Young Scrooge by R. L. Stine Page A

“I’ll change. I’ll be totally different.”
    It vanished in a puff of cold air.
    The black double doors creaked open slowly. I stepped up to the entrance. “Dead Middle School,” I murmured softly to myself. “Catchy name.”
    I took a deep breath and walked inside.

 
    25
    I blinked. I’d expected a dark dungeon. Black halls with cobwebbed ceilings and skulls over every door. I mean, the outside of the school looked like a castle from a horror movie. But the inside looked like a normal school.
    I gazed down the brightly lit hall. The walls were yellow tile. Two rows of green metal lockers on either side. The classroom doors were bright colors and stood open. But I didn’t hear any voices in the rooms.
    My shoes clattered on the tile floor. I stopped in front of a glass trophy case. Inside, the shelves were filled with gleaming sports trophies. One trophy read: NATIONAL DEAD TENNIS CHAMPIONS, 2095 .
    2095? Huh?
    A red-and-black banner was draped across the hall. It had a football painted on one side, and it read: CRUSH THEM, CADAVERS!
    â€œWhat kind of animal is a cadaver?” I asked myself. I’d never heard that word.
    I decided I had to find the main office and tell the principal that I’m here. Were they expecting me?
    I strode quickly down the hall. Before I could find the office, a buzzer rang out. Kids came pouring out of the classrooms.
    I stopped and stared. They looked like normal kids. The guys were in jeans and T-shirts. A lot of the girls wore short skirts with black tights underneath.
    â€œThe future looks a lot like my time,” I told myself. “I think I could like this school.”
    I felt kind of excited. I wondered if I could make some new friends here. Maybe I could practice being nicer. Show everyone I could be a good dude.
    Perhaps it wasn’t so bad that the three Christmas ghosts had given up on me. Maybe I could have fun here before it was time to go back home.
    But then I noticed something strange. No noise. No voices. The kids had just been let out of their classrooms, but they were all silent.
    Must be a school rule , I thought. No talking in the halls.
    â€œWe’ll have to change that,” I muttered. The quiet was giving me the creeps.
    â€œYo, everyone,” I shouted. “What’s up?”
    Kids stopped walking and turned to me. Their eyes were wide and blank. Their expressions were surprised. I guess no one broke the rule before.
    Three or four kids walked up to me. They appeared to be about my age. They still hadn’t made a sound.
    A girl with pale green eyes studied me. She was very pretty. She wore a short pleated plaid skirt and a red top. Her light brown hair was perfectly smooth. Not a hair out of place.
    I couldn’t resist. “How’s it going?” I said. I reached out and mussed up her hair. You know. Just being friendly.
    Her green eyes went wide. Her mouth formed an O of surprise.
    And then I uttered a cry. Staring down, I saw that a chunk of her hair had come off in my hand!
    A thick tuft of her brown hair was twined in my fingers. She had a bald spot on top of her head. She grabbed her head and backed away from me.
    â€œNo! No way!” I cried.
    A crowd quickly gathered around me. The kids’ faces were cold. Not friendly. “Hey, guys,” I said. “I’m the new kid. This looks like an awesome school.”
    A skinny kid with spiky blond hair stood with his hands on his waist, watching me with narrowed black eyes. “Yo. What’s up?” I said. I reached out and bumped knuckles with him.
    Uh-oh.
    His hand came off with a soft ripping sound, and it fell to the floor with a splat .
    A gasp escaped my throat. I stared at the hand down on the floor.
    â€œUh … sorry about that,” I said.
    The crowd had grown bigger and uglier. It was easy to see that I’d made a bad first impression. These kids didn’t like me.
    I sighed. I felt so