Locker 13 Read online

  “Luke—you’re seventh,” Coach Swanson announced. He made a large check on his clipboard. “First alternate. See you at practice.”

  I was still too out-of-breath to reply.

  Seventh.

  I let out a long sigh. I felt so disappointed. I could do better than seventh, I knew. If only I hadn’t slipped.

  As I started to trudge back to the locker room, Stretch strode up beside me. “Hey, Champ!” He slapped my bare back with his open hand, so hard it made a loud smack. “Thanks for making me look so good!”

  I got dressed quickly, standing in a corner by myself. A few guys came over to say congratulations. But I didn’t feel I deserved it.

  Across the locker room Stretch was still in his swim trunks. He was having a great time, smacking guys with his towel, really making the towel snap against their bare skin, laughing his head off.

  I tossed my towel in the basket. Then I stepped up to the mirror over the sinks to comb my hair. A ceiling lightbulb was out, and I had to lean over the sink to see.

  I had just started to comb my wet hair back—when I saw the jagged crack along the length of the glass.

  “Whoa.” I stopped combing and stepped back.

  A broken mirror. Seven years bad luck for someone.

  I reached into my khakis pocket and squeezed my rabbit’s foot three times. Then I turned back to the mirror and began combing my hair again.

  Something was wrong.

  I blinked. Once. Twice.

  A red light? Some kind of red glare in the mirror glass.

  I squinted into the glass—and let out a cry.

  The red glare was coming from a pair of eyes—two red eyes, glowing like hot coals.

  Two angry red eyes, floating in the glass. Floating beside my reflection.

  I could see my confused expression as I stared at the frightening red eyes … as I watched the eyes slide across the glass … slide … slide closer … until their red glow covered my eyes!

  My horrified reflection stared out at me with the fiery, glowing eyes.

  And I opened my mouth and let out a long, terrified scream.

  Over my scream I heard heavy footsteps behind me. And then I heard a voice—Stretch’s voice: “Hey—get used to it!”

  I spun around. He grinned at me. “Get used to it, Champ. That’s your face! It makes other people scream too!”

  “No!” I cried. “No! It’s not! Don’t you see—?”

  Coach Swanson burst in behind Stretch. “Luke—what’s wrong?”

  “My eyes!” I cried. “Look! Are they red? Are they?”

  Coach Swanson and Stretch exchanged glances.

  “What is his problem?” Stretch murmured.

  Coach Swanson stepped up close and examined my eyes. “What’s wrong with you, Luke? It’s just the chlorine from the pool. Your eyes will be okay in a little while.”

  “Chlorine? Huh? No!” I insisted. Then I glanced into the mirror. And saw my normal, brown eyes gazing back at me.

  No glowing eyes. No red eyes burning in the glass like an evil movie monster.

  “Uh … well …” I rubbed my eyes. They didn’t burn or anything. They felt okay.

  I turned back to Stretch and Coach Swanson. I didn’t know what to say to them. They were both still staring at me as if I were nuts.

  And maybe I was.

  Black cats jumping out of my locker? Glowing red eyes in the mirror?

  “Well … see you at practice,” I said.

  Stretch laughed. “Not if I see you first! Ha ha!”

  I laughed too. It wasn’t funny, but I wanted to sound calm again, normal.

  As I followed them out of the locker room, I realized I was trembling.

  Why were these strange things happening to me?

  After dinner I was supposed to go to the mall with Hannah. She wanted to buy me some computer software for my birthday. But she wanted me to pick it out.

  That was really nice of her. But at the last minute I decided not to go.

  I was still feeling weird from the swim tryouts. And I wanted to work on my animation project. If I worked really hard, I might be able to get it finished in time to show Mrs. Coffey before she left school.

  I went up to my room and booted up the animation. But I couldn’t concentrate. I kept staring at the four-leaf clover inside a block of clear Lucite I keep on my desk. And I kept jumping up and running to the mirror to check my eyes.

  Perfectly normal.

  Not glowing.

  So what happened? What happened to me in that locker room? I asked myself. I tried to convince myself there was something wrong with the mirror. The red glow was because of the way the light hit the crack in the mirror. Or something.

  No.

  That didn’t make sense.

  The phone rang a little before ten o’clock. And it was Hannah, sounding very breathless and excited.

  “Luke—you should’ve come! You should’ve come!”

  I had to hold the phone away from my ear, Hannah was shouting so loud. “Why? What happened?” I asked.

  “I won it!” she declared. “Do you believe it? I won!”

  “Excuse me? Hannah—what are you talking about?”

  “You know the raffle at the mall? That huge red SUV? It’s been on display there for a month? Thousands of people put tickets in the box. Thousands! And—and—I just happened to be walking by when they had the drawing tonight. And—”

  “You didn’t!” I shrieked.

  “Yes! Yes! I won it! I won the SUV!”

  “Wow!” I slumped onto my bed. I actually felt faint. My heart was pounding as if I had won!

  “You should’ve seen me when they called out my name!” Hannah gushed. “I screamed. I just stood there and screamed!”

  She screamed again, shrieked at the top of her lungs. A long, high, joyful scream.

  “Hannah—that’s so awesome,” I said. I don’t think she heard me. She was still screaming.

  “My family is so happy, Luke. You should see them. They are dancing around the living room!”

  “That’s so great,” I said.

  Hannah lowered her voice. “I just feel bad about one thing, Luke. I was so crazed, I was so berserk, I forgot why I was at the mall. I forgot all about buying you a birthday gift.”

  I stood up. I picked up the block with the four-leaf clover inside and smoothed it between my hands. “That’s okay,” I told Hannah. “I just decided what I really want for my birthday.”

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  “I want your luck!”

  Hannah laughed. She thought I was kidding. But of course I was serious.

  “Are you going to school tomorrow?” she asked.

  “Huh? Yeah, sure. Why not?”

  “Tomorrow is Friday the thirteenth,” she said. “I know how superstitious you are. I thought maybe you’d stay home and hide under the bed all day.”

  “Ha ha,” I said. But I felt a cold tingle at the back of my neck. “I’ll be there,” I told Hannah. “I’m not totally wacko, you know.”

  But I’ll wear my lucky shirt, I thought. And I’ll take my four-leaf clover in my backpack. And I’ll ask Mom to pack my lucky sandwich for lunch—peanut butter and mayonnaise.

  “I have to go to school tomorrow,” I told Hannah. “I have basketball practice after school.”

  “How’s practice going?” Hannah asked.

  I chuckled. “Not bad. So far, I haven’t gotten any splinters from sitting on the bench!”

  Hannah laughed. I could hear shouts and wild laughter in the background. “I’ve got to go!” she said, shouting over the racket. “My family is still celebrating my winning the SUV! Bye!”

  She clicked off before I could reply.

  That night I dreamed about locker 13.

  In the dream I stepped up to the locker. Someone had taped a calendar to the door. I came closer and saw that Friday the thirteenth had been circled in red.

  I started to rip the calendar off the loc
ker door. But I stopped when I heard loud breathing. Hoarse wheezing sounds. Like someone was having trouble breathing.

  I touched the locker door. And it was burning hot!

  I screamed in shock and pulled my hand away.

  Again, I heard the hoarse breathing from inside the locker. And then I heard a tiny voice cry out: “Please … get me out.”

  In the dream I knew I was dreaming. I wanted to lift myself out of the dream. But I was stuck there. And I knew I had no choice. I had to pull open the locker door and see who was in there.

  “Please … I want out. Get me out!” the tiny, frightened voice called.

  Even though I knew I was dreaming, I still felt so frightened. Real fear that makes you shake, whether you’re awake or asleep.

  I watched myself grip the door handle. Slowly—so slowly—I pulled the locker door open.

  And I stared in horror at the figure huddled inside the locker. Because it was ME!

  It was me inside the locker, hugging myself, trembling all over. It was me—and my eyes started to glow. My eyes glowed out from the dark locker, red as fire.

  And as I stared at myself, stared at those ugly, evil red eyes, I watched my face begin to change. I watched hair grow out of my nostrils. Long braids of thick black hair, sliding out of my nose—down, down to the locker floor.

  Beneath the shining red eyes, thick, black, twisted ropes of hair were pouring from my nose. Out of the locker. Piling onto the hall floor. Curling around me as I watched.

  Yes. The long hair flowed from my nose and snaked around me as I watched in horror. Curled around me, covering me in warm, scratchy hair. Covering me like a big, furry coat, and then tightening. Tightening. Tightening around my chest. Tightening around my face. Wrapping me like a mummy. Wrapping me in my ghastly nose hair.

  I woke up, one hand tightly wrapped around the Lucite block with the four-leaf clover. Gray morning sunlight seeped through my bedroom window. My room was so cold, cold as a freezer.

  “Luke, what are you doing up there? You’re late!” Mom’s voice shattered the frozen silence.

  “A dream,” I murmured. A hoarse laugh escaped my throat. My eyes darted around the room. Normal. Everything normal.

  “Hurry, Luke! It’s really late.” Mom’s voice sounded so good to me.

  I followed her order. I hurried. I got showered, dressed, ate breakfast, and arrived at school with about two minutes to spare. The halls were pretty empty. Most kids had already gone to their homerooms.

  I glanced at the clock on the tile wall. Then jogged to the end of the back hall to toss my jacket into my locker.

  But a few feet from my locker I stopped with a gasp.

  What was that on the door to locker 13?

  I crept closer.

  A calendar?

  Yes.

  Someone had taped a calendar to the door. And … and today … Friday the thirteenth was circled in red.

  “My dream!” I murmured.

  That horrifying dream. It’s coming true, I realized. I’m going to open the door, and it’s going to come true.

  I stared at the calendar, at the number 13 circled in red marker.

  Last night’s dream played itself again through my mind. I shuddered. My legs and arms itched. I could practically feel the disgusting hair curling around my skin.

  With an angry cry I ripped the calendar off the door and crumpled it in my hand.

  Now I expected to hear the heavy breathing from inside the locker. And the tiny cries—my cries—begging to be let out.

  But I didn’t wait. “I’m not opening it,” I said out loud.

  No way am I going to allow the dream to come true.

  I tossed the wadded-up calendar sheet to the floor. Then I spun around and began running to class. The hall was empty. My shoes thudded loudly on the hard floor as I ran.

  I’ll keep my coat with me, I decided. I’ll just drag it around with me all day. I don’t need to open the locker.

  The bell rang as I reached my homeroom door. Mr. Perkins looked up as I burst into the room. “Good morning, Luke,” he said. “Running a little late this morning?”

  “A little,” I replied breathlessly. Unzipping my jacket, I started to my seat.

  “Would you like time to go hang your coat in your locker?” Mr. Perkins asked.

  “Uh … no. That’s okay.” I lowered my backpack to the floor and dropped into the chair. “I’ll just … keep it.”

  A few kids were staring at me. Mr. Perkins nodded and turned back to the papers he was reading.

  I took a deep breath and settled back against the chair. I rubbed the right sleeve of my lucky shirt seven times.

  That dream is not going to come true! I told myself. No way! I won’t let it.

  Of course, I wasn’t thinking clearly. How could that crazy dream come true?

  If I had stopped for one second to think about it, I would have realized the whole idea was insane.

  But today was Friday the thirteenth. And I never can think clearly on Friday the thirteenth. I admit it. I’m always a little crazy on that unlucky day.

  I glanced up to see that Mr. Perkins had been reading the morning announcements. I hadn’t heard a word he said. I pulled the four-leaf clover from my backpack, twirled it in my hand, and wished for good luck for the rest of the day.

  At noon I found Hannah at a table against the back wall of the lunchroom. She was sitting all by herself, staring down at her brown lunchbag, which she hadn’t opened.

  “Hi. Whassup?” I dropped across from her.

  “Hi,” she said softly, without raising her eyes. “How’s it going?”

  “Well, pretty okay for a Friday the thirteenth,” I said. Actually, the morning had flown by without any problems at all.

  I expected Hannah to make some kind of joke about how superstitious I am. But she didn’t say a word.

  I pulled the sandwich from my bag and started to unwrap the foil. “My lucky sandwich,” I said. “Peanut butter and mayonnaise.”

  “Yum,” she said, rolling her eyes. She finally looked at me. She appeared tired. Her eyes were bloodshot, red, as if she’d been crying. Her hair was a mess, and her face was gray.

  “How come you’re wearing your coat?” she asked.

  “Oh … uh … no reason,” I said. “I was kind of cold.”

  She nodded glumly.

  “Did you come to school in the new SUV?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “We don’t have it yet. Dad has to go fill out a lot of papers.” She let out a long sigh.

  I lowered my sandwich. “Are you feeling okay?” I asked.

  She didn’t answer. Instead, she sighed again and stared down at the table.

  I poked her lunchbag with one finger. “What do you have for lunch?”

  She shrugged. “Just some fruit. I’m not very hungry.” She opened the bag, reached a hand in, and pulled out a bright yellow banana.

  She struggled with the skin. Then finally peeled it open.

  “Oh, yuck!” Her face twisted in disgust. She dropped the banana to the table.

  Inside the skin, the banana was completely rotten. Just a soft pile of black mush. A horrible, sour smell—like ripe vomit—floated up from it.

  Hannah shoved the banana away. “Sick. That’s really sick.”

  “The skin is perfectly fresh,” I said. “How could the banana be so rotten?”

  “I think I have an apple,” Hannah said glumly. She tore the bag apart and pulled out a red apple. She twirled it between her hands—then stopped with a gasp.

  I saw the deep, dark hole on the side of the apple. And as we both stared at it, a fat, brown worm—at least two inches long—curled out from inside. And then another. And another.

  The worms dropped from the apple, onto the tabletop.

  “I don’t believe this!” Hannah shrieked. She scraped her chair back so hard, it toppled over.

  And before I could say anything, she was running from the room.

  After sc
hool I looked for Hannah on my way to basketball practice. I was worried about her. She had acted so weird at lunch. Not like herself at all.

  I reminded myself that it was Friday the thirteenth. And sometimes people act a little weird on this day.

  But not Hannah. Hannah is the least superstitious person I know. She walks under ladders all the time, and she hugs black cats, and doesn’t think a thing of it.

  And why should she? Hannah has to be the luckiest person on earth!

  Lockers slammed as kids prepared to go home. I started to the gym, then turned back. I don’t want to carry my coat and backpack to the gym, I decided. I’m going to stuff them in my locker.

  I hesitated as the locker came into view at the end of the hall. I read the words on the door: LUCKY 13. Of course I remembered my nightmare—and the calendar from my nightmare taped on the locker door.

  But I had to open the locker. I didn’t want to carry my stuff around with me for the rest of the year!

  “Hey, Luke!” I saw Darnell Cross waving to me from the doorway to the science lab. “Are the Squires going to beat Davenport?”

  “They’re not so tough,” I called back. “We could take them.”

  “You going to play?” Darnell asked. He grinned because he already knew the answer.

  “As soon as I grow taller than Stretch!” I replied.

  He laughed and disappeared back into the lab.

  I stepped up to locker 13. I brought my face close to the door. “Anyone in there?” I called in.

  Silence.

  “Just checking,” I said. I grabbed the door handle. I was feeling pretty confident. Friday the thirteenth was two-thirds over, and so far, nothing terribly unlucky had happened to me.

  I squeezed my rabbit’s foot for luck. Then I took a deep breath—and pulled open the locker.

  Nothing unusual inside the locker.

  I realized I was still gripping the rabbit’s foot inside my pocket. I let go of it and slipped my backpack off my shoulders.

  I studied the locker carefully. A bunch of books and notebooks on the top shelf, where I had left them. My old gray sweatshirt lay crumpled on the locker floor.

  No black cats. No one breathing or crying or shooting piles of hair from his nose.