His World

Chapter Five

     Claire had been scheming during the two weeks since she had discovered the realm behind her locker. She wanted to show Mia, but she didn't know exactly how she would introduce the subject without seeming like a complete lunatic. Claire didn't know when she would have the time to take Mia there either; between her classes at school and her chores at her aunt's house, she had absolutely no free time in her schedule.

     As she wrote down her English homework in her planner, Claire noticed that she had study hall next period. Study hall with Mia. An hour would be more than enough time to show Mia-- to prove that what she saw was not a hallucination-- then return to school in time for Calculus.

     The bell rang, dismissing students from their second period, and Claire went to find Mia in the bustling halls as students rushed to their lockers, to their next class, or to catch up with their friends. Finally, she spotted Mia's head of strawberry curls leaving a classroom and caught up with her. "Mia, I need to show you something."

     Mia was taken by surprise, but was glad to see her friend. "Sure, what's going on?"

     "I'll explain, just come to my locker," Claire grabbed Mia's arm and pulled her away, "remember that day I was late because my locker got stuck?" Mia answered with a slightly vexed nod. "Well," Claire continued as they made their way down the hall, "I lied. That wasn't what made me late."

     The pair arrived at Claire's locker and Mia had yet to say anything; she only stared at Claire with a pointed look, waiting for an explanation. Claire could see the annoyance on her friend's face and knew that she would only anger her if she waited any longer, so Claire sucked in a breath before finally saying: "the real reason is in my locker, but no one else can see this." The girls looked around them at the still-busy halls and waited until the last lingering students made their way to class.

     "What the hell's going on?" Mia finally asked.

     "I'm sorry for making you wait like this, but I had to make sure no one else would be able to see what's inside."

     "Dude, you're freaking me out just open it already." Mia crossed her arms over her chest and waited for her friend to finally reveal what was inside her locker.

     Sensing Mia's annoyance, Claire opened her locker and put her hand on the back panel, but the click-clack of heels getting louder stopped her from pushing it open.

     "Girls why aren't you in class yet?" Mrs. Alvarez called from down the hall.

     Claire shut her locker and turned around. "We were just on our way to the library for study hall, but I forgot my, uh-"

     "Notebook." Mia said, holding up the notebook in her hand. Claire held in a breath as Mrs. Alvarez walked past them, hoping that their lie wasn't too obvious.

     "Okay, but get to the library quickly and don't let me catch you loitering in the hallway again."

     Claire nodded with a smile and waited until Mrs. Alvarez had turned into another hallway before opening her locker. "That was close. Thanks for that."

     "No big deal. Now can you finally show me?" Mia was getting more impatient by the second.

     "Yes, yes. Sorry."

     Claire pushed the back panel of her locker and stepped inside, motioning for Mia to follow her. "You should probably leave your books here. We won't be needing them where we're going."

     Mia, still confused, put her books in Claire's locker before stepping inside. "What the..." Mia's voice trailed off as she stared at the dark staircase in front of her, unable to say a word. Many thoughts swirled through her head. What was this place? Where was this place? Was she still inside the school?