The Conclusion by R.L. Stine Read Free Book Online Page A

swimming center,” Melanie said.
    â€œThat was so horrible,” I replied. My mouth suddenly felt very dry. I took a long sip from the paper cup of Coke. “I saw the body on TV. She was burned so badly—”
    Margie let out a sob.
    â€œI’m sorry!” I cried. “I didn’t mean . . .”
    Melanie slid a comforting arm around Margie’s waist. “It’s okay,” she said to me. “Margie and I probably shouldn’t have come tonight. We’re both still pretty messed up. Mary was . . . such a good friend. We really can’t believe it happened.”
    I nodded. I didn’t know what to say.
    â€œWe thought if we came to the mixer, we could forget about Mary for a few minutes,” Margie said sadly. “But I guess we can’t.”
    â€œEveryone on campus is so frightened,” Melanie added. “Three murders in the past month. Plus the swimming coach is in the hospital. And the police just seem helpless. They can’t find the girl . . . the girl who . . .”
    Her voice cracked.
    â€œI’m sorry,” she said. “I think Margie and I had better go upstairs. Sorry. Really.”
    â€œMe too,” I murmured. “Such a horrible thing.” What could I say to them? I’d read about the murders and watched the TV news shows. But I didn’t know any of the three victims personally.
    How would it feel to know someone who was murdered? I asked myself.
    â€œSee you again,” Melanie said.
    â€œGood luck in the dorm,” Margie added.
    They hurried out of the room.
    I hung around the mixer for a while. But it wasn’t much fun. Melanie was right. No one felt like partying.
    I met a few other girls who seemed okay. But even though I tried to be cool and confident, I felt really uncomfortable.
    It’s hard to get over being called ‘Mouse’ your entire life.
    And I think some people are party animals and some aren’t.
    By nine o’clock, a few couples had started to dance. And some kids were laughing and joking around.
    But I decided I’d had enough. I didn’t feel like going back up to the room. I was too wired to sit down and try to study.
    So I grabbed my down jacket and headed across The Triangle to a little coffee shop called Java Jim’s at the far north edge of campus.
    Java Jim’s is away from most of the campus shops and restaurants. So it’s not really a student hangout. But I like it because it’s quiet, they have great chocolate chip cookies, and they let you sit over one cup forever.
    I sat at the white Formica counter, chewing on a giant cookie, dunking it in my coffee. Thinking about Melanie and Margie. Thinking about how I couldn’t think of the right thing to say to them.
    After I’d been there about fifteen minutes, I heard a cough. I turned and saw a girl down at the end of the counter. She had straight dark hair around a round face, and bright red lipsticked lips. She wore an oversized black sweater pulled down over black tights.
    She stared straight ahead at the tile wall. Every few seconds, she’d take a short sip from her tall cappuccino.
    I waited for her to glance over at me. I waited a long time. Finally, our eyes met. “Hi. How’s it going?” I called over to her.
    She hesitated. Her brown eyes narrowed on me. “Okay,” she replied finally. She took a sip from her cup, then wiped foam off her upper lip with one finger. “Good coffee here.”
    â€œYeah, it is,” I agreed. Did she want to have a conversation? I wondered. Or was she just being polite?
    â€œYou go to Ivy State?” I asked.
    She appeared to think about it. “Yeah. Sort of,” she said. She uttered a short laugh. “I had to drop out for this semester.”
    I nodded. “I’m a sophomore,” I told her. “I just moved into the dorm this afternoon. My apartment burned down.”
    Her mouth