hit the concrete floor.
    Stunned, we both lay there for a second. Then I rolled off her and scrambled
to my feet.
    “Sorry,” I managed to choke out. I reached out to help her up.
    But she angrily shoved my hand away and climbed up without my help.
    As she stood, I saw that she was at least a foot taller than me. Tall and
broad-shouldered and powerful looking, she reminded me of those women wrestlers
on TV.
    She had white-blond hair, which had fallen over her face. She was dressed all
in black. And she stared at me furiously with steel-gray eyes.
    Frightening eyes.
    “I’m really sorry,” I repeated, taking a step back as I stared up at her.
    She took a heavy step toward me. Then another. Those cold gray eyes froze me
against the wall.
    She scowled. And moved closer.
    “Wh-what are you going to