by R. L. Stine
My mouth dropped open. “Huh? You’re joking, right?”
“No joke,” Kelly replied. “I swear. We’ll stop being mean to you. And we’ll stop calling you Sluggs. And we’ll stop making you look like a jerk in front of everyone. I swear.”
“Why?” I said.
“We’re not finished,” Travis said. “Give us a chance, Barton.”
“You know the Crokodile Tears concert at the civic center?” Kelly said. “You heard about it?”
I nodded.
“It’s the hottest ticket in town,” he continued. “I mean, it’s been sold out for months.”
“I know,” I said. “Everyone is into Crokodile Tears. They’re awesome.”
“Well, Travis and I will give you a ticket for the concert,” Kelly said.
I stared hard at him. “What kind of joke is this?”
Kelly shook his head. “Not a joke. We’ll give you a ticket. Ten rows from the stage.”
“And we’ll let you hang with us at the concert,” Travis chimed in.
“For real?” I still didn’t believe them.
“Yes. For real,” Travis answered. “It’s all real, Barton. You just have to do something for us.”
I squinted at him. “What do I have to do?”
“It’s simple,” Travis said.
“Totally easy,” Kelly agreed.
“What?” I demanded. “What do I have to do?”
“Write our final book reports,” Travis said.
“It’s so easy for you, Barton,” Kelly said. “The book reports count for half our grade.”
“And we haven’t even read the books yet,” Travis said.
“What books did you choose?” I asked.
They both shook their heads.
“We didn’t even choose yet,” Travis said. “We’re totally behind. You could choose whatever books you want, Barton.”
“And write the book reports for us,” Kelly said. “Yours is already written, right?”
I nodded. “Of course. It’s due on Wednesday.”
“Then you have time to write ours,” Kelly said. “You’ll get an A on yours. You always do. You can just get us B’s for ours.”
“Yeah. B’s would be awesome,” Travis agreed. He raised his eyes to mine. “And if you do it, Kelly and I will be your best friends. We’ll be nice to you, Barton.”
“We’ll be super nice,” Kelly said. “You won’t believe how nice we’ll be. Seriously. We’ll be best friends forever.”
I blinked a few times. My head felt like it was spinning the way Slappy’s head spun. I stared at them. Studied them. Were they serious? Yes. They looked serious.
I started to think about how my life would change. If I wrote their book reports for them, it would all be different. No more torture. No more mean tricks. No more making me feel like a total jerk.
I’d be free. Free of the two bullies who had been ruining every day of my life.
But, whoa. Wait.
I wasn’t thinking clearly at all.
This was cheating. The worst kind of cheating. The most dangerous kind of cheating.
It could get all three of us kicked out of school. Even worse, it would go on my permanent record. My crime would follow me for the rest of my life.
If I said yes to this, it could ruin my life forever. I’d be a disgrace. Everyone would know. My parents would be horrified and ashamed of me. They would never let me forget what I had done.
On the other hand …
It wouldn’t be hard to write two more book reports. Writing comes so easily to me. And I could write them in different styles. Make them sound different from each other. That would be fun.
And think how much better my life would be. How much happier I would be without the two bullies. They’d go from bullies to buddies. We’d be a squad.
I didn’t realize my eyes had been shut while I thought about all this. I opened my eyes to see the two guys staring hard at me.
Travis held Slappy in his arms. He made the dummy’s mouth move up and down. And in a high, squeaky voice, he made Slappy say: “Well, Barton? What’s your answer? Will you do it?”
“No,” I said.
Their mouths dropped open. Travis tossed Slappy onto the bed.
“Are you sure?” Travis asked. His hands curled into fists at his sides. “You don’t want to make the wrong choice, do you?”
Kelly squinted hard at me. His cheeks had angry red circles on them.
They both studied me, standing tense and stiff. Waiting for me to say yes.
“No, I can’t do it,” I said. My voice came out tiny and shaky.
Kelly shook his head. “Maybe you need some time to think about it, Sluggs,” he said. “You might be making a big mistake. Know what I’m saying?”
“A very big mistake,” Travis added. He pounded a fist into his other hand.
I got his meaning.
“Things could get tough if you make the wrong choice,” Kelly said. His cheeks were still an angry red, almost purple now. His whole body was tensed, as if ready to fight.
A chill ran down my back. My heart was racing in my chest.
Sure, I was scared of these two guys. But I was even more frightened of what would happen to me if I was caught cheating for them.
Travis picked Slappy up from the bed. He twisted the dummy’s head again. Then he lowered the dummy in front of him—and kicked it across the room.
Slappy’s wooden head bounced twice against the floor. The dummy sprawled all bent and twisted, facedown.
I tried to swallow, but my mouth was dry as cotton.
I’m going to do the right thing, I told myself. I’m not going to cheat. Even if it puts me in a world of pain. The two boys started to the door. “Think it over, Sluggs,” Kelly said. He gave Slappy a hard kick in the stomach. The dummy flew up, then flopped down again with a thud.
“We’re nice guys,” Travis said. “We’re going to give you a second chance to make the right choice.”
I stood there without moving and listened to them clomp down the stairs. The front door slammed behind them.
I let out a long whoosh of air. I didn’t realize I’d been holding my breath.
“Barton, you did the right thing,” I said out loud.
Or did I? I lifted the dummy off the floor. I straightened his suit jacket and placed him carefully on his back on the bed. Slappy grinned up at me as if nothing had happened.
As if I hadn’t made a decision that would ruin the rest of my life.
I pulled the two marionettes from the closet. Travis and Kelly had tangled their strings and I wanted to untangle them. But my hands were shaking too hard. It would have to wait till later.
I knew what I wanted. I wanted to walk over to Lizzie’s house and tell her what Travis and Kelly wanted me to do. I knew Lizzie would back me up. I knew she’d agree that I did the right thing.
I left Mom and Dad a note saying I was going over to Lizzie’s. Then I stepped out the front door. I had a sudden shiver of fear. Were Travis and Kelly waiting for me outside the house?
No.
Chill, Barton. You’ve got to calm down. I started to walk. The storm clouds had cleared, and the sun was high in a solid blue sky. I raised my face to it and let the warmth spread over me. I suddenly wished I was at the beach, listening to the steady roar of ocean waves.
I love the beach. That’s the nice thing about living in Atlantic City. You’re never far from the ocean.
I was still thinking about the ocean and the splash of waves when I heard a dog’s sharp bark. I snapped out of my daydream. And saw the huge monster dog, Kraken, a few houses ahead.
Snarling, baring his long fangs, Kraken rose up on his hind paws, pulling hard at his chain leash. The links made a snapping sound.
And there were Travis and Kelly. They were down on their knees in the grass. They were huddled over the dog’s chain. Working on it. Loosening it! Unhooking it!
Kraken raised his head high and wailed at me.
“Hey, Sluggs—!” Travis shouted over the cry of the dog. “Want to play with the nice doggy?”
I started to run.
Laughing hard, the two boys pulled the chain free. I turned and saw Kraken come roaring at me. Huge paws thundering over the grass. His eyes bulging. His jaws snapping loudly. A huge wad of saliva flew from his open mouth as he came charging toward me.
I was too slow.
Kraken was too fast.
There was no time … no time.
I could still hear the two boys laughing as Kraken leaped to attack.
“Ohhhhh.” A moan escaped my throat as the big dog rose up in front of me.
I staggered back. Not quick enough.
The paws—as big as baseball gloves—pounded my shoulders.
I smelled his sour breath. It poured hot over my face like steam. The paws shoved hard, and I toppled onto my back.
I landed on the grass with a heavy thud. The dog pounced on me, covered me like a smothering fur blanket, hot and heavy.
He snapped his jaws. Sticky saliva spattered my face. The dog dug his teeth into my shirtsleeve and tore it right and left.
Buried beneath his weight, I struggled to push him off. But he was too heavy. I tried to roll out from under his heaving belly. But he pressed down hard, tearing at my shirt.
He’s going to rip my arm off! Then a wave of panic shot down my body as I felt his sharp, wet teeth wrap around my wrist.
I gasped. Shut my eyes. Waited for the pain.
And then I heard a shrill whistle. Three long bleats.
“Huh?” I uttered a sharp cry as I felt the dog’s teeth loosen.
I opened my eyes and saw Kraken backing away. Panting hard, head still lowered, growling, as if ready to return to the attack.
Three more whistle blasts. Like a traffic cop’s whistle.
I raised my head. And tried to focus my eyes.
Kraken made whimpering sounds as he turned and slumped back toward the Grimms’ house.
I slowly pulled myself to a sitting position. I felt dizzy. My eyes still wouldn’t focus. I was gasping for breath. My arm throbbed, but I hadn’t been cut.
“Hey, Barton—! Are you okay?”
I turned and saw Mr. Grimm running across the lawn toward me, a silvery whistle bobbing at his neck. Travis and Kelly stood in the driveway, their hands in their jeans pockets.
“Are you okay?” Mr. Grimm stopped and peered down at me.
“I … think so,” I choked out.
He took my hands and pulled me to my feet. He brushed leaves off the back of my shirt. “No cuts? No broken bones?”
I shook myself and rolled my arm around. “No. I guess I’m okay. Just scared. You know. My heart’s still going crazy.”
Mr. Grimm turned to Travis and Kelly, who had walked up behind him. “How did the dog get loose?”
Both boys shrugged.
“Beats me,” Travis said. “Kelly and I got here at just the right time.”
“Yeah,” Kelly agreed. “We saw the dog break loose and go running at Barton. We tried to stop Kraken. But we didn’t know how.”
Liars. “We were scared, too,” Travis said. “We thought the dog would turn and go after us!”
Liars. Liars. They removed the chain and set the monster after me. And now they’re lying about it with totally innocent faces. I took a deep breath. Then I opened my mouth to tell Mr. Grimm the truth. I wanted Travis and Kelly to be punished. I wanted Mr. Grimm to know what really happened.
Travis and Kelly were still talking, adding to their lies. “I wanted to tackle Kraken,” Travis said. “But he was too fast.”
“Barton is our friend. We wanted to save him,” Kelly said. “But we didn’t know if you were home.”
Lies, lies, lies. I took another deep breath. I changed my mind.
What was the point in trying to tell Mr. Grimm the truth?
Telling the truth wouldn’t help me at all.
Suddenly, I knew exactly what I had to do.
Two nights later, I was sitting on the edge of my bed with Slappy the dummy on my lap. I was practicing moving his mouth and making his eyes slide from side to side.
I knew I was wasting time. Stalling.
I didn’t want to do what I knew I had to do.
“What do you think of Travis and Kelly, Slappy?” I asked.
I made the dummy’s mouth click up and down. “Hate them!” I made Slappy say in a high, tinny voice. “I think they’re dummies!”
“What should we do when we see them?” I asked.
“I’d rather SEE them than BE them!” I made Slappy say. “Maybe I can work up a funny comedy act with this dummy,” I told myself. But not now. I had work to do.
I lay Slappy on his back on the bedspread and crossed the room to my laptop. I fought away the heavy feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach and sat down at the keyboard.
A few seconds later, I was typing away …
One of the great American novels of all time is … Yes. You guessed it. I was writing a book report for Travis.
And when I finished this one, I planned to write a book report for Kelly.
You don’t blame me—do you?
After the Kraken attack, I realized just how dangerous those two guys were. They didn’t care what they did to me. And it took that vicious dog to prove it to me.
Having Travis and Kelly as enemies had become too dangerous.
Yes, cheating for them was risky. Writing their book reports could get me into the worst kind of trouble.
But at least I’d be alive!
I definitely decided it would be worth the risk if they would be my friends from now on.
Did I tell Lizzie about it? No, I didn’t.
Lizzie was too sensible. And too afraid of doing anything bad.
She would tell me to go to my dad and tell him what Travis and Kelly did. And there was no way I would ever do that. Or, Lizzie would tell me to go see Mr. Plame and tell him about the deal the two boys wanted to make with me.
If I did anything like that, Travis and Kelly would become even worse enemies. Even more dangerous. My life would be over. I’d be as dead as that dummy lying on my bed.
I leaned into the glow of the laptop screen and typed away. I knew it wouldn’t take me long to write it.
I also planned to write Kelly’s report tonight. It wouldn’t take me more than an hour.
I was concentrating so hard, I didn’t hear someone enter my room and walk up behind me. “Huh?” I gasped when I felt a tap on my shoulder.
I spun around and blinked at my dad. “Hi.”
He chuckled. “You were working so hard, you didn’t even look up.” He squinted at the screen. “Barton, what are you writing?”
I hesitated. “Uh … a book report,” I said finally.
He turned his gaze on me. “Didn’t you already write it?”
“I’m … uh … I’m doing another one,” I stammered. “For extra credit.”
That wasn’t a lie. I was writing it for extra credit—extra credit from Travis and Kelly.
“You’re a good student,” Dad said. He started to leave, but then he turned back. “Barton, I’ve been meaning to ask you about those two boys. You know. The ones who were picking on you and giving you a tough time?”
I nodded. “No worries, Dad,” I said. “I’m taking care of them. They won’t be picking on me anymore.”
“Good,” Dad said. “Glad to hear it. Glad you handled it.” He turned and vanished downstairs.
“Oh, yes. I’m handling it,” I said, returning to the book report for Travis. “I’m taking care of it.”
Did it all work out the way I had hoped?
Not exactly.
“I’m very pleased with the job you people did on your final book reports,” Mr. Plame said. “Many of you did your best work of the year. That’s something to be proud of, everyone.”
It was one week later, and he was passing back our reports with a grade on them.
Was I tense? Was I shaking in my seat?
Well, yes. Not because of my report. I knew I’d get an A. I can’t help it. Writing is just easy for me.
I was jittery and nervous and jumpy and frightened and totally freaking out because of Travis and Kelly. What grades would they get? Did Mr. Plame figure out that something smelled here? That something was different about their book reports?
Had he guessed that serious cheating had taken place?
Was I about to face the firing squad? Suspension from school forever?
The teacher moved down the aisle of desks, handing back the reports, making short comments to each kid.
“Good job.”
“You really surprised me with this one.”
“I think you had some good ideas here. But you need to flesh them out. Explain your point of view better.”
Then he stopped beside Travis.
My heart stopped. I couldn’t breathe. I watched him hand the report to Travis. What was he going to say? We need to talk? Meet me in the principal’s office?
I stared in horror as Mr. Plame gave Travis a tap on the shoulder. “Travis, this is by far your best work in my class,” he said.
Travis took the paper from Mr. Plame. He blinked a few times.
“I especially liked your comments about how dramatic irony is used,” Mr. Plame said.
“Yeah. I thought a lot about that,” Travis said.
Liar. Mr. Plame stopped at Kelly’s desk next, and I continued to hold my breath.
“You did good work, too,” he told him. “What made you decide to choose this book, Kelly?”
Kelly thought for a long moment. “I liked the cover,” he said finally.
That made Mr. Plame laugh. A few kids laughed, too.
“Well, I liked what you had to say about the author’s crisp writing style,” Mr. Plame said. “Your comparisons were excellent, Kelly. I didn’t realize you like to read so much.”
“Yeah. I’m into reading,” Kelly said.
Mr. Plame moved to the next desk, and I started to breathe again.
I’m getting away with it, I thought. I cheated and I’m getting away with it. I felt a bump on my shoulder and turned. Lizzie leaned across the aisle and whispered to me: “What’s up with that? Do you believe those two jerks wrote good book reports?”
