Why I Quit Zombie School Read Free

I didn’t know what they were talking about.
    “Well …” A grin spread over Wayne’s face. “Then you have to go out, right?”
    “Right,” I muttered.
    I suddenly heard a terrible groan from the Dining Hall. Choking sounds. Someone heaving and groaning.
    Was some kid in trouble?
    Wayne and Angelo didn’t seem bothered by it. They didn’t even turn to the door.
    “The gym is up here,” Angelo said. He gave me a gentle push. “It’s a good gym. Everythingis pretty new. And Coach Meadows still has the juice.”
    Did I hear right?
    “Still has the
what
?” I asked.
    Wayne pushed in the gym door with a big fist, and I followed them in.
    I heard shouts and the thump of a ball on the hardwood floor. In the middle of the gym, younger kids were playing a volleyball game.
    I stepped beside Wayne and Angelo and watched them play. The boy who was serving swung his hand up slowly and popped the ball over the net. The players on the other team lurched awkwardly toward the ball. Hands slapped wildly at it. Too late. The ball hit the floor.
    Wow
, I thought.
Everyone is so slow. If they all move in slow motion like that, I’m going to be a SUPERSTAR here!
    “Coach Meadows isn’t here,” Wayne said. “He only teaches the older kids.”
    “He’ll be at our practice after classes,” Angelo said. “We’ll put in a good word for you.”
    “Thanks,” I said.
    I glanced back at the volleyball game. These kids were really lame. They needed to get moving, to get their energy up. It looked like they were all sleepwalking.
    “We have soccer practice in the afternoon and usually at night after dinner,” Wayne said. Heleaned over me. “You don’t have night problems, do you?”
    I swallowed. “Night problems?”
    He shrugged his big shoulders. “Sometimes I get moon fever,” he said, lowering his voice to a whisper.
    Moon fever?
    “Like when the moon goes dark,” he said, still whispering. “Not when there’s a full moon. A full moon, I’m there. I’m really there. Know what I’m saying?”
    I nodded. “For sure.”
    Angelo snickered. “My brother is totally weird.”
    Wayne shook his head. “Angelo gets the fever, too. He just won’t admit it.”
    The volleyball came bouncing across the floor toward us. I picked it up and tossed it back to the players. “I have to go find my family,” I said. “Is there more to the tour?”
    Wayne pointed to a red door. “That’s the locker room,” he said. Then he motioned to the green door farther ahead. “And down that hall is the Reviver Room.”
    Again, I wasn’t sure I heard right. “Reviver Room?” I stared at the narrow green door.
    He nodded. “You know. In case you need it.”
    I’ve always heard that twins are strange. That they live in their own world. Wayne and Angelo were definitely proving it.
    I’ve read some good horror stories about twins. One twin is always good, and one is evil.
    But Wayne and Angelo both seemed like nice guys. I guessed that being identical like that just made them strange. All that talk about moon fever and a Reviver Room had to be some kind of private joke that the two of them only shared.
    “We’ll take you back to your family,” Wayne said. We headed back to the gym doors. The volleyball game continued in slow motion behind us.
    We made our way down the hall, which was crowded with kids coming from lunch. A few of them called out to the twins.
    As we came to the stairway, I saw a book on the floor that someone must have dropped. I guess Wayne didn’t see it. Because he stepped on it — and it slid out from under him.
    Wayne let out a cry, and his arms shot straight up into the air. He toppled into the stairway, struggling to catch his balance.
    And fell hard, headfirst.
    His head made a
craaack
as it hit the concrete step. On the next step, I heard a sick
splaaat
.
    Wayne groaned. Then he plunged down the whole stairway, his head thudding on every step.

6
    I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out.
    A