Luci Graves Period 1

Times of Terror

I was hiding between the wall and the couch in the movie room. Who knows where Katie and Ava are hiding? I can hear Marys footsteps as she enters the room. Where are you? she tauntingly calls out. Its quiet for a moment; too quiet. Ha! I found you! Mary giggled as she peeked behind the leather couch at me. She ran off to find Katie and Ava. I sag down in a seat. Watching three little girls is exhausting! I hear the girls laughing in the other room. Mary must have finally found her sisters. Now for my favorite part, bedtime. I struggle with the cantankerous girls one at a time; getting their teeth brushed and pajamas on. Its astonishing how quickly little girls can go from being playful to complete drama queens! Once I was finally able to get them into bed, I went upstairs to find something to do. There was still some Hot-N-Ready pizza left over from dinner. I scarfed it down and began cleaning. Thank goodness there wasnt much pizza left. I dont like throwing away food. I tend to make the kids eat all their dinner before they can go play. Thats probably why I was never their favorite babysitter. The other babysitters didnt enforce that rule. Maybe thats why they started asking me to babysit every single weekend. That, and I always clean their house for them! Once I had washed every counter, swept all the floors, and folded every blanket, I sat on the living room couch and thought of how bored I was. I decided to sneak into the girls room and pick a book from their bookshelf. They started to toss and turn; I quickly

Luci Graves Period 1 grabbed a book and took it upstairs. I realized Id grabbed a pathetic Amelia Bedelia book. Prefect. Not too long after Amelia Bedelias 8th mistake, I heard a short, quiet ring. It sounded like a jingle. What on earth could that be? I couldn't tell where it had come from, but it sounded like the basement where the girls were sleeping. After I heard it a second time, I knew I hadnt imagined it. Goosebumps covered my arms and legs. My body stiffened; my eyes wide open and watching for any movement by the stairs. I had to do something. I couldn't just leave them there. I called my older sister, Kaycie, and whispered to her over the phone begging her to come save me and the kids. It took Kaycie roughly four minutes to drive over to the house. Time passed by slower than a lecture in a History class. I couldnt bring myself to leave the couch. Any movement and the burglar might hear me. I heard the jingle, but this time is sounded like it was coming from the backyard. I heard the jingle again, louder this time. Nope! It is DEFINETLY coming from downstairs! I hear Kaycie rattling the doorknob. Hallelujiah! Oh dang, the door is locked. One two I whispered, THREE! I jumped up and ran to the front room to let her in! Luci, youre fine. Im sure they just have a cat. I worriedly answered back, No, they dont have a cat. A panicked expression crossed her face. She tried to hide it. I explained that the noise came from downstairs. Im sure they have a cat, and just keep it locked up at night. She kept coming back to this cat idea. I could tell she was scared deep down, but didnt want to show it for my sake. She started off down the staircase. I finally decided to follow her. We tip-toed down the stairs together. I started shaking more and more with every step. My heart was racing and I could barely breathe. She creaked

Luci Graves Period 1 the girls bedroom door open to check on them. We made our way through the basement; it was quiet and burglar-free. Suddenly, we heard the jingle again and tried to locate its source. This time it sounded like it was coming from upstairs. We searched the entire upstairs. Finally, Kaycie opened the door to the backyard and found a wind chime blowing in the wind. I couldnt believe it, a stinking windchime! I felt stupid. I was freaked out thinking there was a burglar, and then I was so embarrassed after we found out what it really was! However, that night wasnt all bad. My sister gave me courage that night. It was because of her that I was able to build up the nerve to walk down those stairs and check on the kids. This experience made me more brave the next time I babysat and heard a strange noise. I was down stairs and heard a noise upstairs. I thought to myself, "it's probably something stupid again." But I still had my suspicions. When I nervously walked up the stairs, by myself this time, there was no one to be seen. I had made a lot of noise going up the stairs so that if there was someone up there, they would hear me and take off. I probably got a gray hair from being so nervous and stressed that night. I searched the whole upstairs and finally decided that it was probably all in my head.

When the parents got home, I told them what happened. She said I wasn't the first to hear strange noises. She told me about a different babysitter ( Braylee) who had heard a noise upstairs. She called her older brother and he came over with a baseball bat! When he got there, the front door was locked. Braylee was forced to run upstairs to the front room to let him in. She ran the whole way while screaming as loud as she could. The

Luci Graves Period 1 strange noise had turned out to be the icemaker. The brother stormed the house and found nothing but a melting ice cube on the kitchen floor. Theres usually a simple explanation for little noises, so check things out! When you are too scared, call a sibling, or a friend! You can count on them in times of terror!