Have You Met My Ghoulfriend? Read Online Free PDF Page A

believe me?
    “The cat must be in the tunnel,” I said.
    Dad stood with his powerful arms crossed over his chest. The fire-breathing dragon tattooed on his right bicep seemed to stare at me. “What tunnel?” he asked.
    “There's a tunnel in my room. It's hidden behind that wall panel.” I pointed. “I just discovered it a few weeks ago. The tunnel is very long and dark. It leads to some kind of ghost world. It—”
    Colin burst out laughing. “You're talking about a PlayStation game, right?”
    “No, it's
true
!” I screamed.
    Dad rolled his eyes. “Max, I warned you about these babyish ghost stories….”
    “I'll prove it!” I cried. “I'll prove it to you.” I darted to the wall, wrapped my hands around the edges of the wall panel, and tugged.
    Stuck.
    “The tunnel is right behind this panel,” I said. “You'll see.”
    I tugged harder.
    The panel still wouldn't budge.
    “You'll see,” I repeated. “Then you'll be sorry you didn't believe me.”
    With a groan, I bent lower, tightened my hands around the edges, and yanked the panel with all my might.
    “Yes!”
    I pulled the panel away.
    And everyone gasped.

10
    S OLID WALL .
    No sign of any tunnel.
    I dropped the wood panel to the floor and slapped the wall with my hand. Hard plaster. I slapped at it frantically with both hands. Where was the tunnel? Where?
    Mom came up from behind and put her arms around me. “Max, I'm very worried about you. Why are you making up these crazy ghost stories?”
    “Because he's totally mental!” Colin exclaimed. He let out a high horse whinny. “He's gone looney tunes!”
    Dad shook his head. “It isn't funny, Colin. Max needs help. I know he'll get it at the Plover School.”
    “Maybe you're right,” Mom said. “Maybe he does need to get away from this house and go to a place with some structure.”
    Structure? What is
structure
?
    What was she talking about? I couldn't believe it. Mom never wanted me to go away to that horribleboarding school. Why was she suddenly agreeing with Dad?
    Just because the tunnel disappeared?
    “You're both going to be late for school,” Mom said. “We'll talk about this later. Get your backpacks and go.”
    I trudged across the room to get my backpack. I saw Dad staring hard at me. And the fire-breathing dragon on his arm was staring at me too.
    I realized I was trembling. Now I'll never get them to believe me, I thought. I'm totally on my own—with two ghosts haunting the house. And a ghost cat. And an evil ghost who is going to bring a ghoul to break me.
    Totally on my own …
    Dear Diary,
    Not much happened today.
    Sorry I don't have any exciting things to write about.
    I may be going to another school soon. But I don't want to write about that. Bye for now.
    Max
    That night, the cat appeared.
    Well, it wasn't
the
cat. But it was enough of a cat to get me into major trouble.
    The four of us were home having dinner. Dad brought home a bucket of chicken, and Mom microwaved some vegetables to go with it. When they weren't looking, Colin shoved a handful of string beans down the front of my shirt.
    “Hey—!” I let out a shout. The string beans tickled!
    That's when we heard the cat. A loud
meow
from upstairs. I glanced quickly around the table. Everyone had heard it.
    I tried to make them forget about it. “I got an A on my health quiz today,” I said.
    But they were all listening hard. And when the cat meowed again, Dad jumped up from the table. He pointed a finger at me. “Max, I told you—no cat. No more crazy stories about a tunnel in your wall. If I find a cat up there, you're grounded for a year, maybe two.”
    “I don't have a cat,” I protested. “Why would I hide a cat up there when I know I'm not allowed to have a cat?”
    “Because you're dumb?” Colin chimed in.
    “Don't call Maxie dumb,” Mom said.
    “He
is
dumb,” Colin said. “He doesn't want to eat his string beans. So he's hiding them in his shirt.”
    “That's a lie!” I shouted.
    But