Phantom of the Auditorium by R. L. Stine Read Free Book Online Page B

I’m an
idiot!”
Brian corrected me.
    This was all Zeke’s idea. He came to my house after dinner. I told my parents we had our play rehearsal. A lie.
    Then Zeke and I walked to school. We met Brian on the front walk, where he’d promised to wait for us.
    “I can’t believe Ms. Walker didn’t believe us,” Zeke fretted.
    “Would
you
believe such a nutty story?” I demanded.
    “Well, we’re going to find the Phantom and prove we’re right,” Zeke said firmly. “We have no choice now. I mean, if Ms. Walker won’t help us, we’ll have to find him on our own.”
    “You just like a good adventure,” I teased him.
    He raised his eyes to mine. “Well, Brookie, if you’re too scared …”
    “But what am
I
doing here?” Brian repeated, staring at the dark school building.
    “We need all the help we can get!” I told him. I gave Zeke a shove. “Let’s go. I’ll show you who’s scared and who isn’t.”
    “I think I’m a little scared,” Brian admitted. “What if we get caught?”
    “Who’s going to catch us?” Zeke asked him. “There’s no night janitor.”
    “But what if there’s an alarm or something?” Brian demanded. “You know. A burglar alarm.”
    “For sure,” I replied, rolling my eyes. “Our school can’t even afford pencil sharpeners! No way they’ve got burglar alarms.”
    “Well, we’re going to have to break in,” Zeke said quietly, his eyes on the street. A station wagon rolled by without slowing. He tugged at the front doors. “They’re locked tight.”
    “Maybe a side door?” Brian suggested.
    We crept around to the side of the building. The playground stretched out, silent and empty. The grass glowed all silvery under the bright half-moon.
    The side doors were locked, too.
    And the back door that led into the band room was also locked.
    I raised my eyes to the roof. The building hovered over us like some kind of dark creature. The windows reflected the white moonlight. It was the only light I could see.
    “Hey — that window is open!” Zeke whispered.
    We ran full speed up to the half-open window in a ground-floor classroom. It was the home ec room, I saw. Mrs. Lamston probably left the window open to let out the horrible smell of the muffins we baked that afternoon.
    Zeke raised both hands to the window ledge and hoisted himself up. Sitting on the ledge, he pushed the window open wider.
    A few seconds later, Brian and I followed him into the home ec room. The aroma of burned cranberry muffins lingered in the air. We tiptoed through the darkness to the door.
    “Ouch!” I cried out as I banged my thigh into a low table.
    “Be quiet!” Zeke scolded.
    “Hey — I didn’t do it on purpose!” I whispered back angrily.
    He was already out the door. Brian and I followed, moving slowly, carefully.
    The hall was even darker than the classroom. We kept pressed against the wall as we made our way toward the auditorium.
    My heart was racing. I felt all tingly. My shoes scraped loudly over the hard floor.
    Nothing to be afraid of,
I told myself.
It’s just the school building, the building you’ve been in a million times. And there’s no one else here.
    Just you. Zeke. Brian. And a phantom.
    A phantom who doesn’t want to be found.
    “I don’t think I like this,” Brian whispered as we edged our way around a corner. “I’m really pretty scared.”
    “Just pretend you’re in a scary movie,” I told him. “Pretend it’s just a movie.”
    “But I don’t
like
scary movies!” he protested.
    “Ssshhh,”
Zeke warned. He stopped suddenly. I bumped right into him. “Try not to be a klutz, Brookie,” he whispered.
    “Try not to be a jerk, Zekey,” I replied nastily.
    I squinted into the darkness. We had reached the auditorium.
    Zeke pulled open the nearest door. We peered inside. Total blackness. The air in the auditorium felt cooler.
    Cool and damp.
    That’s because a
ghost
lives in here,
I thought.
    That made my heart pump even harder. I wished I could