Read Online School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari - Free Book Online

of repellent.
    “Hey, I totally get that you are afraid of spiders, but I am about to pass out from the fumes,” Garrison said.
    Madeleine blushed with mortification and nodded before turning toward the opposite window.
    “Do you have a cell phone, Sheriff?” Theo asked with tears running down his cheeks.
    “I do, but it’s only for emergencies.”
    “This is an emergency. I need to make sure nothing has happened to my mom.”
    “Theo, nothing has happened to your mom. It’s been five minutes. She hasn’t even had enough time to pull out of the parking
     lot! So STOP crying,” Lulu screamed.
    “Yeah,” Garrison added, “you’re acting like such a baby. It’s pathetic.”
    Theo concentrated, desperate to stop crying so Lulu and Garrison wouldn’t attack him again, but somehow he couldn’t. The more
     he tried, the harder it got. Theo closed his eyes and resolved to cry.

    The weeks leading up to School of Fear had been filled with much dread and anticipation for Lulu, Madeleine, Theo, and Garrison.
     So it was hardly a surprise that within minutes of leaving the station, the foursome fell sound asleep. Madeleine’s veiled
     head bobbed forward, moving to the bumps in the road. A river of drool poured steadily from the left corner of Theo’s mouth,
     down his chin, and onto his shirt. Garrison’s face was pressed against the window, distorting the shape of his eyes and ears.
     As for Lulu, even in her sleep she managed an annoyed expression.
    High-pitched squeals forced the snoozing students awake. One by one, they parted their eyelids, uncertain what to expect.
     Three pudgy squirrels decorated the windshield of the stationary van. Thankfully, the furry brown creatures weren’t dead,
     merely a little dazed. The sheriff wasn’t concerned; in fact, he turned and winked at the students.
    “What the heck are those?” Theo screeched.
    “Nothing to worry about, just some flying squirrels.”
    “Excuse me sir, with all due respect as I am not a zoologist, I assure you that squirrels cannot fly,” Madeleine interjected.
    “Well, that’s true. I should probably call them gliding squirrels. They leap off trees and use a flap of skin between their
     feet and hands like a parachute, but as you can see, they don’t have the best aim. At least five squirrels crash into my van
     every time I drive up here. Luckily, they’re fat little guys; doesn’t hurt them much.”
    “Kind of like Theo,” Garrison mumbled under his breath.
    Theo sneered at Garrison before noticing the world outside the car. Garrison, Lulu, and Madeleine followed Theo’s stunned
     gaze. It was dark, as one would expect late in the evening, not the morning. Their young eyes searched for sky, even a small
     square, but there was none. Lulu felt a twitch behind her left eye as her breaths grew shorter and more labor-intensive.
    “Are we underground?” Lulu asked as she grabbed her eye.
    “Not at all, it’s just the vines; they block all the light.”
    Leafy vines grew from one tree-lined side of the road to the other, creating a tunnel.
    “Um, so when are we getting out of here?” Lulu asked tensely.
    “Very soon,” the sheriff reassuringly explained as he started the van up again.
    Madeleine lifted her veil and squinted to see the cobblestone road on which the van traveled. As if the thick trees, excessive
     vines, and lack of light weren’t creepy enough, there were loads of handmade signs warning against entering the forest.
    “What kind of vine grows like this?” Garrison asked while pushing blond locks off his tan forehead.
    “Sticky vines. They can trap a man with their sap. For a while they were mining it for superglue, but that didn’t work out
     very well,” the sheriff said vaguely.
    “What happened?” Madeleine asked.
    “Cost them too many men.”
    “They died?” Theo asked with fright.
    “Worse. Their hair got stuck in the vines and the men had to shave their heads. And there were some ugly heads with