CHAPTER 5

Getting Ready

“Freddy, time to come downstairs and get into your costume,” my mom called. “You don’t want to be late for the party!”

Being late wasn’t such a bad idea. Maybe I’d miss the haunted house part and arrive just in time for the games.

“Remember, we promised Robbie’s mom that we’d pick him up, so you need to get a move on! Let’s go!”

So much for arriving late. I couldn’t make Robbie miss half the party just because I was a fraidy-cat.

But there was no way I was going without my lucky shark’s tooth. It always made me feel better when I rubbed it. I had to have it if I was going to make it through that haunted house tonight. My mom was just going to have to wait a few minutes. I had been turning my room upside down searching for it for the last twenty minutes. I sat down on my bed and hit my forehead with the palm of my hand. “Think, think, think.” No luck. No good ideas were coming to me. Maybe Suzie knew where it was.

“Suzie!” I called. “Suzie … Suzie …”

She stuck her head out of the bathroom — that’s where she spent most of her time. “What do you want, Stinkyhead? It’d better be something really important. I’m trying to get ready for Amy’s party.”

I ran over to the bathroom. “Have you seen my lucky shark’s tooth?”

“No, and I don’t have time to help you look for it.” She started to close the bathroom door, but I stuck my foot in before she got it closed all the way.

“Move your foot, you big pain. I told you I don’t have time to help you right now. Just leave me alone!”

“But I have to have it for the party tonight, and I can’t find it. I really need your help.” She was pushing on the door, and it was almost closed. I had to think fast. “If you help me, I’ll give you first pick of my Halloween candy. You can take any three pieces you want.” After we went trick-or-treating, Suzie and I always dumped out all our candy and spent about an hour trading for our favorites.

“Make it five pieces, and we have a deal,” Suzie said.

“Five pieces? That’s not fair.”

“Take it or leave it.” Suzie stuck her pinkie out for a pinkie swear. That’s how we sealed all our deals.

“Fine, pinkie swear,” I said as we locked our pinkies together.

“Now,” said Suzie, “what pair of pants did you wear yesterday?”

“Um, my jeans. Why?”

“Because I bet the tooth is in those pants.”

Why didn’t I think of that? I had searched all over my room, but I hadn’t thought to look in my pants from yesterday. “I think those pants are in the dirty clothes hamper. Let me in, so I can check.”

Suzie opened the bathroom door. I ran over to the hamper and started throwing dirty clothes behind me as I looked for my jeans.

“Hey, watch it!” Suzie yelled. I turned and saw that a pair of my underwear had gotten caught in her Bride of Frankenstein wig, which stood about a foot high off her head.

“Sorry!” I said, trying not to laugh. But it looked hilarious.

“It’s not funny,” Suzie whined. “I spent a lot of time getting this wig on, and now you’re messing it up.” She gently pulled the underwear off her head.

“Here they are!” I yelled. I had found my jeans. I stuck my hand in one pocket. Not there. My heart sank. I checked the other pocket. Then I felt it. Hard and smooth and sharp. “I got it! Thanks, Suzie,” I yelled as I started running downstairs. “You’re the best sister in the whole world!”

When I got downstairs, Mom was waiting for me. She was holding the hammerhead costume she had made. It looked really cool.

“This is awesome, Mom,” I said. “Just wait till the other kids see this!”

“I’m glad you like it. I’ve worked hard on it all week. I think my favorite part is the headpiece. It doesn’t cover your face. You just pull it on your head like a hood, and the hammer-looking part sticks off to the sides. Here. Try it all on.”

First I pulled on the shark suit that covered my whole body. It was one piece and had a big fin sticking out the back. Then I put on the hammerhead hood. I ran to look in the bathroom mirror. “Cool,” I whispered to myself. “Just wait till Max sees this. He won’t think it’s so lame.” Oh no! Max. How could I have forgotten? What was it he said yesterday? “Wait until tomorrow.” I was doomed. If I actually survived the haunted house, I still had to face Max. I had already been punched by Max once in my life. I really wasn’t looking forward to going through that again.

“Freddy, honey, where did you go?” My mom’s voice interrupted my thoughts. “We have to leave right now. The party starts in ten minutes. Robbie’s mom just called. She’s wondering where we are.”

I took a deep breath and looked in the mirror. “You are not a fraidy-cat,” I whispered to my reflection. “You are a big, tough shark.”

If only I really believed that!