Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Spooky Stories (Awesome Friendly Kid Book 3) Read online

like her.

  109

  It was this little gadget with a button

  on it that you could press if you ever fell

  and needed help.

  Fannie thought that might be a good

  thing to have since she lived alone. So she

  called the number on the screen and placed

  an order, which was the first time she'd

  ever spent money on something like that.

  In fact the only thing Fannie ever did

  with her money was write checks for

  her nieces and nephews and their kids on

  their birthdays.

  110

  And even though Fannie was never late

  with a birthday card she never got a

  thank-you from anyone except for her

  six-year-old great niece Amber, who was

  the only one in the family who wasn't

  rotten.

  On the weekends, Fannie's routine was a

  little different because her soap operas

  weren't on TV on those days. So she'd

  usually have a big lunch and then take an

  extra-long nap afterward.

  One Saturday everyone in town was all

  excited because it was the day of the Big

  Game.

  111

  And since the tickets to the Big Game

  were sold out most people had to watch

  it on TV.

  Well no one in Fannie's family had a big

  TV but they knew someone who DID. So

  a few hours before the Big Game, Gary

  Mack and a bunch of the guys piled into

  his pickup truck and headed to Great Aunt

  Fannie's retirement community.

  But when they got to Fannie's condo and

  knocked on the door no one answered.

  So Little Dougie turned the doorknob

  and it was unlocked.

  112

  Aunt Fannie was asleep in her comfy

  chair in front of the TV. And when they

  saw her sitting there with her head

  tilted forward they thought she was

  DEAD.

  The guys were all pretty sad because

  Fannie was their oldest relative and also

  because she was always on time with

  those birthday checks. But they didn't

  have a lot of time for tears because the

  Big Game was only a few hours away.

  So Gary Mack made a few calls and

  found a funeral home that could move

  things along that afternoon.

  113

  It turned out the people at the funeral

  home wanted to watch the Big Game

  too. So after a quick service everyone

  was out of there.

  You might be thinking "Oh no Great Aunt

  Fannie got buried alive!" But you probably

  forgot that Fannie ordered that

  electronic gadget and when she woke up

  she just pressed the button to call for

  help.

  114

  Well that thing worked just as good

  as they said it did on the commercial

  and help arrived a few minutes later.

  And luckily the guys from the company

  figured out what happened pretty quick.

  After they got Fannie out of the

  ground they gave her a ride back to her

  retirement community.

  And when Fannie opened the door to her

  condo she was pretty surprised by what

  she found.

  115

  Gary Mack and the other guys were

  happy to see Fannie alive but they were

  also a little distracted because the Big

  Game was on and the score was really

  close. Gary Mack didn't want to give up

  his seat in the comfy chair in front of

  the TV so Fannie had to sit on the couch

  with the other guys.

  116

  After the Big Game was over everyone

  told Fannie they sure were glad she was

  alive but then they went home and left a

  huge mess for her to clean up on her own.

  After that day things pretty much went

  back to normal, except Fannie started

  putting a little less money in everyone's

  birthday cards.

  117

  Fannie also started locking the door to

  her condo before she sat down for her

  afternoon naps because she really didn't

  want a repeat of what happened before.

  And just to make DOUBLE sure she didn't

  get buried alive again she cut a ping-pong

  ball in half and drew a dot on each side

  so she could look like she was awake even

  when she wasn't.

  A few months later Amber found out

  what happened to Great Aunt Fannie on

  the day of the Big Game, and she felt

  terrible about it. So she came to visit

  Fannie at her condo.

  118

  Fannie and Amber had a ball making

  cookies and they promised they'd do it

  again soon.

  From that day on every time the family

  had a get-together Amber made sure

  Fannie was invited. And those were some

  of the happiest days of Fannie's life.

  Gary Mack's family even invited her to join

  them on their summer vacation and she

  was really excited about that.

  119

  So this story kind of has a happy ending

  because Fannie's good-for-nothing

  family turned themselves around before

  it was too late. And it was all because of

  the kindness of a six-year-old girl.

  But this story has a sad ending too

  because right before the start of the

  summer vacation Great Aunt Fannie

  passed away and no one even noticed

  until the week was halfway over.

  121

  One Saturday afternoon Robbie's

  parents asked him if he'd like to go to

  the mall. Robbie was very excited because

  going to the mall was a special treat, and

  on the car ride Robbie thought of all the

  fun he'd have once he got there.

  But Robbie's parents weren't at the mall

  to have fun, they were there to SHOP.

  And they visited the types of stores

  only grown-ups like.

  122

  Robbie's parents could see that their son

  wasn't having very much fun. So Robbie's

  dad gave him five dollars and told him he

  could go buy himself an ice cream. And his

  dad told Robbie that was enough money

  for TWO cones so Robbie should get him

  one too.

  Robbie felt very proud that his parents

  trusted him and he told them he'd be

  right back.

  For Robbie this was a very big deal. Even

  though the ice cream shop was just a

  few doors down this was the first time

  he'd been apart from his parents in such

  a crowded place.

  123

  Robbie walked out of the store and into

  the concourse which was packed with

  strangers. He clutched the money his dad

  gave him very tightly because he didn't

  want to drop it.

  Then Robbie spotted his favorite ride

  which was a rocket ship that went back

  and forth. But Robbie reminded himself

  that he was too old for kiddie rides

  now and he clutched his five dollars even

&n
bsp; tighter to make sure he didn't spend it.

  124

  Robbie made it to the ice cream shop and

  was proud of himself for getting that

  far on his own. But when he got to the

  front counter he didn't know what to do

  because there were a lot of flavors and

  it was so hard to choose.

  Robbie's two favorite ice cream flavors

  were rocky road and strawberry. So

  Robbie got rocky road for himself and

  strawberry for his dad because he knew

  his dad would probably share with him.

  125

  On his way back to the store where his

  parents were shopping Robbie saw that

  rocket ship again. Robbie had just enough

  money left over for one ride but he

  wanted to show his parents he could be

  responsible and bring back their change.

  So he closed his eyes when he walked by

  the ride. But that was a bad idea because

  he tripped and his rocky road ice cream

  ended up on the ground.

  126

  Robbie was so upset he almost cried.

  He tried to put his ice cream cone back

  together again but it was hopeless.

  After Robbie cleaned up his mess he

  went to the store where his parents

  were shopping. His dad's strawberry ice

  cream was starting to melt but Robbie

  was still hoping his dad would share some

  with him.

  Then Robbie had an idea. And it wasn't

  the kind of idea Robbie USUALLY had.

  127

  He decided to pretend that the

  strawberry ice cream cone was HIS and

  the one he dropped was his DAD's. And

  this was a really big deal because Robbie

  had never told a fib in his whole life.

  Robbie was so nervous lying to his

  parents that he almost cried again. And

  he felt terrible when his parents actually

  BELIEVED him.

  But Robbie's dad said it was OK because

  he wasn't that hungry anyway. And that

  made Robbie feel even WORSE because

  he knew his dad was just being nice.

  128

  In fact he felt so bad he could barely

  enjoy his strawberry ice cream on the

  ride home.

  When Robbie got back to his room his

  stomach didn't feel that good. And he

  couldn't tell if it was because of the ice

  cream or the fib he'd told his parents.

  Then Robbie noticed a small pink spot on

  his white shirt. And he realized he must've

  gotten some strawberry ice cream on it.

  129

  Robbie knew his parents wouldn't be

  happy with him for getting ice cream

  on his crisp white shirt. So he went into

  the bathroom to try and scrub it clean

  before they found out.

  But the spot was growing bigger and

  bigger by the second.

  Robbie took off his shirt and put it in

  the sink where he ran it under soapy

  water. But after he was done scrubbing

  his shirt the stain was still growing and it

  was bigger than EVER.

  130

  By now Robbie was starting to freak

  out. Robbie's mom came upstairs to give

  him a warm glass of milk before bedtime.

  But Robbie kept himself locked in his

  bedroom until she was gone.

  As soon as the coast was clear Robbie

  ran to the laundry room to put his shirt

  in the washing machine. And he turned

  the dial to the strongest setting to

  make sure he got rid of that stain.

  131

  Just then Robbie's dad came into the

  room with a load of laundry. And Robbie

  was so startled that he almost jumped

  out of his skin.

  Robbie's dad asked him what he was

  doing, and Robbie said he was washing

  some of his clothes. So Robbie's dad said

  he was proud of his son for becoming

  such a responsible young man.

  132

  That night Robbie had horrible dreams,

  and most of them involved strawberries.

  When he woke up, his sheets were soaked

  with sweat. Robbie got out of bed and

  went to the laundry room to see if the

  stain was still on his shirt.

  But Robbie got a terrible surprise.

  133

  His dad had put his nice dress shirts in the

  washing machine with Robbie's shirt, and

  now all the clothes were stained PINK.

  Robbie decided the only thing he could do

  was run away. But luckily his mom caught

  him before he got too far.

  134

  It was time for Robbie to tell his parents

  the TRUTH. He confessed that the ice

  cream he dropped at the mall was HIS

  and not his dad's. Then he said he was

  sorry for lying about it.

  Well Robbie's parents loved their son

  very much and they told him they were

  proud of him for telling the truth. They

  said that everyone makes mistakes but

  the important thing is that you LEARN

  from them.

  And just to show how great Robbie's

  parents were, they took him back to

  the mall so they could all get ice cream

  together. Robbie bought three ice cream

  cones, all rocky road.

  135

  And this time he was extra careful not

  to drop any.

  But Robbie forgot his dad was allergic to

  almonds and his father's lips swelled up