Spell of the Screaming Jokers by R.L. Stine Page A

Wet!”
    Neal, Mark, and I glanced nervously at each other. Then we slowly slid into the pool.
    Very slowly.
    Barry started by having us stick our faces in the water. “Get used to getting wet!” he explained.
    The next step was to open our eyes underwater.
    â€œOkay, Tadpole, your turn.” Barry stood in front of me. “When I say so, go underwater. Then open your eyes and count how many fingers I’m holding out. Got that?”
    I nodded.
    â€œGo!” Barry commanded.
    I ducked underwater and opened my eyes. I blinked a few times. The chlorine burned, but after a moment I got used to it. Barry’s hand came down. He held out three fingers.
    I was about to push back up when something behind Barry caught my attention. Something moving. Something green.
    I peered past Barry’s hand. The water made everything a little blurry.
    Whatever it was had vanished.
    I was running out of air. I surfaced, gasping for breath.
    â€œHow many fingers, Tadpole?” Barry asked.
    â€œThree,” I replied. I scanned the pool. What was that green thing? And where had it gone?
    Neal and Mark each took his turn counting fingers. I watched their expressions as they came up. Neither one seemed to have noticed anything unusual underwater.
    Had I imagined the green thing?
    Next, Barry stood in the center of the pool. We had to push off from the side and swim underwater to him.
    â€œIf I start to drown, you’ll save me, won’t you?” I murmured to Neal and Mark. I was only half-kidding.
    â€œIf you don’t have to save me first!” Neal joked back.
    â€œGo!” Barry cried.
    I took a deep breath and went under. I pushed my feet against the side of the pool. The force propelled me forward.
    I glanced over to see how my fellow Guppies were doing. Mark’s arms were flailing all over the place, but he was clipping through the water.
    Neal’s face twisted with effort. But he cruised along, too.
    Then I saw it again. Something green.
    Something that looked like a long, green tentacle.
    And it was reaching for Neal!
    I broke through the surface of the water. I shook my head, spraying water everywhere.
    â€œWhat’s the matter, Tadpole?” Barry called. “Did you run out of air?”
    â€œNo! I—I—” My eyes darted around the pool. What creature could be so huge that it had a tentacle that long?
    But if it belonged to a gigantic sea monster, I reasoned, we would all see it.
    Wouldn’t we?
    Neal and Mark stood beside Barry. None of them seemed worried. None of them had seen what I had seen. Which made me wonder if I had really seen it.
    Forget it , I told myself. I spent the rest of the lesson actually having fun. Neal and Mark were cool guys. Even Barry wasn’t so bad, once you got used to him.
    â€œOkay,” Barry announced. “That’s it for today.”
    As I climbed out of the water, Barry gave me a hand up. Then, a lifeguard rushed over to tell Barry he had a phone call.
    â€œSee you tomorrow!” Barry called as he dashed off.
    I rubbed my head with my towel. I was feeling pretty good. Maybe Club Lagoona wasn’t as horrible as I thought.
    â€œThat wasn’t so terrible,” Neal declared.
    â€œYeah,” Mark agreed. “I think I’ll even come to the next lesson. Adios , fellow Guppies.” He slung the towel around his neck and jogged away.
    I said goodbye to Neal and headed back toward my room. I felt a little silly about imagining a green tentacled monster in the pool. Maybe I had been reading too many horror stories about the sea. My mom says I have a vivid imagination.
    I smiled. I made it through a swimming lesson! Maybe I was beginning to like this place.
    That’s when I spotted my sister. She ran toward me.
    Her eyes were enormous!
    She was wet and shaking!
    She was jumping up and down!
    â€œThe creature!” she blurted. “Have you seen the creature?”

About R. L. Stine
    R. L. Stine,