Try this for grins, same thing but different...

Code:
loc0 var byte
loc1 var byte
.................
write 0,1
write 1,8
lcdout $fe,1,"Reading eeprom"
read 0,loc0
read 1,loc1
lcdout $fe,1,"Reading=",DEC loc0,DEC loc1
end
Should say "Reading=18" when it's run.