Horror in the Hall

“Jen—what’s wrong?” Bobbi asked.

Jennifer shook her head, then locked her eyes on Bobbi’s. “Don’t you know that Chip is Kimmy’s boyfriend?”

“Huh?” Bobbi’s mouth dropped open in shock. She suddenly could feel the blood pulsing at her temples.

“I mean, he was Kimmy’s boyfriend,” Jennifer said, gripping the sides of the wheelchair, “until a couple of weeks ago.”

“A couple of weeks?”

“Yeah.” Jennifer frowned. “Then he dumped her. Just like that. After more than two years.”

“Oh, my gosh.” Bobbi slumped down in the soft leather couch. She seemed to deflate. The shock of this news made her feel weak. “She’ll think—”

“She’ll think Chip dumped her for you,” Jennifer finished the thought for her.

Bobbi moaned. “One more reason for Kimmy to hate my guts.”

They stared at each other in silence for a while. Jennifer squeaked her wheelchair back and forth on the floor.

Finally Bobbi asked, “What should I do?”

Jennifer shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s really cute!”

♦ ♦ ♦

“Girls, how about getting up a little energy?” Miss Green said. It was more of a complaint than a question, and she said the words with disgust.

Having blown her whistle and stepped onto the floor to interrupt the practice, she did an imitation of the way they looked to her, moving her arms and legs in weary slow motion, her eyes half-closed, her mouth drooping open.

The cheerleaders watched in sullen silence. Bobbi felt embarrassed. She was leading the practice, after all. It was her job to get the girls to show some spirit, not Miss Green’s.

But Bobbi was finding it difficult to get some of the girls to listen to her, even though it was the last practice before the game that night.

Kimmy had done a good job of turning the girls against Bobbi. It hadn’t been hard, Bobbi realized unhappily. The girls had all known Kimmy for years. Bobbi was a newcomer, an intruder.

Most of the cheerleaders hadn’t wanted to allow the Corcorans on the squad in the first place. And now here was Bobbi, giving them instructions, leading them, or trying to lead them, trying to get them to cooperate.

“When you do ‘Sssssssssteam Heat’ like that,” Miss Green was scolding them, “it makes me think your boiler’s broken.”

It was supposed to be a joke, but it fell flat on the dispirited squad. No one even cracked a smile.

Standing beside Miss Green, Bobbi let her eyes wander down the row of girls. She stopped at Kimmy, who was glaring at her, her eyes narrowed. Kimmy’s stare was so hard, so cold, it forced Bobbi to look away.

The gym doors opened, and Jennifer wheeled herself in. Smiling at Bobbi, she made her way silently along the far wall, her maroon and white pennant on her lap, her backpack attached to her wheelchair.

Bobbi wished Jennifer hadn’t come. She felt embarrassed to have Jennifer show up while the girls were being lectured by Miss Green. Jennifer would see that Bobbi didn’t have control, that the girls weren’t with her.

She knew Jennifer would be sympathetic. She was Bobbi’s best friend, after all. But it was still embarrassing.

Bobbi felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Corky, who gave her an encouraging smile and then quickly resumed her place.

Bobbi took a deep breath. “Okay, guys,” she shouted, clapping her hands enthusiastically and moving in front of Miss Green, “let’s try it again! Let’s really get sssssteamed up!”

She saw Kimmy roll her eyes and sarcastically mutter something to Debra. Then the girls lined up and began the Steam Heat routine, this time with a little more enthusiasm than before.

It wasn’t great. Ronnie was out of step for the entire last part of it, but Bobbi didn’t think it was worth making them do it again.

As the routine ended with a cheer and a spread eagle, she turned to see Jennifer and Miss Green talking heatedly near the wall. Miss Green was leaning over the wheelchair, close to Jennifer’s ear. Both of them were shaking their heads as they spoke.

Are they talking about me? Bobbi wondered, dread building in the pit of her stomach. Is Miss Green complaining about me, about how I haven’t been able to win over the girls?

“Are we finished?”

Kimmy’s shrill question made Bobbi turn back to the line of girls.

“Yeah. I guess,” Bobbi said distractedly.

“Well, can we go?” Kimmy asked impatiently. “I mean, the game’s in a few hours. We have to go home and have dinner and everything, don’t we?”

Kimmy was making no attempt to hide her dislike of Bobbi. To her dismay, Bobbi saw that some of the other girls seemed to adopt Kimmy’s attitude.

They all agree with her, Bobbi thought, her head suddenly pounding, her temples throbbing. They probably all think that Kimmy should be captain, not me.

And now even Jennifer and Miss Green are talking about me.

“We’ll meet here in the gym at seven,” Bobbi announced dispiritedly, avoiding their eyes by glancing up at the scoreboard clock. “Ronnie will be in charge of equipment.”

Ronnie rolled her eyes and cast a glance at Kimmy.

“No fire batons tonight,” Bobbi announced. “That routine needs a lot more work. We’ll try it for homecoming next week.”

The girls picked up their belongings and quickly made their way out of the gym. Bobbi stood in the middle of the floor, her shoulders slumped, feeling discouraged, watching the girls exit.

“I thought it went a lot better, that last time,” Corky said, offering an encouraging smile.

“Liar,” Bobbi muttered.

Corky shrugged. “No. Really.”

“Thanks,” Bobbi said dryly, watching Jennifer and Miss Green still talking animatedly.

“You coming straight home?” Corky bent to scratch one knee. Her hair was damp from perspiration.

At least one cheerleader is really trying, Bobbi thought miserably. “Go on without me,” she told her sister. “I’ve got to get all my stuff.”

Giving her a quick, playful salute, Corky obediently headed to the door. With a sigh, Bobbi turned and saw that Jennifer and Miss Green had disappeared into the advisor’s office in the corner.

She pulled the whistle from around her neck and, swinging it by its cord, began walking slowly toward the door. Being cheerleader captain is supposed to be fun, she thought regretfully.

Well, she told herself, I’ll find a way to win them over. Maybe even Kimmy. Once again she remembered Kimmy’s cold stare, and shuddered.

She stepped into the hallway, which was empty and silent. Her sneakers squeaked along the hard floor. She turned a corner, climbed the stairs to the first floor, and headed to her locker to collect her books and jacket.

The long corridor stretched before her like a tunnel. The lights had been dimmed to save energy. Gray lockers lined both walls. The classrooms were dark and empty.

Bobbi coughed, the sound echoing through the long tunnel.

The loud crash behind her made her jump and cry out.

She spun around in time to see a locker door swing open, then slam shut.

“Oh!”

Another crash. In front of her.

She turned to see two lockers against the right wall swing open.

As she stared in disbelief, two more lockers pulled open. The doors seemed to hesitate, then slammed shut with deafening force.

Her mouth open in a silent cry, Bobbi gaped in astonishment.

Doors slammed, then swung open again.

Bang. Bang.

The sound echoed until it became a terrifying roar.

Bang. Bang. Both rows of locker doors swung open at once, as if pulled by invisible hands.

“No!” Bobbi cried.

This isn’t happening. I’m imagining this!

Her heart pounding, she dropped the whistle and began to run. Past swinging, slamming locker doors. Through the echoing sounds, a barrage like gunfire.

“No! Stop!”

The wall of lockers on her left swung open in unison, then slammed shut with a deafening crash.

“No! Please!”

She held her hands over her ears and ran.

And then she heard the screams.

A girl, screaming in horror.

High-pitched, shrill screams of anguish, of pain.

Who’s there? Bobbi wondered, running between the slamming lockers. Who is it?

The girl screamed again, the sound rising above the thunder of the lockers.

And again.

Bobbi’s sneakers pounded against the floor. She ran blindly through the dark hallway, locker doors swinging open, then slamming shut on both sides of her.

Another scream of agony.

Bobbi reached the end of the corridor, turned the corner, and stared in surprise.

Date: 2015-04-20; view: 560