Out of Time (4 page)

“Then why do you want to open that door?”
Mandy asked as she leaned on a bookcase next to Sasha.

“I have to.” Sasha stated. “I have to find
out what’s going on. Why those people are drawn to the door. What
happened to them.”

Mandy was frusted at Sasha, as she didn’t
understand the connection between the attic and the door on the far
end.
Why would they be connected to each other?
“The answer
just
has
to be on the other side, then?”

“Yes.” Sasha told her. They walked out of the
library as Mandy started,

“But Simon said the door leads nowhere. Don’t
you remember him saying that?”

“I don’t believe it.” Sasha said with a sigh.
“It’s not like he’s opened the door and walked through.”

“True.” Mandy conceded. “So when do you want
to do it?”

“It will have to be after school. When
don’t
you have band practice?” Sasha asked, a little
unnerved as well with Mandy’s constant questioning.

“We are off on Wednesdays. Tomorrow?” Mandy
offered.

“Works for me. It’s not like you can prepare
for this stuff.” Sasha said to her.

“What stuff?” Mandy wondered.

“Investigating the unknown.” Sasha said, as
though it were common knowledge.

“We should tell Simon. He’s going to wonder.”
It was true. Simon would have the time off from soccer practice on
that day as well and they all hung out together at the dairy shed
in town on their day off. He’d wonder where they had gone.

“You can. I’m not.”

“Fine.” Mandy said, crossing her arms after
putting her backpack on. “I’ll talk to him after school. He’s got
soccer practice and we always have some time to chat before
practice starts for both of us.” She paused in thought. “What about
Kendra?”

Sasha huffed.
Why was Mandy considering
dragging along little miss loud mouth?
“What about her?”

“Are we going to tell her about it?” Mandy
asked sweetly.

“Do we need to?” Sasha groaned.

“Well she’s
annoyingly
persistent.
Like Simon in a way. I’d rather invite her than hear her whine and
complain about us investigating the door without her.” Mandy
approached her locker, a few feet away from Sasha. She fiddled with
the lock and opened it up as Sasha replied,

“She did sound interested in it.”

“That’s what I mean.” Mandy said, binders in
hand as she shut the locker door. At almost the exact moment, the
warning bell for class rang.

“I’ll see you later.” Sasha said, with a
wave.

“Bye.”

The sound of students warming up on their
instruments mingled with the atheletes outside. The softball team
was on a diamond near the band field, bats cracking with the impact
of the ball. The soccer players were getting ready for practice by
juggling.

Mandy walked over to Simon, who was
alternating juggling kicks on either leg. She held her clarinet
behind her in case the ball decided to fly somewhere it wasn’t
supposed to. “Hey Simon.” she said to him.

“What’s up?” Simon asked, picking the ball
out of the air and holding it while he conversed with her.

“Sasha wants to go and investigate the attic
tomorrow. After school.” Mandy told him.

“I don’t have practice tomorrow.” Simon
realized. Mandy nodded, knowing full well he didn’t.

“I don’t either. I thought you’d want to know
about it since you were the one who brought up checking it out.”
she said timidly.

“What’s the big secret?” Simon wondered,
causing Mandy to shift uncomfortably from one foot to the
other.

“What do you mean?” she answered, pretending
to be clueless.

“Sounds like you were planning on going there
without me.” Simon told her and Mandy relaxed, glad that he wasn’t
thinking about the
big
secret she’d been keeping from
him.

“The thought crossed my mind.” Mandy
admitted.

“What about Kendra?” Simon inquired in nearly
the same tone as Mandy when she was talking to Sasha.

“I’m telling her too.” Mandy muttered. “She’s
too nosy anyway. She’d find out soon enough and I’d rather it be
before than after. You know how whiny she gets when she doesn’t get
her way.”

“Tell me about it!” Simon announced. “I think
she only hangs around me because I play soccer. Though, aren’t
cheerleaders supposed to hang around football players?”

“That’s the stereotype.” Mandy
acknowledged.

“Well, I think the only reason she ever is
around you two is because of me.” Simon said to her, instantly
regretting the words which could have been interpreted as
offensive, even though he didn’t mean anything by them. “Don’t take
what I said the wrong way. I like you guys.”

“I take it as a compliment.” Mandy said and
Simon smiled, wiping his brow with his hand as if he’d just dodged
a bullet.

“You guys are a bit ‘over her head’. She
really is pretty thick.” Simon said with a chuckle. Mandy laughed
along with him.

“We know.”

“So what time are you going up there?” Simon
asked. “It would have to be when the classroom is still open and
before they lock up the school.”

“We’d also have to go when the teacher isn’t
around.” Mandy thought.

“Ms. Hastings always sneaks off for a smoke
break after school for about ten minutes. At least, that’s what
I’ve been told. She apparently does that before class as well.”
Simon said.

“Gross.” Mandy said as she wrinkled her nose.
She was very sensitive to cigarette smoke and it was bad enough
when a smoker came up next to her because she could smell it on
their clothes and it made her sneeze. Thankfully, her state passed
a bill prohibiting it in buildings, because otherwise many of the
places she’d like to go to were inaccessible. After only an hour
her throat would start to hurt and her eyes water. At least Mandy
was in the second row in class.

“I bet Sasha can smell her from the front of
the classroom. I’m surprised she didn’t say anything about it.”
Simon said. Mandy bit her lip as she had to remember not to
disclose Sasha’s secret.

“I think she had other stuff on her mind
then.” Mandy told him, shrugging her shoulders.

“The door?” Simon edged.

“There was something that bothered her about
it. I don’t want to go into detail, but it’s the reason why she
wants to investigate.” Mandy mentioned. Before Simon could speak
further, the whistle to start soccer practice was blown.

“Well I gotta go.” Simon said to her.

“See you tomorrow?”

“Yes.” he told her.

“I guess I’ll try and track down Kendra
before class tomorrow.” Mandy said to Simon as he started to jog
towards the coach.

“Good.” he called back.

Sasha shifted uncomfortably as they stood in
the attic classroom after class the next day. Kendra didn’t make a
big deal out of it, and Mandy was a bit upset that she wasn’t more
appreciative. Kendra was that way, thinking she was entitled.

“All ready?” Mandy asked as they neared the
door.

“Yes.” Sasha responded, along with Simon and
Kendra. In all actuality, Sasha really wasn’t. She was anxious and
wanted to be far from the figures outlining the door. It was like
standing next to ghosts. Her arms started to tingle with freshly
laid goosebumps.

“Nervous?” Mandy wondered, although the
question was directed only to Sasha.

“Why would I be nervous?” Sasha asked.

“Can we just get it over with already?”
Kendra whined impatiently, hands on her hips.

“I’m going to go first.” Sasha said, almost
demanding.

“I should go first.” Simon said, noticing a
bit of hesitation in Sasha’s voice. “In case something happens. I’m
not scared of it.”

“Who said anyone was scared of it?” Sasha
asked curiously.

“I didn’t say anything.” Mandy stated as
Sasha glared her way.

“What are you mumbling about?” Kendra asked.
They all ignored her and carried on their conversation as though
she hadn’t said anything at all.

“Okay here goes.” Simon said as his arm
stretched out to grab the door handle. As he turned and pulled, the
old wooden door creaked eerily. He peeked inside. “There’s
absolutely nothing there. It’s just a closet.”

“Well that was uneventful.” Kendra said with
a long and dramatic huff.

Simon closed the door and continued, “Good
place for storing my cleats though. The locker room gets packed.
They need to work on expanding
that
.”

“I’m getting out of here and heading for the
mall. That was a waste of my time.” Kendra said.

“Sorry Kendra.” Mandy apologized. It didn’t
matter because she was already on a war path out the door.

“At least we included you!” Simon shot
out.

“Whatever!” Kendra called back.

“I should head home. My mom knows my
schedule. She’s going to wonder what’s taking me so long.” Simon
said, grabbing his backpack and soccer gear he had left at the
front of the classroom.

“Me too.” Mandy said.

“I’m going to just stay here for a minute.”
Sasha said, her voice hushed as she stared at the figures moving
around her.

“Do you want me to stay with, or —?” Mandy
started, but Sasha waved her off, a “no” thoroughly implied. “Fine
then. See you later.”

“Bye.” Sasha said, turning as Simon and Mandy
both walked out of the room together. She turned back to face the
door and took a deep breath. She sighed and collected her
composure, straightening her shirt out of nervous habit. “Whew.
Okay door. I know there is more to you. I can still see the people
around me. What are you hiding?”

Before Sasha could find out, the sound of
light heeled footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs. Sasha
knew exactly who that was, and gulped.

“Oh great. Ms. Hastings is back. Hell. I’d
better hide.” She looked around quickly, wondering where she could
hide. It seemed as though the attic door was her only sanctuary, so
she opened it. It creaked open and Sasha quickly entered without
realizing it didn’t look like much of a closet when
she
entered.

After Sasha entered the closet, she heard the
sound of crickets almost immediately, and the sounds from outside
the door could no longer be heard.
Is Ms. Hastings gone
already?
Sasha turned around and almost fainted in shock
.
Are ghosts playing tricks on me? How is this possible?
In front
of her was a huge gothic-style staircase and entryway lit with
nearly burnt-out candles.

“Woah. Seriously...creepy. Where the hell did
this come from?” Sasha wondered out loud. She heard whispers on the
air, but could only make out bits and pieces.
Ghosts again,
perhaps?
“Hello? Is someone there? Seriously, if there is
someone there, I’m listening!” Sasha looked around as her eyes
adjusted to the dim light. She then started to whisper. “There has
to be someone here. There are candles lit. Someone had to light
them.”