Free Switched by R.L. Stine Page A

back of the school. I had a good view of the two officers. They were shaking their heads, frowning as they talked.
    Giving up.
    They thought I’d show up for school and they’d grab me, I decided. But now they’re giving up in disappointment.
    I was right. I watched them step away from the back doors. They disappeared around toward the front, probably joining the other two officers.
    I waited a few seconds, making sure they weren’t returning. Then I made a wild dash to the building.
    I had a plan. A plan to see Margie.
    I pulled open the back door and ducked inside. It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the dim light of the corridor. The hall was empty. Everyone had gone into their homerooms.
    The second bell rang as I crept to the gym, just around the corner to the right. I pushed open the door and hurried inside.
    No one there. The gym already felt like an oven, first thing in the morning. Glancing up at the bleachers, I saw that one end of a GO, TIGERS banner had come loose. The banner tilted over the top seats.
    My sneakers squeaked over the polished floor as I trotted to the girls’ locker room. Margie had gym fourth period. Same as me.
    My plan was to hide in the locker room until then.
    Then I would pull Margie aside and confront her, force her to tell me where Lucy was.
    I pulled open the locker room door and stepped inside. The room felt cooler than the gym. I heard the plink plink of water dripping in the shower room.
    Where to hide?
    I hurried past the rows of wooden benches and dark lockers. Someone had left a black hightop sneaker on the floor, and I stumbled over it.
    At the back wall stood a small equipment closet. The door was half open. I pulled it open all the way and peered inside.
    Empty. Glancing down, I thought I saw a dead mouse curled up on the closet floor. But as I squinted at it, I realized it was a clump of dust.
    I heard voices. Behind me at the locker room door. Moving quickly, I slipped into the empty closet and pulled the door almost closed.
    I backed into the darkness until I pressed up against the closet wall. The air smelled stale and sour. I’d left the door open a crack. Now I heard more voices, girls’ voices that I recognized, the shuffle of feet, the clatter of gym lockers being opened. They were getting changed for first-period gym.
    This is going to be a long wait, I told myself with a silent sigh. But it will be worth it if I can find Margie and force her to tell me about Lucy.
    I carefully lowered myself to a sitting position on the closet floor. My hand fell over the clump of dust. I brushed it away.
    I knew that no one would open the closet door and discover me. There was no reason for anyone to go into this closet.
    Locker doors slammed. The room became quieter as girls headed out to the gym. I could hear the thump of basketballs. I heard Miss Hawkins’ whistle blow.
    Leaning back against the closet wall, I shut my eyes and let myself be swallowed up by the darkness. It was already starting to get hot and sticky inside the closet. But I didn’t dare step out. There were always girls coming in and out of the locker room once the day started.
    I can make it till fourth period, I assured myself.
    I decided the wait would give me some quiet time to think. To think about Lucy and why she murdered the three people she cared about most. To try to figure out why she hated me so much, why she left me to take the blame.
    The hours passed. Girls changed and played basketball, then changed again to go to their next class.
    But I didn’t think of any answers. It was as if the answers hovered just beyond my reach, just beyond a thick wall of fog. And no matter how I struggled, I couldn’t clear away the fog.
    When the fourth-period bell finally rang, I shook away my confused thoughts and climbed to my feet. Alert to every sound, I listened to the girls’ voices as they piled into the locker room, voices I knew so well.
    I could hear