Dudes, the School Is Haunted! by R. L. Stine Read Free Book Online Page A

rows,” Seth continued, pacing back and
forth, hands shoved in his gray pants pockets. “He stood behind his big box
camera. It had a drape on the back that he stuck his head under. Then he raised
the flash high.
    “He told us to say ‘cheese’. Then the flash went off with a loud CRACK! ”
    “But it wasn’t a normal flash,” Mary broke in. “It was so bright… so
bright…” Her voice trailed off.
    “So bright, we couldn’t see,” Seth continued, shaking his head. “The room—the library—it disappeared in the flash. And when we could open our eyes, when
we could see again… we were here.”
    Ben opened his mouth. Probably to make another lame joke. But I guess he
changed his mind. He closed his mouth without saying anything.
    “We were here,” Seth repeated, his voice shaking with emotion. He slammed the
desk with his fist. “We weren’t in the library anymore. We weren’t in the real
school anymore. We were here. Here in this black-and-white world.”
    “As if we were trapped inside a photograph,” Mona broke in. “Trapped forever
inside a black-and-white photograph.”
    “Trapped in Grayworld,” Eddie said bitterly. “That’s what we call it.
Grayworld.”
    “We’ve tried everything,” Eloise added. “We’ve tried every way to get back.
We still call out for help. We still think maybe someone will come….”
    “I heard you,” I murmured. “I was in class. And I heard you calling.”
    “But—but—” Ben sputtered. “I don’t get it. Where exactly are we?”
    No one answered for a long moment. Then Seth walked up to Ben. Pressing his
hands on the desktop, he lowered his face close to Ben’s, staring Ben in the
eyes.
    “Ben,” he said, “did you ever see a wall and wonder what was on the other
side?”
    Ben glanced uncomfortably at me. “Yeah. I guess,” he replied.
    “Well, we’re on the other side!” Seth cried. “ We’re on the
other side of your world. And now, you are too.”
    “Soon you will be one of us!” Eddie said.
    “No—!” Ben cried.
    He said more, but I didn’t hear him.
    I glanced down at my hands—and opened my mouth in a high scream of horror.

 
 
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    “My—my fingers !” I shrieked.
    I held both hands up to show them. My fingers had turned gray. The gray was
spreading onto my palms.
    Ben grabbed my hand and pulled it close to examine it. “Oh no,” he murmured.
“No…”
    “Ben—yours too!” I cried.
    He dropped my hand and studied his hands. His right hand was almost entirely
gray. The fingers on his left hand were gray, and the color in his palm was
starting to fade.
    “No… no…” he repeated, shaking his head.
    I raised my eyes to the five gray kids. “You—you weren’t joking,” I choked
out.
    They stared back at us with blank expressions.
    Mary stared at my hands. “It moves quickly,” she said finally. “You’ll see.”
    “No!” I cried, jumping to my feet. “What can we do? We can’t turn gray! We can’t !”
    “You have no choice,” Eloise said sadly. “You are in Grayworld now. All color fades so quickly here.”
    “You are one of us now,” Seth repeated. “Once you turn completely gray, you
will never be able to turn back.”
    “No!” Ben and I both protested.
    “We’re getting out!” I cried. I kicked my chair aside and ran back to the
classroom door. I turned the knob and struggled to pull it open.
    Ben stepped up beside me, and we both pulled until we were groaning and our
faces were bright red.
    “It’s bolted shut from the other side,” Seth called. “You’re wasting your
time.”
    “No—” I insisted. “We’re getting out. We’re getting out now !”
    With a desperate cry, I raised both fists and started pounding on the wall.
“Help us!” I screamed. “Somebody—help us! Can you hear me? Please—help!”
    I pounded until my fists hurt. Then I lowered my hands with a sigh.
    “Don’t you think we already tried that?” Mary asked bitterly. “We pound