Moonlight Secrets by R.L. Stine Read Free Book Online Page B

woods because he and his family go camping there a lot. At least they did before his accident.
    Candy stepped up to the podium and cleared her throat. And Galen started to oink really loudly.
    That got a pretty good laugh.
    Candy looked kinda flustered. She just stood there.
    Then some other guys at the side of the auditorium oinked. And someone went “Runnk runnnk” and really sounded like a hog. And now everyone was laughing.
    Almost immediately, more guys started oinking. I mean, the hog sounds were, like, echoing off the auditorium walls.
    Shark touched knuckles with Galen and me, and he joined in, oinking at the top of his lungs.
    Mr. Gonzalez jumped to his feet. I saw the angry expression on his face. He started to the podium. But that didn’t stop the oinking and hog sounds. They got even louder.
    And then someone tossed a pink stuffed pig onto the stage. It bounced off the podium and landed at Candy’s feet. The place went wild, everyone oinking and laughing and busting a gut.
    Even from the back of the auditorium, I could see that Candy’s face was bright red. Her hands were balled into tight fists at her sides.
    She let out a furious cry that boomed through the loudspeakers. She began to sob. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She spun away from the podium and ran off the stage, howling and sobbing.
    The laughter stopped. The oinking stopped with it. A hush fell over the auditorium. Mr.Gonzalez stood at the podium facing the guest speaker. Neither one of them moved.
    I turned to Shark. “She’s going to get us,” I whispered. “It went too far. She’s going to get us.”

13
    Oinkapalooza .
    That’s what Shark called it. I thought that was pretty funny. But I couldn’t laugh at it.
    The next day I still had a heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach, a feeling that we had gone too far.
    And I was right.
    Mr. Grant, the new vice principal, was waiting for me outside the lunchroom that afternoon. He was a tiny, short man with slicked-back brown hair and square, rimless glasses. He wore the same gray suit to school every day.
    He put a hand on my shoulder to stop me. “Nate, could you come with me to Mr. Gonzalez’s office?” He had a grim expression on his face, and his tiny, gray eyes behindthe square glasses stared at me intently.
    He kept his hand on my shoulder the whole way to Gonzalez’s office. Like maybe he thought I’d try to escape or something.
    When I stepped into the principal’s office, I couldn’t help it—I gasped. Candy sat there with her hands clasped tightly in her lap. Her parents sat on folding chairs beside her. They all glared at me coldly.
    An older man in a brown suit stood near the window. He had a writing pad in one hand. He glanced at me quickly, then scribbled something on his pad.
    Mr. Gonzalez stood up and motioned me to the empty armchair beside the desk. “Nate, that’s Mr. Ambrose,” he said. “He’s the Shutt family’s attorney.”
    â€œAttorney?” My voice cracked. Totally embarrassing. My heart started to pound. “What’s going on?” I asked, trying to sound calm and innocent.
    Mr. Gonzalez motioned again for me to sit down. So I lowered myself into the big, green leather chair. My hands were suddenly shaking. I gripped the chair arms to cover it up.
    â€œNate, I’m sure you know why we’rehere,” Gonzalez said softly, his eyes locked on me. “The hog photo—it was traced to your computer.”
    I swallowed. “But—,” I started.
    My mouth suddenly felt dry. My stomach rolled over. I thought I might heave.
    I’d started to say that it was my computer, but Shark did the photo.
    But I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t rat out Shark.
    I stared at the glittering pendant around Candy’s neck. Thinking hard. Trying to decide what to do. Should I try to deny the whole thing?
    â€œI . . . don’t understand