Who Wants I Scream? Read online

  Desmond grabbed me and brushed me off.

  “How did the candy taste?” he asked me.

  “Yummy and haunted,” I said kind of dreamily.

  I could tell there was a problem. The candy was too good. I needed more. In a daze, I raced back to the ice-cream truck. I have to have more! But Desmond caught my arm.

  “You’ll thank me for this later!” he screamed, and we took off running again, with the I Scream Man right behind us!

  CHAPTER EIGHT A WAFFLE LOT OF DANGER

  We ran back to the pool as scoops of every flavor of ice cream plopped around us. The I Scream Man was pelting us with everything from chocolate chip to strawberry to vanilla, my favorite.

  I tried to catch a scoop in my mouth.

  Can you blame me? Ice cream is delicious, even if it’s served by a haunted ghoul.

  Then the ice cream stopped, and something a lot more dangerous and pointy crashed next to us: cones!

  All kinds of cones smacked us! Sugar cones, waffle cones, and even those chocolate-dipped waffle cones with those sharp little peanuts stuck to them. And let me tell you—those things hurt!

  I know you’re probably wondering why the adults weren’t helping us, but the truth is that they didn’t even notice what was happening. Yes, it was Adult Swim again.

  They were lying on their backs in the pool or baking in the sun or whatever it is that grown-ups do at the pool.

  Desmond and I were on our own. So we kept running!

  But running at the pool always gets noticed… by the lifeguard.

  She blew her whistle and said, “Slow down!”

  Oh man!

  Desmond and I had no choice. We had to stop running. And you’ll never believe what happened next. The I Scream Man stopped running too!

  I guess everybody listens to the lifeguard!

  Our high-speed chase turned into a slow-speed walk. That didn’t matter, though. The I Scream Man was still hurling treats at us. I guess lifeguards are okay with that.

  After a few times around the pool, Desmond said those words again.

  “I have an idea, Andres. I bet the I Scream Man won’t follow us up the high dive. And if he does, there’s no way he’ll jump into the pool. I mean, have you ever seen what happens to an ice-cream cone in the pool?”

  “It’s not pretty,” I said, shaking my head.

  Okay, I had to admit, Desmond’s idea wasn’t bad. Plus, it was the only idea we had, so we headed for the high-dive ladder.

  And just like Desmond thought, the I Scream Man didn’t follow us. He stayed down by the pool and kept up his ice-cream attack. Once we reached the top, I got pummeled with a scoop of rainbow sherbet, which tasted great but knocked me off-balance.

  Luckily, Desmond pulled on a long drip of caramel sauce and made it into a rope. He wrapped it around my waist as I teetered back and forth. Then Desmond said the three words you should never say to someone on the edge of a diving board that high in the air.

  “Don’t look down.”

  Well, I did what anybody would do in that situation. I looked down.

  And boy, was that a huge mistake. The height made my belly gurgle really, really bad. Maybe I shouldn’t have eaten all that sugar, but it tasted so good.

  I couldn’t help myself. I took one more bite… of the caramel rope.

  And that was how I took my first jump off the high dive.

  CHAPTER NINE IT WAS MINT TO BE

  What happened next? Well, let’s just say I made a big splash.

  First, there was my belly flop, which was bigger than Desmond’s had been earlier. My belly flop was so powerful that it sent most of the adults flying out of the pool.

  Next, all that sugary sweetness in my belly decided to… Um, how should I say this? It came back out, just like a geyser, right there in the pool.

  Just thinking about it makes me feel kind of green inside because I wasn’t the only one who got sick.

  The grown-ups got sick next.

  Then the lifeguard.

  And then… I know you’re not going to believe me, but it’s true.

  The I Scream Man got sick too!

  Ugh.

  Watching a giant ice-cream man getting sick is something you don’t want to see. Take my word for it! It’s something you will never be able to unsee no matter how hard you try.

  And I tried!

  There were only two folks who didn’t get sick that day: Desmond, and Zax, who had floated to the pool with a smile on his face.

  “Hey, guys,” Zax said. “Did my friend help out with the I Scream? I mean, isn’t he the scariest I Scream Man you’ve ever seen?”

  “Zax!” Desmond cried. “We wanted ice cream.” Then he spelled it out for Zax. “I-C-E C-R-E-A-M! We didn’t want something that was going to scare the insides out of us!”

  Zax looked a little embarrassed. “Oops. I’m sorry. I thought that being scared made kids happy. They always scream with delight.”

  I swam to the edge of the pool, through all the, um, globs, and climbed out. I didn’t want Zax to feel bad.

  “Kids do like scary stories,” I explained. “But that doesn’t mean we like to be chased by haunted ice-cream cones! We just want to eat ice-cream cones.”

  “Okay,” Zax said, nodding. “I think I get it now.”

  Just then the I Scream Man came over with a big frown on his face. “Zax, pal. You told me the kids would love it if I made them scream.”

  Desmond smiled. “Actually, the kids would love it if you made them ice cream!”

  The I Scream Man thought about that for a few seconds. “So you want me to make the kids into ice cream?”

  “NO!” Desmond and I yelled at the same time.

  “Can you just give the kids ice cream for free?” I asked. “Because you scared them stiff already!”

  The I Scream Man nodded.

  “Serving ice cream, huh? That sounds fun. Why didn’t I think of that in the first place?” he said.

  “Maybe, umm, because you’re a monster?” Desmond suggested.

  “Oh yeah!” the I Scream Man said.

  Zax looked happy too. “Hey, I was just trying to help. But I guess ghosts aren’t always good at understanding humans.”

  You can say that again, I thought.

  CHAPTER TEN THE INSIDE SCOOP

  They had to close the pool for the day, which was fine with us kids because that pool was gross.

  The rest of the week was great, though. The I Scream Man came back to the pool every day, and he gave us all free ice cream!

  He still had weird flavors, but not scary ones. And guess what? I tried some new flavors.

  I guess even a plain-vanilla-cone guy needs something new every now and then! And who knew that chocolate-covered lemon sherbet with marshmallow-butterscotch swirl would be so yummy?

  And I know what you’re thinking: What happened when Anthony came back from his vacation?

  Well, guess what? Anthony and the I Scream Man teamed up. They work together now with two ice-cream trucks. That means the lines move twice as fast!

  In fact, the I Scream Man invented a special new kind of ice cream that mixed sweet treats with balloons. He called them “Ice-Cream Floats”!

  You know that it was Desmond’s favorite.

  And best of all, if we ever needed to end Adult Swim early, the I Scream Man was there to help us out.

  Let’s just say he’s our scary super-scooper secret with grown-up screams on top!

  More from this Series

  The Bubble Gum Blob

  Book 15

  The Haunted House Next…

  Book 1

  Ghosts Don't Ride Bikes,…

  Book 2

  Surf's Up, Creepy Stuff!

  Book 3

  Night of the Zombie…

  Book 4

  The Scary Library…

  Book 5

  About the Author and Illustrator

  Andres Miedoso is still afraid of everything as a grown
-up, even after all his adventures with Desmond Cole. He lives in New York City with his family, and he remains very close friends with Desmond but returns to Kersville only when he’s needed.

  Victor Rivas was born and raised in Vigo, Spain, and he lives outside of Barcelona. He has been a freelance illustrator for thirty years, illustrating children’s and teen books, concept art for multimedia and animation, and comics.

  Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids

  www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Andres-Miedoso

  www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Victor-Rivas

  Little Simon

  Simon & Schuster, New York

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

  LITTLE SIMON

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

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  First Little Simon hardcover edition July 2021

  Copyright © 2021 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Also available in a Little Simon paperback edition.

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

  LITTLE SIMON is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc., and associated colophon is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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  Designed by Steve Scott

  Jacket design by Steve Scott

  Jacket illustrations by Victor Rivas

  Jacket illustrations copyright © 2021 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Miedoso, Andres, author. | Rivas, Victor, illustrator.

  Title: Who wants I scream? / by Andres Miedoso ; illustrated by Victor Rivas.

  Description: First Little Simon paperback edition. | New York : Little Simon, 2021. | Series: Desmond Cole ghost patrol ; 14 | Summary: When the ice-cream man takes a vacation during a very hot summer in Kersville, best friends Desmond and Andres search for a substitute, with frightening results.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2021007780 (print) | LCCN 2021007781 (ebook) | ISBN 9781534499461 (paperback) | ISBN 9781534499478 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781534499485 (ebook)

  Subjects: CYAC: Ice cream, ices, etc.—Fiction. | Supernatural—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction. | African Americans—Fiction. | Hispanic Americans—Fiction.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.1.M518 Wh 2021 (print) | LCC PZ7.1.M518 (ebook) | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021007780

  LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021007781