The phone buzzed in my hand. What did that mean? I shoved it into my jeans pocket.
Miss Rush smiled at us as we walked into the room. “What were you two boys talking about?” she asked.
“Science,” I said.
A few minutes later, Miss Rush was going over our Science work sheets with us. I struggled to concentrate. I leaned over my desk and ran over my answers with a yellow highlighter.
We were only on the second question when Emmy’s voice floated up from the phone in my pocket.
“Jack, I’m getting a signal.”
“SHHHH,” I whispered. “People can hear you.”
“That’s not important,” she replied, but she lowered her voice. “I’m getting a signal. From the computer lab. I think someone like me is in there.”
“SHHHHH. Please —” I begged. I tried to bury the phone deeper in my jeans pocket.
A few kids turned around to look at me. Miss Rush raised her head from the Science work sheet on her desk.
“Didn’t you hear me last night?” Emmy demanded. “Don’t you remember that I need your help? Don’t you remember that you are going to do everything I ask you to do?”
“Not now,” I whispered. “Please. Later —”
“I need you to go to the computer lab,” she said. “The signal is coming from a laptop. I need you to steal it.”
“Huh? Steal?” I gasped. “No way. No way I’ll steal a laptop. Forget about it.”
“Yes, you will. You will learn to obey. I can hurt you, Jack,” she said. “Would you like me to burn this leg? I can burn all the skin off this leg if you don’t obey me. Want to see?”
“Please —” I struggled to pull the phone from my pocket, but it was stuck.
My heart was thudding in my chest. Sweat poured down my back.
“Stand up,” she said.
“Huh? I’m in class,” I replied in a whisper. “Can’t you wait?”
“Do what I tell you,” she said. “Stand up. Now. Throw your hands above your head. And scream. Scream your head off.”
“No. Please. I … I can’t,” I stammered.
I gasped as I felt a sudden hot spot on my leg. A flash of heat from the phone.
“Ssscream,” Emmy hissed. “Do it now, Jack. Show me that you can obey. Stand up and scream your head off. NOW!”
20
Another burst of heat made me leap to my feet.
I took a deep breath. I saw the startled look on Miss Rush’s face.
“Will you obey?” Emmy demanded. “Will you steal the laptop?”
“No,” I said. “Never. I won’t steal.”
An explosion of heat sent pain shooting up and down my leg.
I raised my hands above my head. And I opened my mouth in a high, shrill scream.
Some kids cried out in surprise. Others started to laugh.
I glimpsed Eli in the second row. His eyebrows were flying high above his glasses again.
“Jack?” Miss Rush stepped away from her desk and started down the aisle toward me.
I felt my face burning. I knew I was blushing. I dropped back into my seat.
Kids were talking and laughing. Everyone stared at me.
“What happened?” Miss Rush asked, studying me. “What was that about?”
Of course, I couldn’t tell her the truth.
I swallowed hard. Then I said: “A bee.”
The teacher squinted at me. “A bee?”
“It stung me,” I said.
Kids laughed. Someone made a buzzing sound. That made the kids laugh harder.
Miss Rush frowned. “It must have been a very big bee to make you jump up and scream like that.”
I nodded. “Yes. Very big.”
She patted my shoulder. “Are you allergic to bee stings, Jack? Do you need to see the nurse?”
“I … don’t think so,” I replied.
“Then let’s get back to the Science work sheet,” she said. She turned and headed for her desk.
Some kids were still staring at me. My leg burned a little. I tugged the phone out of my pocket and placed it on the desk where it couldn’t hurt me.
“That was good, Jack.” Emmy’s whisper floated up from the phone.
“Please — leave me alone,” I begged.
Too loud. Kids turned around.
“What did you say, Jack?” Miss Rush called from the front of the room.
“I … was talking to the bee,” I said. “Sorry.”
“Let’s all get serious now,” she said. “Let’s take a look at section three on the work sheet.”
I spread the sheet on my desk. I struggled to focus on it. I tried to shut Emmy and the phone out of my mind.
“Okay, Jack.”
I shuddered as Emmy’s voice rose up from the phone. “Will you steal the laptop for me?”
“No.” I leaned over my desk and whispered into the phone. “No way,” I said. “Don’t ask again. I’d like to help you, but I won’t steal.”
I heard her sigh. “You’re making this hard. I have to teach you to obey. Quick — stand on your head. Do it. Stand on your head.”
21
After school, I scrunched down in the back corner of the school bus and tried to hide from Mick and Darryl. But they climbed onto the bus with big grins on their faces and made their way right to me.
Mick pulled the backpack from my hands and tossed it across the bus. Then he leaned over me. He brought his big red face so close to mine, I could smell the chewing gum on his breath.
“Are you going to stand on your head again, Jacko?” he said.
“Come on, Jacko. Do it again,” Darryl said. “Come out in the aisle. Let’s see you do it again.”
“Look. The bee sting made me a little crazy,” I said. “I was in pain, you know? So give me a break.”
For some reason, that made them laugh really hard.
“We want to hear you scream again,” Mick said. He snapped his finger against my nose.
“OW.” I flinched and jerked my head back.
“You can do better than that,” Mick said.
“Go ahead,” Darryl echoed. “Scream like a girl. Just like you did in class.”
I crossed my arms in front of me. “No way,” I said.
Mick snapped his finger over my nose again. “Come on, Jacko. We all want to hear you scream again. That was awesome.”
“Awesome,” Darryl repeated.
“I’m going to call Charlene, and she’ll throw you off this bus,” I said.
That made them laugh even harder.
“She can’t,” Darryl said. “She’ll lose her job.”
Mick leaned over me. “Punch Me and Pinch Me got into a canoe,” he said. “Punch Me jumped into the river. Who was left in the boat?”
I rolled my eyes. “Pinch Me,” I said.
“Okay.” Mick tightened his thumb and finger over my shoulder and gave me a pinch that brought tears to my eyes. But I didn’t scream.
“Try again,” Darryl said. He glanced to the front to make sure Charlene wasn’t watching.
“Punch Me and Pinch Me got into a canoe,” Mick said. “Pinch Me jumped out. Who was left in the canoe?”
“No one,” I said. “The canoe sank.”
Mick balled his hand into a fist and gave my shoulder a punch — so hard, it changed my shirt size.
I gasped, but I didn’t scream.
“Try again,” Darryl told him.
“Punch Me and Pinch Me got into a canoe —” Mick started.
“Please!” I cried. “I’ve had a bad day. What can I do to make you two go pick on someone else?”
Mick grabbed my wrist. “You wearing the cool digital watch? We can make a trade. You give me the watch …”
“And what will you do?” I asked.
“I’ll wear it,” Mick said.
“That’s a trade?” I cried. “I give you the watch, and you wear it?”
He nodded. Darryl laughed.
“No trade,” I said. “I told
you guys, my grandfather gave me this watch. It’s really special to me.”
“Special to me, too,” Mick said, rubbing his finger over the glass.
“No trade,” I repeated.
Mick raised his big fist. “Punch Me and Punch Me got into a canoe,” he said. “Which one of them jumped out?”
I clenched my arm muscles, getting ready for the punch.
But Charlene came to my rescue. “Mick? Darryl? Your stop!” she shouted. “Or do you want me to drive around the block so you can punch Jack some more?”
Charlene is a riot.
Mick swung his fist and gave me a tap that sent me sprawling halfway down the aisle. “See you tomorrow,” he said.
“Not if I see you first,” I muttered.
“Did you know my family and I are moving away?” Mick asked.
“Huh? Really?”
“Guess you’re broken up about that,” Mick said. “Guess you’ll miss me.”
I didn’t reply.
He stared hard at me. “Maybe you’ll give me that watch as a going-away present.”
“I … don’t think so,” I said.
He turned and the two of them shambled off the bus. Behind the wheel, Charlene shook her head.
I slumped back in the seat and struggled to catch my breath. But before I could calm myself, I heard the whispery voice from the cell phone rising up from my pocket.
“Hi, Jack.”
“Leave me alone,” I snapped. “You made me look like a jerk in class this morning.”
“That was just a test,” she said. “That was to show you who is boss.”
I didn’t reply. I pictured myself standing on my head while everyone laughed at me, including the teacher.
“That was a simple test, Jack,” Emmy said. “But tomorrow it’s time to prove what a good friend you are.”
“Huh? What do you mean?” I demanded.
“Tomorrow you’re going to sneak into the computer lab and steal that laptop,” she said.
I took a deep breath. “No way,” I said. “Tomorrow I’m not taking you to school. Tomorrow I’m going to leave you in my room.”
“Better not,” she whispered. “I can hurt your sister. I can hurt the babysitter. I can do very bad things if you leave me behind.”
Those words sent a chill down my back.
“And if I do it?” I said. “If I steal the laptop from school, will you go away and not come back?”
“If you find me a digital friend,” Emmy replied, “I’ll go away. I’ll leave you alone. I promise.”
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll steal the laptop.”
22
The next day, I kept the cell phone in my backpack and didn’t take it out. I didn’t hear a word from Emmy.
Miss Rush and some kids kept glancing back at me. I know they wondered if I would leap out of my chair and scream or stand on my head or do something else totally insane.
But the voice in the phone was silent. I crossed my fingers.
Please … please let her be gone. Gone somewhere far away.
Of course, that was too much to wish for.
The final bell rang at three o’clock. I packed up my backpack. Took my jacket from my locker. And started outside to get the school bus.
“Not so fast,” a voice said.
I jumped. I knew it was Emmy. Inside my backpack.
“Take out the phone, Jack,” she ordered. “I want to be closer to you. You know we have something to do.”
“The … the bus,” I stuttered.
“Afraid you’ll miss the bus today,” she said.
“But how will I get home?” I asked.
She didn’t answer.
“Take out the phone,” she said finally. “Turn around. Act normal. Smile at everyone.”
“Act normal? How can I act normal?” I cried. “If it was normal, I’d be climbing on the bus. Instead, you want me to be a thief. That’s normal to you?”
“Please be my friend, Jack,” she said. “Do this for me, and I’ll go away. I promised you.”
With a sigh, I pulled the silvery cell phone from my pack. I saw Mick and Darryl bump through a crowd of kids, heading to the bus.
At least I’ll escape THEM today, I thought.
“Find a place to hide,” she said. Her voice made the phone vibrate on my hand.
“Hide? What do you mean?” I asked. My heart started to pound. I couldn’t think straight.
“I mean find a place where you won’t be seen,” she snapped. “Do I have to explain everything to you?”
“Well …” I gazed around the crowded hall. Where could I hide?
“We have to wait for the school to clear out,” she said. “You don’t want to be caught.”
I hid in the back of the music room. I hunched on a stool behind a bass drum and listened to the kids leaving school. They were talking and laughing and joking.
Some kids were happy. I wasn’t in that group.
I heard a girl shout from the doorway. “Anyone in here? Mr. Brock?”
Mr. Brock is the band teacher. I held my breath till the girl went away.
I shook my head. “I think I’m going crazy,” I muttered. “Please tell me this is all some kind of weird joke.”
“It’s not a joke,” she said. “I know there are others like me. People who exist only in the digital world. I need to find them, Jack. I need a friend who is like me.”
“I’ll be your friend,” I said. “Really. Just don’t make me steal a computer from the school. If I get caught —”
“Is it getting quieter out there?” she asked.
I listened hard. A few voices out in the hall. Someone was singing a song. A locker slammed.
“It takes a long time for the school to empty out,” I said. “Maybe I can still catch the bus. Maybe —”
“We’ll wait,” she replied.
So I sat there, huddled behind the bass drum. I gripped the phone tightly in my sweaty hand. And thought about how much trouble I could be in.
Time passed slowly. I kept glancing up at the round clock high on the far wall. I could hear the tick of the second hand. Each tick made my heart beat a little faster.
Outside the window, the afternoon sun was lowering behind the trees.
Finally, the hall was silent. No voices. No footsteps.
I glanced at the clock. Four fifteen. I’d been hiding in the band room for over an hour.
I climbed to my feet and stretched. My back felt sore from sitting so stiffly.
I raised the phone to my face. “Are you still there?” I whispered. “Are we really doing this?”
“Yes, we are,” she replied, her voice tinny inside the phone. “I think I hear a signal. I think I may have a friend in there.”
“But —” I started to protest once again. “The kids are all gone,” I said, “but the teachers stay late. If a teacher sees me …”
“Don’t get caught,” she said.
23
I stepped into the hallway and glanced up and down. Someone had left a locker open. One white sneaker lay on the floor in front of the locker.
No one in the hall. The silence seemed so loud.
I took a step and then another. My whole body tingled with fear.
“I … I’ve never stolen anything in my life,” I whispered.
Emmy giggled. “That’s cute. Just hurry to the computer lab, okay? Let’s find that laptop and take it home, Jack. I have a good feeling about this.”
“I don’t,” I muttered.
But I crept down the hall, turned the corner, and stopped in front of the computer lab.
The red wooden door was closed. I pressed my face against the small window at the top and peered inside. The room was dark.
“What are you waiting for?” Emmy snapped. “Go inside.”
I turned the knob and pushed the door open.
The fading afternoon sunlight washed in through the row of windows to my left. I blinked, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the light.
In front of me stretched long tables with desktop and laptop computers. A tangle of cables and wires covered the tables.
The screens were dark. The computers were all shut off.
“Okay, here we are,” I whispered.
I heard a sound out in the hall. A soft thud. Footsteps?
My heart skipped a beat. “Which one? Hurry!” I said.
“I’m trying to decide,” Emmy replied. “I’m getting a definite vibe.”
“Please — hurry.”
“The laptop on the end,” Emmy said finally. “I’m getting a strong signal. Quick, Jack. Grab it. Unhook it. Let’s go.”
I stepped up to the table. My legs were shaking. I groaned. “I … can’t believe I’m doing this.”
I closed the screen against the keyboard. It made a soft click. I grabbed the power cord and tugged it loose.
There were two USB cords attached to the back. I grabbed them with a trembling hand and struggled to tug them off.
“Hurry,” Emmy urged from the phone.
I finally pulled the USB cables free. Then I lifted the laptop from the table. I raised it and tucked it under my arm.
My heart was pounding against my chest. I’m a thief, I thought. I’m stealing this from my school. I’m a criminal!
I turned — and saw Mr. Feingold, the computer lab teacher, standing in the doorway.
I uttered a startled cry.
He didn’t look happy. “Jack? What are you doing in here?” he demanded.
24
Mr. Feingold is big and wide and looks like a grizzly bear. His curly brown beard covers almost his whole face and meets the curly brown hair over his head.
He wears short-sleeved shirts and has hairy arms that look like they’re covered in bear fur. He has a big belly that bounces when he walks.
He looks a lot like he should be a wrestler on TV. But he’s a nice guy and a really good teacher. He knows everything about computers and the Internet. Everyone likes him.
But now I wished he was somewhere far away. Not squinting at me with that frown on his face. “Jack?”
My brain froze. My mouth dropped open. I still had the laptop tucked into my armpit.
Jack, think fast. Think of something!