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  BLAMAMABLAMMABLAMMMABLAMMMA!

  “WHERE IS MAMA?” she shouted back.

  I pointed to the back. “SHE’S IN HER ROOM.”

  “I HOPE SHE’S HATING ALL THE NOISE,” Sandy screamed.

  “I KNOW SHE IS,” I said. “AFTER THIS PARTY, SHE’LL TAKE THE HINT AND SCRAM OUT OF HERE.”

  “YOU’RE SO BRAINY!” Sandy shouted.

  “I KNOW,” I said. Then an evil idea flashed into my overactive mind. “LET’S GO OPEN MAMA’S DOOR SO SHE CAN REALLY ENJOY THE PARTY!”

  Sandy laughed and put her hand on my shoulder as we made our way down the hall to Mama’s room.

  BLAMAMABLAMMABLAMMMABLAMMMA!

  The walls were shaking from the deafening racket, and the floor bounced under our feet.

  “She’s gonna be really mad !” Sandy said.

  I grinned. “I sure hope so!”

  Sandy and I stopped outside Mama’s room and took a deep breath. Then we pushed open her door.

  “Huh?” I gasped.

  Sandy squeezed my arm. “Wha—?”

  The room was empty. The bed was made. And there was no sign of Mama.

  I gazed all around. “She isn’t here?”

  Then I spotted a white sheet of paper on the dresser. It was a note.

  I picked it up and read it to Sandy:

  So long, suckers.

  I’m outta here.

  I’m going to work for the Perfects.

  Penny and Parker Perfect hired me to be a perfectly bad example for their kids.

  The note trembled in my hand.

  I turned to Sandy. “I—I—I”

  We were speechless.

  As we hurried back to the party, the powerful wave of sound crashed into us and we smashed against the wall.

  BLAMAMABLAMMABLAMMMABLAMMMA!

  I gritted my teeth, lowered my head, and staggered into the room.

  “LISTEN UP!” I screamed. “LISTEN UP, EVERYONE! SHUT UP! EVERYONE, PLEASE SHUT UP!”

  It took at least ten minutes to get everyone quiet.

  Wacky Jackie refused to stop honking her bagpipes—Cranky Frankie finally had to wrestle the instrument away from her, then ripped it into pieces.

  “The party is over!” I cried. “Mama is gone!”

  A hush fell over the room.

  “It worked,” I told them. “She’s gone. You can all go home now!”

  More silence.

  “Go home? Are you joking?” someone shouted. “We’re never going home! We’re staying forever!”

  BLAMAMABLAMMABLAMMMABLAMMMA!

  R.L. STINE has more than 400 million English-language books in print, plus international editions in thirty-two languages, making him one of the most popular children’s authors of all time. Besides Goosebumps, he has written series including Fear Street, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, the Nightmare Room, Dangerous Girls, and Just Beyond. Stine lives in New York City with his wife, Jane, an editor and publisher.

  JEFF ZAPATA has worked on comic books and trading cards for more than twenty-five years, including thirteen gross, memorable ones as an editor, art director, and artist on Garbage Pail Kids and other brands at the Topps Company.

  JOE SIMKO is an artist known for his happy-horror style. He is one of the premiere Garbage Pail Kids illustrators for the Topps Company and lives in New York City with his wife, son, dog, and many, many boxes of cereal.

  THE TOPPS COMPANY, INC., originator of Garbage Pail Kids, Mars Attacks, and Bazooka Joe brands, was founded in 1938 and is the preeminent creator and marketer of physical and digital trading cards, entertainment products, and distinctive confectionery.

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