The Big Nap Read Online Free Page A

know? One, Eena is acting like a zombie."
    "Two, so is Bo Newt," said Natalie.
    "Three, somebody or something enslaved them—maybe a hypnotist."
    Natalie scratched herself with a claw. "Four, Bo and Eena spend lots of time at the library, where the zombie expert works."
    "And five...," I said. "Do we have a five?"
    Natalie shook her head.
    I paced while Natalie fluffed her feathers. We needed a plan, a plot, a course of action. What we had was more questions than a six-page math test.
    Natalie looked up. "What's our next step, O prince of detectives?"
    "Um ... I guess we try talking to Eena."
    "We try talking to Eena?"
    "Gee," I said. "You took the words right out of my mouth. And my tongue didn't feel a thing."
    We decided to catch Eena the next morning, before class. Sometimes you can learn more if you grill someone in person (or in pig, as the case may be). If we played it right, maybe we could figure out how to get Meena's little sister out of her pickle.
    If we played it wrong—well, no big deal. I wasn't in a hurry. I thought we had plenty of time.
    I turned out to be wronger than a stuttering sidewinder at a spelling bee.

8. Ghoul of My Dreams
    Next morning, the sun was chirping and the birds were shining. Or something like that. My sleep-starved brain was so groggy, it was hard to figure out which end to put the Cheerios in.
    I dragged my sleepy self to Room 3. I didn't go inside, of course. I wasn't that sleepy. Facing a grumpy alligator first thing in the A.M. isn't my way to say "Good day, sunshine."
    Instead, Natalie and I leaned against the wall outside, watching for a certain young zombie. We didn't have long to wait.
    Shoof, shoof, shoof.
    Eena shuffled down the hall like a rundown robot in a second-rate sci-fi movie. Of course, zombies
always walk like that. (This I knew from watching lots of second-rate sci-fi.)
    We eased off the wall and into her path. "Hi, Eena," I said. "We'd like a word with you."
    Her dull eyes barely saw us. "Must go," she said. "Help teacher."
    "This won't take a minute," I said. "We just want to chat." I steered her gently off to the side.
    "Eena," said Natalie, "do you feel okay?"
    "Feel fine," said Eena.
    "Your sister is worried about you," I said.
    "Feel fine," Eena repeated. "Must go."
    This wasn't going to be as easy as I'd thought. Eena seemed like a graduate of the Frankenstein's
Monster School of Speechmaking. We'd be lucky to get more than three words at a time from her.

    "Why do you have to go?" I asked.
    "Must help teacher. Teacher good."
    She tried to walk away. I grabbed her shoulder.
    "You didn't help the teacher before, did you?" asked Natalie. "Why did you start?"
    The questions confused Eena. Her empty eyes moved in slow circles, like a lost bumblebee in the bottom of a glass. It was kind of spooky.
    "Be good, get allowance," she said. "Must go."
    The guinea pig pushed past me and plodded into her classroom. I drew Natalie down the hall.
    "'Be good, get allowance'?" I said. "What's this, a money zombie? I thought they only haunted Wall Street."
    Natalie smirked. "Maybe she's only a part-dime ghoul, eh? That makes cents."
    I groaned and led us to the cafeteria. A stray muffin might wipe out the taste of Natalie's puns.
    We leaned through the kitchen door. Mrs. Bagoong, head cafeteria lady, was sliding a tray into her oven. Before I could even ask, she said, "Too early, Chet, honey. Come back in ten minutes."
    Timing is everything.
    I turned to go, but something caught my eye.
    Deeper in the cafeteria, Shirley Chameleon leaned
against a table, playing some kind of game. Beyond her, a couple of salamanders were sitting on the bench nearest the stage, watching a top-hatted Waldo the furball. (We never could figure out what kind of animal he was.)
    A hand-lettered sign on the stage read, THE GRATE WALDINI .
    Natalie and I stepped closer.
    "Obserrrve the watch in my hannnd," droned Waldo. "Baaack and forth, baaack and forth. You're getting sleeepy..."
    Natalie