Mystery Of the Old House

Written by Hannah L Andrews

Chapter I
The Old House

It was creepy walking past that old house--yes, very creepy. It was over a hundred years old now, and the rich, late owner who had it built and lived in it was Maria Trate. It was huge, which made it seem all the more creepy to eleven year old Abigail. She shuddered as she and her two sister's, Victoria and June, walked past. Abigail was the youngest of the three, and only eleven years of age. June was next, a thirteen year old. And Victoria was eighteen.
“That is the most creepy old house. It looks so...haunted," Abigail said.
“Aww, come one wimp! There's no such thing as Ghost's, and you know that,” Victoria laughed.
"Everybody thinks that house has ghosts," Abby insisted.
"Not me. Lots of people don't believe that stupid rumor. Someone just wanted to have some fun because the house is old," Victoria said.
June ran up ahead. She too, was a small bit afraid of the old house. Abigail, nineteen yards ahead of Victoria, stopped, as though quite afraid of something. She stood still--very still, and listened closely. She almost screamed, and Victoria, paying no attention at all to Abigail whatsoever, walked past her. The noise began again--Scrape! Scrape! Scrape! Abigail stood frozen for a moment, she shot past June to the house, swung open the door and flopped on the sofa, panting.
Abigail's mother, Sophia Pearson, asked,“whats your trouble, Abby dear?”
Surprised by the question, Abigail answered,
“N-- nothing, mother, just racing June, that's all.”
Sophia eyed her daughter suspiciously, but before she could say anything further, Abby was upstairs in her bedroom with the door shut.
Quite early the next morning, Abby awoke, went down stairs, and gazed out the window for a while, then, went upstairs and back to bed, but could not sleep, so finally she got out of bed again, opened her bedroom window, and looked out. Abigail loved to feel the cool breeze in her face. She then decided to see what time it was--4:15 A.M she thought to herself. “Kayla would be up at this time,” she thought, “She always is. I'll go over and say hello.”
Kayla was Abigail's best friend. She stayed in her nightgown, but added a jacket to it. She tiptoed down the stairs, and opened the door. The wind blew in her face, blowing her hair this way and that. When she reached Kayla's house, she peered through the window and saw Kayla stretched across the couch reading. She tapped on the door, and a moment later Kayla was at the window. When she saw Abigail, she opened the door.
“Hi, Abby, what brings you here so early? I thought you were never up at this time.”
“I'm not. Usually, at least. But I woke up, and couldn't get back to sleep, so I thought I might as well come here.”
Kayla smiled, and said, “Oh, come right in and I'll fix hot chocolate, I know it's cold out there.”
“Yes, thank you,” Abigail replied, shivering.
“Come right in, and rap up in a blanket while I get your drink, then we'll talk about something I've been wanting to talk about ever since two days ago, but I didn't want anybody at school to hear it, so I haven't had a chance to.”
“Suits me,” Abigail agreed.
When Kayla got back, she was carrying the drink she had promised Abigail.
“Alright,” Kayla began, “I thought, maybe, you would like to come with me to that old house and have a look around some night, like tomorrow.”
“But, I don't want to.”
“Abigail Pearson, your not scared, are you?” She said in a rather mocking tone.
“Well, at night?”
“Yes!”
“But--”
“Please? Why not? Who cares if it's night?”
"I do."
"Please, Abby, Please!"
Fianlly Abigail agreed to, so as not to seem cowardly in front of her best friend, but did not at all like the idea. Kayla was afraid of nothing, it seemed like, where as Abigail was afraid of everything. Kayla and Abby put there jackets on, and walked out the door.

Chapter II
A scare in the morning

They walked the short block to the old, scary mansion. They finally got to the beautiful old house, Abigail was shivering with fright rather than cold, but Kayla was from the from cold. They walked up the steps. A sign nailed to the door read: 'DO NOT ENTER' Kayla began to turn the doors knob, but Abby stopped her.
“That's not right, see? It says 'Do Not Enter.' So we shouldn't enter. Besides, if it says that, it's probably locked.”
"Maybe. Maybe not."
The door knob turned. "
"Maybe someone forgot to lock it," Kayla reasoned.
"I still don't think we should. Besides, just because it's not locked doesn't make it right."
"Oh, look!" Kayla exclaimed. "It looks like the locks been jimmied! Then it isn't any wonder it opens!"
"We shouldn't be going in there," Abby insisted.
“It's okay, we wont mess anything up, or do anything wrong. We're just looking around. I've wanted to be in this house for ages, and knowing now that someones been in here recently, I really do!”
Abby hesitated, but Kayla insisted she go in with her.
“Otherwise, I'll go in by myself,” Kayla said, raising her eyebrows.
“A-a-alright.”
Kayla wore a triumphant smile as Abigail walked in in front of her. They looked under and in things. Suddenly they stopped—very scared—They listened closely. There it was again Scrape! Scrape! Scrape! It sounded just like what Abigail had heard the previous night. Abigail stood frozen stiff, but Kayla grabbed her hand, and nearly dragged her out the door. When they were out of earshot of the house, Kayla whispered,
“Good night! There must be somebody in the house.”
“Ghosts!” Abby exclaimed.
“No, not Ghosts, silly. Trespassers, Is my guess. Probably the ones who jimmied the lock.”
"As though we didn't trespass," Abby muttered under her breath.
Kayla and Abby walked back. When they got back, they decided Abigail and her should go home and get ready for school, it was already 6:17, and they would be getting up and eating breakfast and getting ready for school at 6:30.
“Would you walk home with me, Kayla?” Abby asked.
“Sure.”
The walk home was silent, until they reached Abby's house, then they said their goodbye's, and Abigail entered the house. She lay down back in bed, and slept for the few more minutes she had.
Before she new it, Sophia was at her bed, smiling, and saying, “It's time to wake up, Abby dear, today's the last day of school for the whole summer!” “Alright, alright. I'm getting up,” Abby said half smiling.
She sat up, rubbed her eyes, and went to the closet to get dressed. She was down in five minutes, and at the breakfast table in a flash. She was hungry after her adventure.
“Hello, Abby dear," her mother said, giving her daughter a hug around the neck.
“Hello, mom,” She said jubilantly.
After eating, she excused herself from breakfast, and walked to school with Victoria and June.
“I wonder,” June began, “I wonder why the old Maria house hasn't been torn down, it's so old,”
“Because, silly, it looks neat. Everybody likes the looks of it,”
"Maybe someones using it for a hideout, like bandits!" Abby said. No one replied, and of course Abby did not dare mention that she and Kayla had been in the house just that morning. On the way to school, they met Lucy, Victoria's seventeen year old friend.
“Oh, hi Lucy,what's up?”
“Oh nothing, really, except the usual. What about you?”
“Just trying to get my sister to stop believing in Ghosts!” Victoria said, eyeing Abby, who glared angrily at her.
“Which one, can't be June, she's to old for that stuff! So is Abby," Lucy said.
“The problem is, Lucy, it's Abby!”
“No kidding!”
“No kidding.”