Chapter Five

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I thought Wednesday would never get here, but it finally did. Anxious, I glanced at the clock. Only ten minutes to go of Mr. Hoover’s Social Studies class. The minute hand appeared to be moving slowly, if at all.

“Class,” Mr. Hoover said. “May I have everyone’s attention, please? I want you to do the review in the back of chapter two. We’re going to have a test on Friday. If you don’t study ahead of time... the grade you get is the one you deserve.” Mr. Hoover closed his book and placed it to the side of his desk.

I slid a piece of paper in my book to mark the spot Mr. Hoover was talking about, then closed my book. The shrill sound of the school bell rang. I practically jumped out of my seat.

“Excuse me. Did I tell anyone to leave yet?” Mr. Hoover asked.

“No,” several of us answered. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one in a hurry to get out of class. We all sat back down. “Okay, now you may go.”

Humph. He could have just let us leave class. I stood up and headed out the door. Robin was already at our locker. “What are you doing when you get home?” I asked her.

“Homework. I think all my teachers got together and decided I needed some extra work. Mr. Cleaver was the only teacher who didn’t assign me any homework, and I barely got any work done in his class,” Robin complained.

I began to sympathize until I remembered something. “Hey, wait a minute. Mr. Cleaver is our study hall teacher. Of course he wouldn’t give you any homework.”

“I bet if he could have... he would have,” Robin complained. “None of my teachers had any mercy on me today.”

“Well, I’ll call you later when I get home,” I told her.

She nodded her head in response.

On the bus, I thought about how peaceful and quiet it would be at home. At least, until Dwight and Wendy got home. When the bus reached my stop, I hurried off, anxious to get home. I was so excited, I practically ran home.

I inserted my key in the door and turned it to unlock the door. This was the first time I ever unlocked the door to let myself into the house. Mom let me unlock the door for her several times, but I was never alone. Never before had I come home to an empty house. An empty house! The thought sent a chill down my spine.

“Hello,” I hollered when I walked into the living room. My voice echoed through the empty house.

I closed the front door. From the living room, I could see into the family room and kitchen. No one was in either room, so I went to put my backpack in my room.

Our door was closed. I never closed our door. Carefully turning the handle, I opened the door slowly. I saw a shadow flash by on the wall. Slamming the door shut, I began to breathe heavy. Think. All right, let’s see. It wasn’t dark like most shadows. Actually, it was rather bright.

I reached for my doorknob again and turned it slowly, only opening the door around an inch. I could only see one wall and a tiny part of another. Nothing. Slowly, I opened the door the rest of the way, my heart beating rapidly. Still nothing.

My closet door was closed. I knew I would have to check in there. My heart sank in my chest. The last thing I wanted to do was look in my closet, but I knew I must. I tiptoed over to the door. Slowly easing my hand upward to grab the doorknob, I paused. A car drove by outside, startling me.

There it was. That light. I looked at the window and then again at the wall. Releasing a heavy sigh, I realized it was only the sun reflecting off the car going by that had shone through my window. When the car passed, the reflection passed. I felt silly, allowing something so small to scare me.

I tossed my backpack on the bed, then headed back into the kitchen. I grabbed the cordless telephone and I dialed Darla’s number.

“Hello?” A voice that sounded like an older version of Darla answered. It must be her older sister, Maggie.

“Hi, Maggie, is Darla home?” I asked.

“Sorry. She went over to a friend’s,” Maggie said.

“Oh, do you know when she’ll be home?” I asked, hoping it was going to be soon.

“No, sorry,” Maggie said.

“All right.” I sighed, frustrated that I wouldn’t have someone to talk with me.

“Is everything okay?” Maggie asked.

“Yeah. I’m home alone, I just wanted to have someone to talk to,” I told her.

“I’ll tell her to call you when she gets home,” Maggie said.

Disappointed, I hung up the telephone. Then a thought came to me. I’ll call Robin. I dialed her number and anxiously waited for someone to answer. “Come on, answer,” I whispered urgently.

“Hello?” Robin answered, breathing heavy.

“Hi, it’s me. What are you doing? You sound out of breath,” I told her, feeling relieved that she even answered the telephone.

“I ran upstairs from the basement. What do you expect?” She panted.

“What were you doing downstairs?” We have a basement, too, but ours isn’t finished like theirs. The only time I go in ours is to start a load of laundry.

“I’m doing homework. I have a report I have to type. It’s due on Friday. That doesn’t give me much time to get it finished,” Robin exclaimed.

“Yuck. Are you going to get it done on time?” I asked, trying to prolong our conversation.

“I better. If I don’t, my mom will kill me,” she stressed. I knew she was exaggerating. Her mother would not kill her. She might ground her for an eternity, but she definitely wouldn’t kill her.

“It’s due in two days. Is there anything you need? If not, I need to get back downstairs and do my homework,” Robin said.

“No. It’s not important. I was just bored. I’ll see you tomorrow at school,” I told her, feeling very let down.

“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Robin said before hanging up. The dial tone buzzed in my ear. Neither of my friends could talk and I couldn’t think of anyone else to call. I wish Heather still lived here. Then I could at least call her.

Disheartened, I swiped a bag of chips from the pantry, headed into the living room, and plopped down on the couch. Grabbing the remote control, I flipped through the stations on TV until I finally came to something halfway decent to watch.

I licked my fingers and crumpled the empty bag. Standing up, I stretched before I headed into the kitchen to toss it in the trash.

“Oh no! I can’t believe it’s this late,” I exclaimed out loud. Wendy and Dwight would be home any minute.