Breathtaker

Chapter 1

“Keep quiet you guys! Someone’s going to hear us!” Marilyn tells us angrily, but her own excitement let her down and she starts giggling too.

 Just then we hear a scratching sound and Leigh stops in her tracks, clinging onto the wall. She gives a little yell, “What was that?” She asks; her eyes big.

Rosetta laughs. “Relax sweetie, it’s just the wind outside.”

Leigh continues walking, but I can see she isn’t quite at ease yet. She always hates our nightly adventures and sometimes chooses to stay home when we did it, but tonight she refused to stay behind alone and insisted on coming with.

The four of us, Leigh, Marilyn, Rosetta and I make our way down the dark and deserted hallway, careful not to make a noise. Everything around us is pitch black, just like outside. Back at the cabin, the rest of the children in our year are fast asleep, tired after the day’s activities. It was the middle of summer and our school, Ashton Junior High, is having its traditional eighth grade camp. We’ve been here for about two days now and none of us were actually enjoying it, but it was our last year before we head off to high school, so we decided to make the most of it.

“Where is Miss Dandelion’s room?” Marilyn whispers to me.

“It’s room 19, close to the end of the corridor.” I reply, letting my flashlight scan the number on the door next to us. Room 16.

“We’re almost here!” Leigh suddenly exclaims.

I see Rosetta turn around to face her and then clasp her hand over Leigh’s mouth. “If you keep on raising your voice like that, we are never going to make it out of this camp alive.” She hisses.

Leigh nods, her hazel eyes dancing under the moonlight that is now shining through the open window. We walk the rest of the way in silence, and then we are finally there.

Room 19.

“You open it Katie, you’re the bravest.” Marilyn says to me, handing me the bronze key. I take it, my heart pounding excitedly. I can’t believe we’re actually doing it! The key turns with ease and I slowly push the door open, allowing a slight ray of light from the flashlight to fall on the wooden floor, exposing the outlines of all the furniture in the room. There aren’t much besides a closet, a bedside table and a small metal bed in which Miss Dandelion was sleeping soundly.

“Do you have the eggs, Leigh?” I ask quietly, watching Miss Dandelion’s sleeping silhouette carefully. What if she wakes up? She’ll kill us and we’ll be sent home….But so what? It’s way too late to turn back now anyway. Plus, it was my idea, I can’t possibly back out. Leigh hands me the two eggs with careful hands, her sparkling hazel eyes giving me a smile, a smile that said, ‘good luck’.

I smile back at her and go inside, being extra careful with the eggs. When I was a few inches away from the bed, my eyes search for her slippers. Then I find it.

It is light pink with a little purple ribbon on top, very childish for a woman in her mid fifties. I had trouble containing my laughter, but when I finally had it under control I slowly pull the pair of pink slippers closer to me. I pick up the first egg from where I had placed it on the dusty floor and break it, trying my best not to get any of it on my clothes. I let the clear liquid and yellow circle drip into the one slipper and when it was finished; the inside of the slipper is wet and messy. I was so glad I wasn’t the one who has to wear this slipper!

After I did the other slipper as well, I push the slippers back to their original place, right beside the bedside table and clear all of my evidence with the cloth I brought along. I slowly stand up, checked once more that the place was clean, gather the broken egg shells and hurry out of the door. All the way back to our cabin we try to be quiet, but every now and then a little yelp of laughter will escape and then the rest will also start laughing.

I quickly slip into the girls’ bathroom, wash my hands and throw the egg shells into the dustbin. When I got outside where my three friends were waiting for me, I see Marilyn holding something up for me to see.

“Look at what I found!” She says happily and I go closer to investigate.

It is a small, but long green snake and even though it was plastic, it looks pretty real. I smile in amazement. “Where did you get this?”

“I found it in my brother’s drawer last week; I thought it might come in handy, so I took it.”

Leigh’s mouth falls open. “You took it without asking?”

Marilyn shrugs. “Sure, he probably wouldn’t even miss it. Now come on, let’s get going.” The four of us silently sneak back into our cabin.

It is a big, with about 40 bunks. Large windows cover the walls, exposing the dark, moonlit trees of the mountain.

Once we were inside, Marilyn, Leigh and I climb back into our beds while Rosetta go and place the plastic, green snake in her unmade bed but didn’t climb in herself. As soon as all of us are settled and comfortable in our beds, Rosetta gives a loud and shrill scream.

“Snake! Snake!”

Within a few minutes, all the other 28 girls are out of their beds and screaming too, some of them even climbing in the beds to get away from the ground.

“Where is it? Is it poisonous?” A girl named Julie asks; her eyes full of fear.

I open my mouth to answer, but then we hear another scream, this one more terrifying and full of disgust. The door to the teachers’ hallway open and a woman in her mid fifties storms out with flaming eyes. 

Marilyn was the first to laugh, followed by three of us. From where I am sitting close to Leigh, I gave her a high five. The other girls look at us like we are insane.

“You guys didn’t drink something, right?” Lillian asks, frowning as she watches Marilyn standing by the window.

“No, we just broke eggs into Miss Dandelion’s slippers.” Rosetta says, now joining Marilyn at the window. The other girls’ mouths fall agape as the events of the night sink in. “And then you guys came back here and screamed, so that Miss Dandelion would have to come and see what’s wrong, causing her to step into her squishy slipper?” Olive asks; her lips curl into a smile.

“But what about the snake? Was there even a snake?” Julie asks.

I start to climb back into bed. “Yeah, but only a plastic one.” I grin as I see their reactions, which was now full of amusement and disbelieve.

“I can’t believe you guys did that!” Olive says, rushing to the window.

“To me it sounds like something just the Bumblebees would dare to do.” A girl named Tiffany comments, giving us a knowing smile.

The rest of the girls crowd around the windows, as they watch Miss Dandelion’s face, which was now full of disgust as she takes off her one slipper and let the gooey substance drip out.

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