ONE
It was a super Saturday.
Dunkum Mifflin was jumpinâ happy. He slam-dunked his basketball. Three times in a row! Hoo-ray!
His name was on Miss Hersheyâs reading list. Heâd checked it twice. Heâd made his reading goal. Twenty-five books in all!
The reward was a sleep-over at the teacherâs house. Eight kids from Miss Hersheyâs class were going.
Theyâd eat pizza and junk food. And ice-cream sundaes and root-beer floats.
Best of all, they were spending the night!
Eric Hagel and Jason Birchall arrived at Dunkumâs house. They passed the ball around. They talked about the sleep-over.
âWhereâs Miss Hersheyâs house, anyway?â Dunkum asked.
Jason didnât know exactly.
Eric didnât, either. âShe used to be on my paper route. But not anymore,â he said.
âDid she move?â Dunkum asked.
Eric scratched his head. âGuess so.â
âSomewhere out in the country,â Jason piped up. âI heard itâs a haunted mansion!â
âHow do you know?â Dunkum asked.
Eric and Jason laughed. âEveryone says so,â replied Eric.
âEveryone?â Dunkum said.
âWell, you know.â Jason crossed his eyes. âItâs gonna be such a cool sleep-over. Even if the house is haunted.â
Eric agreed. âI still canât believe it. Did I really read all those books?â
Jason grinned. âYour nameâs on Miss Hersheyâs list, right?â
Eric nodded and passed the ball to Dunkum.
Dunkum shot up . . . up . . . whoosh! âAnyone else going from our cul-de-sac?â
âAbby and Stacy are,â Eric replied.
âAbby oughta be going. She read over fifty books,â Jason said.
âWow! Howâd she do it?â Dunkum asked.
âSheâs a bookworm. Thatâs how.â Eric laughed.
Dunkum was thrilled. Most of his friends were going to the sleep-over.
âI heard Miss Hershey tells bedtime stories,â Eric said. âSpooky ones.â
âYeah, better watch out,â Jason warned.
âHow come?â Dunkum asked.
âShe likes stuff by Edgar Allen Poe,âsaid Eric. âEvery year, same thing.â
âWhoâs this Poe dude?â asked Dunkum.
Jason started laughing. âEdgar Allen Poe wrote mystery stories and poems. Ever hear of âThe Ravenâ? Itâs famous.â
âNope,â Dunkum said.
âWell, youâll hear it plenty,â Eric said.
Jason flapped his arms. âSounds wingy-dingy. Get it? Ravens have wingsââ
âAw . . . Jason, act your age,â Dunkum scolded.
âWhatever,â Jason muttered and stopped flying around.
The boys shot some more baskets. âHow do you know about the sleep-over?â Dunkum asked Eric.
âMiss Hershey has one every year. The kids from last yearâs class told me.â Ericâs voice was low and quiet. âThey told me ALL about it.â
Dunkum hoped the sleep-over wasnâttoo scary. He wasnât a scaredy-cat or anything. He just didnât like creepy things.
Jason interrupted his thoughts. âYouâre not afraid of haunted mansions, are you?â He made his voice sound spooky. âOooooooooooow!â he squealed.
âYou donât scare me!â Dunkum said.
âBut Miss Hershey will,â teased Jason.
Dunkum dribbled the ball hard. He leaped up and dunked it. Thatâs how he got his nicknameâDunkum. His real name was Edward. But nobody called him that. He was Dunkumâthe tallest and best hoop shooter around.
Dunkum thought hard as he aimed the basketball. Jason could say all he wanted. But their teacher was the best. She wouldnât plan a creepy sleep-over.
No way. Dunkum didnât believe it for one second!
TWO
It was Friday morning.
Heavy snow was falling. First storm of the New Year.
Miss Hersheyâs class was all bunched up. Their teeth chattered as they huddled
Terry Spear
Allan Leverone
Saud Alsanousi
Braxton Cole
Megan Lindholm
Derek Robinson
J.D. Cunegan
Veronica Henry
Richmal Crompton
Audrey Carlan