Say Cheese - and Die Screaming! by R. L. Stine Read Free Book Online Page A

heavy. My muscles ached.
    As we pedaled through the raindrops, I caught Shari watching me. Studying me.
    Despite the sweat rolling down my forehead, I suddenly felt cold all over.
Why is she staring at me like that? I wondered.
    Why?
     
    The next morning, I woke up with two words on my lips: Mr. Saur.
    Today is the day I show him the camera, I told myself, stretching and
yawning. And today is the day I get my grade changed.
    I stood up, still yawning. Rubbed my eyes. And saw that my pillow had fallen
to the floor during the night.
    When I bent over to pick it up, I felt a tug on the front of my pajama shirt.
The buttons all popped off and scattered over the floor.
    “Huh?” I opened my mouth in surprise—and heard a long rrrrrrip. It
took a few seconds to realize that my pajama bottoms had ripped right up the
back.
    “Oh, nooooo.” I opened my mouth in a long, low moan.
    The collar of the pajama shirt dug tightly into my neck. I tried to loosen it—and both sleeves ripped at the shoulder!
    My heart pounding, I straightened up and crossed the room to the mirror.
    My whole body was trembling as I stepped up to the mirror.
    I shut my eyes. I couldn’t bear to look.
    But I had no choice. I had to see. I had to know.
    Slowly, slowly, I opened one eye, then the other. I took a deep breath and
gazed at my reflection.
    Had the snapshot come true? Did I weigh four hundred pounds?

 
 
17
     
     
    I leaned into the mirror and stared at myself.
    No. Not four hundred pounds.
    I didn’t look too different. A little puffy. My cheeks were a little rounder.
My shoulders were broader.
    I stepped back to check out the rest of my body—and Mom came walking into
the room. “Greg, what are you doing? You’re going to be late for school.”
    I spun away from the mirror. “Mom—I grew last night!” I blurted out. “I—I
ripped my pajamas.”
    She narrowed her eyes at the torn pajama top. “Greg, you didn’t grow
overnight,” she said calmly. “Those pajamas always were a little small on you.”
    I turned back to the mirror. “They were?”
    Maybe Mom was right. Maybe I wasn’t growing huge. Maybe it was all in my
imagination.
    I turned back to her. “How do I look?”
    She shrugged. “You look fine.”
    “I mean, do I look fatter to you?”
    She studied me for a moment. “Well, actually…” Her voice trailed off.
    “Actually what?” I demanded.
    “Maybe I’ll put skim milk on your cereal this morning,” she replied.
     
    “Hi, Greg. Putting on a little weight?”
    That’s how Mr. Saur greeted me when I hurried up to his desk before English
class.
    His words sent a cold shiver down the back of my neck. But I ignored them. I
held up the camera. “Mr. Saur, I want to show you something.”
    He lowered his eyes to the camera and frowned at it. “You want to take my
picture? I already had my photo taken for the yearbook, Greg.”
    “No,” I replied. “This is the camera, Mr. Saur. This is the camera that—”
    He raised a hand to tell me to stop talking. “Not right now, Greg,” he said,
climbing up from his desk chair.
    “But, Mr. Saur—” I protested.
    He was gazing over my shoulder. I turned and saw Mr. Grand standing in the
classroom doorway. Mr. Saur hurried over to talk to him.
    They talked until the bell rang. Then Mr. Saur returned to the front of the
room to begin class. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here yesterday,” he announced. “I understand you had a wonderful time learning the subjunctive
tense.”
    I was still standing beside his desk, the camera in my hands. He stepped up
to the chalkboard, turned, and saw me.
    “Greg, take your seat, please,” he said. “We have a lot to do today.”
    “But, Mr. Saur—” I protested. I raised the camera.
    “Take your seat,” he insisted.
    I had no choice. I sighed and trudged to my chair near the back of the room.
    How can I prove that my report was true if he won’t even listen to me? I
asked myself unhappily.
    “Today, we’re going