Here's a little snippet from my story.
Petra was the first one to class, as usual. She was nervous, but she didn’t know why. Sneaking into Professor’s truck wasn’t something to be afraid of, was it?
It was, actually. It was something that Collier would do.
Petra smiled at the thought.
She took a seat near the door, so she would have more time to get to the truck and return, if things didn’t go as planned.
A steady stream of students poured in. But when the bell rang, Collier still hadn’t showed up.
He’s probably late, just like always, Petra thought. She took out her Algebra II notebook and opened it up to the first empty page. She began to doodle, which surprised her, because she never doodled on schoolwork unless she was nervous.
Then she remembered that she was nervous.
Class began. Professor was back, as always.
“Good morning,” he began. “Let’s get our your homework from yesterday.”
The class looked around at each other.
“What’s the matter? Did anyone do it?”
A shy kid named Chris slowly raised his hand.
“You gave us the same assignment as you did the day before.”
Professor looked confused.
“You never changed it,” Chris clarified.
Professor looked at the board.
“I didn’t?”
The class shook their heads. Professor was obviously confused.
“Well, then. I guess we can go on to the next section.”
Petra robotically copied down notes, not letting the material sink into her mind. She would take about five minutes running to his truck, but she needed to do that before he left. That would mean she would have to leave the classroom at about…
Petra raised her hand.
“Yes, Petra? Do you know the answer to number three?”
“Um, no,” Petra said. She swallowed, then continued. “May I go to the restroom?”
“Sure, go ahead. Are you all right? You look a bit pale.”
Petra nodded and quickly escaped the room, hoping that Professor wouldn’t notice that she didn’t take the restroom pass.
Running as fast as she could without making a noise, she made her way across the hall, down the stairs, and out the door. She imagined herself looking like an injured ostrich.
Finally outside in the brisk morning breeze, she located Professor’s bright apple-red truck parked on the far side of the lot. She took a sprint for it.
When she reached it, she was already out of breath. Making sure no one was around, she quietly slipped up into the back of the truck and opened the lid of the extra compartment.
Her heart jumped and she pulled back, barely catching herself from screaming. Then she leaned in for another look.
It was a person, a boy… Petra wondered if she should tell someone. Was this boy… dead?
Then he stirred, erasing all of Petra’s thoughts. Relief washed over her, but was just as quickly replaced by a different type of fear.
The boy turned his head and looked up at Petra.
Collier.
Petra kneeled down and spoke in a rapid whisper.
“Collier, what are you doing here?”
“Just wanted to see where Professor goes every day. You?”
“Me too!”
“What? Since when have you been into spying on teachers?”
“Since yesterday. Now hurry up. He thinks I’m in the restroom.”
Collier’s eyes fixed on something behind Petra. He froze.
“Petra. Petra. Get in!”
“What is it?” Without waiting for an answer, Petra looked behind her. And then she saw what Collier was looking at—Professor was walking briskly to his truck.
“Get IN!”
Petra scrambled into the compartment, and Collier slammed the lid down.
“How did—“ she began to ask.
“Don’t say anything!” Collier whispered.
Petra followed her brother’s orders. She studied the box she was in. Only a pinprick of light leaked in through the top corner. Other than that, it was pitch black.
Her and Collier were squished up next to each other, but they could still fit. In fact, she was surprised how large it was.
Suddenly, the truck jerked backwards.
Petra grabbed Collier’s ankle with one hand and steadied herself with the other.
The tires made screeching noise as the truck went careening out of the parking lot.
Petra’s heart raced, and she could hear Collier breathing hard.
“Collier,” she whispered, but he didn’t answer.
The truck raced along the road, jerking to a stop when a red light came. It came upon a very long red light, and Petra was already getting restless. Sweat dripped down her hair, and her shirt stuck to her back.
“Petra?” Collier’s whisper cut through the dark. “Petra, I think we stopped.”
“No, really?”
“I mean I think we’re here.”
“But we haven’t heard Professor get out yet.”
As if on cue, the door opened. The truck bobbed up as Professor stepped off. Then the door slammed shut again.
“One, two, three…” Collier counted. Petra tried to calm herself. “Twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six…”
Petra took a deep breath.
“Thirty. Time to get out,” Collier said in a full voice. He pushed the lid up, and sunlight spilled in, burning Petra’s eyes.
