Free You Can't Scare Me! by R. L. Stine

was passing an empty lot, a long rectangle of tall weeds and overgrown shrubs. In the corner of my eye, I saw something move along the ground.
    A darting shadow, black against the yellow-gray ground.
    Something scurrying through the tall weeds toward me.
    I swallowed hard, feeling my throat tighten up. I started to jog.
    The shadow slid toward me.
    I heard a low moan.
    Just the wind?
    No. Too human to be the wind.
    Another moan, more of a cry this time.
    The trees all began to shake and whisper. Black shadows swept quickly toward me.
    My heart pounding, I started to run. I crossed the street and kept running.
    But the shadows were closing in. Darkening. About to sweep over me.
    I knew I’d never make it home.

20
    I was running as fast as I could. The dark hedges and trees flew by in a blur. My sneakers slapped the wet pavement loudly.
    I could feel the blood pulsing at my temples as my house came into view. The yellow porch light made the front lawn glisten brightly.
    Almost there,
I thought.
Almost there
. Please
let me make it inside.
    A few seconds later, I was lurching up the driveway. I darted past the front walk, along the side of the house, and up to the kitchen door.
    With a final, desperate burst of energy, I pushed open the door with my shoulder, bolted into the kitchen, slammed the door behind me, and locked it.
    Gasping for breath, my chest heaving up and down, my throat dry and aching, I stood there for a long while, leaning my back against the door, struggling to catch my breath.
    It didn’t take me long to realize that no one had really been chasing me. I knew it was all my imagination.
    This had happened to me before.
    Lots of times.
    Why am I such a scaredy-cat?
I asked myself, starting to feel a little more normal now that I was home safe and sound.
    And, then, standing in the empty kitchen, waiting for my heart to stop pounding, I realized what my friends and I had been doing wrong. I realized why we hadn’t been able to scare Courtney.
    â€œEddie, is that you?” my mom called from the living room.
    â€œYeah. I’m home,” I called back. I hurried through the hall and poked my head into the living room. “I just have to make one call,” I told her.
    â€œBut you just got home —” Mom started to protest.
    I was already halfway up the stairs. “Just one call!” I shouted down.
    I flew into my room, grabbed the phone, and called Charlene. She picked up after the second ring. “Hello?”
    â€œWe’ve been doing it all wrong!” I told her breathlessly.
    â€œEddie? Are you home already? Did you run all the way?”
    â€œWe’ve been doing it all wrong,” I repeated, ignoring her questions. “We’ve got to scareCourtney at night! At
night
! Not in the daytime. Everything is scarier at night!”
    There was a brief silence. Charlene must have been thinking about what I was saying. Finally, she said, “You’re right, Eddie. Everything
is
a lot scarier at night. But we still don’t have any good ideas.”
    â€œYeah, you’re right,” I admitted.
    â€œWe can’t just jump out at Courtney in the dark and yell ‘Boo!’” Charlene said.
    Charlene was right. Nighttime was definitely the right time to scare Courtney. But we needed an idea. A really good, terrifying idea.
    Strangely enough, Courtney gave me the idea herself the next morning.

21
    We were discussing monsters at morning meeting.
    We have morning meeting to start each day. We all gather in the meeting area at one end of the classroom. Mr. Melvin leans against the chalkboard or sits on a little three-legged stool he keeps there. And we discuss all kinds of things.
    Actually, the same three or four kids have the discussion. The rest of us just sit there and pretend to listen while we struggle to wake up.
    Of course Courtney is one of the big talkers. She’s always bright and enthusiastic, even first thing in the morning. And