Midnight Games by R.L. Stine Read Free Book Online Page A

honest with you, Ada. The competition has just gotten a lot tougher.”
    Silence for a long moment. Then Ada said, “You mean Dana?”
    â€œYes,” Ms. Watson replied. “Dana has had a lot of training. I can’t lie: I was impressed by her. She’s a very strong singer.”
    â€œBut that isn’t fair !” Ada was whining now. “She’s too late, isn’t she? She can’t just transfer here and—”
    â€œDana is definitely eligible,” the teacher replied. “Take it easy, Ada. You’re getting yourself all worked up over nothing. You can still qualify. You just have to work hard. Practice a lot more. Concentrate your efforts.”
    Again, Ada was silent. Then she muttered something too low for me to hear.
    She came storming out, shoving the door in front of her. I staggered back. Her face was bright red, and her mouth was set in an angry scowl.
    I don’t know if she saw me or not. She spun the other way and strode down the hall, her shoes thudding loudly on the concrete floor.
    Now I definitely have made an enemy, I told myself.
    I suddenly pictured Jamie. Jamie and Ada were such good friends. I knew Jamie wouldn’t want Ada and me to be at each other’s throats.
    I decided to go after Ada and talk to her. Tell her I really wanted us to be friends. See if I could convince her to start all over.
    I trotted down the long, empty hall. My footsteps echoed against the tile walls and banks of metal lockers.
    I turned the corner and gazed down another long hall. No sign of Ada.
    How did she disappear so fast? I wondered.
    And then I let out a scream as someone grabbed me hard from behind.

13
    I spun around. “Nate! What are you doing here?”
    He grinned at me. He has a cute, lopsided grin. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
    â€œYes, you did,” I teased. “You like to make girls scream, don’t you?”
    His grin grew wider. “Maybe.”
    â€œSo why are you still here?”
    He shrugged. “Shark and I had detention. Don’t ask.”
    I narrowed my eyes at him. “Nate, I thought you were a good boy.”
    He grinned again. “I can be very good.”
    I could see he liked me teasing him like that, coming on to him. Did I have a crush on him already? My mind was spinning.
    Stay away from him, Dana. Ada already hates you. Don’t make it worse.
    â€œSo? What’s up?” I asked. I started walking to my locker.
    He hurried after me. “These guys . . . uh . . . they’re having a skating party Saturday night. On Fear Lake.”
    Fear Lake. I hadn’t thought about that lake on the other side of the woods since I was a kid. My family used to have picnics on the shore. And my dad would drag a canoe there and we’d paddle around for hours.
    The memories rushed back to me. Fun times. Before we moved away. Before it all turned bad . . . .
    â€œIs the lake frozen already?” I asked.
    Nate nodded. “Yeah. It’s been so cold this fall.”
    â€œI’m not a great ice-skater,” I said. “Weak ankles.”
    He raised his eyes to mine. “You’re probably better than me. The last time Shark and I went skating, I fell on top of a six-year-old girl. It was totally embarrassing.”
    I laughed. I stopped at my locker. I stared at the lock, trying to remember the combination.
    â€œSo . . . you want to go?” Nate asked. “You know. With me?”
    I turned back to him. “What about Ada?”
    His smile faded. “I told you. She doesn’t own me.” He pulled down the neck of his T-shirt. “See? No leash.”
    I pictured Ada and Whitney staring at me so coldly. “Well . . . ”
    â€œI like you,” Nate blurted out. “You’re interesting.”
    â€œThanks for the compliment,” I said. “Okay. I’ll go.”
    That brought the smile back to