Why I'm Not Afraid of Ghosts by R.L. Stine

now comes the fun part!” Mr. Gosling declared. “One partner grips the sparker in his or her right hand. The other turns the stopcock at the bottom of the Bunsen burner a half turn. Gas will come out! Be careful and ignite it with your sparker.”
    Whooshing noises sounded all over the room. The air smelled of gas. Blue flames sprang up everywhere.
    Oliver’s flame burned fine.
    That was when Robbie got an idea. A totally great idea.
    He glanced around. Dora floated in an upper corner of the room. She looked bored and tired. Robbie had managed to ignore her whining, so she stopped.
    â€œHey!” Robbie muttered to his sister. “Watch this!”
    He set himself to become visible and audible to Oliver at just the moment he wanted.
    Then he jumped into the flame.
    His presence made the flame whoosh almost to the ceiling. It sparkled with all kinds of extra colors.
    Vwoom! Robbie made himself visible to Oliver.
    He stretched first tall and then wide and let his face melt into a skull.
    He lifted his arms and waved them at Oliver. His arms were bright gas-flame blue. He could feel his eyeballs glowing.
    He mustered his best deep, spooky laugh.
    â€œMOO-HOO WHA-HA HA-HA!” he laughed, looming over Oliver. Blue flames flared over him, flickered up from his fingers.
    â€œOLIVER BOWEN,” Robbie bellowed. “I HAVE YOU NOW!”

14

    R obbie leaned toward Oliver, eagerly waiting for his terrified shriek.
    Oliver frowned.
    Not screamed, frowned!
    Robbie reached toward him, twitching blue-flame fingers and roaring with evil laughter.
    Oliver backed up half a step.
    It was the most response Robbie had ever gotten out of him. Maybe, just maybe, the scare was working!
    â€œJUST YOU WAIT, OLIVER BOWEN!” Robbie yelled in his deep, scary voice. He clacked his jaw-bone.
    Oliver yawned.
    Yawned!
    Any normal kid would have run screaming in terror!
    Robbie looked around. None of the other kids seemed scared either. Maybe they couldn’t see him.
    By this time Robbie was feeling pretty feeble—all his energy was going up in smoke!
    Oliver raised his hand. “Mr. Gosling?”
    â€œYes, Oliver?” Mr. Gosling asked.
    â€œCould you help me? My flame is way too high.”
    Mr. Gosling came and turned down Oliver’s Bunsen burner.
    Feeling weak and discouraged, Robbie drifted to the floor. He was so tired, he could hardly hold up his head.
    â€œCan we go home now?” Dora demanded.
    What? She wasn’t going to nag him for failing again? She really must be sick!
    He peered at her. Even for a ghost, she looked thin and transparent.
    He gazed down at his own hands. He could see through them.
    Neither of them had enough energy to yell boo!
    â€œLater,” Robbie mumbled. “I’m too pooped to move.”
    * * *
    What an exhausting, weird day, Oliver thought as he stood at his locker. He sorted through his books, figuring out which ones to take home and which to leave at school.
    Pencils in the ceiling. Spinning in class. Kids talking about him. And then science class.
    Oliver’s lammed his locker shut. He didn’t even wantto think about everything that had happened. He just wanted to go home and forget all about this day.
    It was late. Most of the kids had already left. Oliver headed for the exit.
    That was when he got the weird feeling that someone was watching him.
    It felt like a tingle between his shoulder blades. And an itch on his scalp, as if his hair were trying to stand on end.
    He turned quickly to look over his shoulder.
    There was no one there.
    Cut it out, Oliver scolded himself. You’re being a jerk.
    Maybe all the strange things at school had set him on edge. Because, no doubt about it, he felt very nervous.
    Nervous enough to pick up his pace. He clutched his science book and darted through the empty halls.
    He hated feeling jumpy. But he couldn’t stop the feeling.
    There it was, that tingle again in his back!
    A wave of prickles