Read Online Will You Be My Friend? by P.J. Night - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: P.J. Night
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then turned and bolted.
Beth wished she had more time to figure out what was going on, but she was in full-on panic mode now. She scrambled up the ladder and resumed her search. Finishing one folder, she riffled through the next, then another, then a fourth.
Last one, and then I have to get out of here, she thought.
Beth flipped open the green folder and there it was. After all the effort, all the nervousness, she saw it. Her own face stared up at her from the page. And there was the name:
Lizzie Maxwell.
Beth scanned the page with eager eyes. According to her file, Lizzie Maxwell lived a few blocks from the school, but that was about all there was to know about her in the records. Someone had scribbled a note on the page that she had stopped attending school in the middle of last year, a few weeks before Beth and her mom had moved to their new house.
Beth could review the page later. Right now she had to get out of there and return home. She stuck the page about Lizzie Maxwell back in the folder and tucked the folder under her arm.
Iâll show these pages to Mom, she thought as she got ready to descend the ladder. Sheâll finally have to tell me the truth. Is Lizzie my sister? My twin? Were we given up for adoption to two separate families when we were born? Mom got me and someone with the last name Maxwell got her? I have to know. I have to findâ
The ladder suddenly started shaking.
Whaa?
Beth glanced down and saw a tall young woman with dark hair. Her hand was on the ladder.
âElizabeth? Why are you shaking the ladder? What are yââ
The door to the records room flew open, and a short man carrying a stack of file folders burst into the room.
âWhat on earth are you doing here?â the man shouted.
Beth was so startled she lost her balance, tumbled from the ladder, and crashed to the floor.
Beth looked up and saw the man bending over her, losing control of the files in his hands. File pages fluttered through the air, landing on top of Beth just before everything went black.
CHAPTER 9
Beepâbeepâbeep . . .
Beth awoke to a repetitive beeping sound.
Beepâbeepâbeep . . .
Forcing her eyes open, Beth saw that she was still sprawled out on the floor of the student records room. The file papers that had covered her were gone. So was the man who had burst into the room. She was alone again.
Beepâbeepâbeep . . .
But where was that sound coming from? It was driving her crazy!
Dragging herself up to her feet, Beth glanced around. Same overstuffed file cabinets. Same dim light. Same cramped, dusty room. So what was that beeping?
Beth walked slowly to the door.
What happened to that guy who found me here? she wondered. Why did he just leave me on the floor? He cleaned up his precious papers but didnât get me any help? And was that Elizabeth shaking the ladder? Did she cause me to fall? But why would she do that? None of this makes any sense.
Reaching the door, Beth turned the knob excruciatingly slowly so no one would hear her. When she felt the latch release, she opened the door just a crack and peeked out. What she saw made even less sense than the beeping sound.
Rather than leading back out to the hallway from which she had entered the records room, this door now opened into a laboratory. Not a science lab in a school, where students did experiments and worked on projects, but more like a mad scientistâs lab from an old black-and-white horror movie, with bizarre and pointy medical instruments, tables piled with papers, and vials filled with liquids of all colors.
The mysterious lab appeared to be empty, or at least Beth couldnât hear anyone shuffling about. There was only one way to solve this mystery, and if there was one thing that Beth Picard had had enough of, it was mysteries.
She slowly stepped into the room.
Beepâbeepâbeep . . .
Maybe something in here is making the noise, Beth
Beth wished she had more time to figure out what was going on, but she was in full-on panic mode now. She scrambled up the ladder and resumed her search. Finishing one folder, she riffled through the next, then another, then a fourth.
Last one, and then I have to get out of here, she thought.
Beth flipped open the green folder and there it was. After all the effort, all the nervousness, she saw it. Her own face stared up at her from the page. And there was the name:
Lizzie Maxwell.
Beth scanned the page with eager eyes. According to her file, Lizzie Maxwell lived a few blocks from the school, but that was about all there was to know about her in the records. Someone had scribbled a note on the page that she had stopped attending school in the middle of last year, a few weeks before Beth and her mom had moved to their new house.
Beth could review the page later. Right now she had to get out of there and return home. She stuck the page about Lizzie Maxwell back in the folder and tucked the folder under her arm.
Iâll show these pages to Mom, she thought as she got ready to descend the ladder. Sheâll finally have to tell me the truth. Is Lizzie my sister? My twin? Were we given up for adoption to two separate families when we were born? Mom got me and someone with the last name Maxwell got her? I have to know. I have to findâ
The ladder suddenly started shaking.
Whaa?
Beth glanced down and saw a tall young woman with dark hair. Her hand was on the ladder.
âElizabeth? Why are you shaking the ladder? What are yââ
The door to the records room flew open, and a short man carrying a stack of file folders burst into the room.
âWhat on earth are you doing here?â the man shouted.
Beth was so startled she lost her balance, tumbled from the ladder, and crashed to the floor.
Beth looked up and saw the man bending over her, losing control of the files in his hands. File pages fluttered through the air, landing on top of Beth just before everything went black.
CHAPTER 9
Beepâbeepâbeep . . .
Beth awoke to a repetitive beeping sound.
Beepâbeepâbeep . . .
Forcing her eyes open, Beth saw that she was still sprawled out on the floor of the student records room. The file papers that had covered her were gone. So was the man who had burst into the room. She was alone again.
Beepâbeepâbeep . . .
But where was that sound coming from? It was driving her crazy!
Dragging herself up to her feet, Beth glanced around. Same overstuffed file cabinets. Same dim light. Same cramped, dusty room. So what was that beeping?
Beth walked slowly to the door.
What happened to that guy who found me here? she wondered. Why did he just leave me on the floor? He cleaned up his precious papers but didnât get me any help? And was that Elizabeth shaking the ladder? Did she cause me to fall? But why would she do that? None of this makes any sense.
Reaching the door, Beth turned the knob excruciatingly slowly so no one would hear her. When she felt the latch release, she opened the door just a crack and peeked out. What she saw made even less sense than the beeping sound.
Rather than leading back out to the hallway from which she had entered the records room, this door now opened into a laboratory. Not a science lab in a school, where students did experiments and worked on projects, but more like a mad scientistâs lab from an old black-and-white horror movie, with bizarre and pointy medical instruments, tables piled with papers, and vials filled with liquids of all colors.
The mysterious lab appeared to be empty, or at least Beth couldnât hear anyone shuffling about. There was only one way to solve this mystery, and if there was one thing that Beth Picard had had enough of, it was mysteries.
She slowly stepped into the room.
Beepâbeepâbeep . . .
Maybe something in here is making the noise, Beth
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