Halloween Fraidy Cat Read online

  by ABBY KLEIN

  illustrated by

  JOHN MCKINLEY

  To Toes and Schmoop:

  My favorite trick-or-treaters.

  Happy Haunting!

  Love, A.K.

  I have a problem.

  A really, really, big problem.

  I have been invited to

  a Halloween party. I love

  Halloween, but I’m scared

  of all the ghosts, goblins,

  and monsters!

  Let me tell you about it

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Dear Reader

  Chapter 1: You’re Invited

  Chapter 2: Fraidy-Cat

  Chapter 3: It’s Just a Mask!

  Chapter 4: Big Mouth

  Chapter 5: Getting Ready

  Chapter 6: Enter If You Dare!

  Chapter 7: The Contest

  Chapter 8: What Was That?

  Freddy’s Fun Pages

  FREDDY’S SHARK JOURNAL

  HALLOWEEN

  CROSSWORD

  THE FUNNIEST HALLOWEEN EVER

  Freddy’s Other Adventures!

  Copyright

  DEAR READER,

  When I was in second grade, I got the crazy idea that I wanted to dress up as a traffic light for Halloween. My dad worked really hard and made my costume out of a large refrigerator box. He even rigged it with a switch, so that I could actually light up!

  On Halloween night, I was so excited to show my friends my cool costume. When I ran out of the house to go trick-or-treating, I tripped down my front steps because I couldn’t really see from inside the box. I scraped up both knees and started to cry. My mom cleaned me up, changed me into something else, and my dad wore the traffic light for the rest of the night!

  I hope you have as much fun reading Halloween Fraidy-Cat as I had writing it.

  HAPPY READING!

  CHAPTER 1

  You’re Invited

  “Guess what, everyone?” Chloe said excitedly, as the class sat down to lunch. “Next Saturday I am going to have a big Halloween party, and you’re all invited!”

  “Cool!” Max said. “That sounds like fun, even if it is at your house.”

  “That’s not a very nice thing to say, Max. I’m not going to invite you now unless you say you’re sorry.”

  “B-b-but …” Max stammered. Chloe got on his nerves, but he really wanted to go to the party. Chloe lived in a huge house, and she always had the best parties.

  “I’m waiting,” Chloe said with one hand cupped behind her ear. “What do you have to say to me, Maxwell?”

  Max’s face turned bright red. He hated being called Maxwell.

  “I’m sorry,” Max mumbled.

  “What’s that? I didn’t hear you,” said Chloe. “You need to speak up.” She was really enjoying acting like the teacher.

  “SORRY!” he barked in her face.

  “Well, you don’t have to yell,” Chloe said as she shrank back. I think she realized she was starting to make Max angry, and that was definitely not something anybody wanted to do. After all, he was the biggest bully in the whole first grade.

  “OK, you can come, but don’t get any slime or fake blood on my new pink satin gown,” Chloe said. “My mom had someone sew it just for me because there wasn’t one I liked at the costume store.”

  “Let me guess,” Jessie said. “You’re going to be a princess for Halloween.”

  “Yes! How did you know?” Chloe chirped.

  “A lucky guess,” Jessie couldn’t help muttering. “Personally, I think you should be the Bride of Frankenstein.”

  “Ewww,” Chloe said, wrinkling up her nose. “That’s not very pretty, and besides, I would never be married to a monster, only Prince Charming.”

  “Whatever, Cinderella. I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing pink,” said Jessie. “I’m going to be Dracula. I’ve already got the bloody fangs.”

  “Girls can’t be Dracula,” Max said, laughing.

  “Why not?” asked Jessie.

  “Because that’s a boy’s costume.”

  “No it’s not.”

  “Yes it is.”

  “Says who?”

  “Says me.”

  “Well, you’re wrong. The great thing about Halloween is that you can dress up as anything you want. Right, Freddy?”

  “Uh, yeah, right,” I said. “I think Jessie is going to be a great Dracula. I can’t wait to see her in her costume. I bet it’s going to be really scary. You know Jessie’s not afraid of anything.”

  “And how about you, wimp?” Max said, turning his attention to me. “What are you going to be this year? Wait, let me guess. Some kind of shark?”

  “What makes you think I’m going to be a shark?”

  “Uh, duh, because you dress up as one every year!” said Max, twirling his right pointer finger to make the cuckoo sign.

  “Freddy is not crazy,” said Jessie. “He just really likes sharks. Is there anything wrong with that?”

  “No, it’s just so boring to be the same thing every year,” Max said.

  I do really love sharks. They are my favorite animal on the planet. I dress up as a different kind of shark each year for Halloween. Last year I was a thresher shark, but the long tail sort of got in my way. This year I was thinking of wearing a hammerhead costume. I hadn’t actually decided for sure yet.

  “Well, Max, for your information,” Robbie interrupted, “Freddy is a different kind of shark every year. All sharks are not the same, you know.” Robbie is my best friend, and he is like a science genius. He knows everything about everything.

  “Whatever, geek,” Max shot back. “You all are so boring.”

  “Oh yeah?” said Jessie. “What are you dressing up as, Max? A ballerina?” Everyone at the table started to crack up. I was laughing so hard I thought my milk was going to come out of my nose. The thought of Max in a pink leotard and tutu was hilarious.

  “Ha-ha,” said Max, “very funny, but no.”

  “A bunny rabbit with whiskers and a little cottontail?” Jessie continued.

  Now I was laughing uncontrollably. I almost fell off the bench I was sitting on, and some chewed-up bologna came flying out of my mouth. Jessie was so brave to always stand up to Max. I wish I were that brave.

  “Oh, that’s so funny, I forgot to laugh,” Max said. Then he narrowed his eyes. “If you wimps really want to know, I am going to be a zombie. My costume is going to scare the pants off all of you guys.”

  “What do you mean?” Chloe squeaked. “How scary is it?” I could tell she was starting to think twice about inviting Max to her Halloween party.

  “It was the scariest costume in the store.”

  I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear about Max’s costume, or see it for that matter. I was really afraid of ghosts, goblins, and monsters of any kind. Just seeing them gave me nightmares, but I didn’t want to say that, or everybody would think I was a baby. “Oh, yeah, what makes it so scary?” I said, trying to sound as tough as possible.

  “It has this pump inside,” Max continued, “that pumps fake blood. If I squeeze the handle, it looks like blood is dripping down my body. It is so cool, and the blood looks real. The mask is really scary, too. When I tried it on in the costume store, some little girl started crying.”

  I gulped. That really did sound scary. I thought if I saw it, I might have nightmares for months.

  “It doesn’t sound that scary,” Jessie said. “Besides, we know the blood is fake.”

  “Right,” I thought to myself. “Now, just remember the blood is fake.”

  “Well, we’ll see how brave you all are next Saturday,” said Max.r />
  “I can’t wait,” said Jessie. “I’ll be laughing, not crying.”

  “Yeah, laughing,” I mumbled, smiling weakly. Maybe I could get the chicken pox by next Saturday, and then no one would know what a fraidy-cat I really was.

  CHAPTER 2

  Fraidy-Cat

  “Freddy, honey, you got some mail today,” my mom said as she handed me a bright orange envelope.

  “Did I get one?” Suzie asked.

  “No. Sorry, honey. Just Freddy.”

  “That’s not fair!” Suzie whined.

  “What do you mean it’s not fair?” my dad asked. “Your mother and I do not work at the Post Office. We don’t control the mail.”

  “Let me see it,” Suzie said, trying to grab the envelope out of my hand. “Who’s it from?”

  “Suzie,” my dad said, “that is Freddy’s mail, not yours. Stop trying to grab it.”

  “Well, I just want to know who it’s from,” she insisted.

  “Freddy will tell you as soon as he opens it,” my mom said. “Just be patient a minute.”

  “Oh, I don’t need to open it. I already know who it’s from,” I said.

  “Do you have special powers?” my mom asked. “How do you know who it’s from?”

  “It’s from Chloe.”

  “Chloe?” Suzie said. “You don’t even like her. What would she be inviting you to?”

  “She’s having a big Halloween party, and she invited the whole class. She told us about it at lunch today.”

  “Well, I guess we know who won’t be going,” Suzie teased.

  “Why wouldn’t Freddy go?” my mom asked.

  “Why wouldn’t he go? Why wouldn’t he go? Are you kidding me, Mom?” Suzie said.

  “Yeah, Suzie,” said my dad. “Why wouldn’t Freddy go to a Halloween party?”

  “Because he is only the biggest fraidy-cat on the whole planet,” Suzie continued. “He can’t even look at pictures of monsters without having nightmares.”

  “I can, too!” I butted in.

  “Oh no you can’t,” said Suzie. “The last time you saw that movie poster with the zombies on it, you had nightmares for weeks!”

  “Well, even tough guys get scared once in a while,” said my dad, winking at me.

  “And besides, Freddy’s getting to be a big boy,” said my mom. “I think he’s old enough to go to a Halloween party and not have nightmares.”

  “Oh yeah, right,” Suzie snickered.

  I opened the envelope and looked at the invitation. There was a spooky haunted house on the front, and above the house it said, “Come to our haunted house if you dare. You’ll have a ghoul of a good time!”

  “See, what did I tell you?” said Suzie. “It’s going to be a haunted house.” Then she made her voice sound spooky. “And in a spooky haunted house, there are ghosts, and goblins, and monsters that jump out at you.” Then she jumped at me and yelled, “BOO!”

  I leaped about ten feet in the air.

  Suzie started laughing hysterically. “That was one of the funniest things I ever saw. You are such a fraidy-cat, Freddy.”

  “Suzie, that was not very nice,” said my mom. “You didn’t need to scare him like that.”

  “Scare him! All I did was yell ‘Boo!’ If he was afraid of that, there is no way the little baby can go to this party without his mommy and daddy.”

  “Moms and dads aren’t invited,” I interrupted. “It’s for kids only.”

  “Then you’d better call and tell them you won’t be coming.”

  “Suzie, that is enough,” my dad said. “Unless you have something encouraging to say to your brother, I would like you to keep your mouth shut.”

  “B-but …” Suzie stammered.

  “I mean it,” said my dad. “Or else I’ll send you to your room.”

  “The party sounds really fun. Chloe was talking about it at school today, and everyone’s going,” I said, trying not to sound nervous about it even though I was.

  “I know you’ve been scared of some Halloween creatures,” said my mom, “but I bet they don’t scare you anymore. I think you are old enough now to go by yourself.”

  “Of course I’m old enough to go, Mom. I’m not afraid of those things. I’m not a baby,” I said, still trying to convince myself.

  Suzie started to open her mouth again, but my dad glared at her, so she closed it and didn’t say anything.

  “That’s right,” said my dad. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

  “I know the blood is fake, and the monsters are just dolls or people dressed up in scary costumes.”

  “Exactly,” said my dad.

  “When is the party?” my mom asked.

  “Next Saturday.”

  “Next Saturday! That’s only a week away. We’d better get started on your costume.”

  “I was thinking that this year I would be a hammerhead, Mom.”

  “Ugh,” Suzie moaned. “A shark! Are you ever going to dress up as something else?”

  “What difference does it make to you, Suzie?” my dad asked.

  “It’s just that there are so many cool costumes at the party store. I thought that one year Freddy might wear something that didn’t embarrass me. Those shark costumes are just so lame.”

  “I beg your pardon, young lady,” said my mom, “but I work very hard on those special shark costumes.”

  Because I can’t find any shark costumes in the store, every year my mom makes my costume for me.

  “Don’t get me wrong, Mom,” Suzie continued. “You do a great job. But I mean, who dresses up as a shark? Halloween is a time for ghosts, and monsters, and ninjas.”

  “Halloween is a time to dress up as your favorite thing, and Freddy loves sharks. Why shouldn’t he dress up as one?”

  “One year I could understand, but every year? Do me a favor, just look at the other costumes this year, OK?” said Suzie.

  “Fine, I’ll look,” I said. Maybe she had a point. Maybe I wouldn’t be so afraid of the monsters if I dressed up as one. I could remind myself that it was just a person in a costume like me.

  “Well, since the party is next weekend,

  I’d better take you two to the party store tomorrow,” my mom said.

  “Cool,” said Suzie. “I hope they still have the Bride of Frankenstein costume I want to wear this year.”

  “Yeah, cool,” I mumbled, faking a smile. I was already starting to feel a little queasy about seeing those monster masks staring down at me from the party store wall.

  CHAPTER 3

  It’s Just a Mask!

  The next day after school, my mom took Suzie and me to the party store to pick out costumes. As we pulled up, Suzie pointed out the window and yelled, “Oooo … look! That is the coolest costume ever!”

  In front of the store, there was a guy dressed in a zombie costume carrying a sign that read “The Best Costumes in Town!”

  “Freddy, isn’t that a cool costume?” Suzie said. “Maybe you want to be that this year.”

  I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to get out of the car. That thing was really scary. I had to look away.

  “Uh, Earth to Freddy. Earth to Freddy,” Suzie said, waving her hand in front of my face. “What?”

  “I said, isn’t that a cool costume that guy is wearing? Don’t you want to be that this year instead of some dumb old shark?”

  “Yeah, maybe,” I said, smiling weakly. Who was I kidding? I wouldn’t put that costume on if you paid me a million bucks! It was way too scary. I wouldn’t even be able to look at myself in the mirror.

  My mom stopped the car, and Suzie jumped out. I didn’t move. I was still trying to talk myself into getting out of the car. “It’s just a guy in a costume,” I mumbled to myself. “It’s just a guy in a costume.”

  “Did you say something to me, Freddy?” asked my mom.

  Just then, when I wasn’t expecting it, Suzie knocked on the window, and I let out a scream: “AAAAHHHHH!”

  Suzie started to laugh.
“You are such a fraidy-cat!” she yelled through the window. “Let’s go, or all the good costumes will be gone!”

  I got out of the car and grabbed my mom’s hand. Suzie ran ahead and ran right up to the zombie. I was planning on avoiding him altogether, but then Suzie yelled, “Hey, Freddy, come over here. Check out this awesome costume up close.”

  I really didn’t want to go over there. I wasn’t ready to get that close. Not just yet. “I’m sure they have it inside,” I called back. “I’ll see it when we get in there.”

  “Whatever,” Suzie said.

  We all went inside. The place was packed with kids trying on costumes. A princess, a pirate, a ninja, Frankenstein.

  “Oh, look, there’s Frankenstein,” Suzie said. “I hope that means they also have his bride. Let’s go look in the girl’s section.”

  “Uh, I’ll just stay here and wait,” I said.

  “Freddy, honey, it’s really crowded in here,” my mom said. “You need to come with us. I don’t want to leave you by yourself.”

  “Oh, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me. I won’t go anywhere. I’ll just stay right here.”

  “No, you need to come with us,” my mom insisted, pulling me by the hand. “I don’t want to lose you.”

  “Can we go this way?” I asked, pointing in the other direction.

  “Freddy, what is wrong with you?”

  “I know what’s wrong with him,” Suzie piped up. “He’s too afraid to walk past the wall of masks.”

  “The what?” my mom asked.

  “The wall of masks. That’s where they hang all the really scary masks, and you have to walk past it to get to the girl’s section.”

  “I am not afraid of that dumb wall,” I said. I really was, but there was no way I was going to let Suzie know that. “I, uh, just don’t want to watch a bunch of girls try on silly princess costumes.”

  “Well, you don’t have a choice,” my mom said, dragging me down the aisle. “We all need to stay together.”