2022 Spooky Story Finalist

Juelle'Rain N. (7th)

Juelle'Rain N. (7th)

Thank you to Palo Alto Partners in Education (PiE) and the Palo Alto City Library for the grant enabling the Fletcher Middle School Library to purchase our Short Story Dispenser!

 
I wait outside, frequently checking my phone. I can't be late, my mom would kill me. Tapping my foot against the concrete, a car pulls up, must be my Uber... Finally, I think. I rush towards the car and knock on the passenger window. It rolls down to eye level,
"Are you my driver?" I ask the man in the car. He slowly nods. I open the back car door and slide in.
Quickly snapping on my seatbelt, I tell the driver, "I have to get home quickly, please start driving." He nods once more and the car starts.
5 minutes pass and I observe that the driver isn't as chatty, but it doesn't bother me too much. My phone vibrates, it's a text message. I unlock my phone to check it. My heart drops. Hey. It's your Uber, I'm outside! My breathing starts to speed up. I glance at the rearview mirror, trying to look at the man's face, but I can't get a good glimpse at him. I look outside the window at a street I don't recognize. I check the directions on his phone. It says 2 minutes until the destination. This isn't where I live.
"Um.. Excuse me... I think you made a wrong turn somewhere... I don't live around here..." I hesitate. He doesn't answer, until a chuckle leaves his mouth and I start panicking. He pulls up to an abandoned house, a very small one in fact. He gets out of the car and opens my door.
"Please take me home..."
"You are home."

 
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