I Bought a Haunted School by Whittaker Sam

Author:Whittaker, Sam
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2024-10-22T00:00:00+00:00

15

Malfunction

The scream came from far away.

Ava’s head jerked up and shot to the door to her room. It stood open and looked on the hallway bathed in late afternoon sunlight. In a flash, her heart was racing.

That sounded like Mommy.

She jumped off her bed and trundled to the door. She stuck her head out and looked toward the stairs. Mommy was supposed to be setting up her studio on the second floor. She stepped out of her room, her hands coming up from her sides to pick nervously at one another. She glanced back to her bed where Floppy sat. His body was slightly hunched over to one side and his long ears drooped, one of which covered his face.

She thought about retrieving him as she didn’t want to go see what had caused Mommy to scream like that alone. But then she heard something behind her. She spun around to see Daddy coming her way from the cafeteria.

“Did you hear that, or did I imagine it?” he asked. His brow was dark and drawn down.

She nodded her head vigorously but said nothing. Daddy jogged forward but stopped when he reached his daughter. He gazed ahead at the stairs. His mouth worked like he was chewing on something.

At last, he said, “I better go see what the trouble is.”

He lurched forward but a little whine from Ava stopped him. He turned and saw the worry etched on her features.

“What?” he almost snapped.

She took an involuntary step back from him. He immediately realized what he’d done and knelt to look the girl in the face. “Sorry kiddo, I’m just a bit testy after that lady at the store… well, never mind. I shouldn’t have done that.”

She stood still, hugging herself, still looking wounded.

Daddy reached both hands out to her, beckoning for her to come and receive a hug. She hesitated for just a fraction of a moment, then burst forward, throwing herself at him. He made an oof noise as she collided with him and wrapped her arms around him.

He pretended to choke and in a faux-strained voice said, “Take it easy, kiddo, you’re gonna strangle me!”

She pulled back and smiled. “Silly Daddy.”

“Silly Ava,” he replied as he stood. He reached a hand down to her. She took it.

Before they set off to investigate what had caused the bloodcurdling scream they had heard, Daddy paused and adopted a thoughtful expression. “You sure you want to come with me, Ava? If Mommy’s really upset, then maybe it’s not such a hot idea for you to goof around in her studio.”

“I’m not going to goof!” Ava insisted.

“Okay,” Daddy said with heavy resignation. “Fair warning has been given.” He set off toward the stairs hand in hand with his daughter.

When they arrived at the second floor another scream pierced the air. Ava’s shoulders jumped and she reconsidered whether she should have come. She could stop now, turn around, and go back to her room… but she didn’t want to be alone on the first floor.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.