Chapter 12
The haunted schoolboy
Jimmy continued to glance back over his shoulder as he walked home from the park. Just a few minutes ago, he had caught a glance of some sort of floating shape behind him, but as he turned around, a swish of wind made the shape disappear. He told himself it was just a trick of the dim light, but since then he had quickened his pace and watched behind him for any more strange apparitions. It hadn't been clear what the thing was, but if Jimmy knew anything about ghosts, and he did (thanks to his older brothers), it was that they were real and probably after him, even though he didn't know why. Jimmy breathed out a sigh of relief as he reach his well-lit street. His parents would be home, and he would be completely safe with other people around. Just then, a sound of ripping paper came from behind him. He spun around, but there was nothing in sight. Then he noticed a few small white pieces of paper on the ground which looked like bits of fringe from a paper notebook. They blew away in the breeze as he watched. Shaken, Jimmy ran to his house, rushing through the door and slamming it behind him. "Jimmy, you home?" his mother called from the kitchen. "Yeah, I'm back," Jimmy said breathing heavily. The rest of the evening was eerily normal, and between a delicious home-cooked dinner and watching The Incredibles, Jimmy just about forgot the strange events that had happened to him earlier. He fell asleep sometime around midnight, which is strange because normally that is the most haunting hour. However, at 3:13am, Jimmy awoke! Something had caused him to wake up, but he didn't know what. He was alert and jumpy, which was strange because he was normally sluggish and tired at this time of night. As he laid there contemplating these strange things, something scratched at the window! He nearly jumped out of his skin, which would have been very painful, and he grabbed a flashlight from the side of his bed and turned it on. His friend Ace didn't normally come around with his deliveries until 4:30am! He wondered if perhaps Ace was in trouble again and had to swing by early, but his doubts were erased when he saw the floating white shape outside his window. It had come for him! He frantically sorted through his options of either hiding under the covers or wetting the bed, but he didn't have time to properly do either, so he froze in place (a very sound tactic normally). The window slowly slid open, and the white shape drifted inside. Jimmy trembled as it slowly (excruciatingly slowly) floated towards him. He could make out some of its features now. It had three holes in its side, blue stripes across its body, and the worst part was, he recognized it. In his own handwriting, scrawled across the sinister sheet of notebook paper, were the words: Biology project due tomorrow! Jimmy screamed.
The End (of Jimmy).
