Free 21 - Go Eat Worms! by R.L. Stine - (ebook by Undead) Page A

were
crawling upstairs on their own? Did he really think they were coming to get
him?”
    “Yeah. I think he did!” Regina said through her scornful laughter.
    Around the corner from the two girls, Danny and Todd stood listening in
shock. Neither of them moved a muscle. Todd’s mouth had dropped open. He could
feel his face growing red-hot.
    “So today’s the last day?” Beth was saying. “Did you put any worms in his
stuff today?”
    “Only two,” Regina replied. “Mom gave him a thermos of hot vegetable soup
since it’s such a nasty day. I dropped one in the thermos. And I slipped one into his jacket
pocket. He’s on his way to school. He probably stuck his hand in and found my
little surprise.”
    Both girls laughed again.
    “And he never guessed it was you the whole time?” Beth asked Regina.
    “He guessed,” Regina replied. “But I’m such a good actress. I acted shocked
and totally grossed out. Pretty soon, he didn’t know what to think!”
    They laughed some more. Then Todd heard them head the other way down the
hall.
    He turned to find Danny staring at him. “Todd—do you believe it? It
was your sister the whole time!”
    “I knew it,” Todd lied, trying to sound casual. “I knew it was Regina.”
    “Well, what are you going to do?” Danny demanded, still staring hard at Todd.
    “Get revenge, of course,” Todd replied quickly.
    “Revenge? How?” his friend asked.
    “I’m not sure,” Todd told him. “I just know it’s going to take a lot of worms!”

 
 
26
     
     
    The rain stopped after lunch. The heavy, dark clouds drifted away, and bright
sunshine poured down from a clear blue sky.
    Todd eagerly watched the weather change through the classroom windows. The
sunshine filled him with hope.
    This means the worms will be coming up from the ground, he thought happily.
Dozens and dozens of worms.
    He was desperate to get out and collect them. He was going to need a ton of
worms to pay his sister back for her mean joke.
    Unfortunately, just before school let out, he and Danny were caught having a
glue fight during art class. Ms. Travianti, the art teacher, made them both stay
after school and clean up all the paintbrushes.
    It was nearly four o’clock when Todd led the way to his favorite
worm-collecting spot behind second base of the softball diamond. The playground was deserted. There were
no other kids in sight.
    Todd and Danny both carried empty coffee cans they had borrowed from the art
room. Without saying a word, they bent down and set to work, pulling up long,
brown and purple worms, and dropping them into the cans.
    “How many do we need?” Danny asked, poking in the soft mud till he found a
big wet one.
    “As many as we can get,” Todd replied. He still hadn’t figured out exactly
what he was going to do to Regina. He just knew it was going to be totally
awesome. And gross.
    “You really should pay back Beth, too,” Danny suggested. He dug a hole with
his chubby hand and discovered three big worms tangled together.
    “Yeah. You’re right,” Todd agreed. “We’ll save a bunch for Beth.”
    Todd stood up and pulled off his jacket. Even though it was late afternoon,
the sun still beamed down. He was already sweating.
    “Look at this one!” Danny declared. He held up a stubby pink worm.
    “It’s just a baby,” Todd said. “Toss it in the can, anyway. I need as many as
I can get. Big or little.”
    Danny dropped the stubby pink worm in with the others.
    Todd pulled up a really long one. He carefully brushed clumps of mud off it before dropping it in the can. “The rain always
brings up the really big ones,” he told Danny.
    The ground rumbled.
    At first Todd didn’t notice.
    “Did you feel that?” Danny asked.
    “Feel what?”
    The ground shook again.
    Todd heard a low rumbling sound, like distant thunder.
    “Hey—!” Danny cried, alarmed. He stopped digging.
    “That always happens,” Todd told him. “No big deal. Keep digging.”
    Danny