Phantom of the Auditorium Read Online Free PDF Page A

nervously.
    I saw an empty spot at the table behind mine. “She probably meant over there,” I said, pointing. “I’ve been in this seat all year. Next to Zeke.” I motioned to Zeke’s chair. Zeke wasn’t there. He was late, as usual.
    The boy blushed even darker. “Sorry,” he muttered shyly. “I hate being the new kid.” He started to gather his books together.
    “This is your first day?” I asked. I introduced myself.
    “I’m Brian Colson,” he replied, climbing to his feet. “My family just moved to Woods Mill. From Indiana.”
    I said I’d never been to Indiana. It was a boring thing to say, but it was true.
    “You’re Brooke Rodgers?” he asked, studying me. “I heard you got the starring role. In the play.”
    “How did you hear that already?” I demanded.
    “Some kids were talking about it on the bus. You must be a good actress, huh?” he added shyly.
    “I guess. I don’t know. Sometimes I get pretty bad stage fright,” I told him.
    I don’t know why I told him that. Sometimes I just rattle on. I guess that’s why my parents call me Babbling Brooke.
    Brian smiled and sighed. “Back at my school in Indiana, I was in all the plays,” he told me. “But I never had the lead role. I wish I had moved here sooner. Then I could have tried out for
The Phantom.”
    I tried to picture Brian onstage in a play, but I couldn’t. He didn’t seem like the acting type to me. He seemed so shy. And he kept blushing all the time.
    But I decided to give the poor guy a break. “Brian, why don’t you come to rehearsal with me this afternoon?” I suggested. “Maybe you can get a small part or something.”
    Brian smiled as if I’d just offered him a million dollars. “You mean it?” he asked, wide-eyed.
    “Sure,” I replied. “No big deal.”
    Zeke came slinking into his seat, his eyes on Ms. Walker’s desk. “Am I late?” he whispered.
    I shook my head. Then I started to introduce him to Brian. But Ms. Walker stepped into the room and closed the door. Time for class to begin.
    Brian hurried to his place at the other table. I started to sit down but realized I’d left my science notebook in my locker.
    “Be right back!” I called to Ms. Walker. I hurried out the door and jogged around the corner to my locker.
    “Hey!” To my surprise, the locker door stood open.
    That’s weird,
I thought. I remembered locking it.
    I pulled the door open the rest of the way. Started to reach inside for my notebook.
    And let out a startled gasp.
    Someone was in there — and he was staring right at me!

10
    His ugly blue-and-green face grinned out at me.
    I gasped again and clamped my hand over my mouth. Then I cracked up laughing.
    Zeke and his dumb rubber-creature mask.
    “Well, you got me this time, Zeke!” I murmured out loud.
    Then I saw the folded-up sheet of paper dangling beneath the mask. Some kind of note?
    I pulled it out and unfolded it. Scribbled in red crayon was a message:
    STAY AWAY FROM MY
HOME SWEET HOME
    “Ha-ha,” I murmured. “Very good, Zeke. Very amusing.”
    I pulled out my science notebook, slammed the locker shut, and locked it. Then I hurried back to the classroom.
    Ms. Walker stood behind her desk. She had just finished introducing Brian to everyone. Now she was reading the morning announcements. I slid into my seat beside Zeke. “You didn’t scare me one bit,” I lied.
    He looked up from his math notebook. Zeke always did his math homework first thing in class. “Huh?” He flashed me his innocent look.
    “Your mask,” I whispered. “It didn’t scare me.”
    “Mask? What mask?” he replied, tapping the pencil eraser against my arm.
    I shoved him away. “Stop acting stupid,” I said sharply. “Your note wasn’t funny, either. You can do better than that.”
    “I didn’t write you any note, Brooke,” Zeke replied impatiently. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Really.”
    “For sure,” I said rolling my eyes. “You don’t know anything about