Stink and the Midnight Zombie Walk Read Free Page B

mountains of spinach and piles of wrinkly old carrots.”
     
    “It won’t hurt you to eat school lunch just this once. Who knows? Maybe today will be your lucky day and they’ll serve something really interesting.”
     
    “You mean like mini cupcakes with no sneaky carrots in them? And no raisins?”
     
    “Remember how we talked about eating more fruit, Stink?”
     
    “Bus. Bye!” said Stink. He grabbed the money, gave Mom a kiss, and ran out the door.
     

     
    *  *  *
     
    Stink read
Dr. Decay and the Zombies of Doom
all the way to the bus stop. He read it on the bus. He read it in the hall on the way to Room 2D.
     
    “Hey, Zink!” somebody called.
     
    “Talk. Bad. Read. Good!” said Stink.
     
    Morning announcements. “Attention zecond- and zird-graders,” said the principal. “Are you ready to read to a zombie? Only six thousand four hundred ninety-three minutes to go! Please make your way down to the K-1 classrooms. Let’s get reading!”
     
    “I read two hundred forty-seven minutes so far this week,” Sophie told Stink.
     
    “Way to go!” said Stink. “Now there’s only six thousand four hundred ninety-nine minus two hundred and forty-seven minutes to go!”
     
    When Class 2D got to the kindergarten classroom, twenty-two little green-faced zombies sat cross-legged on carpet squares. There were zombie princesses and ballerinas, pirates and astronauts.
     
    Stink sat down next to a boy named Zack in a train outfit. “I’m Thomas the Tank Zombie,” said the boy.
     
    “I like your costume,” said Stink. “I never saw a zombie train before.”
     
    Zack nodded. Stink started to read. He read
The Very Hungry Zombie Caterpillar.
It was just like
The Very Hungry Caterpillar,
only he threw in the word
zombie
a lot. And at the end, the caterpillar ate a brain instead of a green leaf.
     

     
    Riley Rottenberger went to get more books from the library. When she came back, she whispered to Heather Strong. Heather whispered to Webster. Webster whispered to Sophie. And Sophie whispered to Stink.
     
    “A zombie ate the lunch lady?” Stink blurted out loud.
     
    The room fell dead silent.
     
    “Shh!” said Sophie. “You’ll scare the little kids.”
     
    “A fourth-grader told Riley when she was in the library,” said Webster. “Fourth-graders don’t lie.”
     
    Class 2D was buzzing with the rumor:
     
    “Zombies have taken over the cafeteria.”
     
    “Zombie Island!”
     
    “All the food is gross and putrid.”
     
    “Great,” said Stink. “Of all the days my mom makes me get hot lunch.”
     
    “Mine too,” said Webster.
     
    “Mine three,” said Sophie. “She made a big deal about it.”
     
    “Same here,” said Stink. “Now we’re gonna have to eat
brains
.”
     
    Mrs. D. held up two fingers. “Boys and girls, I’m proud of all the great reading here today. Thanks to your help, we’ve just added over four thousand more minutes to our reading challenge!”
     
    “YAY!”
     
    “Lunchtime, second-graders,” said Mrs. D.
     
    Nobody moved. Nobody stood to line up.
     
    At last, one brave soul stood up: Riley Rottenberger. “You guys! Do you
really
think there’s a
zombie
in the
cafeteria
? Right here at Virginia Dare School?”
     
    “No,” Stink said out loud. But inside there was a tiny little
yes
.
     
    Stink and the rest of the second-graders walked down the hall. Stink could not help imagining a giant alien zombie taking a bite out of Mrs. Swanson, the lunch lady.
     
    When he got to the cafeteria, everything
seemed
to be normal. Except for the banner that read VOMITERIA in pukey green letters.
     

     
    Then he stepped inside.
     
    Gadzooks!
The windows were swamp-green. The tables were puke-green. And gross green stuff hung from the ceiling. “The cafeteria got slimed!” said Stink.
     
    “And it smells like a swamp,” said Webster.
     
    The Vomiteria buzzed with excitement. Everybody was talking at once.
     
    Stink grabbed a tray. He started