Ever since the closet first appeared, he and his friends had been trying to guess what was inside it. They imagined all kinds of horrible things, but what Jason saw now was worse than anything they ever imagined.
The closet was empty.
“Don’t lock me in there, Mrs. Jewls!” he pleaded. “I didn’t do it on purpose. The book was too heavy!”
He tried to remember all that he had seen and heard. Third step from the top. Red key in green hole. 27-6-14. ABDC.
It was too much! It was slipping out of his brain faster than he could remember.
“CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IF YOU SMELL SOMETHING UNUSUAL!”
“I don’t want to become an unusual smell!” he cried.
“What are you blabbering about?” asked Mrs. Jewls. “Why would I lock you in the closet?”
She bent over.
Jason looked again. The closet wasn’t completely empty, after all. There, in the back corner, was a small cardboard box.
Mrs. Jewls picked it up. A price tag stuck to its side read, “89¢.”
Mrs. Jewls opened the top flap and removed a paper clip.
“Now, don’t tell anyone where you got this,” she said as she handed it to him.
“I won’t,” he promised.
She put the box back in the closet, then shut and locked the doors, turning the color-coded keys in opposite directions. She returned the keys to their secret hiding place.
She grunted as she lifted the steel bar, and then again when she set it in place. She snapped the clamps shut and spun the dials on the locks.
Jason picked up one end of the chain and walked four times around the closet. Mrs. Jewls secured the padlock.
“I’m very proud of you, Jason, for finishing the whole book,” she said.
“I was kind of sorry when it ended,” said Jason.
Teacher and student returned to class.
21
Breathe
Stephen stared at the clock on the wall.
What if he couldn’t lift the mallet? What if he dropped it on his toe? What if he dropped it on Mr. Kidswatter’s toe? He could be expelled!
“Breathe,” said Jason from the desk next to him.
Stephen took a breath.
He stared at the clock.
What if someone left a skateboard on the stairs? Then he might trip over it on his way to the gong. If he broke his leg, Mr. Kidswatter would yell at him for being late!
“Breathe,” said Rondi from the desk on his other side.
Stephen took a breath.