Stiff Stranger

Jenna had been planning a sleepover for as long as she could remember. She had made all the arrangements. She had cleaned up the basement so that there would be plenty of room to spread out and have sleeping bags. She had invited six friends over, ordered pizza, and picked up three scary movies.

By seven o’clock, all the girls had arrived and they had downed the first pizza. Jenna happened to glance up at the window. She screamed when she saw a man standing in the yard. All the girls screamed and asked what was wrong. Jenna pointed to the window, and all the girls screamed when they saw the man.

The girls crept up to the window again to get a good look at him. They needed a plan. Jenna’s parents had gone to the store. Jenna went to get a baseball bat from her brother’s room. Then Mandy asked, “Are you really going to use that?”

“I don’t know, but it makes me feel safer,” explained Jenna.

“What do you think he wants?” asked Brooke.

“I don’t know, but I’m not going to talk to him,” said Jenna.

“He’s just standing there not moving at all,” commented Mandy.

“Wait a minute,” said Samantha. “That’s not a man: that’s a scarecrow.”

“Whew! You’re right,” replied Jenna. “Let’s go watch another show. I want to get scared some more!” Jenna shook her head, smiled, and put the bat back in her brother’s room.