54 - Don't Go To Sleep Read Online Free PDF Page B

parents!

 
 
12
     
     
    “Bedtime, honey,” my fake mother chirped.
    I’d been sitting in front of the TV all evening. Just staring, not even
really watching it.
    Maybe I should stop thinking of these people as my fake parents, I realized.
They’re real enough now. I might be stuck with them forever.
    I’ll find out in the morning, I thought as I trudged upstairs. My old room
was a sewing room now. I went back to the guest room to sleep.
    “Good night, darling.” “Mom” kissed me goodnight. Why did she have to keep
kissing me?
    She turned out the light and said, “See you in the morning.”
    The morning. I dreaded the morning.
    So far, each morning was weirder than the last. I was scared to go to sleep.
    What would I wake up to?
    It would be great if these fake parents of mine were gone. But who would take
their place?
    Maybe I’d wake up and the whole world would be gone!
    I struggled to stay awake. Please, I prayed. Please let everything be normal
again. I’d even be glad to have Greg and Pam back, if everything could only be
normal….
    I must have fallen asleep. The next thing I knew, I opened my eyes—and it
was morning.
    I lay perfectly still for a minute. Had anything changed?
    I heard noises in the house. There were definitely other people here.
    A lot of other people.
    My heart started pounding. Oh, no, I thought. What am I in for this time?
    I heard someone playing an accordion. That was a pretty sure sign my old
family wasn’t back.
    But first things first. How old was I today?
    I held my hands up in front of my face. They looked a little on the small
side.
    I got up and went to the bathroom, trying not to panic. I was really getting
sick of this routine.
    The mirror seemed higher than usual. I stared at my face.
    I wasn’t twelve anymore, that was for sure. I looked about eight.
    Eight, I thought, sighing.
    That’s third grade. Well, at least I’ll be able to do the math. Suddenly, I
felt a sharp pain in my back. Ow! Claws! Tiny claws digging into my back! The
claws dug deeper. I screamed.

 
 
13
     
     
    Something jumped on my back!
    A tiny, hairy face appeared in the mirror. Some kind of animal was standing
on my shoulders!
    “Get it off! Get it off!” I shrieked.
    “Eeee! Eeee!” the animal screeched.
    I ran into the hallway—and almost crashed into a huge man.
    “Get this thing off me!” I cried.
    The man plucked the animal off my shoulder. He laughed loud and deep, like an
evil Santa Claus.
    “What’s wrong with you, Matt?” he boomed. “Scared of Pansy all of a sudden?”
    Pansy? The man cuddled the animal in his arms. It was a monkey.
    The man roughed up my hair. “Get dressed, boy. We got a rehearsal this
morning.”
    Rehearsal? What was that supposed to mean?
    I stared at the man. He was huge, with a round stomach, glossy black hair,
and a long mustache.
    The weirdest part was what he wore: a bright red costume with gold trim and a
gold belt.
    Oh, no! I thought, my heart sinking. This can’t be… my father?
    From downstairs a woman’s voice screamed, “Grub!”
    The man handed me a pile of clothes. “Put your costume on,” he said. “Then
come on down to breakfast—son.”
    I knew it. He was my father. For today, at least. My “family” kept
getting worse every day.
    “GRUUUUB!” the woman downstairs yelled again.
    I guess that’s Mom, I thought miserably. She sounds like a real sweetheart.
    Kids came pouring out of the other bedrooms. It seemed like there were dozens
of them, all different ages. But I counted, and there were only six.
    I tried to get all the new facts straight. I was eight years old. I had six
brothers and sisters and a pet monkey. I hadn’t seen my mother yet, but my
father was a total wacko.
    And I’ve got to wear some kind of freaky costume, I thought, holding up the
clothes the man had given me. It was a tight blue outfit, like a leotard. The
bottom part was blue with white stripes. The top had white stars.
    What was