Watching And Waiting

• Maria Novicic, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2007

Alex jumped for joy at the end of his science lesson when he heard the bell he wouldn’t hear for the next two months. It was holiday time! He packed up his things and ran for the door. The hallway was really crowded with people and he hardly got outside to find Lachlan, his best friend.
‘Ready for the junkyard?’ asked Lachlan. (The junkyard had been their meeting place ever since they were in kindergarten at the start of every holiday)
‘Ready as ever!’ said Alex excitedly. He had been looking forward to this all term. Now was the chance for him and his best friend to explore what other people called junk but what they called treasure.
‘Race you!’ yelled Lachlan, already sprinting towards the gate.

Alex won the race and he was panting so much that he couldn’t tell Lachlan about the amazing stuff that the garbage truck had just brought in so he started exploring. There was an old bike, an old looking game of checkers, a very smelly pair of sneakers but wait… in one corner there was an old wooden cubby house. The paint was pealing and the metal roof was rusted. It had obviously been used as a play house by kids a long time ago. A thousand thoughts went through Alex’s mind at one… Who would be crazy enough to throw this out? How was the garbage truck able to bring this cubby house here? Was it the garbage truck that brought it here? ‘What if it was haunted? His thoughts were interrupted by Lachlan.
‘Wow, look at this. It’s great!’ exclaimed Lachlan. His voice sounded extremely excited.
‘Yeah!’ said Alex, though he didn’t agree. He was a bit frightened but he didn’t want to tell Lachlan because he thought his best friend would think he was a wimp. ‘Well come on,’ said Lachlan, who was already opening the door. Alex followed him cautiously into the cubby house. There were heaps of spider webs and lots of dust but under all of that there were teddy bears, heaps of teddy bears. They were everywhere!

Alex thought he felt the wind change. His father had told him to always leave a scary place whenever the wind changed. He tried to ignore the thought but it kept coming back to him.
‘Hey look at this,’ whispered Lachlan. Alex looked at what he was holding. It was a bracelet with a small teddy bear on it.
‘I don’t think we should be in here and I don’t think you should have touched that, Lachlan.’ Whispered Alex, who was now so freighted that he could scream. Suddenly they heard voices of children playing. It started but they got louder and louder until… ‘Give it back,’ screamed a girl’s voice, ‘or else!’
Alex didn’t think twice. He grabbed Lachlan, who was screaming, and dragged him out of the haunted cubby house. They never returned to the junkyard again because they knew there would always be something watching and waiting for them.