The Mystery of the Abandoned School an excerpt

Jamie is a twelve year-old kid at Westwood Middle School. Every morning Jamie would greet the ones in his life that he cared for, careful not to break apart from his loved ones. Although Jamie considered them to be loved ones, Jamie’s little sister, Amy, did occasionally annoy him. Jamie’s best friend Mike would sometimes talk on and on about “brave stories” or things that Mike got as presents that Jamie never got but wanted. Even his parents would make Jamie do hard chores. The one person that Jamie never got upset or annoyed by was Jamie’s grandfather. The stories that Jamie was told as a kid by his grandfather allowed Jamie’s imagination to run wild. Jamie’s excitement would skyrocket whenever he heard that he was going to his grandfather’s house. The old, forgotten, and abandoned school might have been creepy, but its secrets held many stories. The hands on Jamie’s grandfather’s watch would spin just as his grandfather was going back in time to tell the story. Jamie always wondered what happened to that school, but his grandfather just never told him, even though the school was that of his own as a child. However, Jamie spent the entire evening crying when his mother told him that his grandfather had passed away.

“Come on Jamie,” Mike yelled in a hurry. “We’re gonna miss the bus!”

Jamie had forgotten his lunch box, so his teacher let him back inside to retrieve it.

“Coming,” Jamie yelled back. “Oh yeah, we almost missed them. They were about to take off without us.”

Mike sighed, “That concludes another day of school. Do you want to play online with me after school?”

Jamie agreed right before it was his stop to get off at. The two friends waved goodbye to each other and Jamie exited the bus.

As Jamie entered his house, he heard Amy cry, “Mom, I want different and new toys to play with. These ones are too boring!”

Jamie was used to his eight year-old sister saying things like that. He was about to walk away when he heard his mother say, “I have some old toys from my childhood in the attic. Jamie, will you go get them for your sister?”

Jamie squealed, “But I was just about to play online with Mike!”

Jamie looked at his sister’s quivering lip, sighed, and headed up to the attic. It was a dark and creepy place, but Jamie found the box of toys, and dropped them down the ladder. He was about to exit the attic, when a small box was spotted in the corner of his eye. He stepped closer to get a better look, and found a “Do Not Touch” sign on the box. Jamie’s curiosity led him to open the box, and see its contents. He found his grandfather’s old pocket watch, and picked it up. The dark abyss of nothing then consumed Jamie, as he blacked out.

Jamie woke up in what seemed to be a school. It was very dark, and infested with cobwebs. He then realized that it was the abandoned school, a few blocks from his current school, that his grandfather went to. Jamie heard soft, but yet biting whispers in his ear. There was something soothing about the voices that Jamie found comfortable, but he couldn’t understand what. It was like the voices were calling to him, to explore more of the school. Jamie wanted to obey, but when he turned around, he saw a dark and shadowy figure lurking in the doorway. Jamie screamed so loud that he fainted.

Jamie sprung up from his bed with a shocked expression on his face. He realized that he was in his room, and that it was all a bad dream. He walked down stairs wanting to tell his Father about his lifelike experience last night, but as he did, he saw the pocket watch underneath the ladder where he had dropped it. He gasped. He had to talk to Mike about it, so he grabbed the watch, hurried through his morning routine, got ready for school, and jumped on the bus. Amy pleaded, “Can I please sit with you on the bus today?”

“Sorry Amy,” Jamie said back. “I was saving this seat for Mike”

“Okay fine, I guess I’ll sit here then,” Amy whined.

When Mike got on the bus, he sat next to Jamie. Mike questioned Jamie about him not playing wih him online the day before, so Jamie gave him the answer. Jamie told Mike about what happened to him, for he didn’t believe that it was a dream any longer.