50 - Calling All Creeps! by R.L. Stine - (ebook by Undead) Page A

school early and talk to Ms. Crawford, the principal. I’ll tell
her the whole story. I’ll tell her what the Creeps are planning to do at her
school.
    She’ll help me stop them. I know she will.
     
    My clock radio woke me half an hour earlier than usual. I clicked it off and
listened to a soft patter against my bedroom window.
    Staggering across the room, I peeked through the blinds. A gloomy gray day
outside. Frozen rain dribbling down.
    I yawned. I had tossed and twisted all night.
    I got dressed quickly, pulling on a large red and brown flannel shirt and baggy brown corduroy pants. I gulped down a fast
breakfast of orange juice and corn flakes.
    “You’re up early this morning,” Mom commented sleepily. She stood waiting for
the coffeemaker to drip.
    “Yeah. Got to go,” I mumbled. I grabbed my parka and backpack and hurried out
the back door.
    I pulled my baseball cap down over my eyes and jogged through the cold,
drizzling rain. Such a dreary day. Everything looked gray this morning. No
bright color anywhere.
    As I made my way to school, I practiced my speech to Ms. Crawford. I wanted
to tell the story right. I wanted everything in the right order. I didn’t want
to leave out any important parts.
    I passed a man in a gray rain slicker, out walking his Dalmatian. I didn’t
see anyone else on the street.
    The school appeared empty when I arrived. The halls were silent. My wet shoes
skidded over the floor.
    I stepped into the front office. The room was empty. The two secretaries
hadn’t arrived yet. But I saw a light from the principal’s office in back. And I
heard a cough.
    “Ms. Crawford, are you back there?” I called.
    “Yes,” she called back. “Who is it?”
    I heard her chair scrape. And then she poked her white-haired head out of the
office door. “Ricky?” She squinted at me in surprise. “You startled me. You’re
here awfully early, aren’t you?”
    “I—I need to talk to you,” I stammered.
    She motioned for me to step around the front counter and into her office.
“What is the problem?” she asked, closing the door behind me.
    “It’s kind of a long story,” I began.
    Would she believe me?

 
 
22
     
     
    Ms. Crawford always reminds me of a black-and-white movie. She has short,
curly white hair, gray eyes, and a very pale face. And she always wears black—black pants suits and black skirts and tops.
    I don’t know how old she is. I think she’s pretty old. But she’s very lively
and athletic. Sometimes she joins in during volleyball games in the gym.
    I sat down in the stiff-backed chair in front of her desk. She moved some
files aside and leaned across the desk toward me. “I’m glad you came by,” she
said, her smile fading.
    “Huh? Really?”
    “I’ve been meaning to talk to you, Ricky,” she continued. “I understand there
was some trouble at the car wash last Saturday.”
    She waited for me to say something. But I didn’t know what to say.
    “I’ve been told that you started a water fight last Saturday,” Ms. Crawford
said sternly.
    “Me?” I cried. “I didn’t start it! I—I—”
    She motioned with one hand for me to be silent. “Mr. Wartman—Richard’s
father—called me to complain. He said that the inside of his car was totally
soaked. He told me that—”
    “That’s who I want to talk to you about,” I interrupted. I could see that
this conversation was not going as I had planned. I decided I’d better jump in
as fast as possible.
    “I want to talk to you about Wart,” I said. “I mean, Richard. He’s not a kid,
see. He told me. He’s a Creep.”
    Ms. Crawford’s mouth dropped open. She blinked at me.
    “And you know his three friends?” I blurted out. “They’re Creeps too. They’re
monsters. Purple monsters.”
    Ms. Crawford twisted her face into a frown. “Ricky—” she started.
    “No—really!” I insisted. “They’re monsters. They call themselves Creeps!
They told me so themselves. I saw them! Wart ate a