Read Online Don't Scream! by R. L. Stine - Free Book Online Page B

there?” I asked Emmy.
    â€œI can’t tell,” she said. “We need to examine the camera carefully. Wait till we get home with it.”
    That was a mistake.
    Because we never got home with it.

27
    After school, I hunched down in the back of the school bus and prayed that Mick and Darryl would leave me alone. I had the phone and the camera in my backpack on my lap. I kept my eyes down, trying to avoid trouble.
    But trouble came anyway.
    When I looked up, the two big bruisers were grinning down at me.
    â€œHow did you burn your backpack?” Mick demanded. He poked the burned bottom with a finger.
    â€œPlaying with matches?” Darryl said. He giggled as if he’d made a clever joke.
    â€œDid you set it on fire?” Mick asked. “So you wouldn’t have to do homework?”
    â€œN-no,” I stuttered. “I —”
    Mick grabbed the backpack in his big, meaty hands. He swiped it away from me. “Let’s see if he has matches in there,” he said.
    â€œYeah. Let’s see,” Darryl echoed.
    â€œThere aren’t any matches!” I cried. “Give it back! I mean it!”
    I made a wild grab for the backpack. But Mick swung it out of my reach.
    Grinning, he unzipped it and dumped everything out, onto the empty seat next to me.
    His grin faded quickly when the camera bounced onto the seat.
    He narrowed his eyes at it. He picked it up.
    I’m doomed
, I thought.
I’m totally doomed. What should my last words be? Why didn’t I plan any last words?
    I’m dead meat. The deadest meat in the world.
    Think fast, Jack. Think fast.
    â€œUh … I bought the same camera as you,” I blurted out. “I saw you had one a couple of days ago. And … I bought the same one.”
    Mick turned it over in his hand, examining it.
    â€œWhere’s
your
camera?” Darryl asked him.
    Mick shrugged. “I think I left it in school.”
    Wow
, I thought, starting to breathe again.
He doesn’t know it’s stolen.
    Mick slapped Darryl on the shoulder. “You always wanted a camera like this — didn’t you?”
    Darryl nodded. “Yeah. It’s cool.”
    â€œWell, happy birthday,” Mick said. “Take it — it’s yours.”
    â€œHey, thanks, dude!” Darryl shoved the camera into his jacket pocket. He grinned at me. “Thanks, Jacko. You’re the man!”
    I started to demand they give the camera back. But it wasn’t mine. It was Mick’s. How could I make a fuss about it?
    The bus came to a stop in front of Mick’s house. Laughing, the two big jerks headed out the door.
    Darryl waved to me from the sidewalk. He raised the camera. “Thanks, dude!” he shouted.
    The bus pulled away.
    I gathered up my books and the cell phone and shoved them back in my backpack.
    â€œYou messed up again, Jack.” Emmy’s voice rose from the phone. “Next time you’d better come through for me. Hear?”
    â€œI hear,” I muttered. “I hear.”
    I knew that next time I had to succeed. I had to find Emmy a friend. I had to get rid of her.
    What a shame that next time turned out to be the worst night of my life.

28
    That night.
    I had finished dinner. I was in my room, playing a car-racing game on my laptop. My parents were across town visiting some friends. Mindy was downstairs babysitting Rachel.
    A calm, quiet night. But then Emmy spoke up.
    â€œWe’re going out tonight, Jack. No arguments. It’s time for you to prove what a good friend you are.”
    Mindy was in the kitchen making Pop-Tarts for Rachel. They smelled great. I just wanted to stay home and share some.
    But I was a prisoner. A prisoner to a voice on a cell phone. And I had to do what I was told.
    If I didn’t …
    â€œFind me a friend, Jack,” she said as I sneaked out the front door. “Find me a friend who’s like me, and I’ll go away forever. I