Who Let the Ghosts Out? Read Online Free PDF Page A

serious faces. The boy had spikey brown hair and seemed to be about my age—eleven.
    The girl wore a floppy red hat, so I couldn't see her face very well. She had matching red plastic earrings dangling from her ears. She looked about nine or ten.
    The girl blinked as if just waking up. “We're back, Nicky,” she repeated to the boy.
    “I was so frightened,” the boy said. “I thought we had faded away forever.”
    “Who are you?” I tried to shout, but my voice caught in my throat.
    “That boy Max is still here,” the girl said, narrowing her eyes at me.
    “How long have we been gone?” the boy asked.
    She shrugged. “I don't know. But, look—he's still wearing the same clothes. He should lose the baggy cargo pants. They make him look like a sailboat.”
    “What's with the egg dripping down his face?” the boy asked. “Tara, are you sure we're not having a crazy nightmare?”
    She grabbed his arm. “This is too scary. Make him go away.”
    “Who are you?”
I finally managed to shout. One of the four eggs hadn't broken. I picked it up to use as a weapon. “What are you doing in my room?”
    “
Your
room? It's
my
room!” the boy named Nicky shouted.
    “Whoa. Nicky.” Tara's mouth dropped open. She tugged at the sides of her floppy red hat. “Nicky, that boy—he … he can
see
us!”
    “Yes, I can see you!” I cried. “But I don't want to! Get out. Get out of here!”
    “We're starting to fade again,” Tara said. “Nicky, I'm afraid. I can feel myself disappearing again.”
    “We've got to learn to control this,” Nicky said. He turned to me. “Being a ghost isn't as easy as it looks, Max.”
    Then they both disappeared.
    My legs were trembling so hard, I grabbed the side of my desk to hold myself up. I glanced around the room frantically. My heart pounded like crazy.
    “Are you gone?” I cried. “Did you leave?”
    “We're still here,” Nicky said. “I'm sitting on your bed. I mean,
my
bed. This
is
my room, you know.”
    “You can hear us,” Tara said. “No one else can. Only you.”
    “Yes, I can hear you. But I can't see you now. You're invisible. Please—you're scaring me to death. Go away,” I pleaded. “I'm afraid of ghosts. No kidding.”
    “You
should
be afraid of us,” Nicky said.
    “Why?” I asked in a tiny voice.
    Nicky lowered his voice. “Because we're going to haunt you forever,” he whispered.

8
    T HEY BOTH LAUGHED HIGH , evil laughs.
    I felt a whiff of cold air.
    “Mom! Dad!” I began to scream at the top of my lungs. “Help me! Mom! Dad!”
    Maybe the wrestling show was over. Maybe they could hear me downstairs.
    I turned and saw the extra eggs rising up from the bowl. They floated in the air in a straight line and began to circle me.
    Again, the two ghosts cackled with glee. “We're going to haunt you, Maxie,” the invisible girl whispered. “Haunt you forever. As long as you live in this house.”
    “Haunt you forever … Haunt you forever …,” they both chanted.
    “Mom! Dad! Hurry!” The eggs danced around me. “Somebody—help!”
    “Maxie?” Colin came bursting into the room.
    The four eggs dropped to the floor and splattered onto my white carpet. I leaped back against the wall, shivering in fright.
    “What's up with the eggs?” Colin asked, gazing at the yellow goo spreading over the carpet. “Why did you do that?”
    “I—I—I—” I stammered.
    Colin stared at me. “Have you totally lost it?”
    “I didn't do it!” I sputtered. “Ghosts did it! Two ghosts. A boy and a girl. They're in this room, Colin. They smashed the eggs.”
    Colin laughed. “Yeah, sure. Tell me another one.”
    Nicky and Tara suddenly reappeared. They stood in front of my bed, their arms crossed in front of their chests. They watched Colin and me with smiles on their faces.
    “There they are!” I shouted, pointing. “Don't you see them?”
    Colin spun around. “Yes,” he said. “Yes, I see them. Right there. A boy and a girl.”
    I let out a