Forlot: Welcome to the Dummy House - Book Forty-One

Chapter Twelve

As soon as she said that, we heard knocking. Knocking on wood. I froze for a few seconds as my breath caught in my throat. Thank gosh that I did not jump out of my shoes. That would have been embarrassing for my new friends. Owen and Anita acted tough. I did not want to let them down.

I turned around, and our eyes locked on the doorway. I squinted at the student standing in said doorway, but I could not make out who. This person was tall and thin. Not tall enough to be an adult, so I was right. It needed to be a student. That was all that I could get. The other features were covered by blackness. Maybe if he or she stepped into the gym, into the light, we could view him or her.

Owen pointed to the figure. His eyes were so wide that I thought that they would pop out. He asked, "What in the world is that? Who the heck is that?"

"I do not know," I replied. "But it looks like a kid."

He lowered his arm and grabbed my shoulders. "Oh, it is not a kid, Janice. It...it is a phantom!"

I glanced at him. "I thought that you did not know."

"I never said that I do not know. I just questioned who it was. I wanted to see if you did."

"Why would I know anyone but my sister? I am new to this school."

"Oh, right." He removed his hands and patted my back and smiled nervously. "Then you must know about the phantom. The phantom who haunts the hallways while kidnapping students."

I turned around so my body was facing him. I assumed that he was courageous like Anita, but I was wrong. He was the opposite. He was a scaredy-cat and believed in ghosts. He was old enough to realize that ghosts do not exist. Never have. Never will. It was just a person...who was in the doorway for some reason. He or she was not moving or talking. It was as if the person were a statue. But it did not mean that he or she was a phantom.

I was going to tell him that there was no such things as ghosts, but Owen dropped to his belly and slid under a table. I never thought that the gym floor was that slick, but he proved me wrong. He continued sliding until he vanished under the table.

Anita's back was facing the figure too. She was looking at said table and slowly shook her head. I could tell by her expression that she was disappointed in her friend. I was too. He was acting like a toddler. Olive is a baby, but even she does not act this way. She is a brave baby. You should see how she defeats monsters.

One time, my family and I were watching a movie that displayed lots of monsters. What was cooler than those monsters and the movie was Olive's bravery. Olive was on the floor and playing with her toys. Each time that a monster came on the screen, she would throw her toys. All but one missed the television.

Mom and Dad were not mad at Olive. They understood why she was doing it. Mom picked her up and said that those monsters were not real and that they could never harm us. I guess that she was too young to understand because Olive raised her stuffed dog over her head and threw it at the television. It did not come close.

Olive is so cute! And funny!

Anita crossed her arms and blew her hair stands away from her eyes. "Goodness," she spoke. "Cannot believe you right now."

Owen poked his head out. "You talking to me?"

"Janice and I are not the ones underneath the table, so I must be talking to you."

"Hey. I would rather be safe than be captured by him."

"You mean by the phantom?"

"Yes." He turned his head. "Speaking of which, he is no longer in the doorway."

Before Anita and I could look, I was grabbed.

Grabbed by a puppet.