Beyond The School Locker (Now a real printed book!)

Chapter 1

The final bell rang through the halls of Oakland Grammar.

Usually, that sound meant freedom.

Students flooded out of classrooms, laughing and talking as they rushed towards the exits. Lockers slammed shut, teachers called after students, and the hallway was filled with the usual after-school chaos.

Anika zipped up her backpack and joined her friends by the classroom door.

"Finally!" one of them said. "I thought we'd be stuck here forever."

"Same," Anika laughed. "I'm starving."

They started walking towards the entrance together, chatting about homework, teachers, and what they were going to do after school.

Then one of her friends suddenly smirked. "So, Anika..."

Anika immediately narrowed her eyes. "Why are you saying it like that?"

"Where's Shritik?"

Anika groaned. "Oh my gosh. Not this again."

Her friends burst out laughing.

"What?" one of them said innocently. "We're just asking where your boy best friend is."

"He's probably already gone home."

"Wow," another friend said dramatically. "Not even saying goodbye to you?"

"He doesn't have to say goodbye to me every time he leaves!"

"Mhm. Sure."

Anika shook her head, trying not to laugh. "You guys are actually impossible."

"So you admit you care?"

"I admit that you all need hobbies."

They laughed again as they reached the school doors.

One of her friends turned around. "We're heading to the shops. You coming?"

"I can't," Anika said. "I've got to grab my geometry book from my locker."

"Your precious geometry book?"

"Unfortunately."

"Okayyy. See you tomorrow!"

"Bye!"

"Bye, Anika!"

She waved as they disappeared through the doors.

For a few seconds, she stood there watching them leave.

Then she turned around.

The hallway was almost completely empty.

The laughter and chatter had disappeared, replaced by the faint buzzing of the fluorescent lights overhead.

Anika adjusted her backpack.

"Okay. Locker. Book. Home."

She walked towards the older section of the school.

Locker 217.

It was a large blue locker, wedged between two others. Its paint was scratched and faded, and its lock had been stubborn ever since September.

But when Anika reached it, she stopped.

There was a crack running straight down the middle of the door.

She frowned.

"What the...?"

At first, she assumed someone had vandalised it. Maybe one of the older students had kicked it or slammed something against it.

But as she stepped closer, she realised it wasn't a normal dent.

The metal hadn't been bent.

It had fractured.

Tiny cracks branched away from the main one, spreading across the blue surface like brittle ice.

Anika stared.

"That definitely wasn't there this morning."

She glanced down the hallway.

Nobody.

She turned back towards the locker.

Curiosity got the better of her.

Slowly, she placed her hand against the door.

It was cold.

Then—

Thump.

Anika froze.

She felt it again.

Thump.

Her eyes widened.

The locker was pulsing underneath her fingers.

She immediately pulled her hand away.

"Nope."

She took a step backwards.

She should get a teacher.

She should call her friends.

She should probably call Shritik, too.

Instead, she reached for the locker handle.

With a sharp tug, the door flew open.

Anika stumbled backwards.

Her locker was gone.

In its place was a swirling vortex of brilliant purple and blue light.

Cold air rushed towards her face, carrying the faint smell of rain and crushed mint.

Anika's heart began pounding.

"What is that...?"

The hallway behind her slowly blurred.

The lockers faded.

The fluorescent lights stretched into strange streaks of white.

Even the sounds of the school disappeared.

Anika backed away.

"No. Absolutely not."

She turned towards the exit.

She could run.

She could find a teacher.

She could call her friends.

She could call Shritik.

But before she could do any of those things, the vortex pulsed.

Once.

Twice.

Then something inside it pulled.

Anika grabbed the edge of the locker beside her.

"Whoa!"

Her shoes scraped against the floor.

The pull became stronger.

"Wait—!"

Her fingers slipped.

Her backpack swung over her shoulder as she was dragged forward.

And before fear could tell her to run, Anika lost her balance and was yanked head-first into the glowing purple and blue abyss.