by P. J. Night
She gestured toward the cloth-covered object in front of her. “I present to you—Andromeda. With her Perseus, together at last.”
Someone whisked the cloth away. Now the applause was loud and enthusiastic. “Amazing,” said the man who had frowned at the girls.
“I can’t see!” said Skye.
“Me neither,” said Hailey. She was standing on tiptoe and craning her neck. “We’ll just have to wait to get up there.”
Even the most remarkable statue can be looked at only so long. After a minute or two the crowd in front of the girls began to melt away so that they could move forward.
When they reached the spot where the statues were standing, all three girls gasped.
The Andromeda statue was seated. The one of Perseus hovered over it protectively. Like so many of the other statues, the stone figures bore identical looks of horror.
They were perfect replicas of Cora and Evan.
Hailey broke a long silence. “No way.”
Skye sounded troubled. “It’s not that they’re like Cora and Evan. It’s that they’re exactly like them. Exactly,” she said again. “Did Cora and Evan model for these?”
“Both statues are ancient,” came Eunice’s voice behind her. Startled, the girls turned to see that the two Metaxas sisters had come up right behind them.
“Many centuries old,” Eunice continued. “Yet there can be no doubt that they were created by the same artist.”
“There sure can’t.” Amber was staring at the statue that looked like Cora. “They look so real! In fact, they look like people we actually know,” she added.
“Many Greeks have the same facial features,” said Stesha. “Perhaps your friends are of Greek ancestry?”
“Our friend Cora is,” Hailey told her.
“Many sculptors rely on facial templates for inspiration. Your friend’s Greek heritage combined with a similar facial template might explain the likeness.”
“I—I guess so,” Hailey said after a second. But she sounded as if it hadn’t explained anything. “Cora looks exactly like the Andromeda statue. Or the Andromeda statue looks exactly like Cora. Or something.”
“Anyway, I wish Cora were here to see this,” Skye said, sighing.
The crowd was thinning out now. As Amber and Skye took a few steps toward the labyrinth’s exit, Hailey ventured one last glance at the Andromeda statue. “Hey, guys,” Hailey called, turning to the other girls. “Wasn’t the statue’s mouth closed a few minutes—”
Behind her, Hailey felt a rough stone hand brush against her own—the Andromeda statue was reaching for her.
Hailey jerked her hand away in horror and ran after her friends to the exit.
Abby Miller stared at the contents of the grocery cart. “Okay, we’ve got soda, we’ve got veggies and dip, we’ve got popcorn,” she said. “Do we need anything else?”
“What about chips?” Leah Rosen, Abby’s best friend, asked.
Abby nodded. “You go get some chips and I’ll find something good for breakfast.”
Leah disappeared around the corner, leaving the cart behind for Abby. Abby wandered through the store to the frozen food section and stood in front of the breakfast case, weighing the waffle options: plain or buttermilk or blueberry or apple cinnamon or—
Suddenly Abby had the creepiest feeling that she was being watched. In the chrome edges of the case, she thought she saw something move.
But when she glanced behind her, no one was there.
She was the only person in the frozen food aisle.
Abby turned back to the freezer case and opened the glass door. She was reaching for a box of buttermilk waffles when—
“BOO!”
Abby shrieked as she felt a swift tug on her hair. She spun around to see Leah grinning at her.
“Gotcha!” Leah exclaimed. “Wow, I really spooked you, huh? You have goose bumps!”
“Yeah, from the freezer.” Abby laughed, gesturing to the frosty air pouring out of the open case.
“Sure, Ab. Whatever you say,” Leah replied, her eyes twinkling. “Check out what I got!”
Abby wrinkled her nose. “Barbecue chips? You know I don’t like barbecue!”
“More for me,” Leah said with a grin. “Don’t worry, you’re covered.” She tossed a bag of tortilla chips into the cart and placed a jar of salsa next to it.
Abby added two boxes of frozen waffles. “We’ll order the pizzas after everybody else gets to my house, so I think that’s about everything we need.”
Leah frowned. “You’re forgetting one essential—dessert!”
“What’s wrong with me?” Abby said, laughing. “What should we get? Cookies?”
“Brownies?” suggested Leah. The girls exchanged a glance.
“Both!” they said at the same time.
“Come on, desserts are in the next aisle,” Leah said as she pushed the cart around the corner. Suddenly she backed up—right into Abby!
“Leah! What are you—,” Abby began.
But Leah frantically waved her hands at her friend and whispered, “Shh! Shh!”
“What? What is it?” Abby asked as she followed Leah to the opposite end of the aisle.
Leah leaned close to Abby’s ear and whispered, “Max! Max Menendez! He’s right over there getting candy! Do I look okay?”
Abby reached out and smoothed out the bumps in her friend’s blond ponytail. It was no secret that Leah had a major crush on Max. Every time she was around him, she got so nervous that she could barely speak. “You look great,” Abby assured Leah. “Want to go say hi?”
“Are you crazy?” Leah gasped as she tried to get a glimpse of her reflection in the freezer case’s shiny silver handle.
“Come on!” Abby urged her friend as she gave Leah a little push. “This is a perfect opportunity to talk to him! I’ll come with you.”
But Leah shook her head. “I’ll probably say something stupid,” she replied. “Let’s just wait here until he leaves.”
“Come on, Leah!” Abby whispered. “How will you two ever go out if you won’t talk to him? And this’ll be a great story to tell Chloe and Nora at the party tonight.”
“Party? What party?” a voice asked.
Leah and Abby spun around.
It was Max!
He smiled at the girls. “You’re having a party and you didn’t invite me?”
Abby looked at Leah, thinking it would be the perfect time for her friend to say something to Max. But Leah just stood there—as frozen as the peas across the aisle. Her eyes were so wide that she even looked a little scared.
“Um . . . of course we didn’t invite you,” Abby said, grinning playfully as she tried to save the situation. “It’s a sleepover party. No boys allowed.”
“Well, fine,” Max said, pretending to be hurt. “I’m busy, anyway.”
“Oh yeah?” asked Abby. “Doing what?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Max said with a laugh. “Nah, I’m just messing with you guys. I’m going to a movie with Jake and Toby. I thought I’d snag some candy before the show.”
“That’s cool,” Abby said as her eyes lit up. She didn’t notice the way Leah began to watch her. “What are you guys gonna see?”
“Don’t know yet,” Max replied. He laughed. “I mean, obviously some snacks were the priority, you know?”
“Well, have fun,” Abby said. “We’ve gotta go. See you later, Max.”
“See you guys,” Max said. “Hey, Leah—heads up!”
Leah jumped as Max tossed a candy bar to her. “I got too much,” he said with a smile. “You want one?”
“Uh, yeah, sure,” Leah stammered. “Th-thanks, Max.”
Max flashed another grin at the girls as he sauntered down the aisle. As soon as he was gone, Leah grabbed Abby’s arm. “Wow! He gave me a candy bar!”
Abby smiled at Leah’s excitement. “Kind of,” she pointed out. “You still have to pay for it.”
But Leah was too distracted to pay atten
tion to Abby. “Max is so cute!” she gushed. “I wish I didn’t get so tongue-tied around him.”
“Just relax,” Abby said to her friend. “He’s only a boy.”
“Only a boy!” exclaimed Leah. “How are you not as in love with him as I am?”
Abby thought for a moment about Max’s spiky black hair and his big smile. He was definitely a hottie—but there was a guy at school who Abby thought was even hotter. “Yeah, he’s pretty awesome,” she said carefully.
But Leah gave Abby a piercing look. “You think there’s somebody cuter than Max?” she asked. “Who?”
Abby pressed her lips together and shook her head. Her crush was top secret—and she wanted to keep it that way.
“Oh, come on, Abby,” Leah begged. “I told you a million years ago that I liked Max. You owe me!”
Abby laughed. “I’m not telling. It’s not my fault you can’t keep your own secrets.”
“I’ll figure out who it is,” Leah said. “It’s not Toby, is it?”
“Not even close,” Abby replied. “Now would you please stop? I’m not telling!”
Leah clapped her hands. “I know! I know! It’s Jake, isn’t it?”
Abby’s mouth dropped open. “No! Why would you even think that?”
“Jake?” squealed Leah. “Seriously? You like Jake?”
“No way,” Abby said firmly. “Please, can you drop it? I mean it, Leah.”
Leah sighed. “Fine, be that way. But I will find out for sure who you like.”
Abby was silent as she pushed the cart toward the produce aisle to get some strawberries for breakfast. She knew that when Leah was determined to find something out, there was no stopping her.
And Abby also knew that even though Leah was her very best friend, she couldn’t keep a secret. Leah might be shy around boys, but she wasn’t shy when it came to gossip. Abby knew she meant well, but telling Leah something in confidence was as good as posting it online.
Before long, the whole world would know it too.
WANT MORE CREEPINESS?
Then you’re in luck, because P. J. Night has some more scares for you and your friends!
THROUGH THE LABYRINTH
Uh-oh! Looks like you’re stuck in the twisted labyrinth of the Metaxas Sculpture Garden! Can you find your way out before it’s too late?
YOU’RE INVITED TO . . .
CREATE YOUR OWN SCARY STORY!
Do you want to turn your sleepover into a creepover? Telling a spooky story is a great way to set the mood. P. J. Night has written a few sentences to get you started. Fill in the rest of the story and have fun scaring your friends.
You can also collaborate with your friends on this story by taking turns. Have everyone at your sleepover sit in a circle. Pick one person to start. She will add a sentence or two to the story, cover what she wrote with a piece of paper leaving only the last word or phrase visible, and then pass the story to the next girl. Once everyone has taken a turn, read the scary story you created together aloud!
I love volunteering at the library after school. Sometimes I read to little kids or help the librarians plan activities, but the one thing I hate is going down into the basement. The library is ancient, and the basement is dusty and moldy and crumbling. Spiders spin webs in between the rusty old bookshelves where we store the books that are too damaged to be checked out.
Today started out like any other volunteer day, that is, until the head librarian asked me to help sort books in the basement for the library’s used-book sale. As I walked down the steps, I saw that a dim light was already glowing in one corner.
“Hello” came a voice from the darkness. . . .
* * *
* * *
* * *
A lifelong night owl,P. J. Night often works furiously into the wee hours of the morning, writing down spooky tales and dreaming up new stories of the supernatural and otherworldly. Although P. J.’s whereabouts are unknown at this time, we suspect the author lives in a drafty, old mansion where the floorboards creak when no one is there and the flickering candlelight creates shadows that creep along the walls. We truly wish we could tell you more, but we’ve been sworn to keep P. J.’s identity a secret . . . and it’s a secret we will take to our graves!
Visit us at
KIDS.SimonandSchuster.com
authors.simonandschuster.com/P-J-Night
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SIMON SPOTLIGHT
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
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First Simon Spotlight paperback edition July 2016
Copyright © 2016 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Minotaur and maze © 2016 by iStock/Thinkstock
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
SIMON SPOTLIGHT and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
YOU’RE INVITED TO A CREEPOVER is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Text by Ann Hodgman
For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected].
Designed by Nick Sciacca
Cover art by Emily Hare
ISBN 978-1-4814-2922-1
ISBN 978-1-4814-2923-8 (eBook)
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2014935638
