Who Killed the Homecoming Queen? by R.L. Stine, Bill Schmidt Page A

I’d strangle her for the movie. She’d pretend to be dead, and I’d go along with it. We just wanted to shake everyone up. For fun.”
    â€œHuh?” Eva let out a shocked cry.
    â€œYou and Tania decided to play games with my movie?” Keith cried.
    â€œYeah, for fun,” Sandy repeated.
    Eva gaped at him. “That’s a terrible joke,” she declared. “How could you and Tania do something so awful?”
    â€œNever mind that. Where is she?” Jeremy asked. “Where is Tania?”
    â€œThat’s the problem,” Sandy told him. “See, after everybody got all crazy, Tania was supposed to jump up and yell ‘surprise!’”
    â€œBut she didn’t,” Eva reminded him. “And besides, Jeremy ran down and grabbed her. He would have known if she was faking!”
    Jeremy shook his head. “I was too freaked to really check her,” he said. “She was so still!”
    â€œRight—and that was part of the plan,” Sandy explained. “I figured she was really into the joke, you know? I mean, she wasn’t going to jump up until everybody started running around like crazy anyway.”
    Jeremy glared at him. “So when did you decide this wasn’t such a great joke?”
    â€œWhen Tania disappeared. That wasn’t part of the plan.” Sandy gazed around as if he were looking for Tania to suddenly reappear. “But she really is gone! I don’t know where she is!”
    Eva stared at Sandy. Is
he
lying? I can’t tell. He looks confused and worried, but so does everybody else. Someone is faking, but who?
    And what happened to Tania? Did she really die?
    â€œGo back a couple of steps,” the policewoman told Sandy. “This strangling scene for the video—you and Tania both decided to
pretend
you’d really killed her?”
    Sandy nodded. “She’d act dead. Then I’d check her and start screaming. We just wanted to freak everyone out. But—”
    â€œOkay, so you checked her,” the officer said. “Was she breathing then?”
    â€œYes.” Sandy paused, frowning. “Well …”
    â€œWell, what?” Jeremy demanded. “Was she breathing or not?”
    â€œI
think
she was,” Sandy replied shakily.
    â€œHow could you not know?” Jeremy wailed.
    â€œBecause I was only pretending and I didn’t check very carefully.” Sandy closed his eyes. “I thought she was breathing, but … but now I’m not sure.”
    â€œYou did it!” Jeremy accused.
    Sandy’s eyes snapped open.
    â€œYou did it!” Jeremy repeated. “You strangled her! You killed my sister!”
    Stunned, Sandy backed away.
    Jeremy leaped at him, pounding him with his fists. “You killed Tania!” he screamed in a fury. “You strangled her! Then your
other
girlfriend came and got rid of the body, right?”
    â€œMy other …” Sandy started to say.
    But the words choked in his throat as Jeremy’s hands clamped tightly around his neck and began to strangle him.

chapter 15
 
    â€œW hoa! Back off—
now!”
the policewoman shouted. She and her partner grabbed Jeremy and pulled him off Sandy. “Ease up!”
    â€œLet me go!” Jeremy cried. “He killed her. He killed Tania!”
    â€œJeremy, stop!” Eva begged. “Please!”
    Keith and Leslie shouted at him, too, but Jeremy ignored everyone.
    He’s so furious he wants to kill Sandy, Eva thought in horror. But it won’t help Tania. It won’t help anything!
    Finally, the police wrestled Jeremy over to one of the bleacher seats.
    Sandy staggered backward, holding his throat and gasping.
    â€œSandy!” Leslie cried. “Are you all right?” She ran to him and put her arms around him, holding him close. “Can you breathe okay? Can you talk?”
    Sandy cleared his throat. “I’m okay,” he rasped.
    Eva