The Mysterious Book

• Eloise Edman, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2017

Every day after school, Amy would always walk the same way to get home, except before she turned onto her street, she would always turn onto Duncan Street so that she could go to Mr Duncan's Library. As she shuffled her colourful shoes on the scruffy doormat, she slowly opened the big wooden squeaky door. When she stepped inside, she saw Mr Duncan reading at his desk so she decided to go and look for a book herself. While she was quietly tip-toeing off she accidentally stepped on one squeaky wooden plank, she paused, and slowly looked back in Mr Duncan's direction who was still reading at his desk. Amy then quickly tip-toed off but before she could make it to any of the books, Mr Duncan then suddenly looked up at Amy and said, "Good Afternoon Amy.” As she turned around, she wrapped her hands behind her back swinging herself side to side. "Good afternoon Mr Duncan," she replied in a confident voice.
Would you like me to help you find an interesting book?"
"Yes please Mr Duncan, that would be very helpful."
"Alrighty then Amy, you go find a book for yourself and call me when you have found one, I just need to do something first."
"OK, I will see what I can find."
Amy then quietly walked down the aisle looking up and down at all of the books on the shelf. But then something suddenly caught her eye. She only just managed to reach it and then carefully brought it down. She called out to Mr Duncan and he came walking over, looked at Amy and said, "Yes?"
"I found this book up on the shelf, what do you think?"
"Ummm... " he replied. "What?" questioned Amy. "This book is very dangerous.” "Why though?" Mr Duncan sighed, "This book is dangerous because ... Because..." he sighed again. "It's dangerous because if you don't stop reading this book by 7:30pm tonight, you will officially get sucked in, and I mean sucked inside of this book. " Amy was shocked, "But HOW?" she said with her mouth and eyes wide open. "SSSShhhh!!" said Mr Duncan to Amy. "Sorry," Amy said in a whispering voice. "Anyway it doesn't matter how, you just have to promise me to not read this book after 7.30pm OK,” "OK," promised Amy. "Or don't take it." "No, no, no, I will take it, I promise that I will not read it after 7.30pm, I PROMISE!!”
"SSSSHHHHH!!!" Mr Duncan said for the final time. "Sorry," said Amy. "All right off you go," said Mr Duncan as Amy went home read her new book.
When she eventually got home, she walked in the front door, dropped her backpack and went to run to her bedroom, but stopping her was her black and white Border Collie Bailey standing there viciously barking at her. As she tried to calm Bailey down, Amy's mum came racing in and held Bailey back from Amy. "Amy what's up, why is Bailey barking at you?"
"Dunno," replied Amy as she raced up to her room. She quickly opened the book and then Bailey jumped up onto her bed next to her and lay down. Amy slowly stroked his head as she started reading. After reading two chapters of this mysterious book Amy's Mum then came into her room announcing that dinner was ready. Bailey quickly jumped up and ran down stairs and Amy quickly closed up her book, placed it down on her bedside table and then ran past her mum saying, "Oh, thanks Mum, I'm starving."
After dinner, Amy slowly walked into her room completely forgetting about the book and went to lie down on her bed. As she tilted her head to the side, she finally noticed the book. She quickly got up and grabbed her phone, it was 7:30pm, and she stared at her phone and then got a fright from the book shuffling on her bedside table. She quickly hid under her covers and she could hear the book shuffling but didn't want to come out. After it had stopped, she slowly lifted the covers off her head and stared at the book. She thought that it had stopped, but it hadn't. The book then strangely started levitating in the air at the page that she had finished on. Amy was too shocked to hide back underneath her covers so she just stood up and slowly walked over to the book. A bright light then shone out of the book and flashed as if someone had just taken a photo of everything that had happened but when the bright light was gone, Amy had disappeared and the book suddenly just dropped to the floor.
Was Amy really gone? Was Mr Duncan right?