Scare School by R. L. Stine Read Free Book Online Page A

to shrink away forever.
    Imps have a strong need to challenge humans, I read. They need to prove that they are smarter than humans, more clever and more powerful.
    They have short tempers. Any little thing can make them angry. And once they become angry, they turn vicious.
    “Tell me about it,” I muttered.
    Leaning over my keyboard, I continued to read the information about imps. The next paragraph was a real shocker. I had to read it three times before it really sank in …
    Imps have all kinds of magic. Their only limits arethe limits of their imagination .
    Perhaps their most powerful magic is the ability to pass as humans. Imps can change their shape in an instant. They can disguise themselves as humans for several hours at a time .
    After a while, the strain on their magic becomes too great. And they must go back to their imp bodies to refresh their energy .
    “Whoa.”
    Reading and rereading this section, I suddenly had chills.
    Imps can change shape and disguise themselves as humans. Humans …
    My brain was spinning.
    I had to shut off the computer.
    Then I flopped onto my bed. I closed my eyes, thinking hard.
    Was the imp disguising himself as someone at my new school?
    Is that how he hid all day from everyone? Is that how he spied on the kids?
    Is that how he knew my dad had brought the ebony rabbit to school yesterday?
    Was it someone I knew?
    One of the teachers? One of the kids?
    One of my new friends?

15
    At school the next morning, I looked at everyone differently. As I walked to my classroom, I studied the kids who passed by me.
    Was one of them the imp?
    I stepped into the room and waved hello to Mr. Kimpall. Was he the imp? I wondered.
    He is nearly as short as the imp! I thought. But he’s too nice to be the disgusting creature, I decided.
    We had a geography test that morning. But I couldn’t concentrate on it.
    I kept gazing around the room, staring at the other kids as they filled in their test papers. Was one of them the imp?
    I watched Tonya. She leaned over her paper,moving her lips as she wrote. Tonya was left-handed, I saw.
    Were imps left-handed? Was that a clue?
    I turned and watched Simpson. He kept scratching his spiky brown hair with his pencil. He shook his head, frowning down at the test questions.
    Simpson always seems terrified of the imp, I thought. And I am pretty sure he’s not pretending to be afraid.
    Of course, I could be wrong. Simpson could be the imp.
    All of this thinking was making my head spin. And I realized if I didn’t get down to work, I was going to flunk the test.
    It’s no good to suspect everyone, I told myself. That won’t get me anywhere.
    I need clues.
    Of course, the scrawled messages from the imp were clues.
    “READ MY LETTER: WHO WILL DROP FIRST?” That had to be some kind of clue.
    The Web site said that imps love to play games, especially word games. They love to challenge humans.
    Was that message some kind of word game? What could it mean?
    “Time is up,” Mr. Kimpall said from the front of the room. “Put down your pencils.”
    “Oh, no,” I muttered. I gazed down at my test paper. I hadn’t written a word.
     
    I really tried. But I couldn’t get the imp out of my mind.
    That afternoon, I stepped into the band room for rehearsal and gazed around. I saw Teri changing her clarinet reed.
    She could be the imp, I thought.
    Or Mr. Kelly. Or the big kid who plays the tuba.
    Ms. Simpkin poked her head into the room and waved hello to Mr. Kelly.
    She could be the imp, I thought.
    What if the principal of the school was the imp? Would that explain why all the teachers were so terrified?
    My head throbbed. I realized I was gritting my teeth.
    Sam, you’ve got to relax, I told myself. You are totally stressed.
    Maybe practicing on my sax will help calm me down, I thought. Playing music usually helped.
    I pulled my sax case off the shelf. I dropped to my knees and started to open it—and saw a white sheet of paper taped to the top.
    “Whoa. What’s