R. L. Stine_Mostly Ghostly 06 Read Free

tongue free. Then I took a deep breath, worked up my courage, and started pedaling toward Traci.

5
    I W AVED TO TRACI , but she was looking the other way, watching for the bus. As I pedaled closer, I heard a shout behind me.
    I turned —and saw Nicky and Tara riding toward me on bikes. “Oh noooo,” I groaned.
    I put on the brakes. They rode in circles around me. “What are you doing here?” I cried. “Where did you get the bikes?”
    “Borrowed them,” Nicky said. “We'll return them. Really.”
    “We'll help you impress Traci,” Tara said.
    “No. Please —” I said.
    “Show her how cool you are,” Tara said. “Do a few X Games moves on your bike. Some awesome wheelies. She'll
beg
you to let her come to your party!”
    “No. No way,” I said. “I'm
begging
you two:
go away.
Don't try to help me.”
    “Of
course
we'll help you,” Tara said. “What are friends for, Maxie?”
    “Hannnnh. Hannnnnh.” My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth again. I turned and saw Traci staring at me, her eyes bulging.
    She let out a scream. “Max! Those bikes — they're moving by themselves!”
    Think fast, Max.
    “Yes,” I said. “They're dirt bikes.”
    Traci's mouth dropped open. “Huh?”
    “They're looking for some dirt,” I explained.
    She squinted at me, confused.
    “Let's really impress her,” Tara said.
    “Yeah. Let's give her something to scream about!” Nicky said.
    The two ghosts were off their bikes now. Tara grabbed my handlebars. Nicky grabbed the back of the seat.
    “No. Wait —” I begged. “Please —don't do this!”
    “Don't do
what
?” Traci asked.
    “I'm not talking to you,” I said. “I'm talking to my bike.”
    “Here we go, Max,” Tara said. “Hold on tight.”
    “Max, you're totally weird. Why are you talking to your bike?” Traci asked.
    “Y-you'll see,” I stammered.
    And then the two ghosts f loated into the air, carrying me and my bike with them.
    I heard Traci gasp as she watched me f ly offthe ground. I sailed across two parked cars, just barely making it over their roofs.
    Tara flew higher, pulling up my top wheel so it looked like I was doing an awesome wheelie in midair.
    Traci squealed in shock.
    So did I.
    “She loves it, Max. This is really impressing her,” Tara said. “Hold on!”
    The two ghosts spun the bike around.
    “I … I'm getting dizzy up here,” I moaned.
    “Don't worry. We're bringing you down now,” Nicky said.
    I felt the bike start to dive. My stomach lurched into my throat. I took a deep breath, leaned forward, and gripped the handlebars tighter.
    “Traci will
love
this perfect landing,” Tara said.
    The front of the bike dipped hard.
    “Hey, Tara! Watch
out
!” I heard Nicky scream. “Watch where you're
going
!”
    “Oops,” Tara replied.
    I felt a hard bump. It took me a second to realize my front wheel had smashed onto a car roof.
    In the next second, I went flying off the bike, sailing through the air. Screaming all the way.
    “Oof!” I landed hard —
on top of Traci
!
    She let out a cry as we both collapsed in a heapon the ground. I couldn't move. There I was, sprawled on her back.
    She was stuck under me, her face in the dirt. “Get off! Get off me!” she sputtered.
    “Uh … would you like to come to my birthday party?” I asked.

6
    T HE NEXT NIGHT, MY friend Quentin came over to rehearse our magic act. Quentin has straight blond hair and shiny blue eyes. He has dimples in both cheeks when he smiles. Girls at school think he's cute.
    Tonight he wore a long-sleeved black T-shirt over baggy khaki cargo pants, torn at one knee.
    I juggled three duckpins. For once, I didn't drop any. Quentin watched with a smile on his face. His eyes were so round and blue, they looked like they were made of glass.
    He took the duckpins from me and pulled three red rubber balls from his magic kit. Then he juggled the duckpins
and
the red balls at the same time.
    “That's excellent!” I said, touching knuckles with him and