The Dare by R.L. Stine Read Free Book Online Page B

The rest of us were sitting on the two couches or sprawled on the floor, eating tortilla chips and salsa and drinking Cokes.
    Melody had turned the music off. A conversation started about school.
    Dennis and I were sitting close together at an end of a couch. He was leaning forward, picking up handfuls of tortilla chips from the bowl on the glass coffee table. I was leaning back against the cushiony couch, not really part of the conversation.
    Actually, I was wondering if Dennis liked me ornot. He hadn’t been unfriendly. But he hadn’t spent much time talking with me either.
    The couch was jammed with kids. Dennis and I sat so close together, our legs were touching. He didn’t seem to notice. Or was he just pretending not to notice?
    All night I had been trying to relax and have a good time. But it was hard. This just wasn’t my crowd. I didn’t take private tennis lessons, so I couldn’t gossip about the different tennis instructors. And I couldn’t compare Jamaica to Bermuda or Aruba.
    Everyone had been friendly to me. No one had acted at all snobby. But I could see that they were all better dressed than I was.
    And Melody’s house was so luxurious compared to my run-down old house on Fear Street. Even though I kept telling myself that it all didn’t matter, I just couldn’t relax and feel comfortable.
    I wasn’t really listening to the conversation. But when Dennis suddenly draped an arm around my shoulders, I instantly tuned back in.
    And then Dennis totally surprised me by announcing to everyone, “Johanna and I are going to murder Mr. Northwood!” He turned to me, a big smile on his face. “Right?”

chapter 11
    â€œU h … right,” I reluctantly agreed.
    â€œWe’re
doing
it!” Dennis proclaimed, squeezing my shoulder.
    Everyone laughed and cheered.
    What’s going on here? I asked myself. Isn’t Dennis taking this joke a little too far?
    â€œI want to help!” someone exclaimed.
    â€œMe too!”
    â€œLet’s
all
kill him!”
    â€œTonight!” someone added.
    Everyone laughed.
    â€œI dare you!” Lanny cried. “I really dare you!”
    â€œDo it!” someone shouted.
    Lanny turned to me. “How are you going to do it?” he demanded.
    I formed a gun with my thumb and pointer finger and aimed it at Lanny.
    Everyone laughed again.
    Climbing to his feet, Zack pulled up his hair until it stood straight up on his head. Then he stooped his shoulders and did a pretty good impression of Mr. Northwood: “I don’t like your smiles. You’re all staying after school for the rest of the century. We’re having a short quiz. Take out a sheet of paper and number from one to three thousand.”
    We were all in hysterics. Zack really was a riot. He sounded just like Mr. Northwood, and he kind of looked like him with his hair straight up like that.
    â€œDid you hear what Northwood did to Carter Philips?” Lanny asked, shaking his head. “Northwood took five points off Carter’s final exam because she forgot to put her name on top. The five points lowered Carter from a B to a C!”
    Everyone groaned.
    â€œHe made me stay an hour after school on my birthday!” a girl on the other couch cried.
    â€œWhat a jerk!” someone said.
    â€œHe really hates us all,” Melody murmured.
    â€œNot as much as we hate him,” Lanny said.
    â€œDon’t worry,” Dennis told them, grinning. “Johanna and I are going to take care of him. We’ve been making plans.”
    â€œWhen?” someone demanded. “Before the next unit test?”
    Dennis smiled at me. His arm tightened around me. “It’s a secret,” he told them, his green eyes flashing excitedly. “We don’t want to spoil the surprise.”
    I laughed along with everyone else.
    But I felt a sudden chill.
    Was Dennis getting serious about this?
    The idea of killing Mr. Northwood