R.L. Stine. Kris Powell struggled to get her twin sister’s attention

Goosebumps - 07

(An Undead Scan v1.5)

“Mmmmm! Mmmm! Mmmmm!”

Kris Powell struggled to get her twin sister’s attention.

Lindy Powell glanced up from the book she was reading to see what the problem was. Instead of her sister’s pretty face, Lindy saw a round, pink bubble nearly the size of Kris’ head.

“Nice one,” Lindy said without much enthusiasm. With a sudden move, she poked the bubble and popped it.

“Hey!” Kris cried as the pink bubble gum exploded onto her cheeks and chin.

Lindy laughed. “Gotcha.”

Kris angrily grabbed Lindy’s paperback and slammed it shut. “Whoops—lost your place!” she exclaimed. She knew her sister hated to lose her place in a book.

Lindy grabbed the book back with a scowl. Kris struggled to pull the pink gum off her face.

“That was the biggest bubble I ever blew,” she said angrily. The gum wasn’t coming off her chin.

“I’ve blown much bigger than that,” Lindy said with a superior sneer.

“I don’t believe you two,” their mother muttered, making her way into their bedroom and dropping a neatly folded pile of laundry at the foot of Kris’ bed. “You even compete over bubble gum?”

“We’re not competing,” Lindy muttered. She tossed back her blonde ponytail and returned her eyes to her book.

Both girls had straight blonde hair. But Lindy kept hers long, usually tying it behind her head or on one side in a ponytail. And Kris had hers cut very short.

It was a way for people to tell the twins apart, for they were nearly identical in every other way. Both had broad foreheads and round, blue eyes. Both had dimples in their cheeks when they smiled. Both blushed easily, large pink circles forming on their pale cheeks.

Both thought their noses were a little too wide. Both wished they were a little taller. Lindy’s best friend, Alice, was nearly three inches taller, even though she hadn’t turned twelve yet.

“Did I get it all off?” Kris asked, rubbing her chin, which was red and sticky.

“Not all,” Lindy told her, glancing up. “There’s some in your hair.”

“Oh, great,” Kris muttered. She grabbed at her hair, but couldn’t find any bubble gum.

“Gotcha again,” Lindy said, laughing. “You’re too easy!”

Kris uttered an angry growl. “Why are you always so mean to me?”

“Me? Mean?” Lindy looked up in wide-eyed innocence. “I’m an angel. Ask anyone.”

Exasperated, Kris turned back to her mother, who was stuffing socks into a dresser drawer. “Mom, when am I going to get my own room?”

“On the Twelfth of Never,” Mrs. Powell replied, grinning.

Kris groaned. “That’s what you always say.”

Her mother shrugged. “You know we don’t have a spare inch, Kris.” She turned to the bedroom window. Bright sunlight streamed through the filmy curtains. “It’s a beautiful day. What are you two doing inside?”

“Mom, we’re not little girls,” Lindy said, rolling her eyes. “We’re twelve. We’re too old to go out and play.”

“Did I get it all?” Kris asked, still scraping pink patches of bubble gum off her chin.

“Leave it. It improves your complexion,” Lindy told her.

“I wish you girls would be nicer to each other,” Mrs. Powell said with a sigh.

They suddenly heard shrill barking coming from downstairs. “What’s Barky excited about now?” Mrs. Powell fretted. The little black terrier was always barking about something. “Why not take Barky for a walk?”

“Don’t feel like it,” Lindy muttered, nose in her book.

“What about those beautiful new bikes you got for your birthdays?” Mrs. Powell said, hands on hips. “Those bikes you just couldn’t live without. You know, the ones that have been sitting in the garage since you got them.”

“Okay, okay. You don’t have to be sarcastic, Mom,” Lindy said, closing her book. She stood up, stretched, and tossed the book onto her bed.

“You want to?” Kris asked Lindy.

“Want to what?”

“Go for a bike ride. We could ride to the playground, see if anyone’s hanging out at school.”

“You just want to see if Robby is there,” Lindy said, making a face.

“So?” Kris said, blushing.

“Go on. Get some fresh air,” Mrs. Powell urged. “I’ll see you later. I’m off to the supermarket.”

Kris peered into the dresser mirror. She had gotten most of the gum off. She brushed her short, hair back with both hands. “Come on. Let’s go out,” she said. “Last one out is a rotten egg.” She darted to the doorway, beating her sister by half a step.

As they burst out the back door, with Barky yipping shrilly behind them, the afternoon sun was high in a cloudless sky. The air was still and dry. It felt more like summer than spring.

Both girls were wearing shorts and sleeveless T-shirts. Lindy bent to pull open the garage door, then stopped. The house next door caught her eye.

“Look—they’ve got the walls up,” she told Kris, pointing across their back yard.

“That new house is going up so quickly. It’s amazing,” Kris said following her sister’s gaze.

The builders had knocked down the old house during the winter. The new concrete foundation had been put down in March. Lindy and Kris had walked around on it when no workers were there, trying to figure out where the different rooms would go.

And now the walls had been built. The construction suddenly looked like a real house, rising up in the midst of tall stacks of lumber, a big mound of red-brown dirt, a pile of concrete blocks, and an assortment of power saws, tools, and machinery.

“No one’s working today,” Lindy said.

They took a few steps toward the new house. “Who do you think will move in?” Kris wondered. “Maybe some great-looking guy our age. Maybe great-looking twin guys!”

“Yuck!” Lindy made a disgusted face. “Twin guys? How drippy can you get! I can’t believe you and I are in the same family.”

Kris was used to Lindy’s sarcasm. Both girls liked being twins and hated being twins at the same time. Because they shared nearly everything—their looks, their clothing, their room—they were closer than most sisters ever get.

But because they were so much alike, they also managed to drive each other crazy a lot of the time.

“No one’s around. Let’s check out the new house,” Lindy said.

Kris followed her across the yard. A squirrel, halfway up the wide trunk of a maple tree, watched them warily.

They made their way through an opening in the low shrubs that divided the two yards. Then, walking past the stacks of lumber and the tall mound of dirt, they climbed the concrete stoop.

A sheet of heavy plastic had been nailed over the opening where the front door would go. Kris pulled one end of the plastic up, and they slipped into the house.

It was dark and cool inside and had a fresh wood smell. The plaster walls were up but hadn’t been painted.

“Careful,” Lindy warned. “Nails.” She pointed to the large nails scattered over the floor. “If you step on one, you’ll get lockjaw and die.”

“You wish,” Kris said.

“I don’t want you to die,” Lindy replied. “Just get lockjaw.” She snickered.

“Ha-ha,” Kris said sarcastically. “This must be the living room,” she said, making her way carefully across the front room to the fireplace against the back wall.

“A cathedral ceiling,” Lindy said, staring up at the dark, exposed wooden beams above their heads. “Neat.”

“This is bigger than our living room,” Kris remarked, peering out the large picture window to the street.

“It smells great,” Lindy said, taking a deep breath. “All the sawdust. It smells so piney.”

They made their way through the hall and explored the kitchen. “Are those wires on?” Kris asked, pointing to a cluster of black electrical wires suspended from the ceiling beams.

“Why don’t you touch one and find out?” Lindy suggested.

“You first,” Kris shot back.

“The kitchen isn’t very big,” Lindy said, bending down to stare into the holes where the kitchen cabinets would go.

She stood up and was about to suggest they check out the upstairs when she heard a sound. “Huh?” Her eyes widened in surprise. “Is someone in here?”

Kris froze in the middle of the kitchen.

They both listened.

Silence.

Then they heard soft, rapid footsteps. Close by. Inside the house.

“Let’s go!” Lindy whispered.

Kris was already ducking under the plastic, heading out the doorway opening. She leapt off the back stoop and started running toward their back yard.

Lindy stopped at the bottom of the stoop and turned back to the new house. “Hey—look!” she called.

A squirrel came flying out a side window. It landed on the dirt with all four feet moving and scrambled toward the maple tree in the Powells’ yard.

Lindy laughed. “Just a dumb squirrel.”

Kris stopped near the low shrubs. “You sure?” She hesitated, watching the windows of the new house. “That was a pretty loud squirrel.”

When she turned back from the house, she was surprised to find that Lindy had disappeared.

“Hey—where’d you go?”

“Over here,” Lindy called. “I see something!”

It took Kris a while to locate her sister. Lindy was half-hidden behind a large black trash Dumpster at the far end of the yard.

Kris shielded her eyes with one hand to see better. Lindy was bent over the side of the Dumpster. She appeared to be rummaging through some trash.

“What’s in there?” Kris called.

Lindy was tossing things around and didn’t seem to hear her.

“What is it?” Kris called, taking a few reluctant steps toward the Dumpster.

Lindy didn’t reply.

Then, slowly, she pulled something out. She started to hold it up. Its arms and legs dangled down limply. Kris could see a head with brown hair.

A head? Arms and legs?

“Oh, no!” Kris cried aloud, raising her hands to her face in horror.

A child?

Kris uttered a silent gasp, staring in horror as Lindy lifted him out of the trash Dumpster.

She could see his face, frozen in a wide-eyed stare. His brown hair stood stiffly on top of his head. He seemed to be wearing some sort of gray suit.

His arms and legs dangled lifelessly.

“Lindy!” Kris called, her throat tight with fear. “Is it—is he… alive?”

Her heart pounding, Kris started to run to her sister. Lindy was cradling the poor thing in her arms.

“Is he alive?” Kris repeated breathlessly.

She stopped short when her sister started to laugh.

“No. Not alive!” Lindy called gleefully.

And then Kris realized that it wasn’t a child after all. “A dummy!” she shrieked.

Lindy held it up. “A ventriloquist’s dummy,” she said. “Someone threw him out. Do you believe it? He’s in perfect shape.”

It took Lindy a while to notice that Kris was breathing hard, her face bright red. “Kris, what’s your problem? Oh, wow. Did you think he was a real kid?” Lindy laughed scornfully.

“No. Of course not,” Kris insisted.

Lindy held the dummy up and examined his back, looking for the string to pull to make his mouth move. “I am a real kid!” Lindy made him say. She was speaking in a high-pitched voice through gritted teeth, trying not to move her lips.

“Dumb,” Kris said, rolling her eyes.

“I am not dumb. You’re dumb!” Lindy made the dummy say in a high, squeaky voice. When she pulled the string in his back, the wooden lips moved up and down, clicking as they moved. She moved her hand up his back and found the control to make his painted eyes shift from side to side.

“He’s probably filled with bugs,” Kris said, making a disgusted face. “Throw him back, Lindy.”

“No way,” Lindy insisted, rubbing her hand tenderly over the dummy’s wooden hair. “I’m keeping him.”

“She’s keeping me,” she made the dummy say.

Kris stared suspiciously at the dummy. His brown hair was painted on his head. His blue eyes moved only from side to side and couldn’t blink. He had bright red painted lips, curved up into an eerie smile. The lower lip had a chip on one side so that it didn’t quite match the upper lip.

The dummy wore a gray, double-breasted suit over a white shirt collar. The collar wasn’t attached to a shirt. Instead, the dummy’s wooden chest was painted white. Big brown leather shoes were attached to the ends of his thin, dangling legs.

“My name is Slappy,” Lindy made the dummy say, moving his grinning mouth up and down.

“Dumb,” Kris repeated, shaking her head. “Why Slappy?”

“Come over here and I’ll slap you!” Lindy made him say, trying not to move her lips.

Kris groaned. “Are we going to ride our bikes to the playground or not, Lindy?”

“Afraid poor Robby misses you?” Lindy made Slappy ask.

“Put that ugly thing down,” Kris replied impatiently.

“I’m not ugly,” Slappy said in Lindy’s squeaky voice, sliding his eyes from side to side. “You’re ugly!”

“Your lips are moving,” Kris told Lindy. “You’re a lousy ventriloquist.”

“I’ll get better,” Lindy insisted.

“You mean you’re really keeping it?” Kris cried.

“I like Slappy. He’s cute,” Lindy said, cuddling the dummy against the front of her T-shirt.

“I’m cute,” she made him say. “And you’re ugly.”

“Shut up,” Kris snapped to the dummy.

“You shut up!” Slappy replied in Lindy’s tight, high-pitched voice.

“What do you want to keep him for?” Kris asked, following her sister toward the street.

“I always liked puppets,” Lindy recalled. “Remember those marionettes I used to have? I played with them for hours at a time. I made up long plays with them.”

“I always played with the marionettes, too,” Kris remembered.

“You got the strings all tangled up,” Lindy said, frowning. “You weren’t any good at it.”

“But what are you going to do with this dummy?” Kris demanded.

“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll work up an act,” Lindy said thoughtfully, shifting Slappy to her other arm. “I’ll bet I could earn some money with him. You know. Appear at kids’ birthday parties. Put on shows.”

“Happy birthday!” she made Slappy declare. “Hand over some money!”

Kris didn’t laugh.

The two girls walked along the street in front of their house. Lindy cradled Slappy in her arms, one hand up his back.

“I think he’s creepy,” Kris said, kicking a large pebble across the street. “You should put him back in the Dumpster.”

“No way,” Lindy insisted.

“No way,” she made Slappy say, shaking his head, his glassy blue eyes moving from side to side. “I’ll put you in the Dumpster!”

“Slappy sure is mean,” Kris remarked, frowning at Lindy.

Lindy laughed. “Don’t look at me,” she teased. “Complain to Slappy.”

Kris scowled.

“You’re jealous,” Lindy said. “Because I found him and you didn’t.”

Kris started to protest, but they both heard voices. Kris looked up to see the two Marshall kids from down the block running toward them. They were cute, red-headed kids that Lindy and Kris sometimes baby-sat for.

“What’s that?” Amy Marshall asked, pointing at Slappy.

“Does he talk?” her younger brother, Ben, asked, staying several feet away, an uncertain expression on his freckled face.

“Hi, I’m Slappy!” Lindy made the dummy call out. She cradled Slappy in one arm, making him sit up straight, his arms dangling at his sides.

“Where’d you get him?” Amy asked.

“Do his eyes move?” Ben asked, still hanging back.

“Do your eyes move?” Slappy asked Ben.

Both Marshall kids laughed. Ben forgot his reluctance. He stepped up and grabbed Slappy’s hand.

“Ouch! Not so hard!” Slappy cried.

Ben dropped the hand with a gasp. Then he and Amy collapsed in gleeful laughter.

“Ha-ha-ha-ha!” Lindy made Slappy laugh, tilting his head back and opening his mouth wide.

The two kids thought that was a riot. They laughed even harder.

Pleased by the response she was getting, Lindy glanced at her sister. Kris was sitting on the curb, cradling her head in her hands, a dejected look on her face.

She’s jealous, Lindy realized. Kris sees that the kids really like Slappy and that I’m getting all the attention. And she’s totally jealous.

I’m definitely keeping Slappy! Lindy told herself, secretly pleased at her little triumph.

She stared into the dummy’s bright blue painted eyes. To her surprise, the dummy seemed to be staring back at her, a twinkle of sunlight in his eyes, his grin wide and knowing.

“Who was that on the phone?” Mr. Powell asked, shoveling another forkful of spaghetti into his mouth.

Lindy slipped back into her place at the table. “It was Mrs. Marshall. Down the block.”

“Does she want you to baby-sit?” Mrs. Powell asked, reaching for the salad bowl. She turned to Kris. “Don’t you want any salad?”

Kris wiped spaghetti sauce off her chin with her napkin. “Maybe later.”

“No,” Lindy answered. “She wants me to perform. At Amy’s birthday party. With Slappy.”

“Your first job,” Mr. Powell said, a smile crossing his slender face.

“Amy and Ben liked Slappy so much, they insisted on him,” Lindy said. “Mrs. Marshall is going to pay me twenty dollars.”

“That’s great!” their mother exclaimed. She passed the salad bowl across the table to her husband.

It had been a week since Lindy rescued Slappy from the trash Dumpster. Every day after school, she had spent hours up in her room rehearsing with him, working on his voice, practicing not moving her lips, thinking up jokes to perform with him.

Kris kept insisting the whole thing was dumb. “I can’t believe you’re being such a nerd,” she told her sister. She refused to be an audience for Lindy’s routines.

But when Lindy brought Slappy into school on Friday, Kris’ attitude began to change. A group of kids had gathered around Lindy outside her locker.

As Lindy made Slappy talk for them, Kris watched from down the hall. She’s going to make a total fool of herself, Kris thought.

But to her surprise, the kids hooted and howled. They thought Slappy was a riot. Even Robby Martin, the guy Kris had had a crush on for two years, thought Lindy was terrific.

Watching Robby laugh along with the other kids made Kris think hard. Becoming a ventriloquist might be fun.

And profitable. Lindy was going to earn twenty dollars at the Marshalls’ birthday party. And when word got around, she’d probably perform at a lot of parties and earn even more money.

After dinner that evening, Lindy and Kris washed and dried the dishes. Then Lindy asked her parents if she could practice her new comedy routine on them. She hurried up to her room to get Slappy.

Mr. and Mrs. Powell took a seat on the living room couch. “Maybe Lindy will be a TV star,” Mrs. Powell said.

“Maybe,” Mr. Powell agreed, settling back on the couch, a pleased smile on his face. Barky yapped and climbed between Mr. and Mrs. Powell, his tiny stub of a tail wagging furiously.

“You know you’re not allowed on the couch,” Mrs. Powell said, sighing. But she made no move to push Barky off.

Kris sat down away from the others, on the floor by the steps, cradling her chin in her hands.

“You’re looking glum this evening,” her father remarked.

“Can I get a dummy, too?” Kris asked. She hadn’t really planned to say it. The question just popped out of her mouth.

Lindy came back into the room, carrying Slappy around the waist. “Ready?” she asked. She pulled a dining room chair into the center of the living room and sat down on it.

“Well, can I?” Kris repeated.

“You really want one, too?” Mrs. Powell asked, surprised.

“Want what?” Lindy asked, confused.

“Kris says she wants a dummy, too,” Mrs. Powell reported.

“No way,” Lindy said heatedly. “Why do you want to be such a copycat?”

“It looks like fun,” Kris replied, her cheeks turning bright pink. “If you can do it, I can do it, too,” she added shrilly.

“You always copy everything I do,” Lindy protested angrily. “Why don’t you find something of your own for once? Go upstairs and work on your junk jewelry collection. That’s your hobby. Let me be the ventriloquist.”

“Girls”—Mr. Powell started, raising a hand for quiet—“please, don’t fight over a dummy.”

“I really think I’d be better at it,” Kris said. “I mean, Lindy isn’t very funny.”

“Everyone thinks I’m funny,” Lindy insisted.

“That’s not very nice, Kris,” Mrs. Powell scolded.

“Well, I just think if Lindy has one, I should be able to have one, too,” Kris said to her parents.

“Copycat,” Lindy repeated, shaking her head. “You’ve been putting me down all week. You said it was nerdy. But I know why you changed your mind. You’re upset because I’m going to earn some money and you’re not.”

“I really wish you two wouldn’t argue about everything,” Mr. Powell said disgustedly.

“Well, can I have a dummy?” Kris asked him.

“They’re expensive,” Mr. Powell replied, glancing at his wife. “A good one will cost more than a hundred dollars. I really don’t think we can afford to buy one now.”

“Why don’t you both share Slappy?” Mrs. Powell suggested.

“Huh?” Lindy’s mouth dropped open in protest.

“You two always share everything,” Mrs. Powell continued. “So why don’t you share Slappy?”

“But, Mom—” Lindy whined unhappily.

“Excellent idea,” Mr. Powell interrupted. He motioned to Kris. “Try it out. After you share him for a while, I’m sure one of you will lose interest in him. Maybe even both of you.”

Kris climbed to her feet and walked over to Lindy. She reached out for the dummy. “I don’t mind sharing,” she said quietly, searching her sister’s eyes for approval of the idea. “Can I hold him for just a second?”

Lindy held onto Slappy tightly.

Suddenly the dummy’s head tilted back and his mouth opened wide. “Beat it, Kris!” he snarled in a harsh raspy voice. “Get lost, you stupid moron!”

Before Kris could back away, Slappy’s wooden hand shot up, and he slapped her hard across the face.

“Ow!”

Kris screamed and raised her hand to her cheek, which was bright pink. She stepped back. “Stop it, Lindy! That hurt!”

“Me?” Lindy cried. “I didn’t do it! Slappy did!”

“Don’t be dumb,” Kris protested, rubbing her cheek. “You really hurt me.”

“But I didn’t do it!” Lindy cried. She turned Slappy’s face toward her. “Why were you so rude to Kris?”

Mr. Powell jumped up from the couch. “Stop acting dumb and apologize to your sister,” he ordered.

Lindy bowed Slappy’s head. “I’m sorry,” she made the dummy say.

“No. In your own voice,” Mr. Powell insisted, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Slappy didn’t hurt Kris. You did.”

“Okay, okay,” Lindy muttered, blushing. She avoided Kris’ angry stare. “I’m sorry. Here.” She dumped Slappy into Kris’ arms.

Kris was so surprised, she nearly dropped the dummy. Slappy was heavier than she’d imagined.

“Now what am I supposed to do with him?” Kris asked Lindy.

Lindy shrugged and crossed the room to the couch, where she dropped down beside her mother.

“Why’d you make such a fuss?” Mrs. Powell whispered, leaning close to Lindy. “That was so babyish.”

Lindy blushed. “Slappy is mine! Why can’t something be mine for once?”

“Sometimes you girls are so nice to each other, and sometimes…” Mrs. Powell’s voice trailed off.

Mr. Powell took a seat on the padded arm of the chair across the room.

“How do I make his mouth work?” Kris asked, tilting the dummy upside down to examine its back.

“There’s a string in his back, inside the slit in his jacket,” Lindy told her grudgingly. “You just pull it.”

I don’t want Kris to work Slappy, Lindy thought unhappily.

I don’t want to share Slappy.

Why can’t I have something that just belongs to me? Why do I have to share everything with her?

Why does Kris always want to copy me?

She gritted her teeth and waited for her anger to fade.

Later that night, Kris sat straight up in bed. She’d had a bad dream.

I was being chased, she remembered, her heart still pounding. Chased by what? By whom?

She couldn’t remember.

She glanced around the shadowy room, waiting for her heartbeat to return to normal. The room felt hot and stuffy, even though the window was open and the curtains were fluttering.

Lindy lay sound asleep on her side in the twin bed next to Kris’. She was snoring softly, her lips slightly parted, her long hair falling loose about her face.

Kris glanced at the clock-radio on the bed table between the two twin beds. It was nearly three in the morning.

Even though she was now wide awake, the nightmare wouldn’t completely fade away. She still felt uncomfortable, a little frightened, as if she were still being chased by someone or something. The back of her neck felt hot and prickly.

She turned and fluffed up her pillow, propping it higher on the headboard. As she lay back on it, something caught her eye.

Someone sitting in the chair in front of the bedroom window. Someone staring at her.

After a sharp intake of breath, she realized it was Slappy.

Yellow moonlight poured over him, making his staring eyes glow. He was sitting up in the chair, tilted to the right at a slight angle, one arm resting on the slender arm of the chair.

His mouth locked in a wide, mocking grin, his eyes seemed to be staring right at Kris.

Kris stared back, studying the dummy’s expression in the eerie yellow moonlight. Then, without thinking, without even realizing what she was doing, she climbed silently out of bed.

Her foot got tangled in the bedsheet and she nearly tripped. Kicking the sheet away, she made her way quickly across the room to the window.

Slappy stared up at her as her shadow fell over him. His grin seemed to grow wider as Kris leaned closer.

A gust of wind made the soft curtains flutter against her face. Kris pushed them away and peered down at the dummy’s painted head.

She reached a hand out and rubbed his wooden hair, shining in the moonlight. His head felt warm, warmer than she’d imagined.

Kris quickly jerked her hand away.

What was that sound?

Had Slappy snickered? Had he laughed at her?

No. Of course not.

Kris realized she was breathing hard.

Why am I so freaked out by this stupid dummy? she thought.

In the bed behind her, Lindy made a gurgling sound and rolled onto her back.

Kris stared hard into Slappy’s big eyes, gleaming in the light from the window. She waited for him to blink or to roll his eyes from side to side.

She suddenly felt foolish.

He’s just a stupid wooden dummy, she told herself.

She reached out and pushed him over.

The stiff body swung to the side. The hard head made a soft clonk as it hit the wooden arm of the chair.

Kris stared down at him, feeling strangely satisfied, as if she’d somehow taught him a lesson.

The curtains rustled against her face again. She pushed them away.

Feeling sleepy, she started back to bed.

She had only gone one step when Slappy reached up and grabbed her wrist.

“Oh!” As the hand tightened around her wrist, Kris cried out and spun around.

To her surprise, Lindy was crouched beside her. Lindy had a tight grip on Kris’ wrist.

Kris jerked her hand from Lindy’s grasp.

Moonlight through the window lit up Lindy’s devilish grin. “Gotcha again!” she declared.

“You didn’t scare me!” Kris insisted. But her voice came out a trembling whisper.

“You jumped a mile!” Lindy exclaimed gleefully. “You really thought the dummy grabbed you.”

“Did not!” Kris replied. She hurried to her bed.

“What were you doing up, anyway?” Lindy demanded. “Were you messing with Slappy?”

“No. I… uh… had a bad dream,” Kris told her. “I just went to look out the window.”

Lindy snickered. “You should’ve seen the look on your face.”

“I’m going back to sleep. Leave me alone,” Kris snapped. She pulled the covers up to her chin.

Lindy pushed the dummy back to a sitting position. Then she returned to her bed, still chuckling over the scare she’d given her sister.

Kris rearranged her pillows, then glanced across the room to the window. The dummy’s face was half covered in shadow now. But the eyes glowed as if he were alive. And they stared into hers as if they were trying to tell her something.

Why does he have to grin like that? Kris asked herself, trying to rub away the prickly feeling on the back of her neck.

She pulled up the sheet, settled into the bed, and turned on her side, away from the wide, staring eyes.

But even with her back turned, she could feel them gazing at her. Even with her eyes closed and the covers pulled up to her head, she could picture the shadowy, distorted grin, the unblinking eyes. Staring at her. Staring. Staring.

She drifted into an uncomfortable sleep, drifted into another dark nightmare. Someone was chasing her. Someone very evil was chasing her.

But who?

On Monday afternoon, Lindy and Kris both stayed after school to rehearse for the spring concert. It was nearly five when they arrived home, and they were surprised to see their dad’s car in the driveway.

“You’re home so early!” Kris exclaimed, finding him in the kitchen helping their mother prepare dinner.

“I’m leaving tomorrow for a sales conference in Portland,” Mr. Powell explained, peeling an onion over the sink with a small paring knife. “So I only worked half a day today.”

“What’s for dinner?” Lindy asked.

“Meatloaf,” Mrs. Powell replied, “if your father ever gets the onion peeled.”

“There’s a trick to not crying when you peel an onion,” Mr. Powell said, tears rolling down his cheeks. “Wish I knew it.”

“How was chorus rehearsal?” Mrs. Powell asked, kneading a big ball of red ground beef in her hands.

“Boring,” Lindy complained, opening the refrigerator and taking out a can of Coke.

“Yeah. We’re doing all these Russian and Yugoslavian songs,” Kris said. “They’re so sad. They’re all about sheep or something. We don’t really know what they’re about. There’s no translation.”

Mr. Powell rushed to the sink and began splashing cold water on his red, runny eyes. “I can’t take this!” he wailed. He tossed the half-peeled onion back to his wife.

“Crybaby,” she muttered, shaking her head.

Kris headed up the stairs to drop her backpack in her room. She tossed it onto the desk she shared with Lindy, then turned to go back downstairs.

But something by the window caught her eye.

Spinning around, she gasped.

“Oh, no!” The startled cry escaped her lips.

Kris raised her hands to her cheeks and stared in disbelief.

Slappy was propped up in the chair in front of the window, grinning at her with his usual wide-eyed stare. And seated beside him was another dummy, also grinning at her.

And they were holding hands.

“What’s going on here?” Kris cried aloud.

“Do you like him?”

At first, Kris thought that Slappy had asked the question.

She gaped in stunned disbelief.

“Well? What do you think of him?”

It took Kris a long moment to realize that the voice was coming from behind her. She turned to find her father standing in the doorway, still dabbing at his eyes with a wet dishtowel.

“The—the new dummy?” Kris stammered.

“He’s for you,” Mr. Powell said, stepping into the room, the wet towel pressed against both eyes.

“Really?” Kris hurried over to the chair and picked the new dummy up to examine him.

“There’s a tiny pawnshop on the corner across from my office,” Mr. Powell said, lowering the towel. “I was walking past and, believe it or not, this guy was in the window. He was cheap, too. I think the pawnbroker was glad to get rid of him.”

“He’s… cute,” Kris said, searching for the right word. “He looks just like Lindy’s dummy, except his hair is bright red, not brown.”

“Probably made by the same company,” Mr. Powell said.

“His clothes are better than Slappy’s,” Kris said, holding the dummy out at arm’s length to get a good view. “I hate that stupid gray suit on Lindy’s dummy.”

The new dummy wore blue denim jeans and a red-and-green flannel shirt. And instead of the formal-looking, shiny brown shoes, he had white high-top sneakers on his feet.

“So you like him?” Mr. Powell asked, smiling.

“I love him!” Kris cried happily. She crossed the room and gave her dad a hug.

Then she picked up the dummy and ran out of the room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. “Hey, everybody! Meet Mr. Wood!” she declared happily, holding the grinning dummy up in front of her.

Barky yapped excitedly, leaping up to nip at the dummy’s sneakers. Kris pulled her dummy away.

“Hey!” Lindy cried in surprise. “Where’d you get that?”

“From Daddy,” Kris said, her grin wider than the dummy’s. “I’m going to start practicing with him after dinner, and I’m going to be a better ventriloquist than you.”

“Kris!” Mrs. Powell scolded. “Everything isn’t a competition, you know!”

“I already have a job with Slappy,” Lindy said with a superior sneer. “And you’re just getting started. You’re just a beginner.”

“Mr. Wood is much better-looking than Slappy,” Kris said, mirroring her twin’s sneer. “Mr. Wood is cool-looking. That gray suit on your dummy is the pits.”

“You think that ratty old shirt is cool-looking?” Lindy scoffed, making a disgusted face. “Yuck. That old dummy probably has worms!”

““ You have worms!” Kris exclaimed.

“Your dummy won’t be funny,” Lindy said nastily, “because you don’t have a sense of humor.”

“Oh, yeah?” Kris replied, tossing Mr. Wood over her shoulder. “I must have a sense of humor. I put up with you, don’t I?”

“Copycat! Copycat!” Lindy cried angrily.

“Out of the kitchen!” Mrs. Powell ordered with an impatient shriek. “Out! Get out! You two are impossible! The dummies have better personalities than either of you!”

“Thanks, Mom,” Kris said sarcastically.

“Call me for dinner,” Lindy called back. “I’m going upstairs to practice my act with Slappy for the birthday party on Saturday.”

It was the next afternoon, and Kris was sitting at the dressing table she shared with Lindy. Kris rummaged in the jewelry box and pulled out another string of brightly colored beads. She slipped them over her head and untangled them from the other three strands of beads she was wearing. Then she gazed at herself in the mirror, shaking her head to better see the long, dangly earrings.

I love my junk jewelry collection, she thought, digging into the depths of the wooden jewelry box to see what other treasures she could pull out.

Lindy had no interest in the stuff. But Kris could spend hours trying on the beads, fingering the dozens of little charms, running her fingers over the plastic bracelets, jangling the earrings. Her jewelry collection always cheered her up.

She shook her head again, making the long earrings jangle. A knock on the bedroom door made her spin around.

“Hey, Kris, how’s it going?” Her friend Cody Matthews stepped into the room. He had straight, white-blond hair, and pale gray eyes in a slender, serious face. Cody always looked as if he were deep in thought.

“You ride your bike over?” Kris asked, removing several strands of beads at once and tossing them into the jewelry box.

“No. Walked,” Cody replied. “Why’d you call? You just want to hang out?”

“No.” Kris jumped to her feet. She walked over to the chair by the window and grabbed up Mr. Wood. “I want to practice my act.”

Cody groaned. “I’m the guinea pig?”

“No. The audience. Come on.”

She led him out to the bent old maple tree in the middle of her back yard. The afternoon sun was just beginning to lower itself in the clear, spring-blue sky.

She raised one foot against the tree trunk and propped Mr. Wood on her knee. Cody sprawled on his back in the shade. “Tell me if this is funny,” she instructed.

“Okay. Shoot,” Cody replied, narrowing his eyes in concentration.

Kris turned Mr. Wood to face her. “How are you today?” she asked him.

“Pretty good. Knock wood,” she made the dummy say.

She waited for Cody to laugh, but he didn’t. “Was that funny?” she asked.

“Kinda,” he replied without enthusiasm. “Keep going.”

“Okay.” Kris lowered her head so that she was face-to-face with her dummy. “Mr. Wood,” she said, “why were you standing in front of the mirror with your eyes closed?”

“Well,” answered the dummy in a high-pitched, squeaky voice, “I wanted to see what I look like when I’m asleep!”

Kris tilted the dummy’s head back and made him look as if he were laughing. “How about that joke?” she asked Cody.

Cody shrugged. “Better, I guess.”

“Aw, you’re no help!” Kris screamed angrily. She lowered her arms, and Mr. Wood crumpled onto her lap. “You’re supposed to tell me if it’s funny or not.”

“I guess not,” Cody said thoughtfully.

Kris groaned. “I need some good joke books,” she said. “That’s all. Some good joke books with some really funny jokes. Then I’d be ready to perform. Because I’m a pretty good ventriloquist, right?”

“I guess,” Cody replied, pulling up a handful of grass and letting the moist, green blades sift through his fingers.

“Well, I don’t move my lips very much, do I?” Kris demanded.

“Not too much,” Cody allowed. “But you don’t really throw your voice.”

“No one can throw her voice,” Kris told him. “It’s just an illusion. You make people think you’re throwing your voice. You don’t really throw it.”

“Oh,” Cody said, pulling up another handful of grass.

Kris tried out several more jokes. “What do you think?” she asked Cody.

“I think I have to go home,” Cody said. He tossed a handful of grass at her.

Kris brushed the green blades off Mr. Wood’s wooden head. She rubbed her hand gently over the dummy’s painted red hair. “You’re hurting Mr. Wood’s feelings,” she told Cody.

Cody climbed to his feet. “Why do you want to mess with that thing, anyway?” he asked, pushing his white-blond hair back off his forehead.

“Because it’s fun,” Kris replied.

“Is that the real reason?” Cody demanded.

“Well… I guess I want to show Lindy that I’m better at it than she is.”

“You two are weird!” Cody declared. “See you in school.” He gave her a little wave, then turned and headed for his home down the block.

Kris pulled down the blankets and climbed into bed. Pale moonlight filtered in through the bedroom window.

Yawning, she glanced at the clock-radio. Nearly ten. She could hear Lindy brushing her teeth in the bathroom across the hall.

Why does Lindy always hum when she brushes her teeth? Kris wondered. How can one twin sister do so many annoying things?

She gave Mr. Wood one last glance. He was propped in the chair in front of the window, his hands carefully placed in his lap, his white sneakers hanging over the chair edge.

He looks like a real person, Kris thought sleepily.

Tomorrow I’m going to check out some good joke books from the library at school. I can be funnier than Lindy. I know I can.

She settled back sleepily on her pillow. I’ll be asleep as soon as we turn off the lights, she thought.

A few seconds later, Lindy entered the room, wearing her nightshirt and carrying Slappy under one arm. “You asleep?” she asked Kris.

“Almost,” Kris replied, yawning loudly. “I’ve been studying for the math final all night. Where’ve you been?”

“Over at Alice’s,” Lindy told her, setting Slappy down in the chair beside Mr. Wood. “Some kids were over, and I practiced my act for them. They laughed so hard, I thought they’d split a gut. When Slappy and I did our rap routine, Alice spit her chocolate milk out her nose. What a riot!”

“That’s nice,” Kris said without enthusiasm. “Guess you and Slappy are ready for Amy’s birthday party on Saturday.”

“Yeah,” Lindy replied. She placed Slappy’s arm around Mr. Wood’s shoulder. “They look so cute together,” she said. Then she noticed the clothing neatly draped over the desk chair. “What’s that?” she asked Kris.

Kris raised her head from the pillow to see what her sister was pointing at. “My outfit for tomorrow,” she told her. “We’re having a dress-up party in Miss Finch’s class. It’s a farewell party. For Margot. You know. The student teacher.”

Lindy stared at the clothes. “Your Betsey Johnson skirt? Your silk blouse?”

“We’re supposed to get really dressed up,” Kris said, yawning. “Can we go to sleep now?”

“Yeah. Sure.” Lindy made her way to her bed, sat down, and clicked off the bed-table lamp. “Are you getting any better with Mr. Wood?” she asked, climbing between the sheets.

Kris was stung by the question. It was such an obvious put-down. “Yeah. I’m getting really good. I did some stuff for Cody. Out in the back yard. Cody laughed so hard, he couldn’t breathe. Really. He was holding his sides. He said Mr. Wood and I should be on TV.”

“Really?” Lindy replied after a long moment’s hesitation. “That’s weird. I never thought Cody had much of a sense of humor. He’s always so grim. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him laugh.”

“Well, he was laughing at Mr. Wood and me,” Kris insisted, wishing she were a better liar.

“Awesome,” Lindy muttered. “I can’t wait to see your act.”

Neither can I, Kris thought glumly.

A few seconds later, they were both asleep.

Their mother’s voice, calling from downstairs, awoke them at seven the next morning. Bright, morning-orange sunlight poured in through the window. Kris could hear birds chirping happily in the old maple tree.

“Rise and shine! Rise and shine!” Every morning, Mrs. Powell shouted up the same words.

Kris rubbed the sleep from her eyes, then stretched her arms high over her head. She glanced across the room, then uttered a quiet gasp. “Hey—what’s going on?” She reached across to Lindy’s bed and shook Lindy by the shoulder. “What’s going on?”

“Huh?” Lindy, startled, sat straight up.

“What’s the joke? Where is he?” Kris demanded.

“Huh?”

Kris pointed to the chair across the room.

Sitting straight up in the chair, Slappy grinned back at them, bathed in morning sunlight.

But Mr. Wood was gone.

Kris blinked several times and pushed herself up in bed with both hands. Her left hand tingled. She must have been sleeping on it, she realized.

“What? What’s wrong?” Lindy asked, her voice fogged with sleep.

“Where’s Mr. Wood?” Kris demanded impatiently. “Where’d you put him?”

“Huh? Put him?” Lindy struggled to focus her eyes. She saw Slappy sitting stiffly on the chair across the room. By himself.

“It’s not funny,” Kris snapped. She climbed out of bed, pulled down the hem of her nightshirt, and made her way quickly to the chair in front of the window. “Don’t you ever get tired of playing stupid jokes?”

“Jokes? Huh?” Lindy lowered her feet to the floor.

Kris bent down to search the floor under the chair. Then she moved to the foot of the bed and got down on her knees to search under both twin beds.

“Where is he, Lindy?” she asked angrily, on her knees at the foot of the bed. “I don’t think this is funny. I really don’t.”

“Well, neither do I,” Lindy insisted, standing up and stretching.

Kris climbed to her feet. Her eyes went wide as she spotted the missing dummy.

“Oh!”

Lindy followed her sister’s startled gaze.

Mr. Wood grinned at them from the doorway. He appeared to be standing, his skinny legs bent at an awkward angle.

He was wearing Kris’ dress-up clothes, the Betsey Johnson skirt and the silk blouse.

Her mouth wide open in surprise, Kris made her way quickly to the doorway. She immediately saw that the dummy wasn’t really standing on his own. He had been propped up, the doorknob shoved into the opening in his back.

She grabbed the dummy by the waist and pulled him away from the door. “My blouse. It’s all wrinkled,” she cried, holding it so Lindy could see. She narrowed her eyes angrily at her sister. “This was so obnoxious of you, Lindy.”

“Me?” Lindy shrieked. “I swear, Kris, I didn’t do it. I slept like a rock last night. I didn’t move. I didn’t get up till you woke me. I didn’t do it. Really!”

Kris stared hard at her sister, then lowered her eyes to the dummy.

In her blouse and skirt, Mr. Wood grinned up at her, as if enjoying her bewilderment.

“Well, Mr. Wood,” Kris said aloud, “I guess you put on my clothes and walked to the door all by yourself!”

Lindy started to say something. But their mother’s voice from downstairs interrupted. “Are you girls going to school today? Where are you? You’re late!”

“Coming!” Kris called down, casting an angry glance at Lindy. She carefully set Mr. Wood down on his back on her bed and pulled her skirt and blouse off him. She looked up to see Lindy making a mad dash across the hall to be first in the bathroom.

Sighing, Kris stared down at Mr. Wood. The dummy grinned up at her, a mischievous grin.

“Well? What’s going on?” she asked the dummy. “I didn’t dress you up and move you. And Lindy swears she didn’t do it.”

But if we didn’t do it, she thought, who did?

“Tilt his head forward,” Lindy instructed. “That’s it. If you bounce him up and down a little, it’ll make it look like he’s laughing.”

Kris obediently bounced Mr. Wood on her lap, making him laugh.

“Don’t move his mouth so much,” Lindy told her.

“I think you’re both crazy,” Lindy’s friend Alice said.

“So what else is new?” Cody joked.

All four of them were sitting in a small patch of shade under the bent old maple tree in the Powells’ back yard. It was a hot Saturday afternoon, the sun high in a pale blue sky, streaks of yellow light filtering down through the shifting leaves above their heads.

Barky sniffed busily around the yard, his little tail wagging nonstop.

Kris sat on a folding chair, which leaned back against the gnarled tree trunk. She had Mr. Wood on her lap.

Lindy and Alice stood at the edge of the shade, their hands crossed over their chests, watching Kris’ performance with frowns of concentration on their faces.

Alice was a tall, skinny girl, with straight black hair down to her shoulders, a snub nose, and a pretty, heart-shaped mouth. She was wearing white shorts and a bright blue midriff top.

Cody was sprawled on his back in the grass, his hands behind his head, a long blade of grass between his teeth.

Kris was trying to show off her ventriloquist skills. But Lindy kept interrupting with “helpful” suggestions. When she wasn’t making suggestions, Lindy was nervously glancing at her watch. She didn’t want to be late for her job at Amy’s birthday party at two o’clock.

“I think you’re way weird,” Alice told Lindy.

“Hey, no way,” Lindy replied. “Slappy is a lot of fun. And I’m going to make a lot of money with him. And maybe I’ll be a comedy star or something when I’m older.” She glanced at her watch again.

“Well, everyone at school thinks that both of you are weird,” Alice said, swatting a fly off her bare arm.

“Who cares?” Lindy replied sharply. “They’re all weird, too.”

“And so are you,” Kris made Mr. Wood say.

“I could see your lips move,” Lindy told Kris.

Kris rolled her eyes. “Give me a break. You’ve been giving me a hard time all morning.”

“Just trying to help,” Lindy said. “You don’t have to be so defensive, do you?”

Kris uttered an angry growl.

“Was that your stomach?” she made Mr. Wood say.

Cody laughed.

“At least one person thinks you’re funny,” Lindy said dryly. “But if you want to do parties, you really should get some better jokes.”

Kris let the dummy slump to her lap. “I can’t find any good joke books,” she said dejectedly. “Where do you find your jokes?”

A superior sneer formed on Lindy’s face. She tossed her long hair behind her shoulder. “I make up my own jokes,” she replied snootily.

“You are a joke!” Cody said.

“Ha-ha. Remind me to laugh later,” Lindy said sarcastically.

“I can’t believe you don’t have your dummy out here,” Alice told Lindy. “I mean, don’t you want to rehearse for the party?”

“No need,” Lindy replied. “I’ve got my act down. I don’t want to over-rehearse.”

Kris groaned loudly.

“Some of the other parents are staying at the birthday party to watch Slappy and me,” Lindy continued, ignoring Kris’ sarcasm. “If the kids like me, their parents might hire me for their parties.”

“Maybe you and Kris should do an act together,” Alice suggested. “That could be really awesome.”

“Yeah. What an act! Then there’d be four dummies!” Cody joked.

Alice was the only one to laugh.

Lindy made a face at Cody. “That might actually be fun,” she said thoughtfully. And then she added, “When Kris is ready.”

Kris drew in her breath and prepared to make an angry reply.

But before she could say anything, Lindy grabbed Mr. Wood from her hands. “Let me give you a few pointers,” Lindy said, putting one foot on Kris’ folding chair and arranging Mr. Wood on her lap. “You have to hold him up straighter, like this.”

“Hey—give him back,” Kris demanded, reaching for her dummy.

As she reached up, Mr. Wood suddenly lowered his head until he was staring down at her. “You’re a jerk!” he rasped in Kris’ face, speaking in a low, throaty growl.

“Huh?” Kris pulled back in surprise.

“You’re a stupid jerk!” Mr. Wood repeated nastily in the same harsh growl.

“Lindy—stop it!” Kris cried.

Cody and Alice both stared in openmouthed surprise.

“Stupid moron! Get lost! Get lost, stupid jerk!” the dummy rasped in Kris’ face.

“Whoa!” Cody exclaimed.

“Make him stop!” Kris screamed at her sister.

“I can’t!” Lindy cried in a trembling voice. Her face became pale, her eyes wide with fear. “I can’t make him stop, Kris! He—he’s speaking for himself!”

The dummy glared at Kris, its grin ugly and evil.

“I—I can’t make him stop. I’m not doing it,” Lindy cried. Tugging with all her might, she pulled Mr. Wood out of Kris’ face.

Cody and Alice flashed each other bewildered glances.

Frightened, Kris raised herself from the folding chair and backed up against the tree trunk. “He—he’s talking on his own?” She stared hard at the grinning dummy.

“I—I think so. I’m… all mixed up!” Lindy declared, her cheeks bright pink.

Barky yipped and jumped on Lindy’s legs, trying to get her attention. But she kept her gaze on Kris’ frightened face.

“This is a joke—right?” Cody asked hopefully.

“What’s going on?” Alice demanded, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

Ignoring them, Lindy handed Mr. Wood back to Kris. “Here. Take him. He’s yours. Maybe you can control him.”

“But, Lindy—” Kris started to protest.

Lindy glared at her watch. “Oh, no! The party! I’m late!” Shaking her head, she took off toward the house. “Later!” she called without looking back.

“But Lindy—” Kris called.

The kitchen door slammed behind Lindy.

Holding Mr. Wood by the shoulders, Kris lowered her eyes to his face. He grinned up at her, a devilish grin, his eyes staring intently into hers.

Kris swung easily, leaning back and raising her feet into the air. The chains squeaked with every swing. The old back yard swingset, half covered with rust, hadn’t been used much in recent years.

The early evening sun was lowering itself behind the house. The aroma of a roasting chicken floated out from the kitchen window. Kris could hear her mother busy in the kitchen preparing dinner.

Barky yapped beneath her. Kris dropped her feet to the ground and stopped the swing to avoid kicking him. “Dumb dog. Don’t you know you could get hurt?”

She looked up to see Lindy come running up the driveway, holding Slappy under her arm. From the smile on Lindy’s face, Kris knew at once that the birthday party had been a triumph. But she had to ask anyway. “How’d it go?”

“It was awesome!” Lindy exclaimed. “Slappy and I were great!”

Kris pulled herself off the swing and forced a smile to her face. “That’s nice,” she offered.

“The kids thought we were a riot!” Lindy continued. She pulled Slappy up. “Didn’t they, Slappy?”

“They liked me. Hated you!” Slappy declared in Lindy’s high-pitched voice.

Kris forced a laugh. “I’m glad it went okay,” she said, trying hard to be a good sport.

“I did a sing-along with Slappy, and it went over really well. Then Slappy and I did our rap routine. What a hit!” Lindy gushed.

She’s spreading it on a little thick, Kris thought bitterly. Kris couldn’t help feeling jealous.

“The kids all lined up to talk to Slappy,” Lindy continued. “Didn’t they, Slappy?”

“Everyone loved me,” she made the dummy say. “Where’s my share of the loot?”

“So you got paid twenty dollars?” Kris asked, kicking at a clump of weeds.

“Twenty-five,” Lindy replied. “Amy’s mom said I was so good, she’d pay me extra. Oh. And guess what else? You know Mrs. Evans? The woman who always wears the leopardskin pants? You know—Anna’s mom? She asked me to do Anna’s party next Sunday. She’s going to pay me thirty dollars! I’m going to be rich!”

“Wow. Thirty dollars,” Kris muttered, shaking her head.

“I get twenty. You get ten,” Lindy made Slappy say.

“I have to go tell Mom the good news!” Lindy said. “What have you been doing all afternoon?”

“Well, after you left, I was pretty upset,” Kris replied, following Lindy to the house. “You know. About Mr. Wood. I—I put him upstairs. Alice and Cody went home. Then Mom and I went to the mall.”

His tail wagging furiously, Barky ran right over their feet, nearly tripping both of them. “Barky, look out!” Lindy yelled.

“Oh. I nearly forgot,” Kris said, stopping on the back stoop. “Something good happened.”

Lindy stopped, too. “Something good?”

“Yeah. I ran into Mrs. Berman at the mall.” Mrs. Berman was their music teacher and organizer of the spring concert.

“Thrills,” Lindy replied sarcastically.

“And Mrs. Berman asked if Mr. Wood and I wanted to be master of ceremonies for the spring concert.” Kris smiled at her sister.

Lindy swallowed hard. “She asked you to host the concert?”

“Yeah. I get to perform with Mr. Wood in front of everyone!” Kris gushed happily. She saw a flash of jealousy on Lindy’s face, which made her even happier.

Lindy pulled open the screen door. “Well, good luck,” she said dryly. “With that weird dummy of yours, you’ll need it.”

Dinner was spent talking about Lindy’s performance at Amy Marshall’s birthday party. Lindy and Mrs. Powell chatted excitedly. Kris ate in silence.

“At first I thought the whole thing was strange, I have to admit,” Mrs. Powell said, scooping ice cream into bowls for dessert. “I just couldn’t believe you’d be interested in ventriloquism, Lindy. But I guess you have a flair for it. I guess you have some talent.”

Lindy beamed. Mrs. Powell normally wasn’t big on compliments.

“I found a book in the school library about ventriloquism,” Lindy said. “It had some pretty good tips in it. It even had a comedy routine to perform.” She glanced at Kris. “But I like making up my own jokes better.”

“You should watch your sister’s act,” Mrs. Powell told Kris, handing her a bowl of ice cream. “I mean, you could probably pick up some pointers for the concert at school.”

“Maybe,” Kris replied, trying to hide how annoyed she was.

After dinner, Mr. Powell called from Portland, and they all talked with him. Lindy told him about her success with Slappy at the birthday party. Kris told him about being asked to host the concert with Mr. Wood. Her father promised he wouldn’t schedule any road trips so that he could attend the concert.

After watching a video their mother had rented at the mall, the two sisters went up to their room. It was a little after eleven.

Kris clicked on the light. Lindy followed her in.

They both glanced across the room to the chair where they kept the two dummies—and gasped.

“Oh, no!” Lindy cried, raising one hand to her wide open mouth.

Earlier that night, the dummies had been placed side by side in a sitting position.

But now Slappy was upside down, falling out of the chair, his head on the floor. His brown shoes had been pulled off his feet and tossed against the wall. His suit jacket had been pulled halfway down his arms, trapping his hands behind his back.

“L-look!” Kris stammered, although her sister was already staring in horror at the scene. “Mr. Wood—he’s…” Kris’ voice caught in her throat.

Mr. Wood was sprawled on top of Slappy. His hands were wrapped around Slappy’s throat, as if he were strangling him.

“I—I don’t believe this!” Kris managed to whisper. She turned and caught the frightened expression on Lindy’s face.

“What’s going on?” Lindy cried.

Both sisters hurried across the room. Kris grabbed Mr. Wood by the back of the neck and pulled him off the other dummy. She felt as if she were separating two fighting boys.

She held Mr. Wood up in front of her, examining him carefully, staring at his face as if half-expecting him to talk to her.

Then she lowered the dummy and tossed it facedown onto her bed. Her face was pale and taut with fear.

Lindy stooped and picked up Slappy’s brown shoes from the floor. She held them up and studied them, as if they would offer a clue as to what had happened.

“Kris—did you do this?” Lindy asked softly.

“Huh? Me?” Kris reacted with surprise.

“I mean, I know you’re jealous of Slappy and me—” Lindy started.

“Whoa. Wait a minute,” Kris replied angrily in a shrill, trembling voice. “I didn’t do this, Lindy. Don’t accuse me.”

Lindy glared at her sister, studying her face. Then her expression softened and she sighed. “I don’t get. I just don’t get it. Look at Slappy. He’s nearly been torn apart.”

She set the shoes down on the chair and picked the dummy up gently as if picking up a baby. Holding him in one hand, she struggled to pull his suit jacket up with the other.

Kris heard her sister mutter something. It sounded like “Your dummy is evil.”

“What did you say?” Kris demanded.

“Nothing,” Lindy replied, still struggling with the jacket. “I’m… uh… I’m kind of scared about this,” Lindy confessed, blushing, avoiding Kris’ eyes.

“Me, too,” Kris admitted. “Something weird is going on. I think we should tell Mom.”

Lindy buttoned the jacket. Then she sat down on the bed with Slappy on her lap and started to replace the dummy’s shoes. “Yeah. I guess we should,” she replied. “It—it’s just so creepy.”

Their mother was in bed, reading a Stephen King novel. Her bedroom was dark except for a tiny reading lamp on her headboard that threw down a narrow triangle of yellow light.

Mrs. Powell uttered a short cry as her two daughters appeared out of the shadows. “Oh. You startled me. This is such a scary book, and I think I was just about to fall asleep.”

“Can we talk to you?” Kris asked eagerly in a low whisper.

“Something weird is going on,” Lindy added.

Mrs. Powell yawned and closed her book. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s about Mr. Wood,” Kris said. “He’s been doing a lot of strange things.”

“Huh?” Mrs. Powell’s eyes opened wide. She looked pale and tired under the harsh light from the reading lamp.

“He was strangling Slappy,” Lindy reported. “And this afternoon, he said some really gross things. And—”

“Stop!” Mrs. Powell ordered, raising one hand. “Just stop.”

“But, Mom—” Kris started.

“Give me a break, girls,” their mother said wearily. “I’m tired of your silly competitions.”

“You don’t understand,” Lindy interrupted.

“Yes, I do understand,” Mrs. Powell said sharply. “You two are even competing with those ventriloquist dummies.”

“Mom, please!”

“I want it to stop right now,” Mrs. Powell insisted, tossing the book onto her bed table. “I mean it. I don’t want to hear another word from either of you about those dummies. If you two have problems, settle it between yourselves.”

“Mom, listen—”

“And if you can’t settle it, I’ll take the dummies away. Both of them. I’m serious.” Mrs. Powell reached above her head and clicked off the reading light, throwing the room into darkness. “Good night,” she said.

The girls had no choice but to leave the room. They slunk down the hall in silence.

Kris hesitated at the doorway to their bedroom. She expected to find Mr. Wood strangling Slappy again. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the two dummies on the bed where they had been left.

“Mom wasn’t too helpful,” Lindy said dryly, rolling her eyes. She picked up Slappy and started to arrange him in the chair in front of the window.

“I think she was asleep and we woke her up,” Kris replied.

She picked up Mr. Wood and started toward the chair with him—then stopped. “You know what? I think I’m going to put him in the closet tonight,” she said thoughtfully.

“Good idea,” Lindy said, climbing into bed.

Kris glanced down at the dummy, half-expecting him to react. To complain. To start calling her names.

But Mr. Wood grinned up at her, his painted eyes dull and lifeless.

Kris felt a chill of fear.

I’m becoming afraid of a stupid ventriloquist’s dummy, she thought.

I’m shutting him up in the closet tonight because I’m afraid.

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