Ghouls Gone Wild Read Free Page A

down. My dad is huge and red-faced, with a shiny head that's almost totally bald except for a strip of short bristly hair that curves around from ear to ear. He has a bright red and blue tattoo of a fire-breathing dragon on one bicep.
    My mom and dad look really funny when theystand together. He's so big and wide, and she's tiny and short and skitters around like a little bird.
    “Steak. My fave,” I said. I leaned over my plate and took a deep sniff. “Mmmmm.”
    “A special dinner tonight, Max,” Mom said. “Since you had a special day. And your dad has a special announcement to make. How did it go at school this morning? Did the mayor like your speech?”
    “Uh…yeah,” I muttered.
    “Wow. That car totally blew up!” Dad said. He already had steak sauce all over his cheeks and chin. “Did you see that head-on crash? Whoa, boy! Show that one again!”
    He always talks to the TV while we eat.
    “Maxie, would you like mashed potatoes?” Mom asked.
    “Maxie likes soft food,” Colin said. “Because he's a baby.”
    “Colin, don't call your brother names on his special day,” Mom scolded.
    “I wasn't,” Colin said.
    Dad gulped down a huge chunk of steak. Still swallowing, he pointed to me with his fork. “Max, you were there when it happened. I heard some jerky kid at your school knocked the mayor into the new swimming pool.”
    Gulp.
    I decided to play innocent. “Really?” I said.
    “And then the kid de-pantsed the mayor! Hee-hee-hee. He pulled Stank's pants off in front of everyone!” Dad started laughing and choking at the same time. Mom had to walk over and slap him on the back.
    “Isn't that a riot?” Dad pounded the table with one hand. “Can you believe a stupid kid did that to the mayor?”
    “I…can't believe it,” I mumbled. I hid my face behind my pile of potatoes.
    “Hey, check it out!” Colin cried. He pointed to the TV. “It's on the news. The thing at your school. Watch!”
    I couldn't breathe. My heart sank to my knees. I wanted to dive headfirst into the mashed potatoes and not come out.
    All four of us watched me on TV as I swung the trophy, clonked Mayor Stank in the head, and sent him flying into the pool. And then, a few seconds later, there I was, leaning over the edge of the pool, yanking off the big man's trousers.
    Must See TV.
    It took a while. But Mom finally recognized me. She pressed her hands to her face. “Oh no. Oh no. It was
you
, Max.”
    “You stupid klutz!” Colin cried. He tossed a dinner roll across the table. It bounced off my forehead. “Max, now the
whole city
knows what a total jerk you are! How could you do it?”
    “I had help,” I muttered.
    Dad turned away from the TV. He wiped the steak sauce from his face with his T-shirt sleeve. He was staring hard at me the whole time.
    “You're a disgrace, Max,” he said. “It's a good thing we're moving away.”
    My heart skipped a beat. I let out a loud, startled gasp. “Huh? Moving?”
    Dad nodded. “Yeah. That's my special announcement. I got a job in Dallas. We're selling this house and moving to Texas.”

8
    M OM SMILED AT C OLIN and me. “That's why we're having this lovely steak dinner. To celebrate the good news.”
    Good
news?
    Was
it good news?
    Leave my friends? My school?
    Start over again in a whole new place?
    That's not good news. That's
bad
news.
    But whoa. Wait. Hold on a minute.
    No more ghosts! I could get away from those ghosts. Have a normal life.
    Goodbye, Nicky and Tara. Goodbye, pests! I'm off to Texas and leaving you behind.
    No way
could they ruin my life in Texas!
    Colin turned to Dad. Another car crash came on the TV news. Colin had to shake Dad by the shoulders to get his attention. “You know I've got to work out, Dad. Keep my body fit. Will there be room in the new house for my own gym?”
    Dad nodded. “Yeah. Plenty of room. Wow.That guy got rear-ended by three SUVs. His car looks like an accordion!”
    Colin grinned at me. “My own gym. Max, I won't have to use