02 - Stay Out of the Basement Read Online Free PDF

of something, and shoved it into his
mouth.
    Margaret watched him chew hungrily, noisily, then pull out another handful
from the bag and eat it greedily.
    What on earth is he eating? she wondered. He never eats with Casey and me. He
always says he isn’t hungry. But he sure is hungry now! He acts as if he’s
starving!
    She watched from the doorway as Dr. Brewer continued to grab handful after
handful from the bag, gulping down his solitary meal. After a while, he crinkled
up the bag and tossed it into the trash can under the sink. Then he wiped his
hands off on the sides of his white lab coat.
    Margaret quickly backed away from the door, tiptoed through the hall and
ducked into the living room. She held her breath as her father came into the
hall, clearing his throat loudly.
    The basement door closed behind him. She heard him carefully lock it.
    When she was sure that he had gone downstairs, Margaret walked eagerly into
the kitchen. She had to know what her father had been eating so greedily, so
hungrily.
    She pulled open the sink cabinet, reached into the trash, and pulled out the crinkled-up bag.
    Then she gasped aloud as her eyes ran over the label.
    Her father, she saw, had been devouring plant food .

 
 
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    Margaret swallowed hard. Her mouth felt dry as cotton. She suddenly realized
she was squeezing the side of the counter so tightly, her hand ached.
    Forcing herself to loosen her grip, she stared down at the half-empty plant
food bag, which she had dropped onto the floor.
    She felt sick. She couldn’t get the disgusting picture out of her mind. How
could her dad eat mud ?
    He didn’t just eat it, she realized. He shoveled it into his mouth and gulped
it down.
    As if he liked it.
    As if he needed it.
    Eating the plant food had to be part of his experiments, Margaret told
herself. But what kind of experiments? What was he trying to prove with
those strange plants he was growing?
    The stuff inside the bag smelled sour, like fertilizer. Margaret took a deep
breath and held it. She suddenly felt sick to her stomach. Staring at the bag, she couldn’t help but imagine what the disgusting muck inside must
taste like.
    Ohh.
    She nearly gagged.
    How could her own father shove this horrid stuff into his mouth?
    Still holding her breath, she grabbed the nearly empty bag, wadded it up, and
tossed it back into the trash. She started to turn away from the counter when a
hand grabbed her shoulder.
    Margaret uttered a silent cry and spun around. “Casey!”
    “I’m home,” he said, grinning at her. “What’s for lunch?”
     
    Later, after making him a peanut butter sandwich, she told Casey what she had
seen.
    Casey laughed.
    “It isn’t funny,” she said crossly. “Our own dad was eating dirt.”
    Casey laughed again. For some reason, it struck him funny.
    Margaret punched him hard on the shoulder, so hard that he dropped his
sandwich. “Sorry,” she said quickly, “but I don’t see what you’re laughing at.
It’s sick! There’s something wrong with Dad. Something really wrong.”
    “Maybe he just had a craving for plant food,” Casey cracked, still not taking
her seriously. “You know. Like you get a craving for those honey-roasted peanuts.”
    “That’s different,” Margaret snapped. “Eating dirt is disgusting. Why won’t
you admit it?”
    But before Casey could reply, Margaret continued, letting all of her
unhappiness out at once. “Don’t you see? Dad has changed. A lot. Even since Mom
has been gone. He spends even more time in the basement—”
    “That’s because Mom isn’t around,” Casey interrupted.
    “And he’s so quiet all the time and so cold to us,” Margaret continued,
ignoring him. “He hardly says a word to us. He used to kid around all the time
and ask us about our homework. He never says a human word. He never calls me
Princess or Fatso the way he used to. He never—”
    “You hate those names, Fatso,” Casey said, giggling with a mouthful of