Don’t Answer I slammed the door shut as I came home from school. I threw my backpack and jacket on the floor and plopped down on the couch. The house was eerily quiet, as I was home alone. I decided to get ready to watch my favorite horror movie for the one-hundredth time. I made popcorn, tossed it into a bowl, and sat down on the couch once again. I turned on the TV and pressed play. Usually, when I was watching this movie, I wasn't scared. I had seen it so many times before. I knew every joke, jumpscare, and plot twist. But today, it felt as if I was watching for the first time again. I thought nothing of it, until it got to my favorite part. The villain had a phone in his hand, and he dialed a number. My phone started ringing. It was on the couch, right next to me. I looked to see an unknown number. I froze, looked at the TV, then looked at my phone again. There was no way this was possible. Then I tensed, because I remembered a crucial part of the movie. Every person the villain called would go missing. I pinched myself to make sure this wasn't a horrible nightmare. Maybe this was some sick prank my mom was playing. “Mom? You can come out now, I know you are trying to scare me! ” I called. “Mom?” There was nothing but silence. Meanwhile, my phone had stopped ringing. I shut off the TV. I had to make a decision. First, I could ignore the call and pretend that nothing happened, or I could call the number. Me being me, I went with the latter. I was about to pick up my phone when it started ringing again. Still the same unknown number. I prepared myself for the worst and took the call. “Hello?” I said, but there was nothing on the other end. The next day at school, I still couldn’t believe what had happened. I put my phone on silent hoping it would never happen again. I tried to ignore it, but there was this feeling that someone was watching me. I went through the day without a single call. When I got home, Mom wasn’t here yet, so I decided to get a headstart on my homework. Just when I got to my room, my phone rang in my pocket. I took a deep breath and took my phone out. It felt like a weight got lifted off my shoulders when I saw the caller ID. It was my mom. “Hey, honey! ” She said. “I wanted to let you know that I'm working late again. ” “Oh, ok.” I said in dismay. I wanted to tell her about the calls, but I couldn't. I didn't want to put her under more stress than she already was. “Oh and Meggie?” She said, “Don’t answer any unknown numbers, ok?” I held my breath. “Why?” I said, wondering if she knew. “I don’t know… I just have this weird feeling.” She replied. “Ok I have to go now, Meggie. I love you! Goodbye! Don’t forget to be careful! ”
CONTINUED “Bye, Mom.” I said as I hung up. Classic Mom. Tell me you're working late, then give a weird warning. I couldn’t be mad at her though. I still had loads of homework to do, plus the calling problem. I picked up my backpack, ready to finally start that essay I’ve been holding off for weeks. Then, as if my procrastination wasn’t enough, I heard a dreadful scream from downstairs. My blood ran cold. With my heart pounding, I brought up the courage to investigate. I slowly went down the stairs, trying not to be loud. When I got to the living room, the TV was on, and it was playing my (not-so) favorite movie. It was the scene where the main character discovers that the villain is inside her house. ☆☆☆ I was scared down to my socks. (Which is a sentence I'd never thought I’d say.) The shriek had come from the TV, which I don't remember turning on. The only thing I could think to do was unplug the TV. So that's exactly what I did. But when I went to the power cable, I suddenly remembered that I unplugged it yesterday, to stop the calls from coming. As if that wasn’t enough, the TV started glitching. All I had for my line of defense was sarcasm, my tattered “lucky” socks, and a half empty bowl of yesterday’s popcorn. So basically I was defenseless, unless the villain had a severe allergy to stale popcorn. The glitching of the screen became more intense, and suddenly the TV blacked out. Then I heard loud, stomping footsteps. Finally, as the grand finale of horror, I heard my phone start ringing again from upstairs “Hello? ” I yelled to nobody. “It would be really nice if you left a voicemail, you know!” I trudged upstairs, mostly tired than scared now. When I got upstairs, my phone had mysteriously stopped ringing, probably because I forgot to charge it. Then I noticed that my window was open. Just like what happened in the movie. The footsteps got louder and louder. Seriously, why was the person taking so long to come upstairs? “If you are here to kill me, I still have homework to do!” I said. Then I realized something. If the villain was copying everything from the movie, I could make sure the movie couldn't play at all. It was time to shut off the WiFi. Something in the back of my mind told me that this was a terrible idea. If the TV not being connected to power wouldn't stop this villain, shutting off the WiFi also wouldn't work either. Also I did not know how to turn off the WiFi in the first place. So it was time for Plan B. Which was to think up a solution on the fly. “Stomping isn’t that scary you know!!” I yelled. “And what's taking so long?!” Immediately, the stomping stopped. I peered out into the hallway. There was nothing. Maybe going off script of the movie worked. If the villain was chasing me, then I guess I was the victim, the girl in the movie. Instead of running for my life, I was insulting the villain. Confusing him. I started to go downstairs, (I don’t know why) and I saw him. The “villian” who looked like a low-budget Ghostface, was standing in front of the TV. If that wasn’t strange enough, the TV was glowing. Something told me that he just came out of it, (I have no idea how). Quietly, I slowly crept behind him. Then a phone started ringing. But it wasn’t mine this time. It was his. “Hello?” The villain answered in a tired voice. The person on the other end murmured something. “No, I don't want to buy a mattress!! I’m busy!” He said. “I don’t care if you have a 50% percent off sale this Presidents Day!” He paused. “Actually that sounds pretty nice, let me take note of that.” He pulled out a small yellow notepad and pen. I was right behind him now. The TV was still glowing. If he came in through the TV, he could probably go back! I thought. In a spur of the moment decision, I used all my might to push him into it. The TV zapped him back inside and the screen turned black. And then the TV toppled over, and the screen shattered. I went over to pick it all up. Then I heard the sound of keys opening the door. “Ughh I'm gonna be in so much trouble. ” I groaned. My mother walked in with pure shock on her face. “Megan Evangeline Penelope Parker..” she said. Uh oh, she said my full name. “Yes?” I replied, with the most innocent look on my face. “What happened?” she said carefully, stepping around the broken pieces that used to be our TV. I took a deep breath. “You wouldn't believe me if I told you.” My mother chuckled. “ Well, you're grounded anyway.” I smiled, “ I do have an essay to finish..” I headed upstairs to actually start the essay this time. When I got to my room, my phone, (which I thought was dead) pinged with a text from an unknown number. I suppressed my nervousness and checked it out. It was a spam text from a furniture company, and the text advertised their 50% off sale on Presidents Day. THE END….
