Will You Be My Friend? (7 page)

“Mom, when have I ever forgotten to eat lunch?” Beth replied. “Good-bye!”

Beth's mom said good-bye.

Beth hung up and breathed a sigh of relief.

She was about to slip her phone back into her pack when she paused and stared at the screen for a moment, remembering that her phone had GPS built right into it. She'd never used it before, but certainly she could figure it out.

She quickly scanned through all the apps on her phone and found the GPS program. She launched it and typed in
Glenside Middle School
. A few seconds later street-by-street directions appeared on her screen. Everything seemed so much clearer than the directions she had copied earlier that morning.

“I'm actually only a few blocks away, after all,” she said, sounding surprised that her sense of direction had served her fairly well. With the GPS to guide her, Beth walked briskly now, moving with confidence. She would at least make it to Glenside. What happened after that was anyone's guess. Following the turns shown on her GPS, she moved closer to her destination.

And yet, she still could not shake the feeling that she was being followed.

Am I just paranoid because I'm nervous about slipping into a school where I don't belong?
Beth wondered.

A few minutes later Beth made a right turn and Glenside Middle School appeared, just a few blocks ahead. Glenside was one of the older schools in the area. Its sturdy-looking redbrick walls gave it a classic feel, like a school Beth's mom might have attended once upon a time.

Trying to appear as casual as possible, Beth strode toward the school. The closer she got the harder her heart pounded. She could feel herself start to sweat.

She pictured what this place must look like on a typical school day with buses pulling up and kids pouring out onto the grounds. She wondered if it might have been easier to sneak into the building on a day when hundreds of kids were going in.

Not that she had any choice. This was a rare occasion when her mom was gone all day. She had to get this done today. She might never get another chance.

As she approached the school parking lot, she noticed that about a dozen cars were parked there.
All those cars must mean that there are some people at the school today, otherwise the lot would be empty. This is promising.

Her spirits lifted a bit. If people were in the school working today, then at least one of the doors would be open. Step one had always been getting inside the school. Beth would figure out what came next once she was inside.

She was almost there. The front door grew larger with each step.

I'm gonna make it,
Beth thought, a surge of excitement pulsing through her veins.

And that is when she spotted a uniformed security guard running from the far side of the school toward the front door.

Oh no. I'm so busted. He's coming for me! He knows. Somehow he knows!

Beth kept on walking.

What if he's after someone else? What if this has nothing to do with me?

She was almost at the front door.

But what if he
is
after me?

Panic took over. Beth turned and ran. She didn't turn back to see if the guard was after her or not. Her only thought was to get as far away from the school as she could.

She dashed down the few blocks leading away from school, feeling scared, sad, and confused. She made the left turn to start the journey home, crashed right into someone, and tumbled to the ground.

“Are you okay?” asked a tall girl with short black hair and smooth, freckle-less skin. The girl leaned over Beth, looking down at her. Beth was sprawled on her back on the sidewalk.

“I think so,” Beth answered. “I'm more stunned than hurt, actually. I didn't expect anyone to be there when I ran around that corner.”

“Same here,” said the girl, who reached down and offered Beth her hand.

Beth took the girl's hand.

“Are
you
okay?” Beth asked as the girl helped her up to her feet.

“Yeah, fine,” the girl replied. “I'm Elizabeth, by the way.”

“Beth,” she said, brushing herself off. “Hey, we have the same name, kinda. Nice to meet you. Other than crashing into you, I mean.”

“You seem to be in a big hurry,” observed Elizabeth. “Or like you were running away from somebody.”

Beth suddenly remembered the security guard who had been chasing her, or so she had thought. She looked back over her shoulder in a panic. “It's a long story. Really what I need is to get into the school,” she explained.

“I go to school here, but I don't recognize you,” said Elizabeth.

“That's 'cause I'm actually homeschooled,” Beth explained. “I'm just trying to find someone who used to go to Glenside. And I believe that the only way to track her down is to search the school's records.”

“Track her down, huh?” said Elizabeth. “That sounds pretty serious.”

Beth admitted the reason behind her search. “I think she could be my twin sister, even though I've never met her.”

“Kind of a ‘separated at birth' type of thing?” asked Elizabeth.

“Something like that,” replied Beth. “So what are you doing here on a Saturday?”

“I live nearby,” Elizabeth explained. “I was just taking a walk.”

“Well, I should be going,” said Beth, looking back toward the building. “I still have to figure out a way to get in.” Beth didn't want to be rude to Elizabeth, but she had to complete her mission.

“Oh, I can help you with that,” said Elizabeth. “There are always a few teachers, administrators, and janitors at school on Saturdays. If you had tried the front door, you would have found it locked. The school staff uses a side door. That one should be open.”

“You'll really help me?” Beth asked, feeling another surge of hope. “Even though we just met?”

“Hey, if I had a long-lost sister, you bet I'd do anything I could to find her. Come on.”

Elizabeth turned the corner and started walking toward the school.

Beth followed, though she wasn't sure that this was going to work.

“What about the security guard?” Beth asked. “I think he might have been chasing me.”

“I don't see him,” said Elizabeth, pointing ahead to the school.

The security guard was nowhere in sight. Maybe he had been following someone else.

Unless, of course, he was hiding, waiting for Beth.

Beth continued walking with Elizabeth toward the school.
This may be my best chance,
Beth thought, looking around, searching for the guard or some other obstacle that might once again keep her from learning the truth.

“So, let me ask you, Elizabeth,” Beth said as the two girls walked side by side. “You go to Glenside. Did you know a girl who went to school here last year and looks like me? I mean, looks exactly like me? Her name was Lizzie. I don't know her last name.”

“No. Like I said, I don't recognize you at all.”

As the girls approached the school, Beth felt her heart beat faster.

Stay calm. Stay calm,
she repeated to herself.

“This way,” said Elizabeth. “Around the side.”

Beth followed Elizabeth through the parking lot and around to the far side of the building. Behind a grove of tall trees Beth spotted a small red door.

“That's it,” said Elizabeth. “Let's try it.”

“What if someone's right there?” Beth asked, her heart pounding once again.

“Then this is going to be a very short adventure!” Elizabeth said, chuckling.

Elizabeth grabbed the doorknob and turned it.

Beth heard the telltale click of an unlocked door. Elizabeth opened the door slowly and stepped inside. Beth took a deep breath, then followed.

Walking into a narrow hallway, Beth was struck by the fact that she had never actually been inside a school before, or at least she had no memory of having been in one. She looked around at the greenish-yellow cinder-block walls, peeling paint on all the doorframes, and grease-stained windows.

This is kinda creepy!
she thought.
I don't know if I would like coming here every day. I never really appreciated how hard my mom works to teach me, how great a situation I have, and how much I really learn.

As she and Elizabeth walked deeper into the school, Beth found herself suddenly racked with guilt.

If Mom ever found out where I am, what I am doing . . .

“Beth?”

Elizabeth's voice pulled Beth out of her maze of thoughts.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, sorry,” replied Beth. “This is just all so new to me.”

“So did you want to go to the records room?” asked Elizabeth. “I can tell you where it is.”

“Thanks. That would be great,” replied Beth.

BRIIIIIIIINNNGGGGGG!!!

The bell signaling that all students had to be in their classrooms blared through the empty halls, startling Beth.

“Why is that bell ringing on a Saturday?” Beth wondered.

“I guess it's programmed to go off at the same time each day, whether or not students are in the building,” Elizabeth explained.

“So where are the records kept?” Beth asked, trying to focus again on the task.

“Take your next right and the next two lefts and you'll see the records room,” Elizabeth said quickly. “I've got to get home. My mom is expecting me. Good luck, Beth. I hope you find your sister!”

Elizabeth turned and hurried back down the hallway, disappearing around a corner and leaving Beth alone in the empty hall.

“A right and two lefts,” Beth repeated to herself.

Thank you, Elizabeth,
she thought.
Whoever you are.

Beth walked quickly, glancing back to make sure no one saw her.

This looking over my shoulder is getting to be a habit,
she thought.
And not one I like.

Beth took the first right, then a left. She felt anxious, as if the greenish-yellow walls were closing in as she hustled along.

One more left, and then—

“Hey! What are you doing here?” shouted someone behind her. “There are no student activities today!”

Beth spun around and saw a balding man in a tie and sports jacket walking briskly toward her.

Beth bolted around the corner and dashed down the hallway. She could hear the man's footsteps closing in on her.

At the end of the hall Beth spotted several storage cabinets. On the floor next to the cabinets sat opened boxes of ceiling tiles. Above the boxes several ceiling tiles were missing, creating an opening in the ceiling.

Reaching the cabinets, Beth flung open the door and began climbing up the metal shelves, using them as if they were rungs on a ladder. Scrambling onto the top of the cabinet, Beth reached up and grabbed the opening in the ceiling on either side.

Launching herself straight up, she pressed down on her palms, lifting her body up through the opening. She slipped above the ceiling tile and rolled onto her side.

Glancing back down, Beth saw the man who had been chasing her pass by underneath. The sound of his footsteps faded until they trailed away to silence.

Beth caught her breath and looked around at the space into which she had crawled. The thick layer of dust that covered the tops of the tiles now also covered her shirt and jeans. Electrical conduit snaked through the crawl space in every direction, forming a nest of metal strands.

And then something moved.

A small black circle scurried along right next to Beth's leg. A spider.

The spider stopped, as if to examine this invader of its domain. It raised its front two legs, rubbing them together, pondering its next move.

The spider crawled onto her jeans—

Don't move, don't move . . .

—and then crawled back off.

Mustering her courage while fighting the urge to throw up from nerves, Beth lowered her head down through the opening. The hall was empty.

Shifting her position and getting covered with even more dust in the process, Beth swung her feet out of the hole. Grasping the edges of the ceiling opening, she supported her weight and lowered herself down to the top of the cabinet. She climbed down shelf by shelf, until she was back on the floor.

Dusting her clothes off as best as she could, she hurried toward the final leg of her journey. Turning left, she saw a row of offices. Each office had a sign that jutted out from the wall, making it easy to read.

The signs read
PRINCIPAL
,
ASSIST. PRINCIPAL
,
ADMIN. ASSIST.
,
MAINTENANCE
.

And the last sign, at the far end of the hall, read
STUDENT RECORDS
.

That's it! Now all I have to do is make it past all these other offices.

Glenside Middle School had been built a long time ago, and that explained the dingy walls and windows, the old-fashioned ceiling tiles, and the overall gloomy atmosphere.