Read Online The Dare by R.L. Stine - Free Book Online

…”
    I didn’t want to tell her I was dumping her for Dennis. She and I really did have to work on the project. It was due on Friday.
    â€œI think I’m getting the flu,” I blurted out.
    I’m such a bad liar. It was the first thing that popped into my head.
    â€œYou seemed fine in school today,” Margaret insisted. I could tell she didn’t quite believe me.
    â€œI just started to feel sick after school,” I told her, feeling really guilty. “I’m going to bed early. Maybe I’ll be okay tomorrow. Want to get together tomorrow night?”
    â€œYeah, I guess,” Margaret replied. “Feel better, okay?”
    She hung up.
    I stood there, thinking about Margaret, about what a good friend she was.
    Why did I lie to her? I asked myself. Why didn’t I just tell her that Dennis was coming over to study tonight?
    Margaret would be
happy
for me.
    No, she wouldn’t, I decided. She’d be angry and hurt that I stood her up for Dennis. I did the right thing by telling a little white lie.
    The doorbell rang. I hurried to answer it.
    â€œDennis—hi!” I called eagerly.
    I pulled open the front door—and stared in amazement.

chapter 14
    â€œH ey, how’s it going?” Dennis grinned at me.
    Four other faces peered in at me. Dennis had brought a whole group—Melody, Zack, Lanny, and even Caitlin!
    They pushed past me into the house, all talking at once. I flashed Dennis a what’s-going-on-here? look, but he didn’t seem to notice.
    After tossing their coats on a chair, they sprawled around the living room, talking and laughing, dropping their backpacks to the floor, pretty much ignoring me.
    Melody stretched her legs over the arm of a brown vinyl armchair. She was wearing a long red sweater over black tights. Her blond hair was twisted up in a tight bun behind her head. “What are we doing here?” she asked Dennis. “Are we studying, or what?”
    â€œWe’re partying,” Zack said, grinning. He haddropped his large Hulk body onto the floor. He was wearing his blue sunglasses, as usual. He turned to me. “Do you have anything to drink?”
    â€œI think there are some Cokes in the fridge,” I replied.
    â€œI like your house,” Lanny said, tapping a hand on the shabby corduroy couch. “It’s real … comfortable.”
    â€œIs anyone else home?” Caitlin asked, glancing around. She stood very close to Dennis, who was sitting on the windowsill. She brushed something off the shoulder of his sweatshirt.
    Caitlin had a navy blue baseball cap pulled down over her short brown hair. Her cheeks were red, from the cold outside, I guessed.
    I told her my mom was at work. Then I went to see if there were enough Cokes for everyone.
    Why didn’t Dennis warn me? I wondered as I made my way to the kitchen. Why didn’t he tell me he was bringing over all his friends?
    I was disappointed that he hadn’t come alone. But I was also happy to have them all in my house. I mean, maybe this meant they were accepting me into the group. Maybe this meant we were all going to be friends.
    I bent down and started pulling cans of Coke out of the fridge. I could hear Caitlin laughing about something in the other room.
    I felt a little uncomfortable having Caitlin there. Especially after what Melody had told me. But Caitlin didn’t seem to be angry or anything. In fact, she seemed to be in a really good mood.
    Did she really tell Melody to warn me to stay away from him? Did she even care?
    It was all too confusing. I decided to just stay cool and try to enjoy my new friends.
    â€œHope you don’t mind the crowd scene.” Dennis suddenly appeared in the kitchen doorway. He smiled at me, a little-boy smile.
    â€œNo problem.” I returned his smile. I had a sudden impulse to run over to him and throw my arms around him. He was just so great-looking.
    Uh-oh, Johanna, I thought. Watch out.