Be Careful What You Wish For (6 page)

“No — wait!” I cried.

The woman smiled and pulled her shawl over her head.

“Wait! I didn’t mean it!” I cried, running toward her. “I didn’t know you were there. Wait — OW!”

My foot caught on a loose stone in the walk, and I stumbled. I hit my knees hard. The pain shot up through my entire body.

When I looked up, she was gone.

After dinner, Ron agreed to play basketball out back. But it was too cold and windy. A light snow had started to fall.

We settled for Ping-Pong in the basement.

Ping-Pong games in our basement are always difficult. For one thing, the ceiling is so low, the ball is always hitting it and bouncing crazily away. Also, Punkin has a bad habit of chasing after the ball and biting holes in it.

Ping-Pong is the only sport I’m good at. I have a really tricky serve, and I’m good at slamming the ball down my opponent’s throat. I can usually beat Ron two games out of three.

But tonight he could see my heart wasn’t in it.

“What’s up?” he asked as we batted the ball softly back and forth. His dark eyes peered into mine from behind his black-framed glasses.

I decided I
had
to tell him about Clarissa, and her red crystal ball, and the three wishes. I was so desperate to tell someone.

“I helped this strange woman a few days ago,” I blurted out. “And she granted me three wishes, I made a wish, and now all the girls on my basketball team are going to die!”

Ron dropped his paddle onto the table. His mouth dropped open. “What an amazing coincidence!” he cried.

“Huh?” I gaped at him.

“I met my fairy godmother yesterday!” Ron exclaimed. “She promised to make me the richest person in the world, and she’s going to give me a solid-gold Mercedes with a swimming pool in the back!”

He burst out laughing. He just thinks he’s such a riot.

“Aaaaagh!”
I let out an angry, frustrated groan.

Then I tossed my paddle at him and ran upstairs to my room.

I slammed the bedroom door behind me and began to pace back and forth, my arms crossed tightly in front of me.

I kept telling myself that I had to calm down, that it wasn’t good to be this stressed out. But of course, telling yourself to calm down doesn’t do any good. It only makes you more tense.

I decided I had to do something to occupy my mind, to keep myself from thinking about Judith, and Clarissa, and the new wish I had accidentally made.

My second wish.

“It’s not fair!” I cried aloud, still pacing.

After all, I didn’t know I was making a second wish. That woman tricked me! She appeared out of nowhere — and tricked me!

I stopped in front of my mirror and fiddled with my hair. I have very fine light blond hair. It’s so fine, there isn’t much I can do with it. I usually tie it in a ponytail on the right side of my head. It’s a style I saw on a model that looked a little like me in
Seventeen.

Just to keep my hands busy, I tried doing something else with my hair. Studying myself in the mirror, I tried sweeping it straight back. Then I tried parting it in the middle and letting it fall over my ears. It looked really lame.

The activity wasn’t helping. It wasn’t taking my mind off Judith at all. I pulled it back into the
same old ponytail. Then I brushed it for a while, tossed down the brush with a sigh, and returned to pacing.

My big question, of course, was: Had my wish come true?

Had I caused Judith to disappear?

As much as I hated Judith, I certainly didn’t want to be responsible for making her disappear forever.

With a loud moan, I tossed myself down on my bed.
What should I do?
I asked myself. I
had
to know if the wish had come true.

I decided to call her house.

I wouldn’t talk to her. I’d just call her house and see if she was still around.

I wouldn’t even tell them who was calling.

I looked up Judith’s number in the school directory. I didn’t know it by heart. I had only called it once before.

My hand was shaking as I reached for the phone on my desk. I punched in her phone number.

It took me three tries. I kept making mistakes.

I was really scared. I felt as if my stomach were tied in a knot and my heart had jumped up into my throat.

The phone rang. One ring.

Two rings.

Three rings.

Had she disappeared?

Four rings.

No answer.

“She’s gone,” I murmured aloud, a chill running down my back.

Before the fifth ring could begin, I heard a clicking sound. Someone had picked up the receiver.

“Hello?”

Judith!

“Hello? Who
is
this?” she demanded.

I slammed the receiver down.

My heart was pounding. My hands were ice-cold.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Judith was there. She was definitely there. She hadn’t vanished from the face of the earth.

And I realized her voice had returned to normal.

She didn’t sound hoarse or weak. She sounded as nasty as ever.

What did this mean? I jumped to my feet and began to pace back and forth, trying to figure it all out.

Of course, I
couldn’t
figure it out.

I only knew that the second wish hadn’t been granted.

Feeling a little relieved, I went to bed and quickly fell into a heavy, dreamless sleep.

I opened one eye, then the other. Pale morning sunlight was shining through my bedroom window. With a sleepy groan, I pushed down the covers and started to sit up.

My eye went to the clock above my desk and I gasped.

Nearly ten after eight?

I rubbed my eyes and looked again. Yes. Ten after eight.

“Huh?” I cried, trying to clear the sleep from my voice. Mom wakes me every morning at seven so I can get to school by eight-thirty.

What happened?

There was no way I’d be on time now.

“Hey — Mom!” I shouted. “Mom!” I jumped out of bed. My long legs got tangled up in the covers, and I nearly fell over.

Great way to start the day — with a typical Samantha klutz move!

“Hey, Mom —” I shouted out the bedroom door. “What happened? I’m late!”

Not hearing a reply, I pulled off my nightshirt and quickly searched through the closet for some clean clothes to wear. Today was Friday, laundry day. So I was down to the bottom of the pile.

“Hey, Mom? Ron? Anybody up?”

Dad leaves the house for work every morning at seven. Usually I hear him moving around. This morning I hadn’t heard a sound.

I pulled on a pair of faded jeans and a pale green sweater. Then I brushed my hair, staring at my still-sleepy face in the mirror.

“Anybody up?” I shouted. “How come no one woke me today? It’s not a holiday — is it?”

I listened carefully as I tugged on my Doc Martens.

No radio on down in the kitchen.
How weird
, I thought.
Mom has that radio tuned to the all-news station every morning. We fight about it every morning. She wants news, and I want music.

But today I couldn’t hear a sound down there.

What’s going on?

“Hey — I’m going to have to skip breakfast!” I shouted down the stairs. “I’m late.”

No reply.

I took one last look in the mirror, brushed a strand of hair off my forehead, and hurried out into the hall.

My brother’s room is next door to mine. His door was closed.

Uh-oh, Ron,
I thought.
Did you sleep late, too?
I pounded on the door. “Ron? Ron, are you awake?”

Silence.

“Ron?” I pushed open the door. His room was dark, except for the pale light from the window. The bed was made.

Had Ron already left? Why had he made his bed? It would be the first time in his life he ever did!

“Hey, Mom!” Confused, I hurried down the stairs. Halfway down, I stumbled and nearly fell. Klutz Move Number Two. Pretty good for so early in the morning.

“What’s going on down here? Is it the weekend? Did I sleep through Friday?”

The kitchen was empty. No Mom. No Ron. No breakfast.

Did they have to go somewhere early? I checked the refrigerator for a note.

Nothing.

Puzzled, I glanced at the clock. Nearly eight-thirty. I was already late for school.

Why didn’t anyone wake me up? Why were they all gone so early in the morning?

I pinched myself. I really did. I thought maybe I was dreaming.

But no such luck.

“Hey — anyone?” I called. My voice rang through the empty house.

I ran to the front closet to get my coat. I had to get to school. I was sure this mystery would be cleared up later.

I quickly pulled on my coat and ran upstairs for my backpack. My stomach was grumbling and growling. I was used to at least a glass of juice and a bowl of cereal for breakfast.

Oh, well
, I thought,
I’ll buy an extra-big lunch.

A few seconds later, I headed out the front door and around the side to the garage to get my bike. I pulled up the garage door — and stopped.

I froze, staring into the garage.

My dad’s car. It was still in the garage.

He hadn’t left for work.

So where was everyone?

Back in the house I phoned my dad’s office. The phone rang and rang, and no one answered.

I checked the kitchen again for a message from Mom or Dad. But I couldn’t find a thing.

Glancing at the kitchen clock, I saw that I was already twenty minutes late for school. I needed a late-excuse note, but there was no one to write it for me.

I hurried back outside to get my bike.
Better late than never,
I thought. I wasn’t exactly frightened. I was just puzzled.

I’ll call Mom or Dad at lunchtime and find out where everyone went this morning,
I told myself. As I pedaled to school, I began to feel a little angry. They could’ve at least told me they were leaving early!

There were no cars on the street and no kids on bikes. I guessed that everyone was already at school or work or wherever people go in the morning. I got to school in record time.

Leaving my bike in the bike rack, I adjusted my backpack on my shoulders and ran into the school. The halls were dark and empty. My footsteps echoed loudly on the hard floor.

I dropped my coat into my locker. When I slammed the locker door, it sounded like an explosion in the empty hallway.

The halls are kind of creepy when they’re this empty,
I thought. I jogged to my classroom, which was just a few doors down from my locker.

“My mom forgot to wake me, so I overslept.”

That was the excuse I’d planned to give Sharon as soon as I entered. I mean, it wasn’t just an excuse. It was the truth.

But I never got to tell Sharon my reason for being late.

I pulled open the door to the classroom — and stared in shock.

Empty. The room was empty.

No kids. No Sharon.

The lights hadn’t been turned on. And yesterday’s work was still on the chalkboard.

Weird,
I thought.

But I didn’t know then how weird things were going to get.

I froze for a moment, staring into the empty, dark room. Then I decided that everyone must be at an assembly in the auditorium.

I turned quickly and made my way to the
auditorium at the front of the school, jogging down the empty corridor.

The door to the teachers’ lounge was open. I peered in and was surprised to find it empty, too.
Maybe all the teachers are at the assembly
, I thought.

A few seconds later, I pulled open the double doors to the auditorium.

And peered into the darkness.

The auditorium was silent and empty.

I pushed the doors shut and began to run down the hall, stopping to look into every room.

It didn’t take me long to realize that I was the only person in the building. No kids. No teachers. I even checked the janitors’ room downstairs. No janitors.

Is it Sunday? Is it a holiday?

I tried to figure out where everyone had gone, but I couldn’t.

Feeling the first stirrings of panic in my chest, I dropped a quarter in the pay phone next to the principal’s office and called home.

I let it ring at least ten times. Still no one home.

“Where
is
everyone?” I shouted down the empty corridor. The only reply came from my echoing voice.

“Can
anybody
hear me?” I shouted, cupping my hands around my mouth. Silence.

I suddenly felt very frightened. I had to get out of the creepy school building. I grabbed my coat and started to run. I didn’t even bother to close the locker door.

Carrying my coat over my shoulder, I ran outside to the bike rack. My bike was the only bike parked there. I scolded myself for not noticing that when I arrived.

I pulled on my coat, arranged my backpack, and started for home. Again, I saw no cars on the street. No people.

“This is so
weird
!” I cried aloud.

My legs suddenly felt heavy, as if something was weighing them down. I knew it was my panic. My heart was pounding. I kept searching desperately for someone — anyone — on the street.

Halfway home, I turned around and headed my bike to town. The small shopping district was just a few blocks north of school.

I rode in the center of the street. There was no reason not to. No cars or trucks appeared in either direction.

The bank came into view, followed by the grocery store. As I pedaled as hard as I could, I noticed all the other shops that lined both sides of Montrose Avenue.

All dark and empty.

Not a soul in town. Not a person in any store.

No one.

I braked the bike in front of Farber’s Hardware and jumped off. The bike fell onto its side. I stepped to the sidewalk and listened. The only sound was the banging of a shutter being blown by the wind above the barbershop.

“Hello!” I called at the top of my voice. “Hellllooooo!”

I started running frantically from store to store, pressing my face against the windows, peering inside, searching desperately for another human being.

Back and forth. I covered both sides of the street, my fear growing heavier inside me with each step. With each dark store.

“Hellooooo! Helllooooo! Can anybody hear me?”

But I knew it was a waste of my voice.

Standing in the center of the street, staring at the dark stores and empty sidewalks, I knew that I was alone.

Alone in the world.

I suddenly realized my second wish had been granted.

Judith had disappeared.
And everyone else had disappeared with her.

Everyone.

My mom and dad. My brother, Ron. Everyone.

Would I ever see them again?

I slumped down on the cement stoop in front of the barbershop and hugged myself, trying to stop my body from trembling.

Now what?
I wondered miserably.
Now what?