Thomas and Amani Summer Reading Club Mystery

Chapter Seven - Beyond The Door

The sound of hissing filled Thomas' ears. The jaws of the python opened wide. Library Sue struggled in its coils, her face turning blue. Thomas ran to her. He had to save her but how. Where was Amani? She was always the brains of any of their operations.

"H-h-elp!" wheezed Library Sue. "S-Save me Thomas!"

He frantically looked around for a weapon, something to clobber the snake with but he found nothing. Think Thomas, think. Come up with something dude! He saw the tail end of the python conveniently located on the ground, half wrapped around a tree trunk. He walked over to it and jumped on it! The python's eyes bulged like an animated movie. Then it unwound Library Sue and slithered off into the jungle. Thomas rushed to the swooning Sue and caught her in his arms.

"My hero!" she said, batting her long, dark lashes at him. "Thank goodness you saved me from that snake! I was about to be lunch!"

She puckered her plum lips. Thomas tingled with excitement. He was finally going to get a kiss from Library Sue. He bunched up his lips and leaned down to her.

"Honk!" Library Sue suddenly said. "Hooonnnkkk!"

"What the...?"

Hooonnk! Hooonk! Thomas opened his blurry eyes. His alarm honked in his ears. It was set to a goose call. His dad thought it would be a fun alarm to have. Each ring was the sound of a different bird. Hooonnnk! Thomas hit the off switch and rolled out of bed. He felt disorientated and wished he could sleep more. He had to meet Amani at the park.

Once he found his way to the washroom, he peed, washed his hands and splashed some cold water on his face so he would wake up. He listened for any telltale signs that might indicate that his parents were awake. When he heard nothing, he made his way back to his room. He waited a few more seconds, straining to hear his sleeping family's snores. Good, no one was awake.

Grabbing his emergency latter and his skateboard from his closet, he hooked the ladder into the latches that his dad had secured into the window ledge. He tucked his skateboard into the last rung and slung the latter out the window. He tested it for strength, then put on his backpack and heaved himself out the frame. His heart thudded inside his chest like a panicked bird with every rung he took.

Thomas dropped to the grass below, wiped sweat from his brow, then took one last look at his bedroom window. Sadness crashed in on him like a wall and he wanted nothing more than to run back up the ladder and tuck himself into bed. He pulled his skateboard out of the rung and tucked it under his arm. With a sigh, he turned away from his home and faced the lamp lit street. Amani would go without him and what if something happened to her too? It was best if he was with her.

He jogged down the lawn to the street. He would wait until he was a block away before getting on his skateboard. Through there wouldn't be a place to store it but he wanted to use his board so he could get to the park faster, plus it was creepy at night and he didn't want to walk the streets alone.

Once he crossed onto Northhill Drive, he dropped his board to the ground and jumped on. He kicked his way down the silent street. His board clickety-clacking down the sidewalk. A cool breeze caressed his face, pushing back his hair. A lone car, a taxi, Thomas noticed pulled to the side of the road with bright headlights that glowed in the darkness. He heard a car door open.

"Thansks man, it'th been a pleasure riding with you," said an intoxicated man. "Here'th a tip!"

Thomas heard the car door slam and then saw the drunken man stumble his way up a lawn. He shook his head. Why do some adults drink alcohol to the point of not being able to see straight? He was never going to drink. His parents sometimes did with friends. Once when Thomas was younger, his dad was cooking pancakes and had poured a bit of beer into the batter. Thomas thought that whatever his dad was putting in the pancakes must taste really good. He helped himself to a swallow. He gaged, coughed and sputtered for about thirty seconds as the foul tasting liquid made its way down his throat. Blah! It had tasted like rotten socks and soap.