Night of the living dummy by R.L. Stine | Page 9

He tossed a handful of grass at her. Kris brushed the green blades off Mr. Wood's wooden head. She rubbed her hand gently over the dummy's painted red hair. "You're hurting Mr. Wood's feelings," she told Cody. Cody climbed to his feet. "Why do you want to mess with that thing, anyway?" he asked, pushing his white-blond hair back off his forehead. "Because it's fun," Kris replied. "Is that the real reason?" Cody demanded. "Well . . . I guess I want to show Lindy that I'm better at it than she is." "You two are weird!" Cody declared. "See you in school." He gave her a little wave, then turned and headed for his home down the block. Kris pulled down the blankets and climbed into bed. Pale moonlight filtered in through the bedroom window. Yawning, she glanced at the clock-radio. Nearly ten. She could hear Lindy brushing her teeth in the bathroom across the hall. Why does Lindy always hum when she brushes her teeth? Kris wondered. How can one twin sister do so many annoying things? She gave Mr. Wood one last glance. He was propped in the chair in front of the window, his hands carefully placed in his lap, his white sneakers hanging over the chair edge. He looks like a real person, Kris thought sleepily. Tomorrow I'm going to check out some good joke books from the library at school. I can be funnier than Lindy. I know I can. She settled back sleepily on her pillow. I'll be asleep as soon as we turn off the lights, she thought. A few seconds later, Lindy entered the room, wearing her nightshirt and carrying Slappy under one arm. "You asleep?" she asked Kris. "Almost," Kris replied, yawning loudly. "I've been studying for the math final all night. Where've you been?" "Over at Alice's," Lindy told her, setting Slappy down in the chair beside Mr. Wood. "Some kids were over, and I practiced my act for them. They laughed so hard, I thought they'd split a gut. When Slappy and I did our rap routine, Alice spit her chocolate milk out her nose. What a riot!" "That's nice," Kris said without enthusiasm. "Guess you and Slappy are ready for Amy's birthday party on Saturday." "Yeah," Lindy replied. She placed Slappy's arm around Mr. Wood's shoulder. "They look so cute together," she said. Then she noticed the clothing neatly draped over the desk chair. "What's that?" she asked Kris. Kris raised her head from the pillow to see what her sister was pointing at. "My outfit for tomorrow," she told her. "We're having a dress-up party in Miss Finch's class. It's a farewell party. For Margot. You know. The student teacher." Lindy stared at the clothes. "Your Betsey Johnson skirt? Your silk blouse?" "We're supposed to get really dressed up," Kris said, yawning. "Can we go to sleep now?" "Yeah. Sure." Lindy made her way to her bed, sat down, and clicked off the bed-table lamp. "Are you getting any better with Mr. Wood?" she asked, climbing between the sheets. Kris was stung by the question. It was such an obvious put-down. "Yeah. I'm getting really good. I did some stuff for Cody. Out in the back yard. Cody laughed so hard, he couldn't breathe. Really. He was holding his sides. He said Mr. Wood and I should be on TV." "Really?" Lindy replied after a long moment's hesitation. "That's weird. I never thought Cody had much of a sense of humor. He's always so grim. I don't think I've ever seen him laugh." "Well, he was laughing at Mr. Wood and me," Kris insisted, wishing she were a better liar. "Awesome," Lindy muttered. "I can't wait to see your act." Neither can I, Kris thought glumly. A few seconds later, they were both asleep. Their mother's voice, calling from downstairs, awoke them at seven the next morning. Bright, morning-orange sunlight poured in through the window. Kris could hear birds chirping happily in the old maple tree. "Rise and shine! Rise and shine!" Every morning, Mrs. Powell shouted up the same words. Kris rubbed the sleep from her eyes, then stretched her arms high over her head. She glanced across the room, then uttered a quiet gasp. "Hey � what's going on?" She reached across to Lindy's bed and shook Lindy by the shoulder. "What's going on?" "Huh?" Lindy, startled, sat straight up. "What's the joke? Where is he?" Kris demanded. "Huh?" Kris pointed to the chair across the room. Sitting straight up in the chair, Slappy grinned back at them, bathed in morning sunlight. But Mr. Wood was gone. Kris blinked several times and pushed herself up in bed with both hands. Her left hand tingled. She must have been sleeping on it, she realized. "What?