Free The Halloween Hoax by Carolyn Keene

Chapter One
    TV Trouble
    â€œHey, Nancy,” George Fayne said, cracking a smile. “Your tail is ‘dragon.’”
    Eight-year-old Nancy Drew glanced back. The tail of her dragon costume was hanging over the bench and dragging on the floor.
    â€œDragging. Dragon. I get it.” Nancy giggled.
    Bess Marvin reached down to tie her ballet slipper. She was dressed as a ballerina in a pink tutu.
    â€œWhat could be better than wearing our Halloween costumes four whole days before Halloween?” Bess asked.
    The tin cans on George’s homemade robot costume clanked together as she moved.“Wearing our Halloween costumes and being on the Dudley the Science Dude show!” she said.
    Nancy high-fived her two best friends. The girls were sitting in a real live TV studio with the rest of their third-grade class. Their teacher, Mrs. Ramirez, had gotten them surprise tickets for Dudley’s special Halloween show. Dudley was a cool scientist who performed awesome experiments on TV.
    Nancy looked past the TV cameras and lights at Dudley’s laboratory. The set looked just like it did on TV. The counter was filled with test tubes and microscopes. Jars were stuffed with animal teeth, shells, and rocks. There were maps on the walls and computers with science information flashing on their screens.
    â€œWhere is Dudley, anyway?” Andrea Wu complained. Andrea was dressed as Little Bo Peep. Her best friend, Kayla Bruce, was dressed as her sheep.
    Quincy Taylor’s caterpillar costume crunched as he wiggled on the bench. “By the time theshow starts I’ll be a butterfly!” he groaned.
    â€œDudley will be here,” Shelby Metcalf declared as she stood up. She was dressed up like Dudley, in a yellow lab coat and blue goggles. “In the meantime—who wants to join my Dudley the Science Dude Fan Club? We’ll meet at my house every week and do one of Dudley’s experiments.”
    â€œThe gross ones?” Peter Patino asked.
    â€œFor sure!” replied Shelby.
    Some hands shot up. Shelby looked at Nancy, Bess, and George. “Don’t you want to join my club too?” she asked.
    â€œThanks, but we already have a club,” Nancy admitted.
    â€œIt’s called the Clue Crew,” added George.
    â€œWe solve mysteries,” Bess explained.
    â€œOh, that!” Shelby smiled as she remembered. “But solving mysteries can’t be as fun as growing a fungus on dirty gym socks!”
    â€œEww,” Bess said, making a face.
    Deirdre Shannon’s pointed princess hatshifted as she tossed her hair behind her shoulders. “How do we know Dudley is a real scientist?” she asked. “He’s probably just an actor who plays one on TV.”
    Shelby’s eyes flashed. “Sure he’s a real scientist,” she insisted. “Last week he turned a penny green. An actor can’t do that.”
    A woman holding a clipboard walked over. “Hello, kids,” she said. “My name is Valerie, and I’m a producer. That means I help Dudley plan all his shows.”
    The class sat at attention as Valerie spoke.
    â€œThere are four studios inside Station WRIV-TV,” Valerie explained. “You’re in the studio that tapes Dudley the Science Dude every week.”
    Next Valerie introduced the crew. Mike, Fran, and Bill were stagehands. They set up Dudley’s experiments and props. Sam was the director. He chose which scenes the people at home watched on TV. He also made sure the show went as planned. The stage manager’s name was Lisa. “Lisa’s job is to tell Dudley when to starttalking and when to stop,” Valerie explained.
    â€œMaybe Lisa can tell Peter to stop talking in class,” Marcy Rubin snickered.
    â€œVery funny,” Peter muttered.
    â€œNow here’s someone you all know,” Valerie announced.
    Excited whispers filled the studio as Kirby Kessler ran over to Valerie. Kirby was