The New Year's Party

R.L. STINE

SIMON PULSE

1995 Parachute Press, Inc.

The New Year's Party

ON THIN ICE …

The ice beneath her quivered.

A crack rang out, shattering the stillness of the winter night.

Reenie held perfectly still. If I move very slowly and carefully, I can edge my way over to the shore.

She slid her left foot forward, struggling to keep her balance.

She exhaled.

So far, so good. Keep moving.

Then she heard another crack. Louder this time….

The ice beneath her gave way with a groan.

She slid into the freezing black water….

She felt herself being pulled down, swallowed up by the lake …

I can't breathe, she realized.

She pounded on the ice with her fists, clawed at it.

Where is the hole? she asked herself. Where is the hole I fell through?

She couldn't find it.

I'm trapped. Trapped under the ice.

Her last thought before the blackness engulfed her.

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BROKEN DATE

If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

First Simon Pulse edition August 2002

Copyright © 1995 by Parachute Press,Inc.

Originally published as an Archway Paperback in 1995

SIMON PULSE
An imprint of Simon & Schuster
Children's Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

Printed in USA

20  19  18  17  16  15  14  13  12  11

ISBN 0-671-89425-0

ISBN 13: 978-0-671-89425-2

eISBN 978-1-439-13703-1

FEAR STREET is a registered trademark of Parachute Press, Inc.

The New Year's Party

“
F
ive more minutes till 1965!” someone yelled.

The New Year's party swirled around Beth Fleischer, her friends shouting and laughing, the Beatles' “She Loves You” throbbing from the hi-fi—so loud, the whole room shook.

A Coke bottle rolled across the living room carpet and hit Beth's foot. She nudged it aside with her toe and kept dancing. Her new white boots pinched her toes, but Beth didn't care. She knew they looked cool with her new miniskirt.

“Wow!” Todd Stevens shouted in her ear. “Groovy party!”

Beth tilted back her head and stared at Todd. She
thought he looked like a movie star—with eyes even bluer than Paul Newman's. All the girls at Shadyside High thought he was fab.

But Beth wasn't sure how much she really liked him. How could she not like a boy every girl wanted? She couldn't answer that question. The whole thing made her feel weird.

She began to dance again. Then she scanned the room for Jeremy. She knew she shouldn't be thinking of Jeremy while she was dancing with Todd. But she couldn't help it.

There he is, Beth thought. Jeremy stood all alone near the kitchen, sipping a soda. He looks so cool tonight. Why doesn't he ask someone to dance?

Someone bumped into a floor lamp. It crashed to the floor, but Beth couldn't hear the sound over the music. “Karen's parents are going to kill her!” she shouted to Todd, trying to be heard over the noise.

She glanced around the room. No sign of Karen.

Now that Beth thought about it, she hadn't seen Karen for hours. Did she leave? She wouldn't leave her own New Year's party, would she?

Karen and Beth were close friends. They spent hours talking about boys and movies and rock music—especially the Beatles. They made up stories about how they went to London and met the Beatles in person, and all four of the rock stars asked them for dates.

The hard part was deciding which two Beatles to go out with, since all four of them were so far out.

Beth searched the room again. Two boys arm-wrestled
over the coffee table, while their friends cheered them on. Some girls checked out Karen's tall stack of records. A couple Beth didn't know were making out in the corner.

But no Karen. Where could she be?

“Fifteen seconds!” a boy on the other side of the room yelled. “Fourteen … thirteen …”

Everybody stopped dancing. Someone turned the hi-fi down, and everyone in the room joined in the countdown. “Twelve … eleven … ten …”

Karen has got to make it back here in time for midnight! Beth thought. I can't start the year off without my best friend here!

“Five … four … three …”

Come
on,
Karen.
Where are you?

“Happy New Year!”

Midnight. Cheers. Horns blowing.

Todd pulled Beth to him and kissed her. “Happy New Year, Beth.”

But Beth's mind wasn't on Todd's kiss. She was worried about Karen. And she couldn't stop thinking about Jeremy. He must feel so lonely tonight. No one to kiss on New Year's Eve.

“Earth to Beth!” Todd called.

“Huh?” she replied.

“Remember me?” Todd sounded annoyed.

She shifted her attention back to Todd, smiled, tried to act like a girl having a great time on a super date. But her eyes drifted to Jeremy.

A group of tough-looking guys had gathered around him. What do they want? Beth wondered.

Another song started. Chubby Checker singing, “Do the Twist.” All around Beth, kids started to twist.

One girl was really good—smooth and sexy. She flipped her long blond hair as she moved. Beth wished she could dance like that. Every time she tried the twist, she felt clumsy and stupid.

Beth checked on Jeremy again. One of the hoody-looking boys grabbed Jeremy's Coke and drank it. The other guys laughed.