Curiosity Killed the Cat by Sierra Harimann Read Free Book Online

her head. Had she really just agreed to hang out and play guitar with him sometime? Her stomach twisted anxiously at the thought, but she decided to put it out of her mind. She had enough to worry about as it was. She had to find Icky, deal with Madison, figure out where the creepy scratching noise was coming from,
and
make up with Paisley after their silly fight. And on top of all that, she had to work on not turning the shade of an overripe tomato the next time she saw Ryan.
    Hannah sighed. She wondered if her life would ever be simple and normal again.

Chapter Eight
    On Friday, Hannah wanted to talk to Paisley about their argument, but Paisley was called into a special student council meeting. And on Saturday, Hannah and her dad were supposed to go on a bike ride, but Mr. Malloy had to cancel at the last minute because he had to stay home to deal with the contractors while Allison attended a baby shower.
    Bored and annoyed, Hannah sat in her room, moping about the canceled bike ride and feeling sorry for herself. She hadn’t gotten a single call about Icky yet, which added to her misery. In an attempt to cheer up, she took out her guitar and played a few of her favorite songs. But almost as soon as Hannah began to practice, Madison turned up her stereo and a pounding bass shook the walls of Hannah’s room.
    Unable to hear her own guitar, Hannah stormed out of her bedroom and knocked loudly on Madison’s door. She was so angry that she was determined to finally stand up to Madison, once and for all.
    Well, I will if she ever opens the door
, Hannah thought dejectedly.
    Hannah pounded on the door again, but there was still no answer. Either Madison was ignoring her, or the music was so loud she couldn’t hear anything. Hannah even tried the doorknob, but of course it was locked.
    She headed back to her room in frustration and put her guitar away. There was no way she could practice over Madison’s music. In fact, it was so loud she doubted she would be able to concentrate on anything if she stayed in her bedroom, so she took her English and math books down to the kitchen. With nothing better to do, she figured she might as well get a head start on her homework.
    Hannah had just solved her first algebra equation when the sound of an electric drill pierced the relative silence of the kitchen. The drilling was followed by a burst of hammering and another round of drilling. The contractors were obviously hard at work,and they didn’t seem concerned about making too much noise.
    “I give up!” Hannah yelled to the empty kitchen. It was impossible to concentrate on her homework while she was inside the house, so Hannah thought she’d try working outside. She was about to head for the swing on the front porch when she remembered the stone bench and arbor she had discovered in the cemetery earlier that week.
    Hannah weighed her options for a moment — stone bench in creepy but quiet cemetery, or porch swing directly underneath Madison’s window (loud, terrible pop music included)?
    Hannah headed toward the cemetery gate.
    The sun felt warm and pleasant, and in the bright daylight, the cemetery wasn’t particularly creepy. Hannah found the tree easily, but the bench was partially obscured by the hanging vines that dangled over the arbor. She pushed aside a few of the vines and settled into her nook. The cemetery was peaceful and quiet, and Hannah finished her algebra homework in record time. Then she pulled out her English assignment, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” which they would be discussing in class that week.
    Hannah finished the story quickly. She’d read it many times and had never found it particularly scary before. This time was no different, despite the fact that she was sitting in the very cemetery the headless horseman had ridden past. Hannah was proud of herself for overcoming her fear of the cemetery, at least.
    She closed her eyes for a minute and was suddenly hit with a wave of sleepiness. The past