The Heinie Prize (8 page)
Authors: R.L. Stine
11:59
At 11:59 that morning, Feenman, Crench, and I sat in my room, waiting. Listening.
“How do you know he'll be here in one minute?” Crench asked.
“Ssshhh. Do you hear something?” I whispered.
We listened harder.
Yes. I heard the creak of heavy footsteps on the stairs. Someone was wheezing and panting as he climbed.
Belzer staggered into the room.
I checked my watch. Noon.
Hey, I never miss.
Belzer stood hunched over in the doorway, sweating, shaking, panting. His freckles were quivering on his face.
No one said a word. I waited for him to start begging.
“Bernie, pleaseâ¦,” he started. “Can I come back?”
“Come back
here
?” I said. “Why, King Belzer, you wouldn't want to live in a pit like this!”
“Please, BernieâI can't take it in Nyce House. This morning we had to learn how to KNIT. Then we all sang âRow, Row, Row Your Boat' as a roundâfor hours! Then we planted herbs in an herb garden. Then we all had to dig into our wallets and give money to CHARITY. It's SICK! Totally SICK over there!”
“Sounds like a lot of good fun,” I said. “It's so boring here at Rotten House.”
“Please, Bernie”âBelzer grabbed the front of my shirt and tugged itâ“please, please, please. Let me come back.”
“I don't think so,” I said. “Remember, you're the
King of the Campus. You have to live in style.”
“Forget the king stuff,” Belzer said. “I just want to go back to the way it was.”
I studied him. “You think you could?”
“Yes, yes, oh yes!” he cried. “I'll walk Gassy. I'll do your laundry. I'll do your homework. I'll carry you piggyback to class every morning.”
I stared at him. I rubbed my chin as if I were thinking about it, thinking hard. I shook my head a few times.
Finally, I said, “Okay, Belzer. You can come back. You can move back into the little closet with Feenman and Crench!”
“Oh, thank you, Bernie!” he cried. He had tears running down his face. “Thank you! Thank you! You won't be sorry.”
“Okay,” I said. “Glad that's settled. Glad being king didn't spoil you, Belzer. Glad you're back to your old self. Now you can go get me a root beer.”
“Get your own root beer,” he said.
BOUT THE
A
UTHOR
R.L. Stine
graduated from Rotten School with a solid D+ average, which put him at the top of his class. He says that his favorite activities at school were Scratching Body Parts and Making Armpit Noises.
In sixth grade, R.L. won the school Athletic Award for his performance in the Wedgie Championships. Unfortunately, after the tournament, his underpants had to be surgically removed.
After graduation, R.L. became well known for writing scary book series such as The Nightmare Room, Fear Street, Goosebumps, and Mostly Ghostly, and a short story collection called
Beware!
Today, R.L. lives in New York City, where he is busy writing stories about his school days.
For more information about R.L. Stine, go to www.rottenschool.com and www.rlstine.com
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
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Shake, Rattle, & Hurl!
ROTTEN SCHOOL #
6:
THE HEINIE PRIZE
. Copyright © 2006 by Parachute Publishing, L.L.C. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Adobe Digital Edition March 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-190771-5
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