روح همسایه فصل 11

The Ghost Next Door - Chapter 11

Hannah landed hard on the sidewalk on her elbows and knees. The fall took her breath away.

A burning pain shot through her body.

What happened?

What hit me?

Gasping for breath, she raised her head in time to see Mr. Harder barrel past her. He was shouting at the top of his lungs for the boys to stop.

Hannah slowly pulled herself to her feet. Whoa! she thought. Harder is really mad!

Standing up straight, her bare knees throbbing with pain, her heart still thudding loudly, she glared after the store owner.

He could have at least said he was sorry he knocked me down, she thought angrily.

She leaned over to examine her knees in the light from the ice-cream parlor. Were they cut?

No. Just a little bruised.

Brushing off her shorts, she glanced up to see Mr. Harder hurrying back to the store. He was a short, fat man with curls of white hair around his round, pink face. He wore a long white apron that flapped in the wind as he walked, his fists swinging at his sides.

Hannah ducked back out of the light, behind a wide tree trunk.

A few seconds later, she could hear him back behind the counter, complaining loudly to his wife. “What is wrong with these kids?” he was bellowing. “They take ice-cream and run without paying? Don’t they have parents? Don’t they have anyone to teach them right from wrong?” Mrs. Harder murmured something to soothe her husband. Hannah couldn’t hear the words.

With Mr. Harder’s angry shouts filling the air, she crept out from behind the tree and hurried away, in the direction the boys had run.

Why did Danny and his friends pull such a stupid stunt? she wondered. What if they had been caught? Was it really worth being arrested, getting a police record just for an ice-cream cone?

Halfway down the block, she could still hear Mr. Harder bellowing with rage from inside his small shop. Hannah started to run, eager to get away from his angry voice. Her left knee ached.

The air suddenly felt stifling hot, heavy and damp. Strands of hair were matted against her forehead from sweat.

She pictured Danny running from the store, holding the ice-cream cone in one hand. She pictured the frightened expression on his face as he fled. She pictured Alan and Fred right behind him, their sneakers thudding against the pavement as they made their getaway.

And now she was running, too. She wasn’t sure why.

Her left knee still ached from her fall. She was out of the town square now, running past dark houses and lawns.

She turned a corner, the streetlamp casting a cone of white light around her. More houses. A few porchlights lit. No one on the street.

Such a boring little town, she thought again.

She stopped short when she saw the three boys. They were halfway up the block, huddled behind a tall, wall-like hedge.

“Hey—you guys!” Her voice came out a whisper.

Running in the street, she made her way toward them quickly. As she came closer, she could see them laughing together, enjoying their ice-cream cones.

They hadn’t seen her. Hannah made her way into the deep shadows on the other side of the street. Keeping in the dark, she crept closer, until she was in the yard across the street from them, hidden by a bushy evergreen shrub.

Fred and Alan were shoving each other playfully, enjoying their triumph over the store owner. Danny stood by himself, behind them against the tall hedge, silently licking his cone.

“Harder’s was having a special tonight,” Alan declared loudly. “Free ice-cream!”

Fred hee-hawed and slapped Alan hard on the back.

Both boys turned to Danny. The light from the streetlamp made their faces look pale and green. “You looked real scared,” Alan told Danny. “I thought you were going to puke your guts out.” “Hey, no way,” Danny insisted. “I was the first one out of there, you know. You guys were so slow, I thought I’d have to come back and rescue you.” “Yeah. For sure,” Fred replied sarcastically.

Danny’s acting tough, Hannah realized. He’s trying to be like them.

“That was kind of exciting,” Danny said, tossing the remainder of his cone into the hedge. “But maybe we’d better be careful. You know. Not hang around there for a while.” “Hey, it’s not like we robbed a bank or something,” Alan said. “It was just ice-cream.” Fred said something to Alan that Hannah couldn’t hear, and the two boys started wrestling around, uttering high-pitched giggles.

“Hey, guys—not so loud,” Danny warned. “I mean—”

“Let’s go back to Harder’s,” Alan suggested. “I wanted two scoops!”

Fred hee-hawed and slapped Alan a high-five. Danny joined in the laughter.

“Hey, guys—we should get going,” Danny said.

Before his friends could reply, the street filled with light.

Hannah turned to see two bright white lights looming toward them.

Car headlights.

The police, Hannah thought.

They’re caught. All three of them are caught.