Moonlight Secrets by R.L. Stine Page B

itched and throbbed. I could feel more insects crawling in my mouth—on the roof of my mouth, under my tongue, poking out through my lips.
    â€œWhoa!” I spat the cockroaches out. Oneof them flew onto the table. Another bug stuck to my cheek.
    I gagged again. I pulled two more cockroaches from my open mouth. Another one slid down my chin.
    My face itched. My whole body started to itch.
    I struggled to keep my dinner down.
    Another brown insect scrabbled out of my mouth.
    â€œWhat is happening? ” I choked out.
    Cockroaches swarmed over our table.
    I leaped to my feet. I shoved Galen out of the way. I pressed my hand over my mouth, squeezed out of the booth, and started running to the front door.
    Where was I going? I didn’t know. I couldn’t think straight. Cockroaches were pouring out of my mouth.
    â€œWait! Nate—,” I heard Shark calling to me.
    â€œWhat’s up?” Ryland called.
    I couldn’t answer. Cockroaches crawled over my hand. My mouth was filling up with them.
    As I reached the door, I glanced back.
    And saw Candy, watching me from her booth. She sat stiffly, one hand on that jeweled pendant.
    And she had the biggest smile on her face.

15
    â€œLet’s cut Ms. Harvey’s class,” Shark said. He tossed his government text into the locker and pulled out his jacket.
    I said okay. It was the last class of the day, and she was just reviewing stuff anyway.
    I couldn’t concentrate on anything all day. I kept thinking about the night before. Seeing cockroaches everywhere I looked.
    I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t even think about putting something in my mouth.
    The cockroaches didn’t stop coming until I left the bar. I threw up a dozen of them into the curb on Fear Street. I hunched over the curb, feeling sick, waiting for more bugs to crawl out.
    But there were no more.
    The next morning my tongue kept tinglingand itching like crazy. I could feel the little legs crawling over it. I kept poking my fingers inside my mouth, feeling for more bugs. But there was nothing there.
    Just the memory of it.
    And the memory of Candy Shutt’s strange smile. As if she was really enjoying seeing me suffer.
    Shark and I stepped out the back door by the boys’ locker room. It was a warm day, the sun beaming down in a cloudless sky. I unzipped my jacket. It felt more like May or June than October.
    I swung my backpack onto one shoulder and followed Shark to the students’ parking lot. I had parked my mom’s little blue Chevy Malibu by the fence.
    Some kids in a gym class were kicking a soccer ball back and forth on the field beside the stadium. I heard the coach’s whistle and saw some other guys on the track getting in position to do sprints.
    â€œHey, Nate—leaving early?”
    I heard the shout and spun around. Aaron. Calling from the soccer field.
    I waved. And saw Candy watching us frombeside the track. She wore white gym shorts and a gray T-shirt. Her black hair flew around her face in the warm breeze. She had her hands on her waist and stared hard at us, squinting into the sun.
    I spun away from her. Up ahead, Shark had his head down. He took long, loping strides. I had to run to catch up to him.
    â€œI just want to get out of here,” he muttered. He shook his head. “I’d like to get in the car and start driving and just keep going. I mean, never look back. Just keep following the highway wherever it leads.”
    â€œWhoa. What’s up?” I asked. That didn’t sound like Shark.
    Well, yes, it did. I mean, you never knew what you were going to get with him. Some days he was up and enthusiastic and really into things. Other days . . .
    â€œYou mean the thing at the bar last night?” I asked. “The cockroaches?”
    He shook his head. “That’s not what I was thinking about, Nate.”
    I unlocked the car door and started to slide into the driver’s seat. “What were you