Will You Be My Friend? by P.J. Night Read Free Book Online Page B

it.
    BRRIIIIIIIIINGG!!
    Beth’s phone rang suddenly, startling her. She let out a short shriek, then fished around in her backpack and pulled out her phone. The caller ID read MOM .
    Beth answered the call. She was grateful that it was quiet on this street so that her mom wouldn’t suspect she wasn’t at home.
    â€œHi, Mom. How’s it going there?” she said as cheerily as she could.
    â€œGreat. Work is done and I’m about to start my meeting,” said Mom. “How are things at home?”
    â€œFine. I had my breakfast, and I’m just starting to continue reading about the history of the Cherokee Nation.”
    At that moment a big truck rumbled down the street right past Beth.
    â€œWhat’s that noise?” Mom asked.
    â€œOh, a truck just went by,” Beth replied. “I have the window open.”
    â€œWell, don’t leave the window open all day,” her mom warned. “I heard that it might rain later.”
    â€œOkay, Mom,” said Beth, trying to rush off the phone. “Don’t worry about me. Go have a nice meeting!”
    â€œOkay, I’ll check in with you later. Don’t forget to eat lunch.”
    â€œMom, when have I ever forgotten to eat lunch?” Beth replied. “Good-bye!”
    Beth’s mom said good-bye.
    Beth hung up and breathed a sigh of relief.
    She was about to slip her phone back into her pack when she paused and stared at the screen for a moment, remembering that her phone had GPS built right into it. She’d never used it before, but certainly she could figure it out.
    She quickly scanned through all the apps on her phone and found the GPS program. She launched it and typed in Glenside Middle School . A few seconds later street-by-street directions appeared on her screen. Everything seemed so much clearer than the directions she had copied earlier that morning.
    â€œI’m actually only a few blocks away, after all,” she said, sounding surprised that her sense of direction had served her fairly well. With the GPS to guide her, Beth walked briskly now, moving with confidence. She would at least make it to Glenside. What happened after that was anyone’s guess. Following the turns shown on her GPS, she moved closer to her destination.
    And yet, she still could not shake the feeling that she was being followed.
    Am I just paranoid because I’m nervous about slipping into a school where I don’t belong? Beth wondered.
    A few minutes later Beth made a right turn and Glenside Middle School appeared, just a few blocks ahead. Glenside was one of the older schools in the area. Its sturdy-looking redbrick walls gave it a classic feel, like a school Beth’s mom might have attended once upon a time.
    Trying to appear as casual as possible, Beth strode toward the school. The closer she got the harder her heart pounded. She could feel herself start to sweat.
    She pictured what this place must look like on a typical school day with buses pulling up and kids pouring out onto the grounds. She wondered if it might have been easier to sneak into the building on a day when hundreds of kids were going in.
    Not that she had any choice. This was a rare occasion when her mom was gone all day. She had to get this done today. She might never get another chance.
    As she approached the school parking lot, she noticed that about a dozen cars were parked there. All those cars must mean that there are some people at the school today, otherwise the lot would be empty. This is promising.
    Her spirits lifted a bit. If people were in the school working today, then at least one of the doors would be open. Step one had always been getting inside the school. Beth would figure out what came next once she was inside.
    She was almost there. The front door grew larger with each step.
    I’m gonna make it, Beth thought, a surge of excitement pulsing through her veins.
    And that is when she spotted a uniformed security guard running