Be Careful What You Wish For by R. L. Stine Read Free Book Online

Judith if she wants to talk,” Mrs. Bellywood interrupted. I could hear Judith’s little brother shouting something in the background. And I could hear cartoon music from their TV. “Don’t stay on too long,” she instructed.
    “Hello?” Judith answered in a faint, little-girl voice.
    “Oh. Hi, Judith. It’s me. Sam,” I said, trying not to sound nervous.
    “Sam?” Again the faint voice, nearly a whisper.
    “Sam Byrd,” I stammered. “I — I just wondered how you were feeling.”
    “Sam, did you cast a spell on us?” Judith asked.
    I gasped.
How did she know?

15
    “Judith — what do you mean?” I sputtered.
    “All the girls are sick except for you,” Judith replied. “Anna is sick. And so is Arlene. And Krista.”
    “Yes, but that doesn’t mean —” I started.
    “So I think you cast a spell on us,” Judith interrupted.
    Was she joking? I couldn’t tell.
    “I just hope you feel better,” I mumbled awkwardly. I could hear Mrs. Bellwood in the background telling Judith she should get off the phone.
    So I said good-bye and hung up. I was grateful it was a short conversation. But I couldn’t decide if Judith was kidding or not about my casting a spell.
    Her voice was really weak. She sounded so weary and lifeless.
    I felt angry that she had accused me, joke or no joke. That was so typical of Judith. Finding away to make me angry even when I was calling to be nice.
    But I also felt guilty. Whether Judith had guessed it or not, I
had
cast a spell on her and the others.
    And now I had to find a way to have the spell removed.
    The next morning, two seats in my class were empty again. Judith and Anna were both absent.
    At lunch, I asked Cory if he wanted to come with me after school to go searching for the strange woman.
    “No way!” he cried, shaking his head. “She’ll probably turn me into a frog or something!”
    “Cory — can’t you take this seriously?” I screamed. Several kids turned to look.
    “Give me a break,” Cory muttered, blushing under his Orlando Magic cap.
    “Okay, I’m sorry,” I told him. “I’m really stressed out — you know?”
    He still refused to keep me company. He made up a lame excuse about having to help his mother clean the basement.
    Who cleans the basement in the middle of winter?
    Cory pretended he didn’t believe my story about the woman and the three wishes. But I had the feeling that maybe he was a little afraid.
    I was afraid, too. Afraid I wouldn’t find her.
    After school, I jumped on my bike and began pedaling toward Jeffers’ Woods.
    It was a gray, blustery day. Enormous dark clouds rolled rapidly over the sky, threatening rain, maybe snow.
    It’s a lot like the day I ran into Clarissa,
I thought. For some reason, that fact encouraged me.
    Some kids in my class waved to me and called out. But I rode past them, leaning over the handlebars, shifting gears to pick up speed.
    A few minutes later, Montrose Avenue curved away from the houses that lined both sides, and the bare trees of the woods came into view.
    The tall trees formed a dark wall, darker than the charcoal sky above.
    “She’s got to be here, got to be here,” I repeated in rhythm with my pedaling feet.
    Got to be here, got to be here.
    My heart nearly leaped out of my chest when I saw her, huddled low at the edge of the road. Waiting for me.
    “Hi!” I called out. “Hi! It’s me!”
    Why didn’t she answer?

16
    As I pedaled closer, my heart pounding happily, I saw that she had her back turned to me.
    She had changed her outfit. She was wearing a purple wool beret and a long black coat down nearly to her ankles.
    I screeched my bike to a halt a few feet behind her, my tires skidding over the pebbly road. “I need to make another wish!” I called breathlessly.
    She turned, and I gasped.
    I stared into a face full of freckles, a young-looking face framed by short, curly blond hair.
    “I’m sorry. What did you say?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at me, her expression