Liar Liar (Nightmare Room Series #4)

by R. L. Stine

Overview

That tall boy walking so confidently into the party is Ross Arthur. This isn't a surprise party, but Ross has a frightening shock in store. You see, standing across the room is Ross's identical twin. The problem? Ross doesn't have a twin. It looks as if tonight this party is being held in The Nightmare Room.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061756986
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/06/2009
Series:	Nightmare Room Series , #4
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	903,651
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	8 - 14 Years

About the Author

R.L. Stine has more than 350 million English language books in print, plus international editions in 32 languages, making him one of the most popular children’s authors in history. Besides Goosebumps, R.L. Stine has written other series, including Fear Street, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room, and Dangerous Girls. R.L. Stine lives in New York with his wife, Jane, and his Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Minnie. Visit him online at rlstine.com.

Hometown:

New York, New York

Date of Birth:

October 8, 1943

Place of Birth:

Columbus, Ohio

Education:

B.A., Ohio State University, 1965

Website:

http://www.rlstine.com

Read an Excerpt

The Nightmare Room #4: Liar Liar

Chapter One

When I was little, a kid told me that everyone has an exact double somewhere in the world. I told the kid he was crazy.

I'm twelve now. And I just saw my exact double. Of course, I didn't believe my eyes. He didn't just look like me-he was me!

I wasn't staring into a mirror. I was staring at a boy with my face -- my straight, brown hair, my blue eyes, my sort-of crooked smile. My FACE! My BODY! I was staring at ME! ME!

I know, I know. I sound a little crazed.

But you'd be crazed too if you had an exact double, and you didn't know who he was or where he came from.

I'm going to take a deep breath. That's what my dad always tells me to do. "Take a deep breath, Ross," he says.

My dad is a studio exec-one of the bosses at Mango Pictures. He spends his day arguing with movie producers, directors, and movie stars. He says he takes about a million deep breaths a day. It helps keep him calm.

So, I'm going to take a deep breath. And I'm going to start my story at the beginning. Or maybe a little before the beginning.

By the way, I lied about the blue eyes.

I don't have blue eyes. Actually, they're dark gray. Which is almost blue-right? I guess I'll start my story at school. I go to Beverly Hills Middle School, which is only a few blocks from my house.

I know what you're thinking. I'm so lucky to have a dad in the movie business and live in a big house in Beverly Hills with a swimming pool and a tennis court, and our own screening room in the basement.

You're right. It's lucky. I'm very lucky. But I stillhave problems. Lots of problems.

The other morning Cindy Matson was my problem. I ran into Cindy in the hall between classes, and I could see she was really steamed. Her face was red, and she kept tugging at her black bangs, then clenching and unclenching her fists. Tense. Extremely tense.

"Ross -- where were you?" she asked, blocking my way.

Cindy is taller than I am. She's at least seven or eight feet tall. And she works out. She could be a stuntwoman for Xena: Warrior Princess. So I try to stay on her good side.

"Uh . . . where was I?" I thought it might be safe to repeat the question. But Cindy exploded anyway. "Remember? You were going to meet me? We were going to Urban Outfitters together yesterday afternoon?"

"Yes, I know," I said. "But you see . . . " I had to think quickly. "My tennis lesson got switched. Because my regular instructor hurt his hand. He was trying to open one of those cans of tennis balls. And his hand got stuck, and he sprained his wrist. Really. So my lesson got moved. And my racket was being restrung. So I had to go to the tennis shop onWilshire and get a loaner."

I stopped to breathe. Was she buying that excuse?

No.

"Ross, that is so not true," Cindy said, rolling her eyes. "Your tennis lessons are on Saturday. Can't you ever just tell the truth? You forgot about me -- right? You just forgot."

"No way," I insisted. "Actually, what happened was . . . the truth. The total truth. My dog got sick, and Mom asked me to help take him to the vet. And so I -- " "When did you get a dog?" Cindy interrupted.

"Huh?" I stared at the floor, thinking hard. She was right. We don't have a dog.

Sometimes I work so hard on these stories, I mess up some of the details.

Cindy rolled her eyes for about the thousandth time. "You do remember that you're going with me to Max's pool party Friday night-don't you?"

I had completely forgotten.

"Of course," I said. "No way I'd forget that."

The bell rang. We were both late for class.

We turned and jogged off in different directions. I turned a corner-and bumped into Sharma Gregory.

Sharma is tiny and blond and speaks in a mousy whisper. She is the anti-Cindy. She's very pretty, and she's a true brainiac. Last April she won a trip to Washington, D.C., because of an essay she wrote. (But she didn't go because she was invited to a really cool Oscar party.)

"Hey, Ross-" She pointed at me."Max's party Friday night-right?"

I grinned at her. "Yeah. For sure."

"Should I meet you there, or do you want to come over to my house first?"

Oh, wow. I'd also asked Sharma to go with me to the party!

Why did I invite her? She'd let me copy off her chemistry test. So I thought I'd give her a break.

"Uh . . . I'll meet you there," I said. I flashed her a thumbs-up and hurried into English class.

I closed the classroom door carefully behind me and tiptoed to my seat. I hoped Miss Douglas wouldn't notice I was late. Luckily, my seat is in the back row, so it's easy to sneak in and out.

"Ross, you're late," Miss Douglas called.

"Uh . . . yeah," I said, tugging my notebook from my backpack. Think fast, Ross. "I had to stay late in Mr. Harrison's class and . . . uh . . . help him return some books to the library. Mr. Harrison meant to give me a late pass, but he forgot."

Miss Douglas nodded. I think she believed me.

"If you will all take out your essays," she said, straightening the books on her desk. She's always lining up the things on her desk, making them perfectly straight.

"I'd like for some of you to share your essays with the class. Why don't we start with you, Ross?" She flashed me a toothy grin. Her gums show when she smiles.

"Uh . . . share my essay?" I had to stall for time. Had to think fast.

I started the essay last night. Well, actually, I started to think about starting the essay. But then WWF Smackdown came on. And by the time it was over, it was time to go to bed.

Miss Douglas's grin faded. "Do you have your essay, Ross?"

"Well, I wrote it," I told her. "But it's still in my computer. Because we had some kind of electrical backup or something at my house. And my printer blew up! Smoke was pouring out of it like a toaster. So I couldn't print what I wrote. But I'm getting a new printer after school. So I'll bring it in tomorrow."

Good one, huh?

At least, I thought it was good. But before I knew it, Miss Douglas swept down the aisle until she stood right over me.

She gazed down at me sternly through her red-rimmed glasses. "Ross," she said through gritted teeth. "Listen to me. Be careful. If you keep this up, you may fail this course."

I stared back at her. "Keep what up?" I asked.

The Nightmare Room #4: Liar Liar. Copyright © by R.L. Stine. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.