Diary of a Wimpy Kid Read Online Free Page A

basement.]
    The first kid to cough up his two bucks was Shane Snella. He paid his money and we let him inside, and me and Rowley took our positions in the Hall of Screams.
    57
    The Hall of Screams was basically a bed with me and Rowley on either side of it.
    [Image: A cartoon showing children in the hall of Screams.]
    I guess maybe we made the Hall of Screams a little too scary, because halfway through, Shane curled up in a ball underneath the bed. We tried to get him to crawl out from under there, but he wouldn't budge.
    I started thinking about all the money we were losing with this kid clogging up the Hall of Screams, and I knew we had to get him out of there, quick.
    Eventually, Rowley's dad came downstairs. At first I was happy to see him, because I thought he could help us drag Shane out from under the bed and get our haunted house cranking again.
    58
    But Rowley's dad wasn't really in a helpful mood.
    [Image: A cartoon showing a boy talking to his father and a kid curled up under the bed.]
    Rowley's dad wanted to know what we were doing, and why Shane Snella was curled up under the bed.
    We told him that the basement was a haunted house, and that Shane Snella actually PAID for us to do this to him. But Rowley's dad didn't believe us.
    I admit that if you looked around, it didn't really look like a haunted house. All we had time to put together was the Hall of Screams and the Lake of Blood, which was just Rowley's old baby pool with half a bottle of ketchup in it.
    59
    I tried to show Rowley's dad our original plan to prove that we really were running a legitimate operation, but he still didn't seem convinced.
    [Image: A cartoon showing a boy trying to convince his father.]
    And to make a long story short, that was the end of our haunted house.
    [Image: : A cartoon showing a boy and his father.]
    The good news is, since Rowley's dad didn't believe us, he didn't make us refund Shane's money. So at least we cleared two bucks today.
    60

    Sunday

    Rowley ended up getting grounded for that whole haunted house mess yesterday. He's not allowed to watch TV for a week, AND he's not allowed to have me over at his house during that time.
    That last part really isn't fair, because that's punishing me, and I didn't even do anything wrong. And now where am I supposed to play my video games?
    Anyway, I felt kind of bad for Rowley. So tonight, I tried to make it up to him. I turned on one of Rowley's favorite TV shows, and I did a play-by-play over the phone so he could kind of experience it that way.
    [Image: : A cartoon showing a boy watching TV.] The Caption Reads: "wow! Look at the size of that Flamethrower!
    Oh Yeah never mind."
    61
    I did my best to keep up with what was going on on the screen, but to be honest with you, I'm not sure if Rowley was getting the full effect.
    [Image: A cartoon showing a boy talking on a phone.] The Caption Reads: "I bet this part is gonna be funny.
    Whup! Ha Ha! I was right it was funny."

    Tuesday

    Well, Rowley's grounding is finally over, and just in time for Halloween, too. I went up to his house to check out his costume, and I have to admit, I'm a little jealous.
    Rowley's Mom got him this knight costume that's WAY cooler than his costume from last year.
    62
    His knight outfit came with a helmet and a shield and a real sword and EVERYTHING.
    [Image: A cartoon showing two boys with knight outfit.]
    I've never had a store-bought costume before. I still haven't figured out what I'm gonna go as tomorrow night, so I'll probably just throw something together at the last minute. I figure maybe I'll bring back the Toilet Paper Mummy again.
    But I think it's supposed to rain tomorrow night, so that might not be the smartest choice.
    [Image: A cartoon showing a boy wrapped allover with toilet paper.]
    63
    In the past few years, the grown-ups in my neighborhood have been getting cranky about my lame costumes, and I'm starting to think it's actually having an effect on the amount of candy I'm bringing