Jaune Arc: Goosebumps Storyteller

by vanquish356

Jaune always did love telling stories, especially to his younger sisters. He even had a book filled with cheesy horror stories that his sisters loved. But after coming to Beacon, he thought he would never tell stories again. However, that wasn't the case when Ruby began asking him for stories, soon followed by Nora. Little did he know that this would cause a domino effect.

8. Chapter 8

Jaune Arc: Goosebumps Storyteller

Chapter 8: Say Cheese and Die Again

*Note: Just a quick note/heads up. While the story Say Cheese and Die was in third person, Say Cheese and Die Again is surprisingly in first person.

"Does this story involve the same people or not?" Velvet asked.

"Yes. It involves Greg, Shari, Bird, and Michael." Roman answered.

"So they find the camera again. How long has it been since they returned the camera and indirectly killed Spidey?" Blake asked.

"The previous story takes place at the end of July. This one takes place in winter." Neo answered.

"Wow." Coco said, surprised.

"How did they encounter the camera this time?" Yatsuhashi asked.

"Or did Spidy somehow return?" Ren asked.

"That actually coincides with this story's message. And the reason why Spidey wanted to keep Shari and Greg as prisoners in the Coffman house." Roman answered.

"You mean how they knew too much about the camera?" Pyrrha asked, confused.

"Yes. And you'll soon see why." Roman said as he flipped through the correct page. "A cold shiver ran down his spine when Greg heard his teacher, Mr. Saur, shout his name. GREG BANK!"

Story

Greg had been slumping low in my seat in the last row of the classroom, trying to hide behind Brian Webb, the big gorilla of a kid who sat in front of me. And he folded his hands and prayed that Mr. Saur wouldn't call on him to give his report next.

"Greg Banks!" He shouted.

Greg felt another cold shiver, followed by his legs starting to shake as he climbed to his feet. He hated giving reports in front of the whole class, especially when he hadn't had much time to practice, especially when he was not allowed to have notes. Unforutnly, half of his English grade depended on how he did on that report. Clearing his throat, Greg made his way to the front of the class.

But when he was halfway there, Donny Greene stuck his big white sneaker into the aisle and tripped him. Greg stumbled but didn't fall, but the whole class exploded in laughter either way.

"Donny, do you have to trip every person who walks by you ?" Mr. Saur asked.

"Yes." Donny replied with a straight face, and once again, the whole class burst out laughing.

Everyone thinks Donny is a riot, everyone but Mr. Saur. Mr. Saur doesn't think anyone is funny. That's why we call him Sourball Saur. He probably wouldn't think that was funny, either! Mr. Saur is tall and thin and nearly bald. He never kids around. He never smiles. His mouth is always puckered as if he's just bitten into a lemon. He's sort of a legend at Pitts Landing Middle School. Everyone tries not to get him. My best friends, Michael, Bird, and Shari, were lucky. They're in Miss Folsom's class. I was the only one who got stuck with the Sourball.

I wondered if everyone could see my knees shaking as I cleared my throat. My face felt burning hot, and my hands were cold as ice. Does everyone get this nervous when they stand in front of the class?

Mr. Saur folded his pale, skinny hands on his desk and cracked his knuckles.

"Okay, Greg, let's hear your true story." Mr. Saur said. I cleared my throat for the thousandth time and took a deep breath. Then I started to tell the story of what happened to my friends and me last summer.

"I was hanging out with my friends, Bird, Michael, and Shari. We had nothing to do, and we were kind of bored. So we dared each other to do something exciting. We dared each other to sneak into the Coffman house.

"What's the Coffman house?" Mr. Saur raised a hand to interrupt me. He frowned his sour frown.

"It's a haunted house!" Donny Greene called out.

"It's where Donny lives!" Brian Webb mumbled, loud enough for everyone to hear, earning a big laugh from everyone. Mr. Saur raised both hands for quiet and gave everyone his lemon expression.

"It's a deserted, old house in my neighborhood." I explained. "We went inside and down to the basement, where we found an old camera. And that's what my true story is about because the camera had evil powers."

Mr. Saur groaned and rolled his eyes. Some kids laughed. But I took another deep breath and continued my story.

"It was an instant camera. The picture popped right out, but it was never the picture we snapped. It always showed something terrible happening. I took the old camera home and snapped a photo of my dad's new station wagon. The picture slid out, and in the image, the station wagon was totaled, completely wrecked. And then, a few days later, my dad was in a terrible accident. The photo came true."

I glanced around the room to see how my story was going over with the class. A few kids were laughing. Others were staring at me hard, Trying to decide if I was for real. Brian Webb tried to make me lose it. He stuck his two pointer fingers into his nostrils and twirled them around. He thinks he's funny, but he's just gross.

"I took a snapshot of my friend Bird Arthur." I continued. "At his Little League game. Bird smiled and posed for the camera. But the photo showed him lying unconscious on the ground. Then, a few minutes later, a kid hit a line drive. It smacked Bird in the head. And Bird fell unconscious on the ground, just like in the photo."

I heard some nervous giggles from the back of the room. I glanced up to see puzzled expressions on a lot of faces. Brian still had his fingers in his nose. I turned away. No way was I going to laugh at that. Mr. Saur had his elbows on the desk and his round, bald head buried in his hands. His face was hidden. So I couldn't tell if he liked my report or not.

"Then something even scarier happened. I brought the camera to Shari Walker's birthday party. I snapped Shari's picture standing next to a tree. When the photo popped out, it showed the tree but no Shari. It was like she was invisible or something. And then, a few minutes later, Shari disappeared." I continued. A few kids gasped. Some others laughed. Mr. Saur still had his face buried in his hands. "A couple of days later, Shari came back. But now we were too frightened to keep the camera. So we took it back to the Coffman house. And we met this strange guy dressed all in black. He was the inventor of the camera. He told us that the camera had a curse on it, and-"

"That will be enough." Mr. Saur shouted, startling everyone.

"Excuse me ?" I asked, unsure I heard him correctly. The room went silent as Mr. Saur shook his head. Then he narrowed his watery brown eyes at me.

"Greg. I have some very bad news for you." He said as the lunch bell rang. "We'll hear more reports tomorrow. Class dismissed."

Chairs scraped the floor as everyone stood up. I watched the other kids gather their books and backpacks and head for the door. Freedom, I had the urge to run after them. But Mr. Saur kept his eyes locked on me, holding me in place with those cold eyes. I waited until the classroom had emptied out. Then I turned to the lemon-faced teacher.

"What's the bad news ?" I asked, gritting my teeth.

"I'm giving you an F." Sourball said.

"Huh?"

"I'm failing you on that report, Greg."

"B - but - but- why ?" I choked, feeling my knees give. I had to grab the chalk tray to keep myself from collapsing in a quivering heap on the floor. He crossed his bony arms over the front of his yellow alligator shirt. I wished the alligator would reach up and bite him.

"You didn't do the assignment." he explained.

"But-" I still gripped the chalk tray. My legs were shaking too hard to stand up.

"Greg, you were supposed to share a true story." Mr. Saur scolded. "Instead, you came in here with that wild tale. It was completely silly. I don't know what you were thinking!"

"But it's true! The camera." I wailed, but he waved a hand in my face.

"Silly." He repeated. "You came in here with a wild, silly story. Something you probably read in a comic book."

"Mr. Saur! You have to believe me. The camera is real. I didn't make up the story." I started, letting go of the chalk tray and balling my hands into tight fists. I took a deep breath, struggling to keep my voice low and calm. "You can ask my friends. They're in Miss Folsom's class. They'll tell you it really happened."

"I'm sure they will." He smirked at me. "I'm sure your friends will tell me whatever you want them to tell me."

"No. Really!" I protested, only for Mr. Saur to shake his head.

"You didn't take the assignment seriously, Greg. You treated it like a big joke. So I have to give you an F." I raised my fists and let out a loud groan.

'Greg, get control.' I warned myself. 'Get control. But how could I get control? The grade was so unfair. And it meant so much to me. It was a matter of life or death grader.' "Mr. Saur. You can't give me an F! You will ruin my life!"

He stared coldly at me. He didn't say a word.

"If I don't get better grades, I can't visit my cousins this summer. You see, my cousins live near Yosemite. In California. And my parents said that if I get a better grade in your English class, I can spend the summer with them."

He didn't move. His cold frown didn't budge. His eyes didn't blink.

"If you give me an F, I'll be stuck all summer in Pitts Landing!"

"Then you'll have plenty of time to make up more crazy stories." Mr. Saur said. An unpleasant smile spread over his face. His wet brown eyes flashed. He turned away from me and started scribbling notes in his black grade book.

"Mr. Saur. Please! You've got to believe me. My story is true. I didn't make it up. Please." I begged. He raised his eyes from the grade book.

"Okay. Prove it."

"Huh?" I asked, my mouth hanging open.

"Bring in the camera. Bring it in and prove that it's evil. Prove that your story is true, or else I have to fail you." He explained. I stared at him, studying his face. Was he serious? He stared back for a moment, daring me with his eyes. Then he shooed me away with both hands.

"Go to lunch, Greg. Maybe next time, you'll take my assignment seriously."

I gathered up my backpack and slung it over my shoulder. Then I slumped out of the room, thinking hard. Could I go back to that creepy old house and dig out that camera? No. No way. The camera was too dangerous. Too frightening. Too evil. But I needed a good grade. I needed it desperately, but what should I do? I found my friends at our usual table in the corner of the lunchroom. I dropped my tray down with a sigh and spilled half my drink.

"Greg, what's your problem ?" Bird asked, looking up from his sandwich. He had egg salad all over his chin and cheeks.

"Are you eating that sandwich or wearing it?" Shari asked Bird.

"Excuse me?" Bird asked, confused.

Michael inflated his brown paper sandwich bag and popped it between his hands. Then he crushed his chocolate milk carton flat. He always gulps his milk down first, then crushes the carton. We're not sure why.

Michael is a little weird.

I dropped into my chair. I didn't start to eat. I didn't even look at my food tray. I just stared at the wall until the tiles became a green blur.

"What's your problem?" Bird repeated. Now he had egg salad on his forehead, too! I don't know how he does it.

Bird's real name is Doug Arthur. But he looks so much like a bird; everyone calls him Bird, even his parents. He has small, birdlike brown eyes, close together over a long, beak-shaped nose. And he has a short tuft of feathery brown hair on top of his head. He's tall and thin and sort of bobs up and down like a flamingo when he walks.

"Bad day, Greg?" Michael asked before poking a finger through his sandwich. He always makes a hole in the center of his sandwich and eats it inside out.

"For sure." I muttered before sighing.

"Come on, Greg. Spill." Shari urged without looking as she kept pulling the bright red pepperoni off her pizza. I took a deep breath. Then I told them what had happened to me in English class.

"Sourball didn't believe you?" Bird asked, dropping his sandwich before slapping his forehead. But when he pulled away, he noticed his hands were smeared with egg salad.

"Well, we could all go tell him it's true." Shari suggested, only for me to shake my head.

"He won't believe you either."

"But we all saw it!" Michael protested. "We all know it's true."

"Yeah. It's four against one." Bird added while wiping egg salad off the front of his shirt. "He'll have to believe us."

"He won't." I sighed. "You know Sourball. He said I have to bring in the camera and prove to him that it's evil."

"But you can't! "Michael and Shari shouted. But I didn't hear what they said as I had looked over their shoulders and saw Brian and Donny grinning at me from the next table. Brian and Donny are the two biggest guys at Pitts Landing Middle School. We call them Sumo One and Sumo Two because they're both shaped a little like sumo wrestlers.

Of course, no one has ever called them Sumo One or Sumo Two to their faces. When Donny and Brian get angry, they sit on the kids and squash them like bugs. And now, they had followed me from Mr. Saur's class and were grinning at me from the next table. When they saw me watching, they formed little square cameras with their fingers and raised them in front of their eyes.

"Click! Click!" Brian called. "I've got an evil camera here!"

"Say cheese!" Donny shouted. "Say cheese and die! Ha - ha - ha!"

"Click. Click. Click."

"Watch the birdie!" Donny cried.

"Watch the birdbrain!" Brian yelled. They both tossed back their heads and laughed like lunatics, slapping each other high fives.

"Funny, guys." I said, rolling my eyes. "Real funny."

"You two should do stand-up." Michael told them. "You should stand up in the corner!

No one laughed. No one ever laughs at Michael's jokes. His jokes are never funny. In fact, they are embarrassing. Michael has short red hair, blue eyes, and a face full of freckles. One of these days, he's going to surprise us and make a joke that isn't totally lame.

But I was in no mood for jokes, anyway. My summer was about to be ruined. My three friends all had plans to go away. No way I wanted to be left all alone in Pitts Landing with nothing to do for three months! If I had to bring in that camera to prove to Mr. Saur that I was telling the truth ... I'd do it!

"Greg - you can't," She said as if reading my thoughts as she grabbed my arm. "That camera is too dangerous."

"I'm not going back to that weird house." Bird said, shaking his head. "Never again."

"What about your brother?" Michael asked me.

"What about my brother?" I turned to him, confused.

"Isn't he working in a camera store?"

"Yeah. He's at Kramer's. He works in the developing lab. So what?"

"Maybe Terry could borrow an old camera from the store." Michael suggested. "You can bring it in and tell Mr. Saur that it's the evil camera."

"Just one problem." I told Michael. "I have to prove the camera is evil. How do I do that?"

Michael thought about it.

"It won't work. We have to go get the real camera. Who will go with me?" I asked, glancing around the table.

No one answered. Bird concentrated on getting the egg salad out from under his fingernails. Shari twisted a lock of black hair around one finger. Michael stared at the floor.

"Don't all volunteer at once." I grumbled when they still didn't move.

"I just need the camera for one day. Then we'll return it and never take it out again."

No one replied. Bird raised his beady little eyes to the ceiling and started whistling to himself. I sneered at them.

"Okay, wimps. I'll go by myself." I sneered at them.

"Don't do it." Shari warned again. "Not even for a day. Something horrible will happen. I know it will."

If only I had listened to her.

Real World

"Oh, I see it now." Coco said, shaking her head.

"What do you see?" Ruby asked.

"The meaning of the story."

"And the reason why Spidey wanted to keep Greg and Shari in the basement. Despite knowing how dangerous the camera can be, many would still be tempted to take the camera for a variety of reasons. Some for power, blackmail, or in Greg's case, to get a better grade and prove his least favorite teacher wrong." Yatsuhashi explained when he saw Ruby's confused look.

"And the meaning of the story is about how our want for something can cloud our judgment. As in the case of Greg, his desire to visit his cousin during the summer clouded his judgment where he thought the potential rewards would outweigh any harm retrieving the camera would cause." Ren added.

"Oh, I see now." Ruby said.

"Is this also how his relationship with his friends began to deteriorate?" Nora asked.

"More or less. It really began to break down a few years later. But you can think of this 'adventure' as a precursor to that." Neo answered.

"But back to the story." Roman said. "The rest of the afternoon, Greg barely heard a word. His mind was so focused on the camera that he didn't know if he took the quiz today and didn't realize he got hit with a ball during gym class."

Story

Did it hurt? Did I have to leave the game for a while?

I really don't remember.

In music class, Miss Jakes caught me staring out the window, a dazed look on my face. She thought it was because of the volleyball accident. She wanted to send me to the nurse. But I explained that I was okay. I told her I wasn't hurt - I was only daydreaming. I didn't explain that I was thinking hard, thinking about that evil camera hidden away in the Coffman house. I kept on thinking about how I was going to sneak out after dinner.

I kept on thinking about how I would ride my bike up the hill to the deserted old house, creep down to the basement and pull the camera from its hiding place in the wall.

'I'm going to prove the camera is evil, Sourball; I'm going to prove you're wrong and unfair!' I bitterly thought.

I'm going to prove it to Brian and Donny and all the other kids who laughed at my story. I'm going to get an A for my report, not an F. I thought about all that. And I thought about Shari, Michael, and Bird.

I didn't blame my friends for being scared. I was scared, too. I promised myself I'd be really careful. I'll bring it to school.

'But if I can't take anyone's picture with it, then how would I prove to Mr. Saur that the camera is evil?' I thought.

I could take a snapshot of the empty classroom. Or maybe the lunchroom or the gym when no one is there. And as soon as Mr. Saur changes my grade to an A, I'll return the camera. I'll shove it back into its hiding place. And I'll never take it out again.

After school, I searched for Shari. Since she lives next door, we usually walk home together. But I didn't see her anywhere. Crossing the street, I kicked a bottle cap to the curb as I thought hard about what I was going to do about the camera. After about a half block, I heard someone call out to me.

"Greg! Hey! Greg!" The voice shouted as two hands grabbed my shoulders and spun me around hard. It was Brian Webb!

"Greg, Donny, and I went to the Coffman house !" Brian exclaimed, grinning, holding me in place. "We found the evil camera ! ".

"Say cheese!" Donny cried as he aimed the camera and flashed it in my face. I uttered a hoarse cry and shut my eyes against the white flash.

'Something horrible is going to happen to me now.' I realized.

The picture will show me in pain, agony, and terrible trouble. And then it's going to come true! When I opened my eyes, Brian and Donny were laughing. They slapped each other a high five. I stared at the camera in Donny's hand. A yellow cardboard camera. One of those cheap throwaway cameras. Not the evil camera from the Coffman house.

"Good joke, guys!" I sarcastically said while blinking several times, trying to make the yellow dots disappear. "You guys are a riot."

"You're the funny one!" Brian shot back. "That was such a funny story you told in class!"

"Yeah. It had us all laughing." Donny added.

I stared angrily at them as my heart thumped loudly. Sumo One and Sumo Two. They were so big they nearly blocked out the sunlight! I knew they wanted to keep teasing me, have some more laughs at my expense, and maybe get into a fight. But I didn't have time to fight with them.

"Maybe you won't be laughing tomorrow." I murmured before turning around, jogging across the street, and heading for home.

A Few Hours Later

At dinner, I stared down at my plate. I was too nervous to eat. My stomach felt as if it were tied in a tight knot.

"Pass the potatoes." Terry said with a mouth full of chicken.

"It's not potatoes. It's turnips." Mom corrected, earning a shrug from Terry.

"Whatever." Terry said, scooping a pile onto his plate and spooning them into his mouth.

"Slow down, Terry." Dad scolded. "You're eating so fast; you don't know what you're eating!"

"Sure, I do. I'm eating dinner!" Terry protested, causing Mom and Dad to laugh.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Mom asked him.

"Excuse me." Terry said after burping. He then licked the chicken grease off his fingers. "I have to get back to work. A lot of special orders came in today. So I promised Mr. Kramer I'd put in a few extra hours in the developing lab."

"You're learning a lot about photography, aren't you?" Dad asked.

"Yeah. A lot."

'Oh, please!' I thought. 'Please don't talk about photography!'

I knew that soon after dinner; I'd be sneaking out to that creepy old deserted house. I didn't want to think about cameras or photography. Terry's chair scraped the floor as he jumped to his feet. He tossed his greasy napkin onto the table.

"Got to run. See you later." Terry said as he headed for the door.

"Don't you have any homework tonight?" Mom asked.

"No." He shouted from the front hall. "They don't give homework in high school!"

"What a comedian." Dad muttered, shaking his head as Terry slammed the front door behind him. They both suddenly remembered that I was at the table, too.

"Greg. You haven't touched your chicken!" Mom said, staring at my full plate.

"I ate too much after school." I lied. "I'm not too hungry."

"Your mom and I are going over to Alana's after dinner." Dad said. Alana is Mom's sister. "Alana still isn't feeling well. Do you want to come with us?"

"Uh... no." I answered before quickly coming up with an excuse. "I've got too much homework. I'm going to be studying all night."

I never liked to lie to Mom and Dad and tried not to if I could help it. But tonight, I couldn't help it.

"How are your grades this semester?" Mom asked.

"Yes, how are they?" Dad repeated, leaning closer. "Pete and Alice out in Yosemite called me this afternoon. They asked if you are coming to visit them this summer. I told them we'd know as soon as your next report card arrives."

"Uh... I'm doing really well." I told them, staring down at my chicken and turnips and feeling my stomach knotted even tighter. 'I'll be doing really well after tomorrow.'

"Pete and Alice said to be sure to bring a camera." Dad said as he and mom stood up to clear the table. "It's such a beautiful country out there."

"Maybe Terry can get you a good camera at the store." Mom suggested.

'Please stop talking about cameras!' I thought, gritting my teeth. "Maybe he can."

I waited till Mom and Dad drove off for Alana's house. Then I waited ten minutes more. Sometimes they forget something, turn around, and come back home. I peered out the window. Under the white moonlight, the bare trees were bending and shaking from the breezy night. It was still cold, even though spring was only a few weeks away.

I pulled a long-sleeved flannel shirt over my T-shirt, tucked a pocket flashlight into my jeans, and headed out to the garage to get my bike. The swirling wind felt heavy and wet. I glanced up at the sky, hoping it wasn't getting ready to rain. A pale half-moon floated over the quivering trees.

The front tire on my bike was a little low. But I hoped I could make it up the hill to the Coffman house. I walked the bike out of the garage, then climbed on.

I'd left all the lights on in the house. From the driveway, it looked so bright and warm, and safe. For a moment, I was tempted to go back inside and forget about the evil camera. But my mind was made up. I desperately wanted to visit my cousins this summer. No way I could do that if I got an F from Mr. Saur on my report. I took a deep breath, clicked on the bike headlight, and pedaled down to the street.

"It was lucky that Mom and Dad had to go away." I said, happy I didn't have to sneak out of the house. "That's it, Greg. Look on the bright side."

The street seemed darker than usual. Glancing up, I saw that two streetlights were out. The wind swept toward me. On both sides, the trees appeared to be shivering. I swerved to miss a sheet of old newspaper fluttering across the street. I shifted gears as the road sloped uphill. I pictured the ramshackle old Coffman house hidden behind ancient oak trees at the top of a weed-choked lawn.

I remembered that it stood three stories tall, gray shingle, with a wraparound, screened porch, a sloping red roof, and tall chimneys on either end. Many years ago, it must have been a really fancy house. But no one had lived in it for dozens of years. And the house had crumbled and decayed until it looked like a wreck.

I crossed a street, pedaling smoothly and steadily uphill. Familiar houses rolled past in the darkness, followed by a small wooded area. I felt my throat tighten. And my hands become cold.

The Coffman house. It stood just there beyond the woods. The tree branches swayed, glowing gray - the color of bone - under the cold moonlight. I squeezed the brake as I rolled past the woods, passing the sloping lawn and the ancient oak trees, up to the old house, and gasped in shock.

The house was gone.

I jumped off my bike and let it fall to the sidewalk. I uttered a low cry of surprise. Then I blinked several times, trying to make the big, old house appear where it belonged behind the oak trees.

But no.

The trees rose up over the lawn, silvery gray in the moonlight. Now they protected only scattered piles of boards and shingles. The house had been torn down. Totaled. Dazed, I stood at the curb, staring up at where the house should be, trying to force it to return. A minute or two later, I felt a stab of pain and slapped a mosquito on my forehead.

'It's too early in the spring for mosquitoes.' I thought as I felt wet blood on my forehead. Rubbing the bite, I turned to the gravel driveway and saw a stenciled sign near the street.

SOLD.

'So the Coffman house had been sold. And the new owner tore it down.' I thought, rubbing the mosquito bite.

The house was gone. But what about the basement? What about the basement workshop? I remembered it so well. I remembered the worktable. And I remembered the hiding place in the wall above it. The small compartment where the camera lay hidden away. What about the basement?

Before I even realized it, my feet were carrying me up the hill. My sneakers slid over the slick, tall grass. I inhaled the fresh dew and kept my eyes locked on the trembling silver trees. I stepped around a pile of rusted nails and bolts and Jumped over a low stack of rotted shingles that had been pulled off the house.

Halfway up the lawn, I could see what else was left of the house. Wooden doors are stacked in a high pile with broken glass over the ground. Window frames leaning against a wall of rotting boards and cracked shingles were everywhere. A white sink was on its side against a tree, and an old washtub rested beside it.

But what about the basement? I crept closer. My legs suddenly felt heavy. My whole body felt heavy as if some invisible force were pushing me back, pushing me away from the house. A deep shadow ran along the ground behind the round, old oaks. At first glance, I thought I was staring at a pool of water that was a small lake. But as I made my way closer, I saw that the deep shadow was a hole that was a huge, square pit in the ground.

The basement.

It was nothing but a hole now.

I stopped at the edge, my body feeling even heavier. Heavy with disappointment. I stopped and stared down into the deep hole. The trees shut out most of the moonlight. With a trembling hand, I pulled out my pocket flashlight and clicked it on. I aimed the narrow beam of yellow light into the hole.

Empty down there. The light slid over the dirt. On one side, thick tree roots poked into the open square. I ran the light over the pit walls. Tangles of roots spread over the smooth, black dirt. There was nothing left. The basement had been completely cleared out. Even the concrete floor had been broken up and carted away. But where was the camera? Where?

Had someone found it, pulled it out, and kept it? Or had it been crushed when the workers smashed the concrete? Crushed and destroyed forever? I moved the beam of light back and forth along the far wall. I'm not sure what I expected to see. Did I think I'd find the camera hidden in its square hole in the pit wall? Did I think I would see it in the corner of the muddy floor?

The light swept over dirt and knots of tree roots. But there was nothing else. I clicked off the flashlight and shoved it into my pocket. I turned away from the hole, side-stepping a pile of broken shingles. A strong gust of wind made the old trees groan and creak. I barely noticed the eerie sounds.

'I'm going to get an F.' I thought. 'The camera is gone forever, and I'm going to get an F.'

My summer is ruined. And the other kids in class will never believe me. They will laugh at me and click cameras at me forever. I let out a long, glum sigh. Angrily, I kicked a broken board out of my path and started down the lawn to my bike. But after a couple of steps, I heard a shrill voice shout at me.

"Caught you! You're not going anywhere!" The voice said. The high voice in the night air startled me. Without thinking, I started to run before stopping.

I spun around, my heart heaving against my chest. And saw a boy about my age. He had picked up a board from the ground and held it high as if ready to swing it. He wore a black sweatshirt over faded jeans with holes in both knees. His dark hair was cut very short. He glared at me with dark, tense eyes.

"Dad, I caught him !" The boy shouted. He had a high, shrill voice that made him sound like a little kid.

"Whoa. What do you mean?" I asked, confused. "Caught me?"

"Don't move." He demanded, raising the board higher. He took a step closer. Then another as his eyes burned hard into mine.

"I wasn't doing anything! I-I was just looking." I explained. The anger faded from his eyes. His expression changed as he stepped up to me.

"You-you're not him!" He stammered.

"Huh? Who?" I cried. "I'm not who?"

"Hey, I'm sorry." He said, shaking his head.

"Well... I'm not someone else!" I said, still confused but more so annoyed.

"I thought you were someone else."

"I'm me."

"There's a kid who lives down the block." The boy explained, scratching his dark crew cut. "He's been sneaking over here at night and stealing stuff from the yard."

"What was he stealing? There isn't much left." I asked as my eyes wandered over the cluttered lawn.

"He was taking lumber and stuff. I thought you were him." The boy said as he tossed the board away with it clattering against a pile of boards beside me.

"Did your family buy the Coffman house?" I asked, curious as I reached up and wiped the sweat off my head. Even though it was such a cool, windy night, my forehead was all sweaty.

"Yeah. We bought it. But Dad said the house was too wrecked to fix up. So he had it torn down. We're going to build a new house." He answered. The wind made the trees creak again. I glanced down the street and saw the back wheel of my bike spinning. "People told us the Coffman house was haunted. So I'm glad Dad tore it down. Anyway, my name is Jon. What's yours?"

"Greg. I- I live down at the bottom of the hill. A few blocks past the school. My friends and I used to sneak into the old house." I answered. "You know. Just for fun and excitement. I think it was haunted."

"What were you doing here? Why did you come up here tonight?" Jon asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I was looking for something." I answered. "A camera."

"An old camera?" Jon asked, scratching his head.

"Yes!"I said excitedly. "An old camera. It was hidden down in the basement. Did you see it?"

"Yeah," Jon answered. "The men dug it up when they pulled out the basement."

"Oh, wow!" I said, unable to hide my excitement. "Where is it, Jon? I mean, what did they do with it? Do you know where it is?"

"Probably over there. I don't think they emptied it yet." Jon answered, pointing over my shoulder toward the street. I spun around and saw a big Dumpster on the other side of the driveway.

"They threw it in there?" I asked. But I didn't wait for him to answer. I started running full speed through the tall weeds to the street. I stopped in front of the big steel dumpster. I could see all kinds of junk piled over the top. "Is it okay to look for it?"

"Sure. Go ahead. Why do you want a stupid old camera, anyway ?" Jon asked as he slowly walked toward me with his hands in his pockets. I didn't answer him. There was no time for answering questions.

I lifted both hands to the top of the dumpster. It was pretty high. It took me three tries to pull myself up and inside. A street lamp across the street cast a glow of dim yellow light over the dumpster. My eyes wandered quickly over the trash. All stuff from the basement, I realized. I saw rusted old tools from the workshop. Part of an old vacuum cleaner. The spin cylinder from a dryer. Old clothes. Torn suitcases.

'Is it here? Is the camera in here?' I wondered. I pulled away a broken suitcase and tossed it aside. I grabbed stacks of old magazines and shoved them out of the way. 'I'm going to search every inch of this dumpster until I find it.'

I pulled away a torn section of a garden hose. Then I pawed through a pile of old clothes. Where is it? Where? I dropped onto my hands and knees and dug deeper into the garbage. The stale odor of dust and decay floated up to me and swept over me. I held my breath and kept pawing away. I had to find it. I had to. I didn't stop until I saw the two eyes staring up at me.

Two eyes. Yellow in the pale light.

Staring up at me from the trash. Staring up at me without blinking.

'I'm not alone in here!' I realized. And then I opened my mouth in a shrill, terrified scream.

Real World

"Man, Greg is so desperate to get the camera." Yang said.

"That's an understatement." Weiss said.

"I mean, I get Greg's motivation. But this is too much." Ruby said.

"And he could have avoided this if he simply didn't write about the camera and wrote about anything else." Coco added, with the others nodding.

"True. But can't we give Greg some slack? He's a kid, after all." Nora asked.

"Only a little bit. But you have to remember, his father nearly died, and his friend vanished. Speaking of friends, they reminded him of how dangerous it is. But he ignored them, all so he could go visit his cousins." Neo said.

"And he said he would never use it again after showing up his teacher. But it is obvious to everyone that he would do it again if anyone doubted him." Roman added. "But anyway. Back to the story. Greg looked up and saw two cold, unblinking eyes staring at him."

Story

A chill tightened the back of my neck. I stared down at them, waiting for them to move, waiting for something to jump up at me.

"What's wrong? Did you find the camera?" Jon asked from the sidewalk.

"No. I. uh - I-"

I reached down toward the glassy yellow eyes and felt bristly fur. My heart pounding, I pushed some junk aside. And without thinking, I picked up the staring creature. Felt its body, stiff and hard beneath bristly brown and black fur.

A dead raccoon.

"Oooooh, yuck!" I said when its sour odor assaulted my nostrils. I let out a groan and heaved the smelly creature out of the dumpster.

"Hey, Greg." Jon shouted.

"I found a dead raccoon." I said, holding my nose. "It smelled so bad."

I stopped when I saw the camera. It had been hidden beneath the raccoon's body. The glow from the street lamp spilled over it. The glass of the camera lens reflected the light like a single, shining eye. I grabbed it and pulled it up from the trash. Then I climbed to my feet and leaned over the dumpster.

"I found it!" I cried happily, holding the camera so Jon could see it. "Here it is. I can't believe I found it!"

"Great." Jon said without enthusiasm. I strapped the camera around my neck. Then, holding on to the top of the dumpster, I lowered myself to the ground. My shirt and jeans were covered with dust and sticky grease. But I didn't care. I had the camera in my hands.

"What's so great about it?" Jon asked, squinting at the camera as he rubbed the top. "Does it work?"

I didn't want to tell him the story of the camera. I knew he wouldn't believe it, anyway. I didn't want to scare him. But I wanted to get home as soon as possible.

"Yeah. It works." I answered, dusting off the back with my hand. "It takes pretty good pictures."

"But why do you want it so much?" Jon asked, studying it as I worked to clean the dust off.

"Oh ... well. I promised to show it to someone. In school." I answered. "I kind of need it for a project."

"Maybe I should show the camera to my dad. He might not want you to take it." Jon said, scratching his head.

"But you threw it in the trash!" I reminded, holding the camera tightly in my hands, afraid Jon might take it away.

"But we didn't know it works." Jon countered. "Is it valuable? Maybe it's valuable. An antique or something."

"No way. It's not valuable." I insisted. "Please, Jon-"

"We'd better show it to Dad." Jon said, reaching for the camera.

But I pulled it away and gripped it tighter. Yet I tensed when we heard a click followed by a white flash of light.

"Oh, noooo!" I said when I realized I had pressed the shutter button and snapped a picture of Jon.

"Hey. Why did you do that?" Jon asked, annoyed. "

It-it was an accident. I didn't mean to. Really." I stammered, pulling the picture from the slot at the bottom of the camera while we blinked several times, trying to get the flashing lights to fade from our eyes.

"It's an instant camera?" Jon asked, surprised. "It looks too old to be an instant camera."

"Yeah. I know." I answered. But honestly, I didn't hear what Jon said or asked. I was focused on the photo, watching it slowly develop. I silently prayed the picture would show anything too terrible. 'Please, please let Jon be okay in the snapshot.'

With my free hand, I pulled the little flashlight from my pocket. I beamed it down on the photo as it slowly developed. As I stared at the small, square snapshot, I could see Jon's face come into view. His eyes were closed, but his mouth was open, twisted in a strange expression. Before I could determine what was happening, Jon grabbed the photo away from me and raised it close to his face to study it.

"Hey! What's with this camera?" He asked, sounding annoyed. I stepped up behind him to see the snapshot.

"Oh, nooooo." I groaned.

The photo came out very clear and bright. It showed Jon howling in pain. His eyes shut with his mouth open in a scream. His leg was raised. He was holding onto his sneaker with both hands. He held on to his sneaker because a huge nail was sticking up from the top. An enormous carpenter's nail - nearly as big as a pencil shoved up through the center of Jon's foot!

"What is this? Some kind of joke camera?" Jon asked, laughing as he turned to me.

I swallowed hard. I knew it wasn't a joke. The horrifying photos always came true. How could I keep Jon from having a nail jammed in his foot? What could I do? I decided I had to warn him. I had to tell him the truth about the camera.

"This is cool!" Jon exclaimed, studying the photo. "It really looks like me. I wonder how it works."

"It-it isn't cool." I stammered. "It's really kind of scary, Jon. The camera is evil. It has a curse on it. The photos always come true."

"For sure!" Jon said, laughing. I knew he wouldn't believe me.

"Well, just be careful. The photo isn't a joke."

He laughed again. A gust of wind sent the tall weeds swaying. Snakes of black clouds slithered over the moon. Darkness swept over us.

"I need to borrow the camera." I said. "Just for one day."

"It's such a cool camera. I don't know. Maybe I should take it home."

"I'll bring it back tomorrow afternoon." I promised. "I just have to take it to school."

"I'd better ask my dad." Jon asked, his mouthing twisting as he thought. He then pointed to a wall of lumber under the trees. "He's back there with the architect, talking about the new house."

"No. Wait!" I said, worried.

But Jon took off, running up the hill through the swaying weeds. I started after him- but stopped when I heard a shrill bleat. And then Jon's horrifying roar of pain soared out over the lawn. My breath caught in my chest. I stumbled forward through the weeds. And saw Jon holding his sneaker, his face twisted in pain. Even in the dim moonlight, I could see the enormous nail pushing up through his foot.

"Jon! I'll get your dad!" I shouted. But I didn't need to find him. Two men one tall and thin, the other chubby and short - rushed out from behind the lumber pile. I guessed they were the architect and Jon's dad.

"Jon? What's wrong?" The chubby one, Jon's dad, asked. Jon tossed back his head in another scream of pain.

"He's got a nail in his foot!" I shouted, running up to them, pointing frantically. Both men ran past me.

"Oh, good heavens!" Jon's dad said, scared. They grabbed Jon under the arms. The tall man held Jon's injured foot above the ground.

"Into my car." He urged. "I have a towel. We can wrap the foot. He's losing a lot of blood."

"Should we pull out the nail?" Jon's dad asked in a quivering voice.

"No. Too dangerous." The other man replied.

"Don't pull it out! Don't!" Jon pleaded. "It'll hurt too much!"

"We can't even take off the sneaker!" Jon's dad cried.

"The hospital is that way." The architect said. "Only a few minutes away."

"Owwww. It hurts! It hurrrrts!" Jon wailed. The two men lifted him off the ground. And half-walking, half-running, they carried him down to a car parked across from the dumpster.

I watched from the weeds as they gently lowered Jon into the backseat. I saw them struggle with a long white towel. Finally, they had it tightly wrapped around the foot and sneaker. They closed Jon's car door before quickly sliding into the front. A few seconds later, the car roared off into the darkness. I stood in the middle of the yard, feeling the swaying weeds brush against the legs of my jeans. I swallowed hard. My mouth suddenly felt as dry as cotton.

"Poor Jon." I muttered. The camera was as evil as ever. Tonight it had found another victim.

It's all my fault. It was an accident. I didn't mean to press the shutter. But I pressed it. The two men hadn't even looked at me. They were so upset about Jon that I don't think they saw me. I glanced down and realized that I still gripped the camera in my hands. I had a strong urge to heave it to the ground. To stomp on it again and again until I smashed it forever.

My eye caught something fluttering in the tall grass. I bent and picked it up. It was the snapshot. I squinted once again at Jon, holding his foot and shrieking in pain. I tucked the picture into the pocket of my flannel shirt.

"I'll bring it to Mr. Saur." I decided.

I'll bring in the camera and the photo of Jon. I'll tell him exactly what happened to Jon tonight. I won't have to snap a picture in school.

I have this picture as proof. So it won't be dangerous. It won't be dangerous at all.

Real World

"And he almost redeemed himself." Yatsuhashi said, shaking his head.

"But he still decided to bring the camera." Blake said.

"At least he doesn't have to take a picture." Ruby said. "Which is good."

"Not exactly. Greg still has to prove it. And the only way to do that is to take another photo. Otherwise, the teacher will think Greg got someone to edit it somehow." Coco said.

"And even if the teacher believed Greg, I'm positive he would take another couple of photos and try to defend his actions with a weak excuse." Pyrrha said.

"At this point, I'm pretty sure the camera is making him take the photos." Nora said.

"Uh, no. That's not true." A familiar voice said. Turning to where it came from, everyone saw four figures walking toward them. Well, three figures and a dog.

"Oh. Hello Lucy, Cassie, Grady." Roman said, nodding toward them, with Neo doing the same.

"Hey, Roman. Hey, Neo." They said as Vandal sat next to them.

"Wait. Before anything is else said." Blake said, eyeing locking on Grady. "You're the new Werewolf of Fever Swamp."

"That's right. I have been ever since Will drowned in the bog."

"And you're Lucy. The girl who cried monster and whose parents are monsters that ate the librarian." Yang said.

"That's right." Lucy said before revealing her fangs, earning a gasp from Fox, Coco, Pyrrha, Yatsuhashi, Ren, and Weiss.

"And who are you?" Velvet asked, looking at Cassie.

"My name is Cassie O' Rourke. I'm Grady's neighbor and friend." Cassie answered. "And yes, I already knew about Grady being the Werewolf of Fever Swamp. I was there with him when it happened."

"If that's the case, why didn't Jaune write about you in the book?" Ren asked.

"That's because I asked him to omit me from the story for personal reasons. Nothing bad, mind you, just personal."

"Oh. Okay."

"How do you four know each other?" Weiss asked.

"Are you four connected in some way?" Ruby asked.

"No. We met about a year after my incident at Fever Swamp. Which is two years after Lucy learned she was part monster." Grady answered.

"And we became good friends after we helped Grady learn to control his curse and help rid Mistral and Vacou of some less than savory, unique visitors." Lucy added.

"Wait. Mistral and Vacou? Is this happening all over Remnant?" Weiss asked, shocked.

"Yes. But don't worry. Most aren't bad. They just want to be left alone or are good in nature." Lucy answered.

"But some are real bad. Luckily, most are dealt with already, contained, or gone." Cassie added.

"That's good." Velvet said in relief.

"But anyway." Coco said. "What did you mean when it's not true that the camera is forcing Greg to take the photos?"

"That's because, despite how powerful and evil the camera is, it cannot force anyone to find and/or use it. It also can't move on its own. If someone hides it well, then its powers are useless." Grady answered.

"And if anyone takes a photo of it, it is of their own free will. But that is either from ignorance, something petty like Greg's motivation, or something more evil." Lucy added.

"Well, I take back what I said about Greg." Ruby said.

"And me saying we should cut him some slack." Nora added.

"Anyway. Since you three are here, care to listen in on the story?" Roman asked.

"Sure." Cassie, Grady, and Lucy answered, with Vandal letting out a bark as they sat on some nearby chairs.

"Alright. It was the next morning, and Greg was gulping down his breakfast. He then put on his backpack, strapped the camera around his neck, and raced out the door."

Story

I left the house fifteen minutes early as I didn't want to run into Shari, Michael, or Bird. It was a warm day today. The air smelled fresh and sweet. I saw a row of tulips poking up through the ground along the side of the house. They were the first flowers of spring. I loped down the driveway and turned at the sidewalk's corner. The camera felt heavy against my chest. I reached up to adjust the strap- and heard a voice calling me.

"Greg! Hey, Greg! Wait up!" Shari shouted. I spun the camera behind me and tried to hide it under my arm. But I was too slow. Shari had already spotted it. And as she ran at me, her eyes remained on the camera as she shook her head. "I don't believe you! You're unreal! You pulled that thing from the Coffman house!"

"Well ... not exactly." I said.

"How come, then?"

"How come you're so early, Shari?"

"I was watching out the window for you." She confessed. "I wanted to see if you were crazy enough to get that camera."

"You were spying on me? Why?" I asked, frowning.

"Because I'm not letting you take that evil thing to school." She answered as she stepped in front of me to block my way.

"Who made you queen of the world? It's a free country, you know. " I asked, snickering. Shari snarled before crossing her arms.

"I'm serious, Greg. You can't take it. I won't let you."

I faked to the left and tried to edge past her on the right. But she stayed in front of me. I bumped into her and then backed up a step when she didn't move.

"I'm serious." She repeated. "Take the camera home."

"Shari, you're being a real jerk. You can't tell me what to do!" I said, annoyed. Her expression changed as she uncrossed her arms and tugged her black hair back over her shoulders.

"Don't you remember how dangerous that camera is? Don't you remember all the horrible things it did to us?"

I gripped the camera in both hands. It suddenly felt very heavy. The metal felt cold against the front of my T-shirt.

"Don't you remember, Greg? "Shari pleaded. "I disappeared because of that camera. I disappeared into thin air! You don't want that to happen, do you? Think how terrible you'd make someone else feel."

"I'm not going to take any pictures. Really. I'm just going to show it to Mr. Saur so he'll change my grade." I said, swallowing hard as the night before came to mind and how the camera injured Jon.

"Why will seeing an old camera make him change your grade? "Shari demanded.

"Because I have a photo to show him, too." I shouted. I pulled the snapshot of Jon out of my pocket and flashed it in front of her face.

"Oooh, gross !" she cried, shoving the photo away with both hands. "That is sick!"

"I know." I said, sliding the photo back into my pocket. "The poor kid. I took this picture. Then, a minute later, it really happened to him."

"So I'm right!" Shari shouted, her eyes narrowed at the camera in my hands. "You just proved my point, didn't you, Greg!? I'm right!"

A car rumbled past, filled with kids on their way to school. A small brown dog stuck its head out the back window and barked at us. I glanced at my watch. If we stayed here arguing another few minutes, Shari and I would be late for school.

"We've got to go." I told her as I began walking, taking long strides. But she hurried to block my way.

"No, Greg. I can't let you. I can't."

"Shari, give me a break." I said, rolling my eyes.

"It's too dangerous." She insisted. "I know I'm right. I know it will get you into big trouble."

"Get out of my way, Shari."

"Give me the camera."

"No way!"

She grabbed for it with both hands and yanked It off my shoulders. I tried to grab it back. But not even a second later, the camera flashed in Shari's face. She blinked as her hands shot away from the camera while she let out a startled cry.

"Oh! Sorry! Sorry! Really! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to -" I cried, backing away. The camera felt warm in my hands. I reached for the square photo that slid from the slot.

"Give me that!" Shari demanded as she swiped the snapshot away from me. "What have you done to me?"

"It was an accident! You know I didn't mean to snap it."

"What have you done? What have you done ?" She repeated, staring down at the square as it developed. Her voice trembled more each time she said it. I saw that her hand was shaking. "I told you not to bring out the camera. I begged you to leave it at home."

"Shari, I'm sorry. Maybe it won't be so bad. Maybe-"

"Maybe I'll disappear again, Greg. Maybe I'll disappear forever." Shari said, swallowing hard.

"No!"I cried. "Don't say that. Please!"

We both stared down at the photo. It developed so slowly. First, the yellow darkened over the white square. I began to see Shari's face. Was she screaming? Was she howling in pain? I couldn't tell. The blue tint filled in over the yellow. I could see Shari's face outlined in green.

"You look okay." I told her. "I think you're okay."

"Wait." She said as she bit her lower lip. She didn't blink. Her eyes squinted hard as the red and blue tints spread.

The picture darkened to black. I could see Shari's face clearly now. She wasn't smiling. She didn't look happy. But she wasn't screaming, either.

"Hey!" Shari cried. "It's a negative."

"Huh?" I asked, confused.

"It's not a photo. It's a negative. The photo didn't come out. It's all reversed." Shari answered, holding the square up to me. I stared at it. She was right. Everything was reversed.

"Maybe the camera is broken." I said, letting out a long sigh of relief. "You're okay, Shari. The camera doesn't work."

"Maybe." She said as she handed me the negative. I slid it into my pocket, but when I looked up, she had a strange smile on her face. It seemed evil.

"Shari. What's your problem?" I nervously asked.

I should have known. I should have guessed what she planned to do. I should have moved faster. She grabbed the camera with both hands, spun it around, pointed it in my face, and flashed a picture.

"Hey!" I tried to duck away from the lens, but I was too late. She caught me.

"Shari! That's not funny!" I cried.

"It won't hurt you. The camera is broken, remember?" She asked. My throat suddenly felt dry.

Is it broken? Will this one be a negative, too? Or will it show me howling in pain with a nail through my foot or something even worse? I wondered. As I stared at the small square, my imagination ran wild. I pictured my body stretched out like a rubber band, tugging at an arrow through my chest, or lying mashed under a huge steamroller. "Shari, how could you do this to me?"

"You're really scared. Admit it, Greg. You're really scared. Now maybe you get it. Maybe you see why I didn't want you to bring the camera to school." She said, her dark eyes flashing. My hand trembled. I gripped the snapshot with both hands. The colors darkened.

"It's not a negative." I said, horrified. Shari stepped up behind me and stared down at the photo.

"Oh, noooo!" We both cried at the same time. But Shari began to laugh after a moment.

"I don't believe this! This is horrible!" I wailed as I recognized my face but didn't recognize my body.

Real Life

"Normally, I'd be scared and worried for whoever gets their photo taken with the camera." Blake began.

"But not now. Greg 100% deserves whatever the camera is going to do." Yang finished.

"Especially considering he ignored Shari's warning, called her a jerk for being the sensible one, and took a photo of her." Weiss said.

"Even if it was accidental." Pyrrha said.

"He should be glad it wasn't me; otherwise, he wouldn't have any fingers now." Coco said.

"Or legs." Nora added.

"Should we tell them?" Grady asked Cassie and Lucy.

"I-" Lucy began, but a shake from Roman stopped her.

"No." Cassie said.

"Okay. After seeing the photo, Grady tried to rationalize what it could mean. At first, he thought his head was resting on top of a giant balloon." Roman said.

Story

Then I realized that the giant balloon was me. In the photo, I weighed about four hundred pounds! I was not kidding. Four hundred pounds! I gaped at the picture, studying my round face and my even rounder body. I had about eight chins. My cheeks were puffed way out. The collar of my T-shirt was hidden under one of my flabby chins. The shirt was stretched tight over my chest and only came down to my belly, which bulged nearly to the ground. I really looked like a really gross mountain of pudding!

"Stop laughing!" I snapped at Shari. "It isn't funny!"

"It's very funny." She insisted as she grabbed the photo, raised it to her face, and started laughing again. "You're bigger than Sumo One and Sumo Two!"

I grabbed the photo back. I stared at the folds of flab hanging down from my cheeks. My face was so huge and puffy, and my eyes looked like tiny pig eyes. And my fat knees!

"Are you still going to bring the camera to school?" Shari asked. "Have you changed your mind yet?"

"I have to show it to Mr. Saur." I answered. "I'm just going to show him the camera. And the picture of Jon."

"And the picture of you?" She asked, grinning.

"No way." I shoved it into my jeans pocket. "I don't want anyone to see it. Ever!"

"Come on." Shari said, glancing at her watch. "We'd better hurry! We're late."

She started to run down the sidewalk, and I followed her all the way to school. But I kept picturing the photo. The image of my flabby face and my enormous four-hundred-pound body haunted my mind.

'Don't worry about it.' I told myself. The camera is broken. There's nothing to worry about, nothing to worry about.

But guess what? I was worried!

Ten Minutes Later

The halls were nearly empty when Shari and I arrived at school. The first bell had already rung. I hid the camera under a bunch of stuff on the floor of my locker. I didn't have Mr. Saur's English class until just before lunch. And I didn't want to take a chance of Brian, Donny, or somebody else grabbing the camera and messing around with it. I slammed the locker shut and locked it. Then I waved to Bird and Michael, who were hurrying into their classroom.

I wanted to tell them I had the camera. And I wanted to tell them about Jon and the nail in his foot. But I decided I'd better keep quiet. Michael and Bird agreed with Shari. They didn't want me to take the camera out again. They were too afraid of it.

And they were probably right.

I slid into class just as the final bell rang. I ducked low in my seat, trying not to be noticed. I had a long time to wait until Mr. Saur's class. Today was the first day ever that I couldn't wait for Sourball's class to begin!

Once again, I didn't hear a word my other teachers said. In social studies, Mrs. Wackman was rattling on about bauxite production in South America. I wanted to raise my hand and ask her what bauxite is! I've always wondered about bauxite. I think it's some kind of South American car. But I'm not sure. Her voice faded into the background. My mind was busy practicing my speech to Mr. Saur.

"Mr. Saur." I planned to say. "You made a terrible mistake yesterday. But I'm not going to hold it against you. I know you will be fair and change the grade on my report as soon as I show you this."

'Whoa. That's too stiff.' I told myself. 'That doesn't sound like me at all. I'll never be able to get those words out.'

I tried a different approach. "Here's the evil camera, Mr. Saur. And here's a picture it took of a boy I met. A minute later, the picture came true. You asked me to bring in proof- and here it is."

'That's better.' I decided. It's straight to the point. But will he believe me? 'He'll have to. Photos don't lie. He'll have to change my grade.'

I stared at the wall clock over the chalkboard. Why was it moving so slowly? Why? Finally, the bell rang. I jumped up, ran out the door, and dove for my locker. Bird called to me from down the hall, but I pretended I didn't hear him.

I pulled the camera from its hiding place and slammed the locker door shut. I tucked it carefully under my arm, protecting it. I saw Sumo One and Sumo Two across the hall. They were shoving a fifth grader up against a locker, making him bounce back like a yo-yo.

That's their hobby which was making kids bounce. And guess who is one of their favorite bouncers? That's right. Me. I spun around and hurried the other way. I didn't feel like bouncing today. And I didn't want Brian and Donny to set their eyes on the camera. I took the long way around to Mr. Saur's class, jogging the whole way. I held the camera snugly and practiced my speech. A group of kids was talking in front of the classroom, blocking the door.

"Make way!" I cried, pushing through them. I wanted to see Mr. Saur before the bell rang.

I stepped into the room but blinked against the bright sunlight streaming through the windows. I turned and ran breathlessly toward Mr. Saur's desk. But I stopped halfway there and let out a cry of dismay.

"May I help you ?" Asked the young woman sitting behind Mr. Saur's desk. "Are you okay?"

I stared at her with my mouth hanging open to my knees. I didn't answer her questions. I gripped the camera tightly in both hands, afraid I might drop it.

"Where is Mr. Saur?" I managed to choke out.

"He's not feeling well." She answered, studying my face. "I'm Ms. Rose. I'm substituting today."

"He-he's not here?" I stammered in a high, shrill voice earning a nod from Ms. Rose.

"I'll be teaching the class today. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"No." I muttered unhappily, glancing down at the camera. "No. You can't help me."

The room was never this noisy when Mr. Saur sat behind the desk. Kids were shouting and laughing. Someone tossed a balled-up piece of paper at me. It bounced off my shoulder and onto my desk. I heard loud laughter from the back of the room. We always give substitutes a tough time. When a teacher doesn't show up, it's always time to celebrate. But I didn't feel like celebrating today. I was so disappointed.

"Can I put this in my locker? It will only take a second. My locker is right out there." I asked Ms. Rose, holding up the camera. The final bell rang. Ms. Rose held her hands over her ears. The bell was on the ceiling, right over her desk.

"Okay." She said when the clanging stopped. "But hurry back. I'm going to be talking about the subjunctive tense today. And you don't want to miss that."

Thrills and chills, huh? I thanked her and hurried to the door. The long hall stood empty as everyone was in class. My sneakers thudded loudly on the hard floor. My mind was racing, thinking about Mr. Saur and the camera.

'I'll have to leave it in my locker until he gets back.' I promised Jon I'd keep it only for one day. But what choice did I have? I turned the corner - and bumped into Brian and Donny.

"Hey!" Brian grunted.

"Hey!" Donny greeted.

"You guys are late." I said, trying to hurry past them. But they blocked my way with their big, broad bodies.

"Sourball isn't here." Donny said, grinning. "He's sick or something. So we've got a substitute."

"Tell me something I don't know." I muttered.

"So we're in no hurry." Brian said. "Why should we hurry for a substitute?"

I tried to slip between them. But they were too quick for me. They squeezed together, and I bounced back off them.

"We're going to switch places ." Brian grinned. "I'm going to tell her I'm Donny. And Donny is going to say he's me."

"Good joke." I said, rolling my eyes. "Very original. Now, can I get by?"

"No way." Donny said, puffing up his big chest and leaning over me menacingly.

"You have to pay a toll if you want to pass." Brian demanded. He stuck out his big paw for money.

"How much is the toll?" I sighed.

"How much have you got?" Brian shot back. They both guffawed and slapped high fives. They really think they're funny.

"I've got to get to my locker." I insisted.

"Hey!" I reached for it with both hands when Brian grabbed the camera and raised it over his head.

"Look. Greg brought his magic camera to school." He told Donny.

"Oooh, I'm scared!" Donny sarcastically said. He pretended to shiver and shake.

"But the camera is bad!" Brian exclaimed, holding it out of my frantic reach. "It's cursed, Donny! You remember Greg's report."

"You mean the report he got an F on?" Donny asked as they shared another laugh.

"Let's check it out. Say cheese, Greg." Brian said as he lowered the camera to his eye and aimed it at me.

"No, please!" I pleaded as I made another grab for the camera. But Donny grabbed me and pinned my arms behind my back.

"Go ahead. Snap it." Donny said. "Let's put a curse on Greg. Snap his picture."

"No, please!" I begged as Donny wrapped his huge paws tightly around me and pinned my arms against my back. "The camera really is cursed! You don't know what you're doing! Stop!"

Brian ignored me, of course. He held the camera to his eye and raised his finger over the shutter button.

"Brian, please!" I saw his finger lower over the button. Then a loud voice shouted, getting our attention.

"What's going on here?" The voice demanded. Brian cried out and nearly dropped the camera while Donny dropped my arms and stumbled back against the wall.

"Mr. Grund!" I exclaimed. He's the principal of Pitts Landing Middle School. Mr. Grund is young and has wavy blond hair and a really good tan. He looks more like a surfer than a principal. The girls in our school all have crushes on him. For once, I was glad to see him.

"Where should you guys be right now?" He asked, glancing up at the clock on the wall.

"Uh ... we're going to Mr. Saur's class." Donny replied, turning bright red.

"We were just helping Greg with his camera." Brian added as he handed the camera back to me.

"That looks like a valuable old camera." Mr. Grund said. "You should be careful with that, Greg."

"I'm trying. I'm going to lock it in my locker right now." I said before pushing past Sumo One and Sumo Two and hurrying down the hall.

"Get to class, guys. And don't give your substitute a hard time, okay." Mr. Grund scolded the others.

"Okay." Brian promised.

"No problem." Donny agreed.

Real World

"Talk about a close call." Coco said.

"Yeah." The others agreed.

"While Greg took the camera for his own selfish reason, can you imagine if someone like those two bullies got their hands on the camera?" Ruby asked.

"Or if someone like Cardin gets his hands on it." Blake said.

"Or worse, someone like my father." Weiss added.

"What happened to the bullies?" Pyrrha asked.

"Dead." Neo answered.

"What happened?" Ren asked.

"Uh. Let's just say." Grady began before clearing his throat. "Be careful what you wish for."

"And that wishing isn't as simple as it appears in the movies." Cassie added.

"I... don't think I follow." Nora said, confused.

"Think of genies, and you will have a clear picture." Lucy said.

"Oh. I get it now."

"Anyway, back to the story." Roman said. "After school, Greg met Shari, and they walked home together."

Story

"What's up?" I asked.

"I got an A on my math test." Shari answered.

"Big surprise. You always get As in math."

"So? Maybe I like to brag."

But as we continued walking home, I began to feel a little strange. I felt tired and kind of weak. I stopped about half a block from my house and tugged off my backpack.

"What's your problem." Shari asked, sounding annoyed. "Why do you keep fiddling with that backpack?"

"I think someone messed with it." I answered, loosening the straps. "I had it just right. And now it's too tight."

"Why would anyone mess with your backpack?" Shari asked as she blew a bubble-gum bubble nearly as big as her head. But I stuck out a finger and popped it. She became slightly grossed out when it covered her face, but she quickly wiped it off. "Are you impressed? That was my biggest one ever. Wish I had a picture of it."

"Don't say picture. Don't say the words picture or camera." I grumbled. I had already told her at lunch about Mr. Saur not showing.

"Where is the camera?" She asked, pulling gum from her hair.

"Locked up safe in my locker." I answered as we turned and saw Michael and Bird running down the sidewalk toward us. "Did you tell Michael and Bird I have the camera?"

"No. They'd be too upset. After all the horrible things it did last summer, they never want to see that camera again. And neither do I." Shari answered, glaring at me.

"Hey, what's up?" Bird asked as he slapped me on the back so hard I stumbled off the curb, causing Michael to laugh. "You guys doing anything?"

"Not much." I answered, straightening my backpack. I still couldn't get it comfortable.

"Get your bikes." Michael urged. "Come on. It's a great day to ride around."

"Sounds good." I said. Honestly, it sounded like a decent way to get my mind off Mr. Saur and that stupid camera.

"Let's meet at my house." Shari suggested. "I have to ask my mom first."

Michael and Bird jogged toward their houses while Shari and I crossed the street and headed to our homes, which were side by side. Mom and Dad were at work, and Terry wasn't home from high school yet. I dropped the backpack in the front hall, raced to the kitchen, pulled a box of juice from the refrigerator, and drank it in two long sips from the straw. But I still felt weak, kind of lifeless even.

I thought maybe a long bike ride would help me get my energy back. But I noticed that my jeans felt uncomfortable and a little tight. I ran to my room and pulled on my pair of really baggy shorts. Mom and Dad always teased me about these shorts. They say there's room enough for a friend inside them. But I like them. I think they're cool. And they're really comfortable. I usually don't wear them when I ride my bike because they're so long and baggy that they sometimes get caught in the chain. I hurried outside and found Shari, Michael, and Bird waiting for me on their bikes.

"Let's go, Greg." Bird urged. "It's starting to get cloudy."

I pulled open the garage door and stepped inside, careful to walk around the black oil stains on the concrete floor. I took my bike from against the wall and walked it out onto the driveway. Then, I did my high-flying circus riding trick. It's my favorite way of getting on my bike. I lean on the handlebars, heave myself up in the air, and then I come flying down on the seat. Up I went, pushing my body into the air, swinging my legs in the air, and dropping onto the seat. But to my surprise, both ties popped. I heard the explosion and then a whoosh of air as the tires flattened against the drive.

"Hey! What's going on?" I asked, surprised.

"Whoa!" Shari cried while Michael and Bird burst out laughing.

"Nice tires." Michael said.

"Maybe you should go on a diet!" Bird added.

"Huh? A diet?" I repeated, swallowing hard. I knew that Bird was only joking. But his words sent a chill down my back. The ugly snapshot flashed into my mind. I saw myself all bloated and huge, like an enormous saggy water balloon. I felt my face go hot and knew that I was blushing. I saw my friends staring at me as I climbed off my bike. "Guess I jumped too hard."

"Maybe you need a tricycle." Michael cracked, but No one laughed. Michael's jokes never make any sense.

I squatted down and examined the tires. I ran my hands along the rubber- and found two big holes. They were blowouts. But they were brand new ties. Sighing, I dragged the bike back into the garage.

"I'll take Terry's old bike." I said. I actually like my brother's bike better than mine. It's a twelve-speed, and mine is only ten. He hardly ever rides it now that he's got his driver's license. But he doesn't like me riding it.

"Better not sit on it! Maybe you should just walk it!" Bird suggested, with him and Michael laughing afterward and slapping each other's hands.

"Ha - ha." I said. "You guys are as funny as a flat tire."

"No. We're as funny as two flat tires!" Michael said.

"Maybe you need a mountain bike." Bird said. "Something sturdy."

"Maybe you need a sturdy punch in the face." I growled.

"Just don't sit on me!" Michael exclaimed, raising both hands in front of him as if to shield himself from me.

"Are we going to ride or not?" Shari asked, annoyed. She glanced up at the graying sky. "If we don't hurry, we're going to get caught in the rain."

I eased myself carefully onto Terry's bike. Then I followed them down the driveway and into the street. We rode aimlessly around town. When we reached the long, narrow park a few blocks from school, we rode onto the grass and raced as fast as we could, with Bird winning. Bird has the best bike and the longest legs, so he always wins our races. After about an hour, it started to drizzle, so we turned for home. I was glad as my legs felt heavy and my muscles ached. As we pedaled through the raindrops, I caught Shari watching me. It almost seemed like she was studying me. And despite the sweat rolling down my forehead, I suddenly felt cold all over my body.

'Why is she staring at me like that?' I wondered. 'Why?'

The Following Morning

I woke up with two words on my lips: Mr. Saur.

'Today is the day I show him the camera.' I told myself, stretching and yawning. And today is the day I get my grade changed.

I stood up, still yawning, and rubbed my eyes. I then saw that my pillow had fallen to the floor during the night. When I bent over to pick it up, I felt a tug on the front of my pajama shirt. The buttons all popped off and scattered over the floor.

"Huh?" I opened my mouth in surprise - and heard a long rrrrrrip. It took a few seconds to realize that my pajama bottoms had ripped right up the back. "Oh, nooooo."

The collar of the pajama shirt dug tightly into both sleeves and my neck. I tried to loosen it, but they ripped at the shoulder! My heart pounding, I straightened up and crossed the room to the mirror. My whole body was trembling as I stepped in front of it.

I shut my eyes. I couldn't bear to look. But I had no choice. I had to see. I had to know. Slowly, slowly, I opened one eye, then the other. I took a deep breath and gazed at my reflection.

Had the snapshot come true? Did I weigh four hundred pounds?

I leaned into the mirror and stared at myself. No. Not four hundred pounds. I didn't look too different. A little puffy. My cheeks were a bit rounder. My shoulders were broader. I stepped back to check out the rest of my body, and Mom came walking into the room.

"Greg, what are you doing? You're going to be late for school." She said. But I didn't hear it as what had happened finally dawned on me.

I grew.

"Mom, I grew last night! I- I ripped my pajamas." I said, turning away from the mirror.

"Greg, you didn't grow overnight. Those pajamas always were a little small on you." She calmly said, narrowing her eyes at my torn pajamas.

"They were?" I asked. But then I thought that mom was right. Maybe I wasn't growing huge, and it was all in my head. "How do I look?"

"You look fine." She said, shrugging.

"I mean, do I look fatter to you?"

"Well, actually..." Her voice trailed off.

"Actually, what?"

"Maybe I'll put skim milk on your cereal this morning." She said before leaving.

Real World

"Wait." Coco said.

"What is it?" Lucy asked.

"The camera's picture came true, and Greg is struggling to believe it. But his mother doesn't seem to notice anything. Can the camera alter reality or something to make everyone else unaware of the changes?"

"We're not sure. Maybe, but it's pretty hard to notice it." Roman answered.

"We tried a few times. But the results were too flimsy and inconsistent." Neo added.

"We tried a few different ways to see if we could circumvent the camera, but they all failed." Grady added.

"And some tests showed some people not noticing a change while others knew something was off." Caddy said.

"But back to the story. After breakfast, Grady headed toward school. But he was dreading it with every step he took." Roman said.

Story

"Hi, Greg. Putting on a little weight?" That's how Mr. Saur greeted me when I hurried up to his desk before English class. His words sent a cold shiver down the back of my neck. But I ignored them and held up the camera.

"Mr. Saur, I want to show you something."

"You want to take my picture? I already had my photo taken for the yearbook, Greg." Mr. Saur said as he lowered his eyes to the camera and frowned at it.

"No. This is the camera, Mr. Saur. This is the camera that-" I began, but Mr. Saur raised a hand to stop me.

"Not right now, Greg." He said, standing up from his desk chair.

"But, Mr. Saur- "

He was gazing over my shoulder. I turned and saw Mr. Grund standing in the classroom doorway. Mr. Saur hurried over to talk to him. They talked until the bell rang. Then Mr. Saur returned to the front of the room to begin class.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here yesterday. I understand you had a wonderful time learning the subjunctive tense." Mr. Saur announced. I was still standing beside his desk, the camera in my hands. He stepped up to the chalkboard, turned, and saw me. "Greg, take your seat, please. We have a lot to do today."

"But, Mr. Saur-" I said, raising the camera.

"Take your seat." I had no choice. I sighed and trudged to my chair near the back of the room.

'How can I prove that my report was true if he won't even listen to me?' I asked myself.

"Today, we're going to hear more of your reports about true things that happened to you." Mr. Saur said before turning to a girl in the front row. "Marci, I believe it is your turn. What is your report about?"

"It's about my cat, Waffles. It's about all the funny things Waffles does around the house." Marci Ryder answered, standing up.

'Boring!' I thought, with a few other kids groaning too. But Mr. Saur actually smiled. The first time ever!

"I like cats. I have six of them myself." He said.

'Oh, yuck! Six cats!' I thought. I can't sit through a boring report about a boring I shot my hand into the air and waved it frantically. "Mr. Saur? Mr. Saur?"

"What?" He demanded as his smile faded.

"Uh ... before Marci starts." I said. "Can I show you the camera? You know. The one from my report? You said if I brought it in and proved that it's evil, you'd change my grade."

"It's Marci's turn." Mr. Saur coldly replied as he rubbed his chin and frowned at me. "I know we all want to hear about Waffles."

"But, Mr. Saur. You promised!" I cried with a few kids snickering. My voice was so high that only dogs could hear it.

"Greg, you're not going to change my mind." Mr. Saur insisted.

"But I can prove it! I can prove the camera is evil." I pleaded, making a few kids snicker.

"Greg is evil!" Donny shouted, which made everyone laugh.

"Greg is baaaaad!" Some other kid shouted, earning another big laugh. But everyone went quiet when Mr. Saur slammed the chalkboard with his wooden pointer.

"Okay, Greg. One minute. It isn't fair to the others to give you extra time. But I'll give you one minute to show off your camera." He sighed as he motioned me forward.

One minute!

I knew that was all I needed. I felt my shirt pocket to ensure I had Jon's snapshot inside. I knew that once Sourball saw that photo and heard what happened to Jon that night, he'd believe me.

"Come on, Greg." the teacher urged. "Get up here. One minute."

"Coming." I said as I eagerly tried to stand up.

I then tried again and again, but I couldn't stand up. We have those chairs with the desk attached to the front. And I was stuck in the chair. Too fat to get out!

'What is happening to me?' I wondered, feeling panic creep up from my big blobby stomach. I climbed into this chair without any problem. That was less than an hour ago. And now I'm stuck in here. I must have put on a hundred pounds while I was sitting here!

"Greg, we're waiting." Mr. Saur said as he rolled his eyes and tapped the chalkboard impatiently with the pointer. On the fourth try, I finally managed to slide out of my seat. Carrying the camera carefully, I tromped up to the front of the room.

"This is the camera." I told Mr. Saur. "My friends and I found it in a deserted house, just as I said in my report. The camera has a curse on it, and-"

Mr. Saur took the camera from my hands and examined it. He rolled it over and over. He brought it up close to his face before raising his finger to the viewfinder. But I stopped him.

"No, don't!" I shrieked. "Don't take a picture!"

"If I don't take a picture, how will I know if the camera is evil or not?" He asked, lowering the camera.

"I brought a photo. This will prove I'm telling the truth." I said, reaching into my pocket. My fingers were so fat I had trouble poking them into the pocket. My hands felt like squishy balls of dough. They were too blobby to make a fist! I nearly pulled the pocket off as I struggled to take out the snapshot of Jon. Finally, I pulled it out and shoved it in Mr. Saur's face. "Here. Look!"

Mr. Saur took the photo and examined it. His brows furrowed as he studied it. But I didn't know whether it was because he was looking the picture over or getting annoyed at the kids snickering in the background.

"That boy is named Jon. I took his picture two nights ago. He was perfectly okay. But the photo showed him with a nail through his foot. Two minutes later, it came true. Jon got a nail in his foot, and his dad had to rush him to the hospital." I explained.

But to my surprise, Mr. Saur burst out laughing. This was another first. It was the first time he'd ever laughed in class. Even the kids that were still snickering went quiet from shock.

"It's not funny." I insisted. "Poor Jon was in so much pain. He-"

"I've seen those trick nails." Mr. Saur said, composing himself.

"Huh?" I asked, confused.

"I used to have a fake arrow. When I slid it on, it looked as if I had an arrow going straight through my head. So I understand how you made it appear that this boy has a nail through his foot." He explained while handing me back the photo.

"No! It's real! It's real! Look how much pain Jon is in! Look at his face!" I said.

"Your friend is a good actor." Mr. Saur said.

"No! He isn't my friend! I don't even know him! You've got to believe me! You've got to!"

"Your minute is up." Mr. Saur said, glancing at the clock.

"But you promised!"

"Greg, go sit down." He ordered. "You're not going to fool me with an old camera and a joke snapshot."

"You lose, Greg!" Donny shouted.

"You're evil, Greg!" Brian added.

Everyone laughed. I could feel my face growing hot. I knew my face must have been beet red. I felt ready to explode. I was embarrassed and hurt, and angry all at the same time.

"I'd give you an A for effort." Mr. Saur cruelly said. "But I'm still giving you an F for your report. F for fake!"

Everyone laughed again. I couldn't take it anymore. I let out a cry of fury - and went running. Well, at least I tried to run. But I was too heavy to move fast. I could only waddle the door.

"Where are you going, Greg?" I heard Mr. Saur ask.

I pretended I didn't hear him and lumbered to the door. I had the camera tucked under one flabby arm. I pulled the door open with the other and bounced out into the silent, empty hall. I could hear Mr. Saur calling me from the classroom. And I could hear the kids laughing and talking excitedly.

I slammed the door shut behind me and kept moving. I didn't know where I was going. I didn't have a plan. I was so angry. I wanted to scream and cry and punch the walls. I turned the corner and saw Shari down the hall.

"Greg! What's going on?" Shari called, surprised to see me. She was wearing a short black skirt over blue tights. Shari started to run down the hall toward me. She took about four steps and then cried out as her skirt fell down! "I don't believe this!"

We both stared down at her skirt, which had fallen around her ankles. She dropped her books and bent to pull it up. Typically, I would have burst out laughing. But she seemed so upset; I just stood there.

"I-I'm losing weight." She stammered, straightening the skirt around her waist. "I weighed myself this morning. I've lost eight pounds!"

"Oh, wow!" I said, shaking my head. Why was she losing weight? I tried to cheer her up. But I didn't know how, so I said the only thing I could think of at the moment. "Uh...eight pounds isn't so much."

"Greg- I only weighed ninety to start !" She said, angry and annoyed. "Now I'm down to eighty-two. I can't keep my skirt up. All my clothes hang on me!"

"Maybe if you eat a started-"

"You're not helping." Shari snapped.

"Look at me!" I cried, holding my arms out so she could see my big stomach. "I think I put on two hundred pounds overnight! A few minutes ago, I couldn't get out of my chair!"

Her eyes checked me out. She was so upset about being skinny that she hadn't even looked at me. She squinted hard at me. Then she burst out laughing.

"Oh, gross. You look really weird!"

"Thanks a bunch."

"What are we going to do? Why is this happening to us?" Shari asked. I started to answer - but I heard footsteps approaching from down the hall. Shari heard them, too. "Let's go. Quick. Help me pick up my books."

I bent down to pick up the books, and the back of my jeans burst open with a loud rrrrrrip.

Two Hours Later

After school, Bird, Michael, and some other kids started a softball game on the diamond behind the school. I didn't want to play. I didn't want them to see how huge I was getting. But they pulled me onto the diamond and forced me to play baseball.

'Maybe they won't notice anything different.' I thought as I crossed my fingers and hoped.

Maybe they won't notice that I've filled out a bit since this morning. My T-shirt was stretched against my bulging stomach. The shirt was so tight I could barely move my arms. My ripped jeans fit over my legs like tights.

'Maybe they won't notice.' I told myself as I tried to trot out to first base.

"Hey, Greg! Have you been super-sizing all your meals?" Bird called from the pitcher's mound. Everyone whooped and laughed. A few guys rolled around on the grass, giggling like hyenas.

"Hey - it's Sumo Three !" Michael yelled.

"It's Sumo Three and Four !" Someone else shouted, followed by more loud whooping and laughing.

"Give me a break." I said, angry.

"Give him a lunch break!" Michael called. It wasn't funny, but everyone laughed, anyway. They gathered around me in a wide circle and shook their heads.

"Weird. How did you put on two hundred pounds since yesterday?" Bird muttered. I would have answered, but I didn't want to talk about it.

"Are we going to play ball or what?" I asked, feeling my patience waning.

I had a strong urge to tell Bird and Michael why I was ballooning up so fast. I wanted to tell them I had taken my picture and that it showed me weighing at least four hundred pounds. I also wanted to tell them what was happening to Shari and that it was coming true. But I didn't dare tell them. They had warned me not to go back to the Coffman house. They told me not to go find the camera. They had begged me to forget about the entire thing.

But if I told them the truth, they'd think I was a total jerk. So I kept my mouth shut and tried to concentrate on the game. I did pretty well until I went to bat in the third inning. I hit the ball over the second baseman's head and trotted to first base with a single. I was totally out of breath by the time I reached the base. But the ball was still rolling around in the outfield.

"Keep running! Greg - go to second!" My teammates shouted. So, huffing and puffing, I lifted my heavy legs and made my way to second.

"Slide! Slide!" Everyone was shouting. So I slid into second. Safe! And then I couldn't get off my back. I wasn't strong enough to pick up my heavy body.

'I must look like Humpty - Dumpty!' I realized. I tried rolling. I tried rocking back and forth. And then I tried calling my friends for help.

One Hour Later

I was exhausted by the time I pulled my huge body to my house. Sweat poured off my forehead and rolled down my round cheeks and chin.

My clothes were stretched so tight I could barely breathe. My jeans were ripped. My shirt pressed against my skin, and my sneakers pinched my feet!

'This is horrible! I've got to get into something comfortable.' I decided. I then remembered my huge, baggy shorts. The ones I wore to go bike riding the other day when I first started gaining weight. I carried my bulky body over to the dresser, bent over with a groan, and pulled out the big shorts. I tugged them on, eager to get comfortable. But as I kept tugging, I came to a horrifying realization.

The huge, baggy shorts were skintight!

Real World

"Here's a question. But I'm not sure if one of the previous answers already covered it." Velvet said.

"What is it?" Neo asked.

"Well, the camera slowly made Greg's misfortune come true. Is that because of some limitation the camera has, or did it do that to make Greg suffer even more?"

"Oh. We're not sure."

"Well, to be more precise, the camera does seem like it can drag out a misfortune. But we're not 100% sure if it is because of some kind of limitation. But we're leaning toward the camera dragging it out just because it wants to do that." Grady added.

"But that reminds me. Remember how you asked if the camera can warp minds or reality to make someone think something was always like that?" Cassie asked.

"Yeah." They answered.

"What about it?" Pyrrha asked.

"Well, we didn't want to give anything away yet. But Grady's mother only dismissed Greg's initial weight gain when she saw him. The camera didn't change anything else." Cassie explained.

"So she saw her son gain some weight but dismissed it, thinking she was seeing things or he was messing around?" Coco asked.

"Pretty much." Lucy answered.

"Not sure how I feel about that."

"Either way, back to the story. We're almost done." Roman said. "It was the following day. Greg had put on nearly three hundred pounds and now could barely walk."

Story

"It's an allergic reaction." Mom said.

"Excuse me? What's that?" I asked, staring at her.

"You ate something you're allergic to." She explained. "A person doesn't swell up like a balloon overnight."

"Do you eat a lot of candy bars after school ?" Dad asked, squinting at me. He was trying to look calm, but I could see how worried he was.

"He could eat a thousand candy bars a day! They wouldn't make him this huge!" She said, shaking her head.

"We'd better take him to an allergy doctor." Dad murmured, rubbing his chin.

"We'll take him to Dr. Weiss first. Dr. Weiss can tell us what kind of doctor to take him to." Mom argued.

They started to argue about what kind of doctor I needed. But as they did, I waddled out of the room. It took all my strength just to raise my enormous legs. My chins sagged down over my neck, and my big stomach bounced out of the room ahead of me.

I knew that no doctor could help me. I knew I didn't have an allergy. And I knew I didn't become a blimp because of candy bars. The snapshot from the evil camera made me look as big as a mountain. And not even a few days later did it come true. No doctor could slim me down. No diet would work.

A Few Hours Later

"Please don't make me go to school tomorrow like this." I pleaded. "The kids will laugh at me. I'll be so embarrassed."

"You can't miss school." Dad insisted. "What if it takes weeks and weeks to get you back to normal?"

"The kids won't laugh at you. Your friends will understand that you're sick." Mom added. I begged and whined. I even got down on my fat knees to plead with them. But would they listen? No.

"Don't be embarrassed." Dad said as I waddled out the door to go to school the next morning.

Don't be embarrassed? I wore one of his baggy running suits - and it was tight on me! I felt embarrassed just walking down the street. When cars drove past, I knew the people staring at me, laughing at the giant mound of Jell - O bouncing along the sidewalk. I didn't want to walk to school. But my parents have a Honda Civic - and I didn't fit in the car!

Kids were staring as I squeezed through the front door of Pitts Landing Middle School. But strangely, everyone was kind. No one made jokes. In fact, no one said a word to me. I think they were afraid to come up to me. Afraid I might fall on them! I really did look like one of the balloons in the Thanksgiving Day parade!

The morning went pretty well. I kept to myself and tried to hide in corners. It wasn't easy to hide. But everyone left me alone. That was until I stepped into Mr. Saur's class. He was as sour as ever. And he embarrassed me in front of the whole class.

"Greg, I don't think you'll fit into a chair." He said, rolling his wooden pointer between his hands. "Why don't you just stand by the window."

I didn't say anything. I waddled over to the side of the room. The room fell silent. The other kids didn't laugh. They could see that there was something seriously wrong with me. But Mr. Saur insisted on giving me a hard time.

"Greg, forget the window. If you stand there, I'm afraid you'll block out all the sun." Mr. Saur said, smiling. Again, no one laughed. I think the other kids felt sorry for me. Even Donny and Brian weren't cracking jokes. "Greg, I want you to go see the nurse. I want her to discuss the four food groups with you. I think you've been eating too much of all four."

I think that was supposed to be a cruel joke. But no one laughed.

I turned my bulk around and stared at him. Was he serious? Was he really sending me to the nurse? Did he not realize something was wrong? Was he taking some sort of sick pleasure from this?

"Get going." Mr. Saur, pointing to the door.

I turned and shuffled heavily out of the classroom. I expected Donny to stick out his big foot and try to trip me like he always does. But he stared straight ahead, as silent and still as everyone else in the class. I was glad. If he tripped me, I knew I'd never be able to get up. I pulled myself down the hall, thinking angry thoughts about Mr. Saur. Why did he make fun of me in front of everyone? Why was he so cruel? I couldn't answer my questions. Besides, I felt too angry to think clearly.

'I'll pay him back someday.' I told myself. I'll do something mean to him. I'll embarrass old Sourball in front of everyone.

My angry thoughts followed me to the nurse's office. There were girls whispering nearby, but I instantly forgot them when I saw the stopped outside the door and gaped at her girl huddled in the chair in the waiting room.

It was Shari!

It took me a few seconds to recognize her. Her jeans and T-shirt appeared to be about ten sizes too big! Her arms were as thin as toothpicks. Her face was pale and puckered. Her head had shrunk. It looked like a tiny lemon on her frail noodle-like body.

"Greg," she whispered weakly. "Is that you in that big body?"

"Shari!" I cried. "How much weight have you lost?"

"I- I don't know." She stammered. "Look at me! I'm shrinking away. I'm so light. It took me hours to walk to school this morning because the wind kept pushing me back!"

"Are you sick?" I asked, worried.

"I'm not sick, and neither are you. I'm shrinking away, and you're bloating up, and it's because of those photos we took." She answered in a tiny, frail voice. I sighed and lifted my huge stomach with both hands so that I could get through the doorway.

"What are we going to do, Shari?" I whispered. "It's those photos. You're right. But what are we going to do?"

A Few Hours Later

Dad picked me up after school. He had rented a van since I couldn't fit into the car. Dad helped me squeeze through the door. My body took up the entire backseat. The seat belt wouldn't stretch over my stomach. So we had to forget about it.

"I'm sure Dr. Weiss will have you back to normal in no time." Dad said. He was trying to be cheerful. But I could tell he was distraught. He drove slowly to Dr. Weiss's office across town. The van couldn't pick up speed because of all the weight it carried - me!

Dr. Weiss is a lovely elderly man with bright blue eyes and long white hair. He talks to all the kids as if they're two years old. He still gives me a lollipop after each visit, even though I'm twelve! But I didn't think he'd give me a lollipop today. He tsk-tsked as I climbed on the scale. But he

couldn't get my weight. The scale didn't go high enough! He had trouble listening to my heartbeat. His stethoscope got stuck in the folds of the flab over my chest. He took all kinds of tests, his expression tense and thoughtful.

"We'll send the blood samples to the lab. We should have some answers in a few days." He shook his head and frowned. His blue eyes appeared to fade. "I've never seen anything like it, Greg. I'm completely stumped."

I wasn't stumped. I knew exactly what the problem was. As soon as I got home, I lumbered to my room and grabbed the phone. It took all my strength to raise my giant, flabby arm and hold the receiver up to the bulging flesh of my face. I punched in Shari's number. It took three tries. My finger was so fat that it kept hitting two numbers at once. She answered on the third ring.

"Hello?" Her voice floated out so tiny and weak that I could barely hear her.

"I'm coming over." I said. "And I'm bringing the camera."

"You don't have to shout!" She squeaked before adding. "Hurry, Greg. I've lost five more pounds. I'm so light; I'm afraid I'm going to float away."

"I'll be right there. We'll figure out a way to save ourselves." I assured her before hanging up. Then I carefully dug the camera out from its hiding place in my underwear drawer. I had to bend over to reach into the drawer. I was huffing and puffing, gasping for breath.

'If I get any fatter, I'll explode.' I thought, worried. Carefully gripping the camera, I lowered my bulk down the stairs. My parents were in the den, discussing what Dr. Weiss had told Dad. "I'm going to Shari's."

"It started to rain." Mom shouted. "Take an umbrella."

"I'm only going next door!" I shouted back.

Besides, an umbrella wouldn't cover all of me. I peeked outside. It was only drizzling. I tucked the camera under the folds of my arm, pulled open the front door, and started to step out. But I stopped when I saw the dark-haired boy walking up the driveway.

It was Jon!

"Oh, no!" I murmured.

I knew why he had come. He wanted his camera back. But I couldn't give it back. I needed it to save Shari and me. I watched him walking slowly, his head down because of the rain.

'What am I going to do?' I can't let him take back his camera. I can't! 'I'll duck back inside and hide.'

I tried to back up. I tried to back my heavy bulk into the house. But it was too late. Jon saw me.

He waved to me and started jogging toward the house. I had the camera in my hand. I carefully lowered it to the porch and stepped in front of it. I knew it would be hidden behind my enormous body. But what was I going to say to Jon? How could I convince him to let me keep the camera for a while longer?

"Hi!" He said.

"Hi." I said, my voice muffled by the thick folds of flab around my face.

"I'm looking for a boy who lives around here. His name is Greg, he's blond, and he's about my age. Do you know him? He has a camera of mine." Jon said, stepping up to the porch. I stared at him. My mouth dropped open. I could feel my chin drop onto my chest.

"What's his name?" I choked out.

"Greg. I don't know his last name. Does he live around here?"

'He doesn't recognize me! I'm so huge; he doesn't know that I'm me!' I realized.

"Uh ... yeah. I think I know who you mean. There's a kid named Greg who lives over there." I said, pointing up the street.

"Do you know which house?" Jon asked, turning to where I pointed.

"It's about four blocks that way." I lied. "A big redbrick house. You can't miss it. It's the only brick house on the block."

"Hey, thanks." Jon said. The rain started to come down harder. He turned quickly and jogged down the driveway.

'A close call.' I thought.

I felt terrible about lying to Jon. But I had to lie. I couldn't give him back the camera was too dangerous. I watched him until he disappeared behind some hedges. Then, I reached my flabby hand down, picked up the camera, and bounced across the front yard to Shari's house.

Shari greeted me at her front door. I could see the shock in her eyes when she saw how huge I had become. I was shocked, too. I nearly cried out in surprise. She was starting to look like a stick figure! As she led the way to her room, she kept tripping over the cuffs of her jeans, which sagged down over her feet. She had tied a knot in the belt around her tiny waist in an attempt to keep her jeans from falling off.

"If I get any smaller, I'll have to wear doll clothes!" She wailed.

"Did your parents take you to a doctor?" I asked, huffing and puffing as I tried to drag my weight after her.

"Of course." She answered in her tiny, weak voice. "The doctor said to make me drink milkshakes five times a day!"

"I wish my doctor said that." I said as I lowered myself carefully onto her bed. I didn't want the bed to collapse under me. But as soon as I sat down, I heard a crunching sound followed by the sound of wood splintering, and the bed crashed loudly to the floor a second later.

"Don't worry about it." Shari said. "I don't have the strength to climb up to the bed, anyway."

"If I get any bigger." I moaned. "I won't be able to get out of the house. I really won't fit through the door."

Shari folded her hands in front of her. Her fingers were so skinny; they looked like bird claws. With her black hair hanging down from her tiny, round head and her straight pole of a body, she looked more like a mop than a person!

"What are we going to do?" Shari wailed.

"I brought this." I said, patting the camera with my fat, spongy hand. "I thought maybe."

"What good will that stupid camera do?" Shari cried. "I wish I'd never seen it! Never! Never!"

"I have an idea." I told her as I flicked a fly off one of my chins.

"What kind of an idea?" She asked, hugging herself, wrapping her skinny arms around her toothpick body.

"Let's take new pictures of ourselves." I said. "Maybe the new pictures will show us looking normal. Maybe the new images will change us back to how we were before."

"It's kind of risky, isn't it ?" She asked after a few moments of thinking it over.

"It is. But do you have a better idea?"

"Okay." Shari said after thinking it over. Then she lowered her eyes to the camera. "Let's do it."

I struggled to climb to my feet. But my arms and legs were barely strong enough to push up my huge body. Before I could move, Shari flew across the room. She grabbed the camera from my lap.

"Oh!" she cried out as she nearly dropped it. "It feels so heavy!"

"That's because you're so light." I told her. I tried again to lift my bulk off the bed but failed again.

"Sit still." Shari said. "I'll take your picture first."

"Okay. I hope the new photo shows me skinny." I said, trying to cross my fingers but couldn't as they were too fat.

"Say cheese." Shari said, aiming the camera at me.

"Don't be funny. Just take the picture." I snapped. She stared through the viewfinder before raising her finger over the shutter button. But after a moment, she lowered the camera with a sigh.

"It—it's too dangerous." She stammered.

"Shari. Take my picture!" I insisted. "Look at us! We couldn't be any worse off - could we?"

She nodded in agreement. Then, with a sigh, she raised the camera to her eye again. It felt so heavy in her skinny arms that she had to hold it up with both hands.

"Here goes." She whispered. "I hope it shows you normal again, Greg."

She snapped the picture with the flash making me blink a few times. A second later, the white square slid out from the front of the camera. She carried it over to the bed and sat down beside me.

"Let's see it!" I said, eagerly grabbing for it.

"Careful! If you fall over, you'll crush me!" Shari warned. I gasped. She was right. Sitting next to me could be extremely dangerous.

"Maybe you'd better stand up." I suggested. She climbed to her feet, swaying because she wasn't used to being so light.

"It's starting to develop." She said as she held the snapshot in front of me so we could both watch it.

The yellow filled in first. I squinted to see if I could make out my face.

Was it fat in the photo? Or back to normal? The yellow was too pale. I couldn't see my face at all. Shari and I both were frozen there, staring at the small square. We didn't move a muscle, not even a blink. But after a few seconds, I could see myself. My huge blobby face. My round, balloon body.

"Nooooo! I want to be changed back!" I shouted, horrified. Shari was shaking her tiny head sadly, still staring at the darkening photo.

"What's that on your face?" She asked. "Yuck!"

"Oh, no! My skin- it's all scaly. I look like an alligator or something!" I groaned. Shari grabbed back the photo and studied it.

"The scaly stuff is on your arms, too. It looks like reptile skin or something." She said.

And as she said that, I started to itch. I glanced down and saw red scales covering my arms. Itchy red scales, to be precise. I began to scratch. But the scratching made the scales itch even more. My skin flaked off under my fingernails.

"Oh, yuck! It itches so bad." I said as I scratched my arms and then my face. But more dry skin peeled off as I scratched.

"You're still huge- and now all your fall to the carpet. Oh, this is so horrible!" She said, examining the photo.

"Ohh! My back itches so bad!" I wailed. "But I can't reach it."

"I'm not going to scratch it for you!" Shari said. "It - it's too gross!"

"Do you want me to take a new picture of you?" I asked Shari. "Maybe you'll have better luck."

"No! No way! No new picture. It will only make things worse." She cried as she took another few steps back. Her face twisted in disgust. She swallowed hard. "I'm sorry, Greg. But you look so gross; I think I'm going to be sick."

I tried to scratch the back of my neck. But my arms were too fat. I just couldn't reach back there to scratch my back. I rubbed my forehead, and a big chunk of skin dropped off and bounced on the carpet.

"Let's just rip up the photos!" Shari said.

"Huh?" I asked, confused.

"Let's rip them all up. I'll bet our bodies will return to normal as soon as we rip them up." She explained as she bent to pick up the scaly new picture of me.

"Do you think so? Do you think that's all we have to do?" I asked, stopping my frantic scratching for a moment.

"Maybe." Shari answered. "It's worth a try, don't you think?"

I pulled the first two photos from my pocket. The negative of Shari and the first fat photo of me. The reasons why we were like this.

"I'll rip these two up. You tear that one. We'll see what happens." I said. Shari nodded as we held the photos up. I started to tear mine, then stopped. "Maybe if we rip them up, we'll disappear completely!"

Shari and I stared at each other. Our hands stayed in the air, ready to tear the snapshots to pieces.

But should we do it?

Real World

"Are there other ways to reverse the effects?"

"Yes. There are a couple of ways to reverse the effects." Roman answered.

"But it all depends on what that camera is showing." Neo added.

"How so?" Nora asked.

"That's a little hard to explain since it all depends on the effect. But some all you need to do is tear up the photo. Others, you need to do something else." Lucy answered.

"Like with Jaune's photo, tearing up the picture was all that was needed. But that is not the case with Greg or Shari." Cassie added.

"You'll see in a moment." Roman said. "Shari screamed NO! Don't do it!"

Story

We both lowered the snapshots.

"You're right." I said. My whole body was shaking. "It's too dangerous."

"If we tear the photos to pieces, we might be torn to pieces, too." Shari said. "Or we might disappear completely and never come back."

"Let's not talk about what might happen to us." I said, shuddering. "Look at us. What could be worse?"

"A lot of things." Shari sighed. "We'll think of something to save ourselves, Greg. We just have to think positive."

"What did you say ?" I asked, staring at her.

"Think positive."

"Shari - you just gave me a really good idea!" I said.

Ninety Minutes Later

We carried the snapshots to Kramer's, the photo store where my brother works. It wasn't easy to walk there. I had to stop to catch my breath every few steps. And I had to scratch my scaly, peeling skin. But I also had to hold on to Shari to keep the wind from blowing her away. The walk was only about eight blocks. But it took us more than an hour. When we finally stepped inside the store, my heart sank to my knees. I didn't see Terry.

"He's in the developing lab." Mr. Kramer said as he kept staring at Shari and me. I guess we looked pretty weird, considering Sharli looked like A stick figure and I resembled an elephant.

I pulled Shari to the lab in the back of the store and knocked on the door. You can't just open the door and walk into the developing lab. If you let in the light, you destroy the film in there. We waited about five minutes before Terry finally came out. At first, he didn't recognize me. I think he forgot that I had put on four hundred pounds in the past few days.

"Yuck. What happened to your skin, Greg ?" He asked, making a disgusted face. "Have you got a rash or something?"

"I don't know." I lied. "Can you do me a favor, Terry?"

"What's the favor?" He asked.

"Can you reverse these for us?" I asked, holding up the photos of Shairi and me. He squinted at the two squares for a long while.

"I don't get you." He said finally.

"Can you take the negative and make a positive of it? And can you take the positive and make a negative?" I asked with a sigh.

Shari let out a sharp cry. She realized what my plan was. Maybe if we reversed the pictures, it would reverse our bodies. Terry would make a positive of Shari's negative, and she'd grow back to her normal size. Then he'd make a negative of my picture, and I'd shrink the way Shari had.

It seemed to make sense.

Was it worth a try? Definitely.

"I guess I could do it." Terry said, studying the two snapshots. "But I'm really busy in there. When do you need it?"

"NOW!" Shari and I both cried.

Terry stared at us, then down at the two photos. I scratched the back of my neck. My arms were so fat I could barely lift them that high. In a few hours, I knew I'd be too heavy to walk. Someone would have to wheel me around in a wheelbarrow. No - make that two wheelbarrows!

"Please!" I begged.

"I just don't have time." Terry said.

"I'll give you my allowance for the next two months!"

"Okay. I guess I can find the time. It's a deal. Wait out here." Terry said before disappearing into the lab.

While he went to work, we stood outside the door and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

It honestly felt like the longest half-hour of my life.

Mr. Kramer kept staring back at us from the front counter. Shari and I tried to ignore him. I wanted to sit down. Carrying so much weight made my feet hurt. But I was afraid if I took a seat, I'd break it. And I wouldn't be able to get back up. So Shari and I stood outside the door to the lab and thought about this new plan. Would it work? Would reversing the photos reverse us? Finally, the door swung open, and Terry stepped out.

"Here." He said as he handed me the new prints. "Don't forget what you said about your allowance."

"I won't. Thanks, Terry." I promised. I gazed at the new prints. Terry had done it right. A positive of Shari smiling into the camera. A negative of me, weighing four hundred pounds.

"Now, get lost." Terry said, glancing up at the front desk. "Go ahead. Beat it before you make me lose my job."

I took Shari's hand and pulled her to the front of the store. Poor Shari. She really did feel light as a feather. She looked even paler and skinnier than when we came into the store. Her hand felt brittle bones. We stepped out of the store and stopped on the corner. I held the new prints up so we both could see them.

"Is it working?" I asked her. "Do you feel any different?"

"Not yet." She replied softly.

"Neither do I."

We stared at the new prints and waited. We stood on that corner for at least half an hour, staring and waiting. Waiting to feel different. Waiting for our bodies to change. But nothing happened. We didn't change at all.

"We're doomed." I said as a chunk of skin peeled off my forehead and dropped to the sidewalk. "Doomed."

The Following Morning

I woke up early today, before my alarm. I stretched and yawned. Then I turned and struggled to pull my huge body out of bed.

"Heave-ho!" I said, straining every muscle.

And I went flying across the room!

"Oww!" I groaned as I hit the wall, bounced off, dropped to the floor, and bounced up again. "What's going on?"

Getting up, I scrambled to the mirror and stared at the reflection of my old face. And my old body! No folds of sagging flesh. No puffed-out cheeks or bulging balloon of a belly.

It was me! I was back! I squeezed my arms, rubbed my face, and pulled my hair. I felt so happy to see myself! I leaped onto the bed and started jumping up and down, tossing up my arms and whooping and cheering at the top of my lungs.

"It worked! It worked! Yaaaaay!" I said, almost in disbelief, that reversing the photos reverted me back to normal. Mom and Dad burst into the room, still in their bathrobes, with frightened expressions on their faces.

"Greg - what's wrong?" They asked. But they both froze with bulging eyes and opened mouths when they saw me. Mom uttered a squeak of surprise. Dad goggled at me in shocked silence.

"You're-you're you again!" Mom stammered.

"You-you. You-" Dad struggled to say something, but he couldn't. He pointed a finger at me and stuttered. And then, they both rushed over and wrapped me in a tight hug.

"I knew it was something you ate." Mom said happily. "Some kind of food poisoning."

"Just an allergic reaction." Dad added, finally able to speak. "I knew you'd be fine in a day or two."

"We knew you'd be fine." Mom declared.

"Yeah. Me, too." I lied.

"You were very good during all this trouble, Greg." Mom said, wiping away a tear from her eye with the back of her hand. "You had such a good attitude."

"Yeah. Well ... I always try to think positive." I told her.

Ten Minutes Later

I gobbled down my breakfast and hurried next door to Shari's house. As I ran to the back door, she stepped out, grinning, waving her arms in triumph.

"It worked! It worked, Greg!" Shari cried happily. She came running toward me, her black hair flying behind her head, laughing and cheering.

She was back to normal.

Shari was back to normal!

Whooping and shouting, the two of us did a wild "Back to Normal" dance in her backyard. When we stopped to catch our breath, Shari turned to me.

"We'd better hurry. We're going to be late for school. I can't wait to show everyone that I'm me again." Shari said.

"Me, too! But wait, right here. I have to get something in my room. I'll be right back." I said before running back to my house.

"What are you getting?" Shari called, following me.

"The camera." Worried, Shari ran faster, caught up with me, and grabbed my shoulders.

"Greg. The camera? Why do you need the camera?"

"For revenge." I answered, narrowing my eyes with my expression turning serious.

"Greg- don't!" Shari pleaded.

I ignored her. I knew what I wanted to do. I knew what I had to do.

I ran into the house and took the stairs two at a time up to my room. I pulled the camera from its hiding place and hurried back outside. Shari was waiting for me on the sidewalk.

"Greg- this is crazy. What are you going to do?" She asked.

"I'm going to take Mr. Saur's picture." I answered, feeling an evil smile forming on my face.

"NO!" She gasped. "Greg! You can't!"

"Watch me."

"But - but - but-" She sputtered. I started walking toward the school, taking long strides. I gripped the camera tightly in both hands. "Greg - something terrible will happen!"

"I know." I said, unable to stop grinning. "Old Sourball deserves it."

"But, Greg." She said, trying to stop me. But I jogged faster, moving away from her.

"He deserves it." I repeated. "He refused to believe a true story. He called me a liar in front of the whole class. And he gave me an F. An F for a really good report."

"But, Greg-" Shari started. I didn't let her get a word in. I was too worked up. The closer we came to school, the more excited I got about my revenge plan.

"He's going to ruin my whole summer." I continued. "And he's wrong, wrong, wrong! And then, when I got so huge, Sourball was really cruel. He made jokes about me in front of everyone. He embarrassed me, Shari. He totally embarrassed me."

"Greg-"

"He wanted to hurt my feelings." I said. I could see our school through the trees in the next block. "He wanted to embarrass me in front of the whole class. He deserves what he's going to get."

"So what are you going to do?" She asked.

"He dared me to prove that the camera is evil. So I'm going to prove it - and get my revenge at the same time." I answered as I stopped at the corner.

I slipped into class just as the final bell rang. The other kids were already in their seats, just getting quiet. Mr. Saur had his back turned. He was writing something on the chalkboard. I stepped up behind him and waited for him to turn around.

My heart thudded in my chest. My hands were shaking so much I could barely hold the camera. I took a deep breath and held it. This was my big moment. My big chance.

"Mr. Saur?" I called softly. He spun around as if I had shouted.

"Greg! You're looking very slender." He cried. I ignored his words. I raised the camera to my eye.

'Time for revenge.' I thought. "I brought the camera. Remember? The camera from my report? You asked me to prove that it's evil. So here goes!"

I centered his startled face in the viewfinder. I raised my finger over the shutter button. He grabbed the camera from my hands.

"Oh, yes! The evil camera!" He declared, staring down at it. "Don't waste it on me. Let's take everyone's picture!"

"No!" I cried. He waved his hand.

"Donny and Brian - move in closer." Mr. Saur said before shoving me in front of him. "Get in the shot, Greg."

"No!" I pleaded. "Mr. Saur! NO!"

"Say cheese, everyone!" The camera flashed with the white square photo sliding out a second later.

"I think I got everyone in the shot." he said, smiling. "Now, what's going to happen?"

"Uh... we'll see." I said, swallowing hard. "We'll see."

Real World

"Wow. Talk about being an ass." Yang said.

"Yeah." Ruby and Nora agreed.

"You would think after experiencing something like that, he would toss the camera into the ocean." Pyrrha said.

"I understand Mr. Saur was being cruel, but there are better ways of handling someone like him. And now Greg got his whole class into trouble." Weiss said.

"All because he wanted to go visit his cousins in the summer." Yatsuhashi said.

"If he simply didn't write about that camera, none of this would have happened." Ren said.

"I honestly no longer feel bad for him. He deserves what the camera is going to make." Nora said.

"After hearing this story, it makes sense why Greg and the others' friendship fell through, considering what he did." Coco said.

"Uh, that's not why their relationship fell through." Another voice clarified. Turning around, everyone became shocked, happy, and relieved when they saw Jaune walking toward them.

"JAUNE!" They shouted.

"Hey-" Jaune began but couldn't finish when Velvet, with blinding speed, tackled him to the ground in a fierce hug.

"JAUNE! YOU'RE BACK!" She said.

"Hey, Velvet. Yes, I'm back." Jaune said, coughing as his face became bright red.

"Okay, Velvet. You can let him go. He's probably not feeling well." Coco chuckled as she effortlessly pulled Velvet off Jaune before helping him up.

"Well, I feel fine, just drained." Jaune said as he walked over to the others. But while Coco sat down with the others, Jaune sat on a nearby chair. But his face darkened again when Velvet sat next to him and held his arm.

"Sorry about the whole making you disappear thing, Arc. I didn't know this camera could do that." Coco said.

"It's fine." Jaune said. "Besides, it's not like you knew about the camera."

"Good to see you safe, Jaune." Pyrrha said, smiling as Velvet leaned into Jaune.

"Thanks, Pyr." Jaune said, struggling to maintain his composure as Velvet, his crush, snuggled into him.

"Do you know where you went, Jaune?" Grady asked.

"Oh, hey, Grady, Cassie, Lucy, Vandal. I didn't see you guys." Jaune said. "Anyway, no. I do not know where I went. It was all a blur. The only thing I could make out was this strange book that had the same symbol as the book Stanley found."

"Either way, we're glad your back with us, Jaune." Weiss said.

"Thanks."

"Yeah. No one can replace our vomit boy." Yang teased, causing everyone to laugh while Jaune rolled his eyes.

"But what did you mean by that?" Ruby asked, curious.

"What do you mean, Rubes?" Jaune asked.

"You said Greg's relationship with his friends didn't fall through. How did it then?"

"We told you. Their friendship soured from somethings Greg did, and now they stay away from each other." Neo said.

"That's not true, Neo." Roman said, scratching the back of his head.

"What do you mean?" Neo asked, glaring.

"Well, after the incident with Mr. Saur; Greg and the others stayed as friends. But their friendship was strained because of what Greg did. It slowly strengthened over time. But it didn't last. To put it short, Greg died." Jaune explained.

"He died?" The others asked, shocked.

"Yeah. But not from the camera." Grady said.

"Then how did he die?" Blake asked.

"Let's just say disappearances can be deadly. Especially if you have no control and let your emotions get the better of you like they did with Greg." Cassie answered.

"Why did you keep that from me?" Neo asked, glaring at Roman.

"I'll tell you later when we're alone." Roman nervously answered.

"Where's Shari, Bird, and Michael?" Velvet asked, still holding onto Jaune's arm.

"They're back in my hometown. They are currently in college." Jaune answered.

"So what happened next? After Mr. Saur took the photo?" Coco asked.

"The picture showed everyone as skeletons. Luckily, Shari managed to tear up the photo before anything happened." Lucy answered.

"That's good." Weiss said.

"Greg still got an F on his report, though."

"He deserved that."

"After that. What happened to the camera?" Pyrrha asked.

"No one knows. It disappeared somehow. And it only reappeared after a few years where a middle schooler named Julie Martin found it after looking for a replacement camera." Jaune answered.

"Do you have that story?" Ruby asked.

"Yes. It's toward the back." Jaune answered.

"Want me to read it, kid? You just got back, and you said it yourself that you're feeling a bit drained." Roman asked.

"No. I got it. Besides, your voice could use some rest since you read two stories back to back." Jaune said as he grabbed the book and flipped to the correct page. "All right. A picture is worth a thousand screams-if it's taken with an evil camera that has a nasty vision of the future. Julie's future doesn't look pretty. And neither does anyone else's after they're caught in her lens!"

Notes

The Next Book will be Say Cheese and Die Screaming.

After that will be When the Ghost Howls to introduce Zwei. (And because I already have the book on hand.)