Her hand trembled and shook as it neared the handle of the door. A slight whimper escaped her lips. She was forced to come here, but she couldn't back out now. Not ever. Slowly and hesitatingly her hand inched further and further until she felt the cold metal on her fingertips. She told herself once more that running away is out of the question. Too much is at stake... But is it worth risking her life?
Her face was one of fear, sweat started to glisten on her forehead, what was she doing? Why did she agree to this madness? Her breath ran ragged. She paused to slow her beating heart. And firmly turned the handle, hoping and hoping that it was locked and that she would have an excuse to stop. But oh! It opened easily. A little too easily. Shouldn't a door on a house that had been abandoned for years be rusty and difficult to open? Now she was really starting to feel nauseous. What if squatters lived in here... Or what if the tales of it being haunted were true? What if the other kids out front watching her would be the last people to ever see her? What would her parents do? Would many people come to her funeral? Would anyone notice, or care?
She pushed the door open. She should just run. Stakes be damned! Her life was more important than some silly bet... Wasn't it? Was her life more important than the ridicule and embarrassment she would face forever if she didn't stay for 10 minutes inside the old, abandoned house by herself? She imagined all the 6th graders at school calling her names for the rest of her life... No! Never! And with firm resolve she pushed the door open. She hoped that the others would see how resolutely she stepped through the threshold, forever in awe of her bravery and courage. She closed the door after her with a little less decisiveness, locking her in by herself. All her fears came rushing back to her head now she had come so far. And her senses came to life and on full alert. She quickly told herself that she would run the second she heard a noise. It was only for 10 minutes. She could do it... Right? Maybe the sqauters were asleep, or out. Maybe the ghost who haunted the house didn't awake until she touched something... She wouldn't touch a thing! Hands in pockets!, she told herself.
Second by second time crawled by. She watched the hands on her watch, counting every tick... tick... It all seemed so slow. Five minutes finally passed after what seemed like an age. She was still in the same spot, not daring to breath any louder than nessecary. She hadn't taken her eyes off her watch, although she had been listening to her surroundings the entire time. Not a peep she heard. She made herself feel better by imagining the looks on the other kids faces when she came out. And how everyone will talk of her at school. No 6th grader had ever done something like this before. The youngest had only been in year 8. And she's a girl. Making it seem even more impossible to all the boys. If she were honest to herself, she'd admit that this was the biggest reason she agreed to this. To prove that girls are just as good as boys, sometimes even better!
Suddenly, the floor above her creaked menicingly. Her heart gave a few little jumps. And she turned towards the door, fully intending to make a run for it, she's been in here for 5 minutes, that should be good enough. But she stopped. If whatever it is lives upstairs, then it must make it's way down here before i have to worry about anything, she quickly thought in her head. I should at least wait until it's at the stairs. So she stood next to the door, with her hand on the handle, ready to bolt when needed. Only 4 minutes more to go...
So there she stood. Waiting... Waiting... Until another minute passed. And still the floor did not creak again. Good thing i didn't run, she praised herself. This is a peice of cake. It's just an abandoned house after all. The door handle must have been well oiled...
And a small meow called from near her feet. She gave a small scream, completley taken by surprise. She looked down to find a small, grey kitten had approached her, perhaps in the hope of being given food for looking cute. All her fears faded into nothing, now that she had found such a treasure. She gently picked up the soft, furry bundle and cradled it within her arms. Surely with such a companion the next 2 minutes should breeze by easily. The little creature purred her deep pleasure. The girl smiled at her, her heart warming up at the sight of this tiny little thing. She wondered of her mother would let her keep it? They didn't adopt any pets after the death of their faithful retreiver, Godfrey. Maybe a cat would be good to fill the house with joy? And she spent the last minutes thinking of a name for her new friend.
When the time was up, the girl opened the door without any problems. Closed it with the same care-free attitude and walked down the path calmly and casually. The kids seems relieved that she was still alive, and completely in wonder that she was smiling! She should be running and screaming. With tears streaming down her face! She smiled at them breifly before walking away without a parting word or looking back, a small bump within her jumper. The kids ran off to tell absolutely everyone they knew about everything that happened. And the girl walked home, the latest addition to her family snuggled close to her heart.
