My Hairiest Adventure by R. L. Stine Read Free Book Online Page A

headed out the front door. Lily’s Doc Martens splashed through a wide
puddle as we made our way along the sidewalk.
    “I hate it when the snow gets all gray and slushy,” she said. “Listen. All
you can hear is dripping. Water dripping from the trees, dripping from the
houses.”
    She stuck out her arm to block my path and stop me from walking. We listened
in silence to the dripping sounds.
    “It’s deafening—isn’t it?” Lily asked, smiling. The sunlight reflected in
her eyes. One blue eye, one green eye.
    “Deafening,” I repeated. Lily can be pretty weird sometimes. She once told me
that she writes poetry. Long poems about nature. But she’s never shown any of
them to me.
    We trudged through the slush. The sun felt warm on my face. I unzipped my
parka.
    Manny’s house came into view as we turned the corner. Manny lives in a
square-shaped brick house on top of a hill. It’s a great sledding hill. There
were two little kids sledding down it now on blue plastic discs. They were going
pretty slow since most of the snow had melted.
    We walked past them and made our way up to Manny’s front stoop. Lily rang the
doorbell, and I knocked. “Hey, Manny—open up!” I shouted.
    No reply.
    No sounds at all. Just the drip drip drip of water from the gutter.
    “Hey, Manny!” I called. We rang and knocked again.
    “No one home,” Lily said quietly. She stepped off the stoop and moved to the
front window. Edging up on tiptoes, she tried to peer in.
    “See anything?” I called.
    She shook her head. “No. The sun is reflecting on the glass. It looks dark
inside.”
    “There’s no car in the driveway,” I said. I knocked one more time, as hard as
I could. To my surprise, the front door swung in a little.
    “Hey—the door is open!” I called to Lily. She hurried back to the stoop. I
pushed the door open a little further. “Anyone home?” I called in.
    No reply.
    “Hey—your door is open!” I shouted.
    Lily pushed the door all the way, and we stepped inside. “Manny?” she called,
cupping her hands around her mouth. “Manny?”
    I stepped into the living room—and gasped.
    I tried to speak. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t believe what I saw.

 
 
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    Lily grabbed my arm as we both stared around the living room.
    The room was totally bare. No furniture. No curtains. No paintings or posters
on the wall. Even the carpet had been removed, leaving shiny dark floorboards.
    “Wh-where did they go?” I managed to choke out.
    Lily made her way through the back hall to the kitchen. Also empty.
Everything gone. An empty hole where the refrigerator had stood.
    “They moved!” Lily exclaimed. “I don’t believe it!”
    “But why didn’t Manny tell us?” I demanded, my eyes moving around the
deserted room. “Why didn’t he tell us his family was moving away?”
    Lily shook her head and didn’t reply. The house was silent. I could hear
water dripping from the gutter outside.
    “Maybe they had to move suddenly,” Lily said finally.
    “Suddenly? Why?” I demanded.
    It was a question that neither of us could answer.
     
    I love to run.
    Not when I’m running from snarling dogs. But I do love to run.
    I like the way it gets my heart pounding. And I like the thud of my
sneakers on the ground, and the feeling of my muscles all working together.
    On Saturday mornings I like to go jogging with my dad. He always jogs at
Miller Woods, along a path that curves around a small lake.
    It’s really pretty there. The air is always fresh-smelling. And it’s a very
quiet place.
    Dad is tall and lean and pretty athletic. He used to be blond like me, but
now his hair is mostly gray, and he has a big bald spot on top.
    He jogs every morning before work. I think he usually jogs pretty fast. But
on Saturdays, he slows down so that we can run side by side.
    We usually jog without talking. That way we can concentrate on the scenery
and the fresh air.
    But this Saturday morning, I felt like talking. I had