she could have sworn she felt something brush through her hair. Fingers? Spiders?
She yelled for another half a minute, although in her terror it felt like hours.
And then she heard the doorknob turn. The door swung open.
She slung herself out of the door and into the library, blinking at the sudden brightness, and bent over and shook her hair out. Thankfully there were no bugs in it, although that begged the question of what had brushed through it.
She righted herself and scanned the room. There was no one in the library. How had the door come unlocked? She turned and looked at the lock. The doorknob could only be locked or unlocked with a key. Could it have come unstuck somehow, when sheâd been rattling the knob?
It seemed unlikely. Something very strange and very scary was going on.
Outside the library windows she could see just a few stragglers rushing by, heading for their buses. She hadnât been in the closet very long. Should she try to make her bus? The clock told her it was too late. Sheâd never make it. Anyway, maybe it was better to walk home. It might calm her down.
Then she remembered the text sheâd gotten. She pulled out her phone and clicked the power button.
Now her phone was working again.
She checked the mysterious text. Why would the texter think she still had the card? Sheâd given it to Lauren. And Lauren had thrown it out.
She thought back to the way Lauren had behaved at lunch today. Sheâd been almost more upset about Charlotte dropping her tray than Charlotte had been. And her whole demeanor had been odd. Not really looking her in the eye. Furtive darting eyes. A thought struck Charlotte.
âCould Lauren have slipped it back to me?â she asked herself out loud. She set her backpack down on a library table and began rummaging through it.
In the outside pocket her fingers closed on a thick piece of cardboard. She drew out the card.
âI canât believe it,â she whispered, staring at the card in horror. âAfter all that talk about not being superstitious. Not believing all the mumbo jumbo. And then she passed it back to me. Without telling me.â
Her phone vibrated on the table. Almost afraid to look, she picked it up and checked the text.
Pass it along or your dad wonât be coming home.
Charlotte walked home slowly, lost in thought, on the verge of tears. Her best friend had treacherously slipped the card into her backpack, and now sheâd gotten the scariest text message she could imagine and she was terrified for her dad. The question now was, what to do next? What would she do with this stupid card? Could she bring herself to pass it along to some unsuspecting person, just to get it out of her possession? She thought about Stacy. Stacy would be the perfect person to pass the card along to. She was so mean. She almost deserved bad luck.
Charlotte stopped in her tracks. What was she thinking? She was horrified with herself. She couldnât do that. She couldnât intentionally bring bad luck to someone, even someone she didnât like. But she had to do something before the worst happened. She resumed walking, even more slowly than before.
She heard footsteps approaching. Running footsteps. She turned around and was surprised to see Lauren nearly upon her, her long legs moving with surprising speed, her backpack bouncing on her shoulders. She skidded to a stop in front of Charlotte.
âChar,â she panted, doubling over and putting her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. âIâIâhave to tell you something.â
âI already know,â said Charlotte coldly. âYou gave it back to me. I just found it.â
âIâm so sorry!â cried Lauren, standing back up and looking at her friend pleadingly. âI didnât want to do it. I feel awful about it. I just sort of panicked. After all that stuff I said about not believing in it. And then all these terrible things
She yelled for another half a minute, although in her terror it felt like hours.
And then she heard the doorknob turn. The door swung open.
She slung herself out of the door and into the library, blinking at the sudden brightness, and bent over and shook her hair out. Thankfully there were no bugs in it, although that begged the question of what had brushed through it.
She righted herself and scanned the room. There was no one in the library. How had the door come unlocked? She turned and looked at the lock. The doorknob could only be locked or unlocked with a key. Could it have come unstuck somehow, when sheâd been rattling the knob?
It seemed unlikely. Something very strange and very scary was going on.
Outside the library windows she could see just a few stragglers rushing by, heading for their buses. She hadnât been in the closet very long. Should she try to make her bus? The clock told her it was too late. Sheâd never make it. Anyway, maybe it was better to walk home. It might calm her down.
Then she remembered the text sheâd gotten. She pulled out her phone and clicked the power button.
Now her phone was working again.
She checked the mysterious text. Why would the texter think she still had the card? Sheâd given it to Lauren. And Lauren had thrown it out.
She thought back to the way Lauren had behaved at lunch today. Sheâd been almost more upset about Charlotte dropping her tray than Charlotte had been. And her whole demeanor had been odd. Not really looking her in the eye. Furtive darting eyes. A thought struck Charlotte.
âCould Lauren have slipped it back to me?â she asked herself out loud. She set her backpack down on a library table and began rummaging through it.
In the outside pocket her fingers closed on a thick piece of cardboard. She drew out the card.
âI canât believe it,â she whispered, staring at the card in horror. âAfter all that talk about not being superstitious. Not believing all the mumbo jumbo. And then she passed it back to me. Without telling me.â
Her phone vibrated on the table. Almost afraid to look, she picked it up and checked the text.
Pass it along or your dad wonât be coming home.
Charlotte walked home slowly, lost in thought, on the verge of tears. Her best friend had treacherously slipped the card into her backpack, and now sheâd gotten the scariest text message she could imagine and she was terrified for her dad. The question now was, what to do next? What would she do with this stupid card? Could she bring herself to pass it along to some unsuspecting person, just to get it out of her possession? She thought about Stacy. Stacy would be the perfect person to pass the card along to. She was so mean. She almost deserved bad luck.
Charlotte stopped in her tracks. What was she thinking? She was horrified with herself. She couldnât do that. She couldnât intentionally bring bad luck to someone, even someone she didnât like. But she had to do something before the worst happened. She resumed walking, even more slowly than before.
She heard footsteps approaching. Running footsteps. She turned around and was surprised to see Lauren nearly upon her, her long legs moving with surprising speed, her backpack bouncing on her shoulders. She skidded to a stop in front of Charlotte.
âChar,â she panted, doubling over and putting her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. âIâIâhave to tell you something.â
âI already know,â said Charlotte coldly. âYou gave it back to me. I just found it.â
âIâm so sorry!â cried Lauren, standing back up and looking at her friend pleadingly. âI didnât want to do it. I feel awful about it. I just sort of panicked. After all that stuff I said about not believing in it. And then all these terrible things
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