College Weekend

  The sale of this book without its cover is unauthorized. If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that it was reported to the publisher as “unsold and destroyed.” Neither the author nor the publisher has received payment for the sale of this “stripped book.”

  Have you read the latest

  ®

  books?

  BAD DREAMS

  DOUBLE DATE

  THE THRILL CLUB

  ONE EVIL SUMMER

  THE MIND READER

  WRONG NUMBER 2

  DEAD END

  FINAL GRADE

  SWITCHED

  “You’re Going to Kill Us Both!”

  Chris’s eyes darted around the Ferris wheel car. He put his hands on the safety bar and began rocking.

  “I’ll tip this thing over,” he threatened. “You’re a tease, aren’t you! Admit it, Tina!”

  The car tilted forward.

  “Chris,” Tina cried. “Stop. We’re going to fall out.”

  “Then kiss me,” he insisted, moving closer. “Kiss me now!”

  “No!” Tina shouted.

  Chris used his weight to swing the car.

  Back and forth. Back and forth.

  “Chris! Are you crazy?” Tina shrieked.

  Books by R. L. Stine

  Fear Street

  THE NEW GIRL

  THE SURPRISE PARTY

  THE OVERNIGHT

  MISSING

  THE WRONG NUMBER

  THE SLEEPWALKER

  HAUNTED

  HALLOWEEN PARTY

  THE STEPSISTER

  SKI WEEKEND

  THE FIRE GAME

  LIGHTS OUT

  THE SECRET BEDROOM

  THE KNIFE

  PROM QUEEN

  FIRST DATE

  THE BEST FRIEND

  THE CHEATER

  SUNBURN

  THE NEW BOY

  THE DARE

  BAD DREAMS

  DOUBLE DATE

  THE THRILL CLUB

  ONE EVIL SUMMER

  THE MIND READER

  THE WRONG NUMBER 2

  TRUTH OR DARE

  DEAD END

  FINAL GRADE

  SWITCHED

  COLLEGE WEEKEND

  Fear Street Super Chiller

  PARTY SUMMER

  SILENT NIGHT

  GOODNIGHT KISS

  BROKEN HEARTS

  SILENT NIGHT 2

  THE DEAD LIFEGUARD

  CHEERLEADERS: THE NEW EVIL

  The Fear Street Saga

  THE BETRAYAL

  THE SECRET

  THE BURNING

  Fear Street Cheerleaders

  THE FIRST EVIL

  THE SECOND EVIL

  THE THIRD EVIL

  99 Fear Street: The House of Evil

  THE FIRST HORROR

  THE SECOND HORROR

  THE THIRD HORROR

  Other Novels

  HOW I BROKE UP WITH ERNIE

  PHONE CALLS

  CURTAINS

  BROKEN DATE

  Available from ARCHWAY Paperbacks

  For orders other than by individual consumers. Archway Books grants a discount on the purchase of 10 or more copies of single tides for special markets or premium use. For further details, please write to the Vice-President of Special Markets, Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

  For information on how individual consumers can place orders, please write to Mail Order Department, Paramount Publishing, 200 Old Tappan Road. Old Tappan. NJ 07675.

  The sale of this book without its cover is unauthorized. If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that it was reported to the publisher as “unsold and destroyed.” Neither the author nor the publisher has received payment for the sale of this “stripped book.”

  College Weekend

  R.L.STINE

  An Archway Paperbacks

  Published by Pocket Books

  New york London Toronto Sydney Tokyo Singapore

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  AN ARCHWAY PAPERBACK Original

  An Archway Paperback published by

  POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc.

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  Copyright © 1995 by Parachute Press, Inc.

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

  For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  ISBN: 0-671-86840-3

  ISBN 978-0-671-86840-6

  eISBN 978-1-439-12124-5

  First Archway Paperback printing July 1995

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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

  AN ARCHWAY PAPERBACK and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster Inc.

  Cover art by Bill Schmidt

  Printed in the U.S.A.

  IL 7+

  College Weekend

  prologue

  “Miss me?”

  “Well, yeah. You know the answer to that.”

  “But you could say it, couldn’t you?” Tina teased, twisting the phone cord between her slender fingers.

  “Which train are you coming on?” Josh changed the subject.

  Tina sighed. “I told you three times, Josh. The late one. I have to wait for Holly.”

  Josh grunted. Holly and Josh didn’t really get along. Nothing too serious. Josh just thought Holly talked too much, mainly about herself.

  How did Holly feel about Josh? Tina wasn’t quite sure. Holly was her cousin. Holly would never say anything bad about a boyfriend of Tina’s.

  “We’ll have a lot of time together, Josh,” Tina said. “The whole weekend.”

  “Great,” Josh replied. “I can’t wait. I think you’ll like my friends, Tina. They’re good guys. They know all about you already.”

  In her dresser mirror Tina caught herself smiling. “You talk about me to your friends?”

  “Yeah. Sometimes,” Josh confessed. “I have your pictures in my room. People ask me about them.”

  “I can’t wait to be there!” Tina exclaimed. “My first college weekend. Living in a dorm. Hanging out with college kids. And you, of course. You’ll meet us at the train station?”

  “I’ll be there,” Josh replied. “No problem.”

  No problem.

  Strange how sometimes simple plans like Tina’s go wrong.

  No problem.

  Those were Josh’s words.

  But he was wrong.

  There were problems.

  More problems than either of them could have imagined.

  chapter 1

  Tina Rivers checked her watch for about the millionth time. She wished she could jump out and help pull the train into Patterson Station.

  She hadn’t seen her boyfriend, Josh Martin, since Christmas. Three long months.

  “Wake up, Holly,” Tina demanded, nudging her cousin gently on the arm. “We’re almost to the station.”

  Holly Phillips sprawled in the seat next to Tina. Her curly brown hair fell across her face. She snored lightly. “Wake up,” Tina coaxed. “Parties are starting, Holly. Parties filled with cute college guys all for you.”

  Holly groaned as she stretched out her long legs. Finally she opened her eyes and yawned. “College guys?”

  “I knew that would get you.” Tina turned away from her sleepy cousin and peered anxiously out the window.

  Someday I’ll b
e able to travel by myself, Tina thought, remembering the argument with her parents.

  Tina begged her mom and dad to let her travel alone to visit Josh. But no. Either her cousin went with her, or Tina stayed home. And no way could Tina miss the Spring Fling Weekend with Josh.

  “Do you see him yet?” Holly asked, rubbing her eyes.

  “No. It’s too dark,” Tina answered, reaching into her purse for her makeup bag. “Besides, we’re still moving.”

  She pulled out her lipstick, a mirror, and a brush.

  “My stomach is doing flip-flops,” Tina said as she brushed out her long blond hair. “Do I look okay?”

  Holly sighed. “Five hours on a train, and you look terrific. I feel like a sack of oatmeal next to you.”

  Tina laughed. “What does a sack of oatmeal feel like?”

  “Someday you’re going to be a famous model, Tina,” Holly told her. “I just know it.”

  Someday Tina did want to be on the cover of fashion magazines. She constantly studied the competition, making plans. But right now she couldn’t think about anything except Josh. She missed him so much.

  Last year, at Shadyside High, they ate lunch together every day. Now she hardly saw him at all.

  Tina took one final glance at her makeup and put the mirror away. Then she sprayed her favorite perfume on her wrists and behind her earlobes. She smiled as she imagined her first kiss from Josh.

  “I think we’re stopping,” Holly said. A screeching sound filled the train car.

  The loudspeaker crackled. “We are now arriving at Patterson Station. All passengers please remain seated until the train comes to a complete stop.”

  Tina jumped up. She couldn’t sit still a minute longer.

  The train jerked under her feet as she started to pull her luggage down from the overhead rack. She fell forward and grabbed Holly’s shoulder to keep from landing on the floor.

  “Hurry up,” Tina urged. “Do you need help?”

  “No. I can get everything,” Holly answered, still sitting. “I’m just stiff. I must have slept funny.”

  Tina rolled her eyes. Obviously, Holly planned to take her time getting off the train. But then, Holly wasn’t in love. She had no clue how eager Tina was to see Josh.

  At the door a gray-uniformed conductor nodded at them. “You girls are the only ones getting off here. So be careful,” he warned. “The station is pretty deserted. Don’t hang around too long.”

  “We’ll be okay,” Tina assured him as she hurried down the steps. “My boyfriend is meeting us.”

  But the platform stood empty. Tina searched anxiously up and down the long walkway. Where was Josh?

  She dropped her suitcase. The train had been delayed. They were an hour late. Maybe Josh got tired of waiting and went someplace to get a cup of coffee. That made sense, but still Tina couldn’t help feeling disappointed.

  If I was meeting Josh, she thought, I’d stand on the platform no matter how late he arrived. I wouldn’t want to miss one minute of our time together.

  “So where is he?” Holly asked.

  Tina shrugged. “You know Josh. He can never stand still. I’m sure he’ll be right back.”

  “Are you sure we’re at the right station?” Holly asked.

  “Of course,” Tina snapped.

  The platform started to tremble as the train pulled out. The train left with a roar and the smell of diesel. The girls huddled together on the dark platform.

  Holly shook her head. “I hope this isn’t a sign of how the whole weekend’s going to be.”

  “Please,” Tina pleaded, twisting a strand of hair. “You and your signs. I’m buying you a turban and a crystal ball for your birthday. Then you can have a fortune-telling booth at the Shadyside fair next month.”

  Holly forced a smile. “You can make fun if you want to, but sometimes I just get these feelings … Hey, do you think there are any good dance clubs here?” Holly asked, changing the subject. “It’s going to be so cool. No parents. No curfew. I can stay out as late as I want to.”

  “I can’t believe my parents insisted you come with me. If they only knew how evil you really are. You’re a very bad influence on me!” Tina joked.

  “You love it!” Holly replied.

  Tina raised her eyes to the night sky. A single star shone down, pale yellow against the gray.

  The first star of evening, Tina thought. The Wishing Star.

  She shut her eyes and made a silent wish.

  “I wish this will be the best weekend of my life.”

  A cool wind blew across the platform. Tina opened her eyes and pulled her blue jacket tight across her chest. Josh liked the jacket. But now she wished she’d picked something warmer.

  “Let’s go inside,” she suggested.

  Tina grabbed her suitcase and pushed open the big double doors to the tiny station. Tina’s suitcase felt as if it weighed a ton. I shouldn’t have brought so many different outfits, she thought, dragging it inside. But Josh told her they were going to a picnic, a carnival, and the dance. She needed to be prepared.

  But she wasn’t prepared for spending time in this empty, grimy train station, in the middle of nowhere. How could Josh do this to me? Tina wondered.

  The room smelled musty and sour. Rows of high-backed, gray leather chairs filled the room. Scraps of paper fluttered across the floor, as if pushed by ghosts.

  Holly dropped her suitcase and sighed. “Josh knows we’re coming, right?”

  “Of course,” Tina shot back tensely.

  “Maybe he forgot or something,” Holly said, glancing around the dimly lit room. “Now that he’s in college, he might be different. I know I’m going to be different when I’m in college. I’m getting my nose pierced, definitely. And maybe a tattoo.”

  “I don’t think Josh is off getting his nose pierced. I’m going to call him. You wait with our stuff.” Tina dug through her purse for a quarter and hurried over to the two pay phones.

  She picked up the receiver on the first phone, then slammed it down. “No dial tone!” she yelled to Holly.

  The other phone didn’t even have a receiver. Tina strode back to her cousin.

  “Let’s go to the ticket counter,” Tina suggested, trying to sound cheerful. “Maybe there’s a message for us.”

  Their footsteps echoed on the tile floor.

  A handwritten sign on the counter read BE RIGHT BACK. Next to the sign sat a cup of old coffee.

  “Yuck,” Holly groaned. “Looks like no one has been here for days.”

  Tina heard a sound behind the counter. “What’s that?” she asked, grabbing Holly’s arm. “Listen.”

  The soft scraping sound grew louder. Tina held her breath.

  “An animal,” Holly guessed, inching her way around the counter.

  “Get back,” Tina ordered. “It might be a rat.”

  This place is dirty enough, Tina thought. I bet dozens of rats live here. She tugged her cousin’s arm.

  Something hit the counter with a heavy thud. Tina spun around.

  A huge black cat stared at her. The fur on its tail stood straight up. Its yellow eyes gleamed.

  Tina uttered a shriek as it hissed and then hurled itself off the counter.

  The cat landed beside Tina’s foot and dashed across the floor.

  Tina let out a tense laugh. “I—I thought it was the world’s biggest rat!”

  “A black cat,” Holly murmured. “You know what that means.”

  “It means Josh better get here soon. And that’s all it means,” Tina declared. “No more signs, okay? I’m not in the mood.”

  “Let’s sit down,” Holly suggested.

  “Good idea. My knees feel as if they’re made of cottage cheese.”

  “That’s because you eat so much of it,” Holly teased.

  Tina followed her cousin to the stiff-backed chairs. “What time is it now?” she asked.

  “Nine,” Holly told her. “Josh knows it’s tonight he’s supposed to pick us up, right?”
/>
  “Yes, Holly. Yes, he knows it’s tonight. Yes, he knows it’s this station. Okay?”

  “Okay, okay. Sorry,” Holly apologized.

  Moonlight streamed through the windows, casting long shadows on the walls.

  Tina kept her eyes on the entrance. Please, Josh. Get here soon.

  Her mind rushed over a million possibilities.

  Maybe she did tell Josh the wrong time.

  Maybe she did get the date wrong.

  Maybe …

  Stop, she ordered herself.

  Tina couldn’t sit still. She stood up and started to pace around the room. After making a complete circle, she noticed a shadow move outside the window at once end of the station.

  “There he is!” Tina cried.

  She picked up her bag and hurried to the door. “Josh!” Tina shouted, waving her arm. “Here we are.”

  “Where’d he go?” Holly asked. “I don’t see anyone.”

  The long platform stood empty.

  “Josh!” Tina cried out again.

  No one there.

  A knot formed in the pit of Tina’s stomach. Something wasn’t right. “Let’s go back inside,” she whispered to Holly.

  Too late.

  A man jumped out from the shadows beside the station.

  “Hey—what’s up?” he rasped.

  “W-we’re leaving,” Tina stammered.

  The man moved in on her. “No, you’re not,” he said in a low, cold voice. “You’re not going anywhere.”

  chapter 2

  “I need money,” he growled at Tina. “Whatever you got.”

  Okay, she thought. Okay. He wants money. He can have everything. The whole fifty dollars Dad gave me. Tina fumbled for her purse.

  The man jerked his face closer. His hair fell in dirty clumps onto his forehead. His breath smelled of alcohol. His eyes were glassy.

  Tina backed against the wall. Her whole body shook.

  “My … my money’s in my …” Tina stammered.

  But she never finished her sentence.

  “Hey—leave her alone!” a deep voice ordered. “Get out of here!”

  Josh! Tina thought. Finally!

  The man let out a startled cry and lurched away.

  Tina covered her face with her hands, ordering her body to stop trembling.

  “Are you okay?” her rescuer asked.

  That’s not Josh’s voice, Tina realized.