by Vera Strange
Out of the corner of his eye, Jamal saw something that looked like his own shadow dart across the floor. He blinked hard, and when he looked back, it was gone. Instinctively, he reached for the skull necklace, but it was dark and cool.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
“Must be tough being most popular,” Colton said, drawing his attention from the necklace. “Does your hand get tired signing all those autographs? Come on, or we’ll be late for class.”
Colton herded the fan club away and pulled Jamal toward science class. He turned back to the disappointed kids, still clutching their yearbooks. “Look, show’s over, folks,” Colton said. “He’ll sign more at lunch.”
* * *
“Mr. President, care to answer the question?” Mrs. Perkins said, calling on Jamal right away. He couldn’t believe that his teacher had noticed his hand up for once. And she’d called him Mr. President. The other kids lowered their hands. “Does light behave as a particle or a wave?”
“Actually, according to Einstein’s theory, it can behave like both,” he replied.
While Jamal always paid attention in class and usually knew the answers, he almost never got a chance to display his knowledge. Most of the time, his brother got called on.
“Very good, but I shouldn’t be surprised by my best student,” Mrs. Perkins said with a chuckle. “By the way, congratulations on winning the election. I know you’ll do a stellar job, just like you always do in my class.”
“Uh…thanks, Mrs. P,” Jamal said, using his brother’s nickname for their teacher—something he would never have done before. Only his brother had the charisma to pull that off. He half expected her to chastise him, but instead, she blushed and chuckled.
“Oh, you’re such a joker.”
Jamal couldn’t believe it. A cockiness he had never known spread through him. It was like he could do anything and everyone loved it.
He turned back, hoping to catch Riley’s attention. He suddenly felt like he could make a good impression. But she just glowered at him, then buried herself in her composition notebook.
It was so weird. Before, he’d expected Riley to lose interest in him when she met his brother. That was what usually happened. People forgot he existed when Malik was around. Literally. But not Riley.
Everyone else seemed charmed by him and loved him, but she couldn’t care less. In fact, it was almost like she disliked him now. The dark magic spell had worked on everyone else. Why was Riley different?
That was when he saw it again: the shadow slithering across the floor toward his desk. It passed Riley and headed straight for him. And then he heard a strange whisper.
“Help me…please.”
Jamal jolted in his seat, feeling the familiar guilt, but then the buzzer went off, signaling the end of class. Mrs. Perkins flipped on the lights, and the shadow instantly vanished in the flood of brilliance that washed over the classroom.
Next up was English class, where Mr. Edwards practically begged him to stand up and read his short story—the one that had an A+ scrawled across it—to the entire class. Jamal read from his original composition, The Prince and the Frog. He reached the last line: “‘And then they all lived happily ever after. The end.’”
Before his voice died out, the whole class stood up and gave him a standing ovation. “Future Pulitzer Prize winner right here,” Mr. Edwards said, swiping away a tear.
“Wow. Thanks,” Jamal said, clutching his story and taking a bow. His cheeks flushed with warmth, and pride flowed through him. It was almost enough to wash away the guilt.
At lunch, he ate with Colton at the popular table and signed more yearbooks until his hand ached; then in gym class he got picked first and scored the most points. They killed the other team. But Jamal kept noticing a strange shadow trailing him up and down the court.
He was having such a good time, it was easy to brush off the shadow as his own paranoia. Besides, the skull necklace was dark. It wasn’t trying to warn him. He didn’t have any reason to be afraid.
“Wow, you did score more points today,” Colton said, giving him an impressed look. “You weren’t kidding. I didn’t think that was possible, but you couldn’t miss.”
They headed for the locker room. He had no fears of another tighty-whities incident. No worries about getting bullied. This was hands down the single best day of his life. Or it would have been, he thought glumly, if my brother could have been here.
“Sorry, but it’s my turn…just this once…then I’ll fix it,” Jamal whispered. “I promise. I’ll find a way to make it right.”
“Talking to someone?” Colton said, catching his eye.
Jamal flinched. “Uh, just my shadow,” he said with a nervous laugh.
“Always a joker,” Colton replied. “Come on, let’s hit the showers.”
When Jamal, wrapped in a towel, entered the locker room and headed for the showers, he noticed something strange. The shadow was following him—the one he’d noticed trailing him all day long. Jamal’s heart raced. It had to be the shadow man’s doing.
But what does Dr. Facilier want now?
He darted into the shower and closed the curtain, but the shadow slipped underneath. It was shaped like a boy. The shadow reached its clawlike hands out toward Jamal.
“No, stay away,” he hissed, backing up in fear.
Automatically, Jamal reached for the skull necklace around his neck. It had protected him from the shadow monsters before. But it wasn’t glowing; the eye sockets were dark. That was strange. It always warned him when Dr. Facilier was nearby. Why wasn’t it working?
The shadow monster cornered Jamal in the shower. The fingers stretched into sharp talons. It cracked its mouth open, as if to devour him. A strange, raspy voice emerged.
“Help me, Little J!”
It was Malik.
“Please…help me, Little J,” rasped the shadow. The voice sounded creepy and distorted, but there was no mistaking it was Malik. His brother was the only one who used that nickname for him.
Jamal stared at the shadow in shock. “Malik…is that you?”
That explained why the skull necklace hadn’t lit up. This wasn’t the shadow man haunting him—it was his own brother.
Except his brother was now a walking, talking shadow.
“Wh-what happened to me?” Malik croaked, looking down at his shadow hands in dismay. “Nobody can see me—except for you. It’s like I’m invisible….”
“Well, now you know how it feels…” Jamal muttered despite his shock, though he immediately regretted it.
“Wait, what do you mean?” Malik rasped, taken aback.
“I’m sorry,” Jamal said, feeling terrible. “It’s just…that’s how I’ve felt all this time. Like I’m invisible. Like I’m in your shadow. Only I didn’t mean for it to happen like this….”
“For what to happen—”
Suddenly, a hand slapped the shower curtain.
Jamal jumped back. Malik—shadow Malik—froze.
“Hey, Jamal, still in there?” Colton called through the curtain. “Who ya talking to? Your own shadow?” He chuckled, not realizing how close that was to the truth.
It took Jamal a moment to find his voice. “Uh, no one…just myself.”
Colton laughed. “Listen, your fan club is waiting outside the locker room. There’s a bunch of people who still need your autograph for their yearbooks.”
“Oh, right,” Jamal said. “Uh…tell them I’ll be right out.”
No one would believe him if he tried to explain that the previous day he’d had a brother who then turned into a shadow. They’d just think he was crazy. He waited for Colton’s footsteps to fade away as Colton headed out of the locker room. Then he turned back to his shadow brother.
“C’mon, Malik, we have to sneak out of here before they see us.”
Quickly, Jamal yanked the shower curtain back. His heart hammered while he scanned the locker room for any signs of Colton or the other kids. “Follow me….”
Despite his panic, Jamal felt a smirk creep over his lips. His brother always had that effect on him. He had the ability to make him laugh and lighten the situation, no matter how dire. Jamal remembered when their house flooded and they had to move out and share a bedroom. Malik was the one who had joked about it.
“Hey, at least we get to spend more time together now, right?” he said, surveying their much smaller room, stuffed with two twin beds.
“Ha, you actually want to spend more time with me?” Jamal said, feeling self-conscious around his popular brother. He flopped down onto his bed. “What about your fan club?”
“Very funny,” Malik said with a laugh, but then he turned more serious. Their eyes met. “And of course I do. You’re my only brother—and best friend. And that’s forever, Little J.”
Remembering that made Jamal feel even worse. I’ll find a way to make this right, he thought with regret. I promise.
As quietly as possible, Jamal crept through the locker room. Malik slipped under the shower curtain and flowed over the concrete floor after him. The locker room was deserted, fortunately. Jamal quickly slipped back into his street clothes, then headed for the back exit that led outside. The locker room was dark and shadowy. Jamal kept his eyes on the shadows, watching for any unusual movement or sign that Dr. Facilier was around. But nothing moved—except him and his shadow brother.
Suddenly, he heard Colton’s voice again. Jamal froze and ducked behind the nearest row of lockers, crouching down to hide.
“Yo, Jamal…you coming?” Colton yelled.
“Just one more minute,” Jamal called out.
“Okay,” Colton said. “But you’re gonna be late for next period if you don’t hurry up.”
Jamal waited for his footsteps to fade, then turned to Malik. “Come on. This way,” he hissed to his shadow brother, pushing open the exit door. “Before anyone sees us.”
Bright sunlight flooded through the doorframe, falling over the deserted locker room. Jamal blinked hard, then hurried out onto the athletic field. His brother flowed over the freshly mowed grass and stuck close to him like…well…like a shadow. Overhead, the sun beat down on them, making Malik’s shadow darker and more defined.
Jamal ducked behind the field house, where they stored the sports equipment. Malik followed, and reached his shadowy hands out toward Jamal as if for help, but they passed through him. Malik couldn’t touch his brother.
“Little J, you have to help me,” Malik rasped, throwing his hands down in frustration. “I don’t know what happened to me. This morning, I woke up like this. I’ve been following you around all day, trying to get your attention. Nobody can see or hear me—except for you.”
Jamal felt another stab. He’d been so wrapped up in being popular and having everyone clamor for his autograph that he hadn’t noticed his poor brother trying to get his attention. That explained the strange shadow he kept seeing and whispers he’d been hearing all day.
It was my poor cursed brother—cursed because of me.
“Malik, I-I’m so sorry,” Jamal stammered. “It’s all my fault.”
“Your fault?” Malik rasped in surprise. “But how’s that possible?”
“Well, it’s a long story,” Jamal confessed. “But I guess I’ve always been jealous of you….” He trailed off, the words drying up in his throat and turning into dust.
“Jealous…of me?” Malik said, taken aback. “What do you mean?”
“Everything always comes so easily to you,” Jamal said, pacing around. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “You’re the most popular and best at everything. Just look at the yearbook. I guess I just wanted to know what that felt like for a change.”
“Wait, you wanted to be like me?” Malik said in his creepy shadow voice. “But why would you want something like that? I know we’re twins, but it’s okay that we’re different.”
“Yeah, I guess I wanted to step out of your shadow,” Jamal said. “When you’re around, it’s like nobody can see me. There isn’t room for me to get noticed, even when I’m actually good at something, like science or writing stories. Or even basketball when you’re not defending me.”
“But Mrs. Perkins loves you,” Malik croaked. “You get As in her class.”
“Oh, yeah? Then why doesn’t she ever call on me?” Jamal said, upset. “Even when I usually know the answer and raise my hand? She always calls on you first.”
“She calls on you sometimes,” Malik replied.
“Like when?” Jamal demanded. “You see? I may as well be invisible.”
The tension between them sizzled in the air like electricity. They had never argued like this before, and they both knew it.
“Okay, maybe you have a point,” Malik rasped finally. “She does usually call on me first. But who cares about boring science stuff, anyway?”
Jamal thumped his chest. “Me…I care! I love science. It’s my favorite subject. And what about basketball? I always get picked last, while you get picked first every time.”
“Fine, but that doesn’t mean you had to do this to me,” Malik said, sounding hurt and angry. His shadow form twisted on the ground. “Spit it out already. What happened?”
Jamal started pacing again. His feet trampled the manicured grass. “Listen, all I wanted was to feel what it was like to get noticed for once. But I didn’t mean for him to turn you into an actual shadow. He tricked me. This isn’t what I meant to happen.”
“Who are you talking about?” Malik said.
His shadow form lightened and vanished for a second as a cloud passed over the sun. “Malik, come back!” Jamal said, afraid that his brother had vanished for good.
But as soon as the sun returned, Malik reappeared as well. His voice was also restored as soon as he rematerialized, like the volume being turned up on a speaker.
“Who are you talking about?” Malik demanded. “Who did this to me?”
Jamal swallowed hard. “Dr. Facilier…he’s the shadow man.”
“Wait, you made a deal with the shadow man?” Malik said in a horrified voice. “What were you thinking? You can’t mess with that kind of dark magic. You know that!”
“You have to understand—he tricked me,” Jamal said. “This wasn’t our deal.”
“But you can’t trust the shadow man! Nana warned us about him,” Malik rasped angrily. “No wonder this happened. How could you be so stupid? I can’t believe my own brother did this to me.”
Malik’s words stabbed him like a knife to the heart.
“I’m…I’m so sorry,” Jamal stammered. “I never should’ve talked to him. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I think Grandma tried to warn me, too, but I didn’t understand her message.”
“‘Beware of the shadows,’” Malik said, recalling the words from the note their mom’s mother had left behind with the necklace. The anger faded slightly from his voice and was replaced by curiosity. “You think Grandma was warning you about Dr. Facilier?”
Jamal nodded. “Yeah, I think so, only I didn’t understand.” He pulled out the skull necklace to show it to Malik. “This necklace she gave me glows whenever he’s around and protects me from his shadows. It’s the reason Dr. Facilier came after me in the first place. He wants this necklace—and he seems willing to do anything to get it.”
“But why does the shadow man want it so badly?” Malik rasped, cocking his head toward the skull necklace. “What’s so important about it?”
“Right, that’s the problem. I don’t know,” Jamal said. “Clearly it has some kind of power over him. Maybe he wants to get his hands on it so he can destroy it? I’ll bet this was his plan all along, since I wouldn’t give it to him. I’m so stupid. I knew I couldn’t trust him.”
“So he turned me into a shadow to trick you?” Malik responded.
“Yeah, he told me that I would get to step out of your shadow if I ga
ve him something valuable,” Jamal said, remembering their deal. “So I snuck under your bed while you were asleep, and stole your trumpet and gave it to him. The one Grandma left to you—”
Malik cut him off, sounding furious. “Wait, not only did you make a deal with the shadow man, but you stole my trumpet to do it? Little J, how could you?” His shadow form twisted.
Jamal swallowed hard. “I knew it was wrong, but you have to understand…all I wanted was to know what it would be like to walk in your shoes for one day. But he didn’t tell me that he’d turn you into an actual shadow. I never would’ve made the deal if I’d known the truth.”
“Dark magic always backfires,” Malik said, shaking his shadow head. His voice still wavered with fury. “This is, like, basic stuff.”
“Yeah, it’s official,” Jamal said, looking down at his shadow brother. “I’m the worst brother ever. I really messed this up. But I swear—I’ll find a way to fix it. Maybe if I give him the skull necklace, then Dr. Facilier will agree to reverse the curse and bring you back.”
Malik hesitated. His shadow form lightened and faded again as another cloud passed over the sun. Jamal’s heart squeezed with fear, but then Malik reappeared.
“Jamal, reversing the curse doesn’t change what you did to me,” Malik said, looking down at his shadow hands. “Honestly, I don’t know if I can ever trust you again.”
Jamal couldn’t believe it. His brother had used his real name. Jamal. Not his nickname. Malik almost never called him by his real name. That meant he was seriously upset.
Jamal felt beyond terrible—and worse yet, he knew that Malik was right. How could I have done this to my own brother? he thought, feeling sick to his stomach. If he didn’t find a way to fix it, then his parents might never remember having another son. He and Malik might never share a bedroom again or play pranks and mess around with each other.
But more than that, Jamal would lose his best friend.
“Please, I’ll make it right,” Jamal begged, fighting back tears. “Just give me a chance. We can reverse the curse. Then Mom and Dad and everyone will have to remember you.”