Witherwood Reform School (10 page)

“Let me guess,” Tobias chattered. “You have to earn your towels.”

“What a smart young man you are!” she said.

Tobias and Charlotte shook themselves until they were no longer dripping. Tobias took off his red hoodie and wrung out as much water as he could. He put it back on and shivered from his toes to the top of his forehead. Ms. Gulp handed them a used rag.

“Hurry,” Ms. Gulp barked. “Better not late than ever.”

“We wouldn't be late if you hadn't…” Tobias saw Ms. Gulp's red face and decided to stop talking.

They took turns with the rag, trying their best to dry off their faces and arms. Completely defeated, they followed Ms. Gulp into the hallway, through the halls, and over to the large cathedral-like cafeteria. Behind the cafeteria, through two swinging wood doors, was a cavernous old kitchen.

The walls were covered in yellow tiles that had probably begun their journey in life white. The floorboards curled slightly at the edges, making it hard to walk without tripping. There were a number of stoves and ovens and three massive fireplaces with heavy iron pots hanging over lit fires. Butcher-block tables as long as the room ran through the middle of the kitchen and were covered with various foods. The far wall was lined with a row of dirty sinks that resembled antique bathtubs someone had forgotten to scrub. An opening in the wall near one of the fireplaces led to the dark kitchen cellar. The place smelled like fresh meat, stale potatoes, and cocoa.

“Has anyone cleaned this place since 1805?” Tobias asked.

“That's why you're here,” Ms. Gulp said smugly.

Ms. Gulp gave them a list of jobs longer than any list they had ever seen. Both wanted to complain but were scared to say anything for fear of being shoved into another shower or thwacked on the ear.

Tobias and Charlotte spent the next three hours scrubbing pots and cleaning the counters and floors in the kitchen. They were also in charge of bringing food up from the cellar. As they worked, they could hear the din of students out at the tables eating their dinner. Women in brown blouses and blue skirts carried food out from the kitchen, then returned with empty trays for Tobias and Charlotte to clean. They wanted to peek out and see the other students, but every time they tried to get close to one of the doors, Ms. Gulp would stop them.

“Do as you're told and not a thing more!”

When the cafeteria was empty, Tobias and Charlotte were allowed out of the kitchen to bus the tables and wash the remaining dishes. Following that, Ms. Gulp served them each a plate with two pieces of bread, a smashed potato with some sort of mustard squirted over it, half an apple, and a jar of chocolate pudding. Tobias and Charlotte sat at one of the empty wood tables and ate what they had been given. It was their first meal since they had arrived. It wasn't what they would have ordered if they had had a choice, but it felt good just to eat something. Their hands were raw from washing dishes, and their arms were tired and sticky, but they didn't let any of that stop them from eating. Through the stained-glass window they could see that the sky was dark.

“I wish I was dreaming all this,” Charlotte said as she finished her second piece of bread. “My insides feel like a giant bruise.”

Tobias wanted to tell his sister that everything was going to be all right, but he wasn't sure things actually would be. “This pudding's good.”

“Yeah,” Charlotte said, taking a big bite of hers. “But I'm not staying at Witherwood for the pudding.”

“It has an unusual smell,” Tobias noted.

“Still not staying,” Charlotte reiterated. “Ms. Gulp keeps complaining about Student Morale Day, and I don't want to be here when it comes. It sounds awful.”

“Listen,” Tobias whispered, trying to comfort her. “I'll get us out.”

“When?” Charlotte asked, her lips covered with pudding.

“Tonight,” Tobias answered. “I have an idea.”

Charlotte slipped her last bite of apple into her mouth. “Putting the tadpoles in the gravy was an idea of yours. So was getting out of Dad's car.”

“This idea's different,” Tobias insisted.

Ms. Gulp came out of the kitchen. It looked like she had just eaten a big plate of leftovers without using her hands. She smacked her messy lips and instructed the kids to follow her back to their room. And even though there was nobody around besides the three of them, she ordered them not to talk to anyone.

“Understand? Also, you'll be needed in the kitchen tomorrow.”

“What about school?” Charlotte asked. “Isn't there a school here?”

“I told you not to talk to anyone,” Ms. Gulp scolded.

“Not even you?”

“Especially me.”

As they passed the large set of stairs, Tobias could see a light at the top shining out from beneath a solid wood door.

“What's on the second floor?” Tobias asked.

“No talking.”

“Is that where the other students are?”

“You worry about where you belong,” Ms. Gulp commanded. “Remember, do as you're told and not a thing more.”

Tobias and Charlotte were quiet. When they reached their room, Ms. Gulp shut their door and locked it behind them. Tobias flipped the switch and the lights came on.

“So who do you like more?” Tobias asked his sister. “Martha or Big Gulp?”

“Neither,” Charlotte replied. “I like Orrin and his rashy skin and mismatched eyes.”

Tobias smiled, and for a second, all the horrible things happening to them felt light.

“Why won't they let us see the other students?” Tobias said. “And what's so special about the second floor?”

“I don't care,” Charlotte answered. “I'm tired, and I want out.”

When they reached their cots, they saw that folded on the ends of them were a couple of blankets.

“I know you have a plan,” Charlotte said softly. “But those blankets look soft. Maybe we should take a quick nap.”

“No, we really need to go now. They won't be looking for us. Besides, if we fall asleep, we'll never get up.”

“But we have blankets,” Charlotte moaned. “And we're tired.”

“I'd be happy to throw you in the shower,” Tobias offered.

Charlotte sat down on the edge of her cot. “Fine. What's the plan?”

Tobias smiled and then slowly pulled something out of the pocket of his hoodie.

 

CHAPTER 12

A
F
IRST
L
OOK
AT
F
LOOR
T
WO

People usually have some idea of what's coming next. Few people are surprised when they put money into a soda machine and soda comes out. Likewise, most people aren't caught off guard when they drive a car and it runs out of gas. And there is certainly no element of surprise when you put an assailant into a dryer and he comes out hot under the collar.

Knowing Tobias and having heard hundreds of his plans over the years, Charlotte thought she wouldn't be surprised by what Tobias had planned. She was wrong.

“That's it?” Charlotte asked in amazement. “That's your plan?”

“What?” Tobias said defensively. “It could work.” He was holding a pair of pliers he'd taken from the kitchen. “Watch.”

Tobias retrieved another spring from the ripped-up cot. This time, with the pliers, he was able to bend and shape the spring into what looked like a homemade key. He kept at it, testing different shapes in the lock on their door until …

Click.

“I saw Orrin's and Ms. Gulp's big keys and figured I could make one of my own. I bet this will open most of the doors in Witherwood. Old locks are easy.”

“So you've picked the lock. What next?”

“We go to Fiddle. He knows something. You heard him say there was a door.”

“There are lots of doors,” Charlotte pointed out.

“He wasn't talking about a normal door. He said off the mesa.”

“Right,” she moaned. “But even if we do get out through some door, what about that thing outside?”

“I've been thinking about that,” Tobias said. “What if it was fake, just something to frighten us from leaving?”

“Something fake tore your shoe and chased us up a tree? Are you forgetting it was vicious?”

“It could have been fake,” Tobias insisted. “Someone dressed up so that we'd have to come back and do their dishes. We were tricked. I bet that scream we heard when we first met Orrin was just a recording. He probably pressed a button or something to set it off.”

“This is crazy,” Charlotte said. “You're tired and not making any sense. I'm going to sleep.”

“All right, stay here then,” Tobias offered. “I'll talk to Fiddle and then come back.”

“Wait! I don't want to stay alone.”

“Then come.”

Tobias hid the pliers beneath a loose floorboard in the corner of their room. He walked back and slowly pulled open the bedroom door. The hallway was empty. He glanced at his sister as she sat on her cot, looking as tired as he felt.

“Come on,” he whispered kindly. “I need your ears to listen for singing, and if we do find a way out of this place, we can sleep forever in real beds.”

Charlotte gave in and joined her brother.

The plush carpet in the hallway kept their footsteps muffled. They walked past door number eight and up to number nine. Tobias used the key, and the door unlocked. He pushed it open and gazed into the dark room.

“He's gone,” Charlotte said.

“How can you tell?”

“The sound. If he's in there, he's not breathing.”

“And he no longer smells like he did,” Tobias said.

Tobias reached in and flipped on the light. The curtains around Fiddle's bed were drawn but he wasn't there. They checked the bathroom. Empty as well.

“I hope he's okay,” Charlotte said.

“Me too. Without him we don't know where the door is.”

“So far your plan isn't working,” Charlotte whispered.

Tobias looked at his tired sister. The way her nose twitched and her deep eyes blinked reminded him of their mother. The mother who was no longer alive to worry about them. All the things they were going through never would have happened if their mom hadn't died. Both of them knew this, and both of them knew there was no point in bringing it up. Death had snuck into their lives and taken their happiness.

“You remember those old barns back behind our house?” Tobias whispered.

Charlotte nodded.

“Remember how scared we were to explore them?”

More nodding.

“But when we did, we found cool stuff—that hammer and that old engine. This is just like exploring those barns.”

“We weren't locked up in those barns. And nobody was watching us.”

“So this will be even more exciting,” Tobias cheered quietly. “We need to explore. Something's going on here, and as much as I want to escape, I also want to find out what that is.”

Tobias turned and left Fiddle's room. He walked with his back to the wall, and Charlotte fell in line next to him. When they got to a set of stairs leading up to the second floor, he stopped.

“Wait! We're going up?” Charlotte asked. “Shouldn't we be looking for a way out?”

“We know what's out that way—Never Hall, Ms. Gulp, Orrin, weird animals. But we don't know what's upstairs. Maybe the windows aren't barred. Maybe that's where the other students sleep and they can help us. Plus, we need more information for my map.”

Tobias began to climb the stairs, and without further fuss, Charlotte followed. The door at the top was locked, but the key Tobias had made worked perfectly.

“You make a great criminal,” Charlotte said.

They slipped past the door, shutting it behind them. The second floor was dark, but their eyes adjusted and things came quickly into focus.

Ten feet away from them was a reception desk, and behind the desk were bookshelves loaded with papers and messy files. The area looked more like a hospital than a school and didn't match the first floor at all. Down the hall in both directions was darkness.

“Creepy,” Charlotte whispered.

Tobias walked behind the reception desk and grabbed the handle of one of the drawers. The first was empty, but the second had just what he needed—pens. There were two of them, and Tobias took both. He slipped them into his pockets and checked the other drawers. All empty.

“Um, Tobias,” Charlotte whispered.

Tobias looked up as he softly closed the last drawer.

“I think I hear someone singing.”

They crept slowly down the long hallway, listening. They passed dozens of closed doors with numbers on them. They tested each door, but all were locked. There were posters on the walls of friendly-looking animals and sayings like
Every dog has his day
and
Don't pity the kitty
.

Tobias paid special attention to what he saw so that he could write it down later. The hallway turned, and in view was an empty kitchen and two fireplaces. Passing the kitchen, Tobias finally heard the singing.

“I think it's coming from the third floor,” Charlotte whispered.

“We should find some stairs going up,” Tobias suggested.

“I'd rather find some going out.”

After twenty more steps, there was an alcove with another empty desk. A window behind the desk was facing the gardens and made the area a little lighter than the rest of the floor. There were no bars on the window.

On the other side of the alcove was an open door. Without saying a word to each other, they walked through the door into a cramped room that smelled like cleaning supplies and eggs. There was a dry mop in the corner, and buckets filled with liquid on the floor. Metal shelves sat along the wall.

“Wait,” Charlotte whispered. “Someone's coming.”