TODAY, OUR BRILLIANT TEAM MEMBER, AUTHOR LORRAINE CAREY, IS SHARING CHAPTER 4 FROM HER NOVEL, CO-WRITTEN WITH ANOTHER AMAZING AUTHOR, BECKY ROBBINS #RWRTeamBlog #ReadWriteRepeat
- 7 hours ago
- 8 min read
Chapter 4
The boys do some snooping at the new teacher’s house
Ms. Pickle noticed that Mr. Parkin’s desk contained many framed family photos.
“I see you have a big family,” she said.
“Yes, I do, but I wish I had more time to spend with them. It’s more than a full-time job being a principal,” he confessed while staring at one of the more recent family pictures.
“Well, summer will be here in a few months, and you’ll have more time to spend with them.” Ms. Pickle straightened her dress to sit down.
“So, enough about me, tell me about your first day.” He leaned over the large oak desk anxious to hear what she had to say.
“It was good, I mean, nothing out of the ordinary. As we all know, there will always be one or two that will try to test our patience.”
Mr. Parkins nodded. “How well I know. But let me remind you, I’m here should you need anything. I know how hard it is to be a substitute. Now, do you have any questions for me?”
Ms. Pickle couldn’t think of anything to ask. All she really wanted to do was to get home to take care of her cats and other critters, besides feeling bushed after not working a full day in five years.
*****
Sean waited in the small pavilion at the back of the park as Julio and Michael rode up on their bikes. “We’ve got to make this quick, dudes,” he said tapping his foot on the ground.
The boys sat at the weather-beaten green picnic table waiting to hear Sean’s plan. Julio had pulled out a brownie from his backpack. “Sorry, I rushed through lunch and didn’t have time for my dessert.”
“You and your sweets!” Sean taunted. “Now listen up, guys, here’s what I have in mind for later this afternoon.
“We go home, grab our gear, and tell our parents we’re going to the sports park to practice our swings,” Sean suggested. “Bring a flashlight and meet me here in an hour, then we’ll ride together to her cottage. We need to scope her out.”
“Don’t you think she’ll be home? I mean, she’ll— ” Michael asked.
“She’ll probably still be at school or looking for flies,” Julio laughed.
“Maybe she is a fly. There’s an old movie about a man who turns into a fly,” Sean joked.
“That reminds me,” Michael said. “She’s got a small tattoo of a toad on her right ankle. I saw it during journal time, and it had a peace sign around its neck. Maybe she really is one of those old hippies, like Zoey said.”
“And I saw a peace sign hung around her neck when she bent over to tell me to stop playing a video game this afternoon,” Julio added. “Weird, but guys, I need to go. Dinner’s calling.” He crumpled up his wrapper after finishing his brownie.
Sean turned to Julio. “OMG. Dinner is more important than dissing Pickle?”
Julio hung his head. “Guess not.”
The boys all did fist bumps and sped away on their bikes excited for a bit of sleuthing.
*****
Ms. Pickle was glad to be home. Her precious cats vied for her attention as they brushed up against her legs and purred. “So, you missed me, I see. I missed you, too.”
Her daughter called soon after she arrived home to see how her mother’s first day had gone. She reported that all was well, not wanting to worry her. She wanted Samantha to focus on her studies at college.
Ms. Pickle set about her usual routine of heating up the cats’ dinners and then letting the toads out of the bedroom to run free. She set out the tray of leftover cupcakes flavored with flies, watching them devour every morsel.
After closing the blinds, she went about lighting all the candles on her fireplace mantle, tables, and shelves. Guess I’d forgotten how much those kids can zap the energy out of you.
She headed to her bedroom to change into some comfy clothes before taking a walk down to the swamp once the sun had set.
When heading out the door to fetch her cooking cauldron from the back shed, Lily had snuck out and had gone to her special hiding place under the porch unobserved by Ms. Pickle.
She returned, ready to make herself some of her favorite stew. Her stomach was rumbling, but then it hit her. She was fresh out of crickets. Looking at her cupboards, she remembered there was a can of shrimp gumbo soup in there she’d purchased when she had a cold last year and was too sick to make her homemade stew. I guess that’ll have to do until I can catch a new batch, but it won’t taste the same without the crickets.
Michael and Julio followed Sean, who seemed to know exactly where he was headed, on the dirt path. They rode along the bumpy trail that was framed by a canopy of large oaks that provided shade. The wind picked up and the moss swayed in the trees, causing a few remnants to land on their bikes.
Sean stopped by a patch of thick brush, signaling for the others to stop. He suggested they leave their bikes there. It was a good hiding spot. “We’re close, but we need to be cool.” he directed.
The boys moved forward as the vegetation thickened. The smell of the rotting earth rose up to greet them.
“Yuck! Rotten eggs!” Julio plugged his nose.
“That’s the swamp. My dad says it has to do with plants not being able to breathe or something weird like that. Just keep moving,” Sean said as he quickened his step. “Stop being a bunch of sissies.”
“Aren’t there gators around here?” Michael asked.
“Just watch for their eyes when you shine your flashlight,” Sean instructed.
They could see a small white cottage in the distance. “We’re not far, guys!” Sean yelled.
The cottage looked well-kept except for the tin roof which was rusted and covered in Spanish moss. The blinds were drawn, and it appeared no one was home. No green Buick was in sight either.
“Let’s stay together and walk around,” Sean suggested.
They noticed one blind on the side of the cottage was pulled halfway up. They all moved together closer to the window and crouched down. Michael volunteered to take a peek.
“No. Freaking. Way,” he whispered, then knelt back down with Sean and Julio.
“What? What did you see?” Sean asked.
“You won’t believe it! There’s a mass of toads hopping all over the place and flies—lots of ‘em!”
“Snap a pic, bro!” Sean insisted.
“No way.” Michael put his phone back in his pocket. “It’s too freaky for me.”
“Let’s check this place out. There’s no sign of Ms. Pickle.” Sean crawled away from the window before standing up.
The boys walked toward the front porch. An old wooden swing held three large dolls.
“What the heck?” Julio asked.
“Not sure. Crouch down, and we’ll go see,” Sean instructed.
The boys climbed the creaky wooden steps. When they reached the top, they came face to face with three lifelike burlap dolls. Their hair made with yarn had been styled to match the hair of the three boys staring directly at them.
“Look, that one has short black curly hair like mine!” Michael cried.
“And that one has dark brown hair like mine.” Julio pointed to the doll in the middle.
Sean froze when he noticed the doll on the end with blond hair styled in a spiky mohawk. “He’s got my style, too!”
All three froze as they gaped at the dolls with black button eyes.
“This is too creepy! I think we—” Sean jumped as he felt something brush his leg. A black cat hissed at him.
“Let’s get outta here!” Michael shouted.
“Not until I take a pic of these creepy dolls,” Sean said, taking his phone out. “This is our evidence!”
The boys ran down the porch and headed on the path toward the swamp. “It’s only a short distance. Keep moving,” Sean ordered.
“Why aren’t we going to find our bikes?” Julio asked, a bit breathless as he tried to keep up.
“Cuz, we need to check something out,” Sean said. “I have a hunch.”
The sour stench was so strong as they reached the swamp that the boys had to place their hands over their noses.
They used their hands to blaze through the large cattails and thick brush. “It’s Spring guys. Keep your eyes open, it’s bound to be loaded with critters,” Sean said.
Black snakes were coiled tightly around the large cypress trees and scores of toads crawled on the rocks and logs along the bank. A bull gator was bellowing loudly but the boys couldn’t see any sign of him.
Michael turned to Sean. “Well, is this your hunch?”
“Who would live in such a creepy place packed with snakes, toads, and whatever else lives in there?” Sean asked, pulling his shirt up over his nose.
“Now we know why Pickle wasn’t afraid of that snake—she loves them!” Julio ranted. “And toads, too. She’s gotta be some kind of witch or worse.”
“What could be worse?” Michael asked, raising his arms in the air.
It was nearing six o’clock, and the boys knew they had to get home. They ran back to their bikes getting ready to pass by the creepy cottage when Sean yelled to stop. “We need to go back to take another picture of those dolls.”
“What are we doing? We need to get home,” Michael said.
“Yeah, I’m hungry, it’s my dinner time,” Julio added as he rubbed his stomach.
The boys walked back onto the porch not realizing Ms. Pickle was watching them from the front window. And they thought I was out. I knew that’s why my wallet was misplaced in my purse. One of those little spies must have looked at my license. Guess they didn’t see the car parked in the far back behind the shed. The first time I let them slide, this time I’m going to creep them out.
She recited a little spell that would hopefully keep the boys away for good: “Snakes, rats, and bats Come here to me Let's give these brats Something to see.”
Sean had looked up to see large black spiders in the Spanish moss that hung from the roof of the porch ceiling. He poked Julio and pointed to the spiders wanting him to notice them as well. The spiders were now crawling onto the dolls’ faces. Not wanting to make a sound, Julio covered his mouth and nudged Michael who also watched in awe.
The same black snakes they saw at the swamp had suddenly appeared on the porch railings.
Sean pointed to the path with his finger as a gesture for all of them to run, but they were paralyzed. All they could do was manage to speak and watch another horror unfold when a pack of rats emerged from under the porch and began climbing up the steps toward them.
The boys tried desperately to shake themselves out of their paralyzed state with no success.
“This is one sick nightmare!” Julio shouted.
Ms. Pickle, watching this little caper unfold, finally realized they had enough, and she had released the spell. She giggled as she watched all three of them run like the wind off toward their bikes as a swarm of bats chased behind them.
She sat on the floor as her cats crawled onto her lap trying to comfort their mama. “Those little bullies! They’ve crossed the line now, thinking they could spy on me and my babies. I’m sure they’ve learned their lesson now. I can’t risk them telling on me, and there’s no way I’m going to Salem and get locked up in that old witch’s jail,” she laughed. “I’m smarter than that.”
*****
Sean yelled for them to speed up, so they could talk at the park for a few minutes before they each headed home.
Sitting on their bikes, they all looked at each other and came to the same conclusion—Pickle and her entire cottage were way beyond creepy and possibly haunted.
“What just happened back there?” Michael asked as he shook his head. “I mean it was like some crazy fun house in an arcade! And all those snakes and rats!”
“The worst part was not being able to move! This goes way beyond normal—like ‘off the chain,’” Sean said. “It’s our duty now to bug her so much she’ll be forced to quit. She’s using some powerful magic, and who knows what she’ll do next? We can’t risk it.”
“And we can’t even tell our parents cuz we’d get in trouble for snooping,” Michael added.
“Let’s get home. I’ll text later, guys,” Sean advised, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. “Maybe tomorrow will be her last day.”
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