Have You Met My Ghoulfriend? by R.L. Stine Page B

and Tara. “Jabba gubbba!” he bellowed. Then he did a wild cartwheel into the wall.
    “Hubbba gubbbba!” Phears screamed. He began to spin crazily. Then he turned another cartwheel. “Gubbba gubbbbba?”
    His eyes were no longer white. They had a yellow glow, bright as the sun. He bounced off the walls, jabbering nonsense words. Then he jumped out the window and went running down the street, turning somersaults, the cat clinging to his back.
    “Yes—!” A major victory. Without the ghoul inside, I felt so light, so free, so …
me
!
    “We're free!” Nicky cried. “He's gone!”
    Tara shook herself hard as if she didn't believe it. “Thank you, Brainimon!” she shouted.
    Nicky, Tara, and I slapped high fives all around. We shouted for joy. We couldn't stop laughing. Phears looked like such a jerk, possessed by that insane ghoul!
    Was he gone for good?
    I didn't want to think about that. I just wanted to celebrate being normal again.
    But the celebration was cut short when Dad suddenly came striding into the room. Nicky and Tara vanished.
    I took a deep breath and tried to act calm and nonchalant. “Hey, Dad, what's up?”
    “Good news,” he said, grinning. “You have an interview at the Plover School first thing tomorrow morning!”

30
    Dear Diary,
    The Plover School looks more like a prison than a school. It has dark green walls and low ceilings—and some of the windows even have bars on them. I didn't hear any laughing or shouting or loud voices. I think it's because the kids have to wear gray uniforms all day, and that puts them in a dreary mood. (And the uniforms probably itch really bad too.)
    I was interviewed by a man named CaptainRandall. He explained that the Plover School isn't a military school. But everyone has a rank, and you have to call everyone by their rank.
    Captain Randall is pretty old. I mean, he has white hair and a lot of wrinkles in his forehead. But he sat up very straight, like a soldier, and he kinda barked his questions at me.
    I was a little scared before we started to talk. But once the interview started, I thought it went very well.
    First, Captain Randall asked me how I liked school.
    I said, “Jabbba jabbba gubbba.”
    He narrowed his tiny, steel-colored eyes at me. “I didn't really hear you. Tell me, Max, what are you interested in? What are your favorite subjects?”
    “Hubbba gubbba?” I replied. And then I dropped to the floor and started to roll around the room.
    Captain Randall jumped to his feet. “Max, what's wrong?” he cried.
    “Hubbbba jabbbba,” I said. I climbed up, lowered my head, and went crashing into the chalkboard. I hit it so hard, it cracked in two. Then I went spinning crazily around the room four or five times, knocking over chairs, tables, everything in sight.
    And that pretty much ended the interview.
    When I got back home, I told Nicky and Tara all about it. They both looked confused.
    “So you were rejected by the Plover School?” Nicky asked.
    I nodded. “Yeah. Do you believe it? They told Dad never to bring me there again. Is that cool or what?”
    Tara tugged at one of her earrings. “But Max, the Berserker Ghoul flew out of your body yesterday. We saw it go.”
    “Yeah, I know,” I replied.
    “So … you mean another ghoul possessed your body?” Nicky asked.
    “No. No other ghoul,” I said.
    Then I burst out laughing. And they did too. They finally caught on to what I had done.
    Hey, they don't call me Brainimon for nothing.
    Of course, I can't keep this page in my diary. I don't want Ms. McDonald to see it. She'd never believe any of it. She'd accuse me of writing fiction and give me a big fat F.
    So I'm ripping out this page too. So far, I've ripped out almost all the pages in this journal.
    Will Phears return and bring more ofhis ghostly friends? Will Nicky and Tara find their parents? And will they find out what turned them into ghosts?
    Sorry, Diary. I can't write about any of that. If I did, I'd have to tear out those