Shadow Girl by R. L. Stine Read Free Book Online Page B

you home?” Jada called.
    “Yes. I’m up here!” I shouted.
    I turned to the shelf and pushed the lever up. Would the bookcase slide closed before Jada saw us?
    Stan ran down the hall and stopped Jada at the top of the stairs. “Hey—what’s up?” he asked. He was trying to sound normal and calm, but his voice cracked.
    The bookcase slid shut.
    I breathed a sigh of relief and hurried to join them.
    “What are you doing here?” Jada asked Stan. Her blond hair was a mess, standing up all around her face. Her cheeks were bright red.
    “He—he came to see you,” I chimed in.
    “That’s right,” Stan agreed. “I forgot you were going ice-skating with Cindy.”
    “What happened?” I asked. “How come you’re home so early?”
    “Too windy,” Jada replied. She tried to brush down her hair with both hands. “Too windy and too cold. We’re going to try again Saturday afternoon.”
    She and Stan disappeared downstairs. I went into the bedroom and started up the computer.
    The night before, I had emailed Mom and Aunt Rose. I wrote that I couldn’t reach them on the phone. I pleaded with them to call me as soon as possible. I emailed Beth too, asking her why she had acted so weird.
    Now I stared at the monitor screen. All three messages had been returned. Undeliverable , the computer said.
    “What is going on?” I cried. I could feel tears brimming behind my eyes.
    I picked up the phone and called Information. I asked for my mom’s number. I was desperate. It couldn’t be disconnected. It couldn’t!
    The operator said the listing had been removed. I made her check three times.
    Removed.
    I can’t take this, I thought. I can’t take this anymore. This is Crazy !
    I was frantic to talk to my aunt and uncle. Butthey didn’t come home. Jada told me Aunt Janet had called to say that she and Uncle Will were having dinner in town and going to a movie.
    Jada and I shared a frozen pizza. She talked to friends on the phone as we ate. She didn’t say a word to me. Then she disappeared to her room.
    Later, I watched a sitcom on TV for a while, a rerun of Sabrina . Anything to take my mind off things. But I couldn’t concentrate on it.
    Go upstairs and ask Jada about the secret room! I ordered myself. Just do it!
    I took a deep breath. All day, I had been practicing what I’d say. But I ran through it in my mind one more time:
    “Jada, I don’t want you to think I’m a horrible snoop or anything. But I found out about the secret room. And I saw the costume inside. I’m really sorry if it’s a big secret. But I have to know. What is it all about?”
    With those words repeating in my head, I pulled myself up the stairs. And stepped into our room.
    “Jada, I have to talk to you,” I said.

21
    “Jada?”
    She was gone.
    I stood in the doorway, my eyes searching the room. The beds were unmade. The computer had been left on. A pile of Jada’s clothes blocked the door to the closet.
    I stepped back into the hall. “Jada? Are you up here?” I shouted.
    No reply.
    She didn’t say she was going out. And I hadn’t heard her leave the house.
    “Jada?”
    I trotted down the hall to the bookcase. I put my ear against it and listened. No sound from the tiny room.
    I hurried back downstairs. Checked the living room. Then made my way to the kitchen.
    No sign of her.
    I cupped my hands around my mouth and called one more time.
    No. Jada had left.
    “Weird,” I muttered. I pulled a Coke from the fridge and returned to my chair in front of the TV. The show clattered on, lots of shouting voices and loud audience laughter.
    It was all a blur to me.
    I don’t know how much time passed. Finally, I realized I had to snap myself out of my daze. “Maybe I’ll read a book,” I decided.
    I clicked off the TV and climbed out of my chair. I started up the stairs to find a book—when the phone rang.
    I darted into our room and picked up the phone. “Hello?”
    “Selena? Oh, thank goodness!” Jada’s voice at the other