Casketball Capers (4 page)

But at last they did it. With a
POP! POP! POP!
they were all fluttering around the playground.

“Come on,” said Bella. “Let's all play hide-and-seek! I'll count to twenty.” She shut her eyes.

“One, two, three—”

Quick as a flash, Billy darted out of sight. Lee looked around for a hiding place. On a window ledge? No, Bella would spot him too easily.

“Four, five, six—”

Inside the school trash cans? Poo! Too smelly!

“Seven, eight, nine—”

“Aha!” thought Lee. “Behind the school gates!”

But Billy was already hiding there.

“Buzz off, Lee!” he said. “You'll give us both away!”

“Ten, eleven, twelve—”

“Yikes!” cried Lee. “This is harder than I thought!”

“Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen—”

DONG!
The school clock struck midnight.

“That's it!” Lee thought suddenly. “The clock tower! What better place for a bat to hide than in a belfry?

“Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen—”

Lee made it to the tower just as Bella cried, “Nineteen, twenty. Ready or not, here I come!”

Lee darted through a hole in the school clock—and bumped straight into another bat.

“Hey, watch where you're going!” said the bat.

“Sorry!” said Lee.

He didn't recognize the other bat, so he said, “My name's Lee. What's yours?”

“Boris,” grunted the bat gruffly.

“Hi Boris,” smiled Lee. “I'm in Miss Gargoyle's class. Which class are you in?”

“Class?” snorted Boris. “Oh, I'm not one of you silly vampire kids. I'm a
real
bat.”

“A real bat!” gasped Lee. “Wow! Cool!”

“That's right,” said Boris. “You vampires think you're so clever, turning into bats and all. But you can't do half the things a
real
bat can do. Watch this!”

Boris folded his wings and dropped like a stone, all the way down to the bottom of the tower.

“Hey!” yelled Lee in terror. “Watch out!”

Boris was just about to hit the ground when he opened his wings and pulled up at the last moment. He fluttered back up to Lee.

“See?” said Boris. “Now you go and play with those vampire friends of yours. Belfries are for
real
bats.”

“But I'm supposed to be hiding,” said Lee. “Can't I stay for a while? I'd
love
to learn some real bat tricks. They're so cool!”

Boris shrugged. “Well, all right. Just for a little while though. I don't want any of my friends to think I hang out with
vampires.”

Lee was delighted. With Boris to help he tried dive-bombing…

looping the loop…