by C. M. Gray
Now I don’t have that many soft toys. Mostly they’re from when I was little. I got them as gifts so I can’t really get rid of them without offending a lot of people. Anyway, they’re usually lined up along my pillow during the day and I throw them onto the floor at night.
I stared at them. It was easy to guess who had done it. ‘MICHAEL!’
Mum’s head appeared around the doorway. ‘What’s the matter?’
‘Look what he did!’
‘Hmmm.’ She didn’t look all that annoyed. In fact, I think she actually smiled a bit.
‘Michael!’
‘Yes, beloved Mother?’ Michael wandered in. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and his eyebrows were up in their usual ‘innocent’ expression.
Mum pointed at my bed. ‘Did you do this?’
Michael slapped his hands to his cheeks. ‘Why, those poor little toys!’
‘Michael . . .’ said Mum in her warning tone.
‘Mother, I’m shocked that you would accuse me of this terrible crime!’
Mum was definitely trying not to smile. How did he always get away with this stuff? ‘You can help take them down. Go and get some scissors.’
‘Maybe they need to be resuscitated,’ said Michael. ‘Stand back! I shall give them mouth-to-mouth.’ He opened his mouth like a vampire and walked toward the bed. ‘Come here, little teddies! This won’t hurt a bit!’
‘Michael!’ Mum was laughing now! Openly laughing!
‘Get out!’ I pushed him back toward the door. ‘Never come into my room again! Never!’
It took me ages to untie them, but finally all the toys were in a pile beside my bed. I bundled up the string and threw it in my bin. I was going to toss it into Michael’s room and let him clean it up, but I knew he’d probably tell Mum and I’d have to pick it up all over again! He was so spoilt!
I replaced the batteries in the torch with fresh ones and put it in my backpack, then pulled on my PJs and climbed into bed. I was starting to get nervous about tomorrow. What if the plan didn’t work? What if I got caught? The more I thought about it, the more worried I became.
‘BENJAMIN!’ screamed Mum right beside my head. ‘You are going to be late for school!’
I groaned and tried to open my eyes. Surely it couldn’t be morning yet? I couldn’t even remember going to sleep!
I rolled out of bed and found the clothes I’d worn yesterday in a heap on the floor. They were clean enough — only a few stains here and there — so I pulled them on.
Mum eyed me suspiciously as I walked into the kitchen. ‘Isn’t that what you were wearing yesterday?’
‘Yup,’ I said. ‘Just trying to cut down on the washing.’
‘Hmmmm,’ said Mum, raising an eyebrow.
I gobbled down a piece of toast and sculled a glass of milk. ‘Can I have a coffee?’
‘No,’ said Mum. ‘Here’s your lunch.’
I shoved the lunchbox in my bag, keeping my back to her so she wouldn’t see the torch. Trying to act casually, I headed for the door.
‘Ben?’ she called, just when I thought I’d got away with it. ‘Come back here for a second.’
My heart sank. What had given me away?
I trooped back into the kitchen. ‘Yeah?’
Mum leant down. ‘Good luck on your science test today,’ she said and planted a kiss on my forehead.
‘Thanks, Mum.’ I felt so relieved, I didn’t even mind that she’d kissed me! I also felt a bit guilty. Technically, there was a science test, but we took one every week so it was no big deal. It’s not like I’d ever study for it or anything.
Outside it was warm and sunny, but for once I actually wanted to go to school. On the way to Sophie’s house I pulled a few wheelies and did some bunny-hops. I’m already pretty good at doing tricks on my bike, but you can never have too much practice, right? I turned into her street and did a massive skid as I pulled up outside her house. Even Sophie’s parents would have been impressed by that one!
Sophie was already waiting for me on the front steps. The Fuzzil was stuck to her shoulder again. She jumped up and grabbed her bike from where it was leaning against the house. But instead of getting on it, she walked it down to the end of the driveway.
‘What happened last night?’ she asked before she’d even reached me.
‘What do you mean? Oh, with your dad?’
‘Yeah, he said he caught you in the bus. He said we weren’t allowed in there and then he went out and put a lock on the back window. What were you doing?’
I glanced across at the bus. Sure enough, there was a chain with a big padlock wrapped around the handle on the back window. That guy sure didn’t waste any time!
Suddenly, I wanted to get out of there.
‘I’ll tell you on the way,’ I said, pulling my bike into a U-turn. We rode to the park in silence.
Henderson Park had all the usual stuff: swings, a merry-go-round, a slide. There was even a flying-fox. We pulled up beside the swings and jumped off our bikes. I took an old wooden swing while Sophie sat on one of the new plastic ones. That’s the good thing about being best friends: sometimes you do things without having to talk about it. You just know what to do.
We didn’t swing much as I explained what had happened last night. When I got to the bit about the photos and maps, she wrinkled up her nose and said, ‘That’s weird!’
‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘It was definitely creepy.’
‘And you’re sure it was a map of our school?’ she asked.
‘Positive. And when I looked at the map, I saw the janitor’s storeroom was marked with a red cross. So was the cupboard in Mr Slender’s classroom. What do you think that could mean?’
But Sophie didn’t answer the question. Instead she dug the toes of her shoes into the sand. ‘It’s kind of strange that these things keep happening to you, don’t you think?’
‘What do you mean?’ I asked.
‘Well,’ she said as she stared at something behind me, ‘it’s just weird that only you see these things. First there was the secret door under the stairs and now this. Dad’s a writer, so maybe he has stuff in his office that isn’t normal.’
‘Pictures of zombies? Maps of our school?’
‘Yeah. So you say.’
‘It’s true! Why don’t you look for yourself?’ I was getting mad now. What was the point of having a best friend if they didn’t believe you? ‘Oh hang on a minute, you can’t ’cause it’s locked! Why does he keep people out if he’s got nothing to hide?’
‘I don’t know.’ Now Sophie sounded upset. ‘Maybe it’s just private stuff. My dad’s not a bad person.’ Suddenly, she jumped off the swing and ran over to her bike. She threw her leg over it and in a couple of seconds she was riding out of the park.
‘Fine,’ I said out loud, even though no one was listening. I didn’t need her to believe me! I knew what I saw and I knew what I was going to do. Now, I’d have to do it alone.
11
I rode the rest of the way to school. The bell was ringing as I pulled up at the bike racks, which left me with just enough time to dump my bag in my locker and head off to my first class. On the way, I took a detour past Mr Slender’s room to check his timetable. I was hoping that Mr Slender would have a timeslot today when he wasn’t teaching. If I knew when he’d be in the staffroom, I knew when I could sneak into his cupboard.
The timetable was stuck to his door. It seemed as though he had classes all day except for . . . Suddenly, the door opened and, instead of looking at the timetable, I was staring at the front of Mr Slender’s suit.
‘Yes?’ he said, glaring at me.
‘Ummm.’ I straightened up. ‘I was just checking the time of . . . my class.’
Mr Slender’s eyes gleamed like lumps of ice. ‘Don’t you know it yet? Might I point out that it is almost the end of term?’
‘Ummmm,’ I said.
‘Do my classes not capture your attention? Are they not memorable enough? Do I have to do handstands or perform cartwheel
s for you?’
‘No?’ I guessed.
‘Are you quite certain?’ He swooped down so we were eyeball to eyeball.
‘Umm . . . yes.’ I tried to sound more confident.
‘Good.’ He straightened back up, adjusting the front of his jacket. Then he fiddled with the cuffs of his sleeves before glancing back down at me. ‘Are you still here?’
I had no choice. Slowly, I turned away.
I was pretty sure the timetable said Mr Slender had two empty periods after lunch, but I wanted another quick look to be absolutely certain. I’d have to check it again during morning tea or lunch.
My first class was a double period of English. When I arrived, everyone was already sitting at their desks. Sophie was there, of course, but she wasn’t in our usual spot at the back. Instead she was sitting toward the front between Sarah and this kid called Jimmy Cartwright. Jimmy was always boasting about how he was going to be a professional bike rider when he finished school. Most weekends, he practised with his BMX down at the skate bowl. Sure, he could pull a few tricks, but he wasn’t that great. If you asked me, the guy was a bit of a show-off.
I walked to my desk. Sophie made a big deal about whispering to Jimmy as I went past, but I pretended I didn’t care. If she wanted to sit between Silent and Show-off, that was her business!
In English, we were studying a book called The Astounding Art of Punctuation!. Whoever wrote it was the biggest liar on earth because, believe me, the only thing astounding about punctuation is how incredibly boring it is.
Our teacher, Miss Mackenzie, droned on and on about putting commas in, the, right, places, and the correct use of exclamation marks and question marks. Honestly? What was the point! It was as much as I could do not to fall asleep.
Finally, the bell rang.
The worst thing about sitting up the back of the room is that everyone else gets out the door first. Today was no different; I tried to push my way through the crush, but by the time I got out of the room, Sophie had disappeared. It was so frustrating! Sure, I was mad at her, but I really wanted to talk to her about my plan!
During morning tea, I ate a couple of biscuits but I must’ve been getting nervous ’cause my mouth was all dry and I could hardly swallow them. I had to have a big drink of water at the bubbler just to get them down! Then the bell rang again and I had to hurry into Science. Today we had the test I’d told Mum about. Luckily, it was pretty easy and I got through most of it OK.
During lunch, I hung around outside Mr Slender’s room. I didn’t dare check the timetable again, because the door to his room was open and I could see him sitting there at his desk. There was no way I could get close enough without him seeing me. There was nothing to do but wait, and go over the plan in my head again and again. That’s when I really started freaking out. What if it all went wrong? What if I got stuck inside the cupboard overnight? By morning, I might have peed myself! When the bell finally rang at the end of lunch, I had broken into a cold sweat.
‘Ben, are you alright?’ Miss Mackenzie taught History as well as English. She gazed at me as I walked into her classroom. We had a double period of History after lunch. ‘You look really pale.’
‘I don’t feel great,’ I said honestly.
‘Maybe you’d better go to sick bay,’ she said, taking a step back from me as though I was contagious.
I nodded. Carrying my bag, I walked down the corridor and rounded a corner.
Of course I wasn’t going to go to sick bay. Instead, I headed toward Mr Slender’s classroom. Hopefully, I’d read the timetable right and it would be empty. If anyone was in there, my plan wouldn’t work. I crept forward and peered through the window in the door.
A voice echoed down the corridor. ‘Aha! Caught you!’
‘AAARRRGGGHHH!’ I jumped about a foot in the air.
‘Sorry! I couldn’t resist.’ Mr Crumpet walked toward me. Corvus was perched on his shoulder wearing his little hood. ‘Shouldn’t you be in class?’
‘Yes . . . errr . . . no. I mean, I was just checking the timetable.’ Glancing through the window, I caught a glimpse of Mr Slender sitting at his desk. And now I’d been busted!
‘Is Mr Slender in there?’ said Mr Crumpet.
‘Um . . . I think so,’ I said, already backing away.
‘Hhmmph. Well, off you go then,’ muttered Mr Crumpet. He turned and rapped on the door.
I walked fast; the last thing I wanted was for Mr Slender to see I’d been snooping around again. Luckily, I’d reached the end of the corridor by the time I heard him open the door. I slipped around the corner and stopped to listen.
‘Sorry to disturb, old boy, but I wondered if you might have a minute to spare?’ boomed Mr Crumpet’s voice. ‘They’ve put one of those newfangled whiteboards in my room. The thing’s a mystery to me. Would you mind giving me a quick run-through?’
Mr Slender said something I couldn’t quite catch. Then Mr Crumpet spoke again.
‘Could we possibly do it in my room instead? That way we can get the thing set up too. Only if it’s no trouble.’
The door closed. Then there was the sound of shoes tapping against the hard floor, heading in the opposite direction.
I lowered my backpack and peered around the wall. The two men were at the far end of the hallway. As I watched, they rounded the corner and were gone.
Taking a deep breath, I crept back toward Mr Slender’s classroom. Suddenly, everything was back on track again. As I walked along, a strange feeling swept over me. It was a sort of tingling wave that went from my feet all the way to my head. I felt as though I was on the brink of discovering something amazing; something that would change my life forever.
If only I’d known how right I was.
12
The door to Mr Slender’s classroom was unlocked. I opened it just wide enough to slip inside, and closed it silently behind me.
Through the walls, I could hear the faint sounds of other teachers talking and yelling. I knew that anyone walking past would be able to see me through the window so the sooner I was out of sight, the better.
I glanced around the room.
The cupboard was in the far corner, exactly where it was marked on the plan in Mr Knight’s office. It was big for a cupboard; in fact, it was almost a small room. Every classroom in the school had a cupboard like this one. Depending on the subject, inside them were art supplies or Bunsen burners or chisels or sewing machines.
I crept over to it. The door handle was stiff and, for a second, I thought it was locked, but suddenly it turned and the door creaked open. Light from the classroom spilled into the cupboard.
I ducked into it, shutting the door behind me. Instantly, everything went black. Trying not to freak out, I unzipped my bag and felt around inside. My hand closed over the torch. I switched it on and shone it around the small space. Now what?
I swept the beam of light across the shelves. They were made of dark timber and looked really ancient, like they had been there since the school was built. Worn textbooks, rulers and calculators were arranged in neat rows on them.
I peered closer, examining the shelves. The top and bottom ones were almost empty, and covered in a thick layer of dust. Except for one shelf.
This shelf was level with my chest. It was identical to all the others except that it was a bit less dusty. It held a row of books.
I shone my torch across them. One of the books was jutting out a bit further than the others. It looked exactly like the other books in the row, except that the top of the spine was worn away, as though someone had removed it from the shelf many times and, every single time, had grabbed it in exactly the same spot. Written on the spine were the words: Beyond Ordinary Logic.
Tingles crept down my back.
I raised my hand, grasped the spine of the book, and pulled.
The book didn’t come out; instead, it swung down. It was attached to the shelf at the base of its spine. Something deep within the walls clunked. There was the sound of cogs w
hirring.
Then, silence. I waited for a full minute, but nothing more happened.
Wondering what to do, I shone my torch into the corners of the shelves, looking for anything that seemed out of place. Then I peered at the edges of the shelves. That’s when I saw it: one small section of the wood was completely dust-free. In fact, it looked as though it had been recently polished.
I rested my hand on it and pushed gently. The entire back wall of the cupboard swung open. A rush of stale air swept over me. I swayed backward and almost fell, partly from the gust of wind, but mostly from shock. Although I had thought I’d find another secret door, deep down I hadn’t been certain. But here it was.
I shone the torch into the opening, which was a bit smaller than an ordinary doorway, and seemed to lead into a tunnel. The wooden floor of the cupboard continued for a short distance before dropping away. Beyond that, rough stone walls vanished down a dark tunnel. It was just like the entrance to the crypt in Zombie Attack 1. The only thing missing was a horde of undead!
Swallowing hard, I stepped through the doorway. Then stopped. What if Mr Slender came back, and checked in the cupboard? If the secret door was open, he would know someone had found it. I shivered at the thought.
Inside my bag I found a pencil. Working carefully, and with the torch clamped between my knees, I closed the bookcase door. But instead of letting it shut completely, I jammed the pencil between the door and the wall. Now, the door couldn’t latch. Hopefully, if somebody was to look inside the cupboard, they wouldn’t notice the door wasn’t shut properly. And it wouldn’t be too smart to lock myself in there anyway, I decided, as I zipped my bag shut and shone my torch in front of me.
I set off slowly. Where the wooden floor of the cupboard ended, the ground dropped away to a set of stone stairs. The steps were steep and there were no handrails, only solid stone walls on either side. The tunnel looked really old, maybe even older than the school. I kept the beam of light on the floor so I wouldn’t trip. Getting injured down here would be even worse than getting stuck in the cupboard. I might never get out!