Rachel lives on mac and cheese, the kind that comes in a box. It’s her favorite food and her favorite snack. Mindy stirs some up for her every afternoon.
“You’re wet,” Rachel said. “Don’t track mud on the kitchen floor.”
“Thank you, Mom Junior,” I said. “But what makes you think I was walking in mud?”
Mindy shrugged.
My sister Rachel is very cute. She has big blue eyes and straight black hair.
But mainly, she has dimples on both cheeks when she smiles. This causes her to be totally spoiled by everyone. Just two dimples. That’s all it takes.
She is six — six years younger than me. But her big thrill is bossing me around. Scolding me and bossing me around. She knows she can get away with it because of those dimples.
“Do I have to share my mac and cheese?” she whined to Mindy.
“I don’t want any mac and cheese,” I said. “You can have it all.”
“YAAAAAY.” Rachel clapped her hands and cheered.
“Everyone likes mac and cheese after school,” Mindy said to me. “What are you — a Martian?”
Mindy spooned out a bowl of the orange cheesy stuff and put it in front of Rachel. Then she stopped. I saw her squinting at the phone in my hand.
“Hey, Jack,” she said. “Did your parents finally buy you a cell phone?”
“No,” I said. I squeezed it in my hand. “I … found it on the school bus.”
Mindy frowned at me. “Why didn’t you hand it to the driver?”
“Well …” I hesitated. “There’s something strange about it,” I said.
At the counter, Rachel was inhaling her mac and cheese like a vacuum cleaner. Mindy stared at the phone.
And then I couldn’t stop myself. The whole story burst out of me.
I told her about the girl and how she said she was my new friend. I told her how I had no idea who the girl was. And I described how the girl kept talking to me, even after I shut off the phone.
When I finished the story, I was breathing hard. I held the phone tightly in my sweaty hand.
I looked up to see Mindy grinning at me. “Nice one, Jack,” she said. “Guess I’m supposed to believe you, right?”
“It — it’s true!” I insisted.
She nodded her head. Her dark eyes flashed. “Never joke with a joker,” she said. “That’s Rule Number One. You’re not a good enough liar, Jack. Not good enough to fool a liar like me.”
For some reason, that made Rachel laugh. “Jack is too a liar,” she said. She had orange cheese all over her chin.
“Mindy, I swear,” I said, raising my right hand. “I swear I’m not kidding you. Everything I said is true.”
She squinted at me. “There’s a girl talking to you on that phone but the phone is turned off?”
“Yes,” I said. “It’s true. I don’t know how, but —”
“I get it,” she said. “I’m supposed to take the phone from you. And then it squirts me in the face with water. Is that the joke?”
“No way,” I said. “You’ve got to believe me. I’m totally serious. It isn’t a joke.”
“Okay,” Mindy said. “I’ll bite. Hand it over.”
She didn’t wait for me to give it to her. She grabbed it out of my hand.
“Let me hear this girl,” Mindy said. She raised the phone to her ear. “Hello? Hello?” she called into it. “Are you there, girl?”
7
Mindy gave the phone a hard shake, as if it was broken. Then she returned it to her ear. “Hello, voice. Where are you?” she asked.
Silence.
Mindy spoke into the phone. “Hello? Hello? Are you there? Or are you one of Jack’s little jokes?”
“It’s not a joke,” I insisted. “The girl knew my name. She said we were going to be friends.”
I grabbed the phone from Mindy’s hand. I pressed it against my ear. “Hi. Are you still there? Talk to Mindy. Tell her I didn’t make this up.”
Silence.
“Stop talking about it!” Rachel shouted. “It’s stupid.”
Rachel thinks everything I do is stupid.
I shook the phone. “Hello? Hello?”
Mindy rolled her eyes. “Someone is having fun with you, Jack. Probably Eli. Didn’t you say Eli could do anything with a phone?”
Eli! I’d forgotten about him. I needed him.
I set the cell phone down on the kitchen counter. Then I crossed the kitchen and picked up the wall phone.
I punched in Eli’s number. He picked up after the first ring. “Get over here,” I said. “Right away.”
“I’m doing the Science take-home,” Eli said. “Maybe later.”
“No. Now,” I insisted. “This is more important than the Science take-home. And you’re the only one who can help me.”
“Sounds serious,” Eli said. He hung up before I could say anything else.
I turned to Mindy. “Eli is coming over. He —”
I stopped when I saw Rachel. She had the phone gripped tightly in her fist.
“You — you got cheese all over it!” I cried.
She smiled and flashed me the dimples. “So?”
The dimples don’t work on me. I grabbed the phone away from her.
“You’re stupid!” she shouted. She tossed a piece of macaroni at me. It missed.
“Rachel, don’t throw your food at Jack,” Mindy scolded.
“Why not?” Rachel replied.
I wiped the phone off with a paper towel. Then I waved good-bye to them both, turned, and walked out.
I carried the phone up the stairs to my bedroom. As soon as I closed the door behind me, the girl on the phone spoke up:
“You shouldn’t do that, Jack,” she whispered. “You shouldn’t tell the babysitter about me.”
“You’re back,” I said. My hand trembled. I tightened my grip on the phone.
“You shouldn’t tell the babysitter,” she repeated.
“Why not?” I said.
“Because I won’t talk to her,” she replied. “And she won’t believe you. I want to talk to you, Jack. You’re my new best friend.”
I stared at the phone. Every time the girl said she was my friend, it sent a chill to the back of my neck.
“What if I don’t want to talk to you?” I said. “What if I give this phone to my parents and ask them to find the owner?”
Silence for a moment.
And then the phone began to buzz in my hand. It grew louder. A painful current shot out from the phone.
A powerful jolt of electricity took away my breath.
I tried to scream but nothing came out.
One painful shock after another made my whole body twist and dance.
The powerful, buzzing current jolted my body. My legs flew crazily. My shoes tapped the floor. Pain shot through my bones.
“GRRRUNNNH.” I made a loud choking sound.
“Can’t breathe … Can’t … breathe …”
8
Wheezing and choking, I tried to drop the phone. But it stuck to my palm.
“Okay, okay!” I gasped. “I won’t tell my parents!”
Finally, the shock faded away. I bent over double, gasping for air. My whole body trembled and shook. I could still feel a sharp, painful tingle in my arms and legs.
“Sorry about that.” The girl’s voice was soft but cold. I tried to pry the metal phone from my skin. But it stuck tight.
“You — you —” I stammered, still struggling to breathe.
“Sorry I had to punish you,” she said. She didn’t sound sorry at all. She kind of sang the words. Like it made her happy.
“I can hurt you, Jack,” she said. “I can really hurt you.”
My hand burned. The phone finally came loose and fell to the carpet. I rubbed my burning palm with my other hand.
The girl laughed. “Sometimes I don’t know my own strength.”
“What do you want?” I screamed. “Who are you? Why are you doing this to me?”
“Pick up the phone, Jack,” she said. “Pick it up. I won’t hurt you again … if you listen to me.”
I decided not to fight her. My hand trembled as I bent down and lifted the phone off the rug.
“That’s better,” she said. “Don’t ever threaten me again.”
“But —” I started. “Will you answer my questions?”
She ignored me. “Don’t think you can get rid of me,” she said. “I need you. I’m going to stick with you. Maybe forever.”
Forever?
I shut my eyes. Was this really happening?
At first, I thought it was a joke. But it didn’t sound like a joke anymore. And the painful electrical shock was definitely not a joke.
I opened my eyes in time to see my bedroom door swing open. Rachel came barging in. She had an evil grin on her face. I knew that grin. It meant trouble.
“Get out of here,” I snapped.
Giggling, Rachel came running at me with both hands outstretched. Before I could move, she swiped the cell phone from my hand.
“Give it back!” I cried.
But she bumped me out of the way and ran right past me. Holding the phone in front of her, she leaped onto my bed.
“Let me play it,” she said. “I want to play it.”
She stared at the screen and started poking at app icons with her finger. Poking. Poking.
I stared at her in horror. I knew what the girl in the phone could do.
Without even thinking, I started to scream at the phone: “Don’t hurt her! Don’t hurt my sister!”
9
Rachel stopped poking the screen and gazed up at me. “Are you crazy?” she said. “Who are you talking to?”
“Uh … well …” I couldn’t think of an answer.
Rachel pressed the phone to her ear.
No, please — I begged silently. Whoever you are, don’t zap Rachel.
Every muscle in my body tensed. I stood, staring hard, waiting for the jolt of electricity.
Rachel scrunched up her face as she listened. Then she lowered the phone and punched the screen with her finger several times.
She listened again. Then she lowered the phone and made a disgusted face. “Your stupid phone is broken, Jack,” she said. “I can’t even call my friend Caroline. It’s totally busted.”
She tossed the phone onto the bedspread. Then she slid down to the floor. She gave me a punch on the arm as she skipped out of my room.
I waited for her to go running down the stairs. “Are you still there?” I asked the girl.
Silence.
Then the girl finally spoke: “Do you like your sister, Jack?”
“Yes,” I said. “Of course.”
“Then don’t let her touch me again!” Her words sent a shudder down my body.
“Why?” I demanded. “What would you do to her? Would you hurt her?”
Silence.
“Answer my questions!” I shouted. “Who are you? Tell me! What are you doing here?”
The reply came from behind me. “Hey, I didn’t call you. You called me!”
10
“Huh?” I spun around to find Eli in the doorway.
Eli is a good guy, and he’s my best friend. But he does fit the perfect description of a geek.
He’s a little chubby, and his clothes always seem to hang on him. He wears cargo khakis with the pockets all filled with junk. And sloppy T-shirts with jokes that aren’t funny on the front.
Today’s T-shirt was red with a black arrow pointing up, and the words: I’M WITH BRILLIANT.
Eli has a round face topped by a nest of black curly hair. He wears square, black-framed glasses, and his nose runs a lot.
I know. He doesn’t sound too cool. But the dude is a genius, especially with anything electronic.
“What’s up?” he said.
I started to answer, but he wasn’t listening to me. He had some kind of portable game-player between his hands and was punching away on it with both thumbs.
I could hear a steady stream of gunshots, crashes, and explosions. I couldn’t see Eli’s eyes. His big eyeglasses reflected the flashing light from the game.
I groaned. “Eli, what are you doing?”
He punched the game-player a few more seconds. Then he looked up. “Jack, check this out. The word awesome was invented for this.”
He stomped into the room. He wears size twelve sneakers, and he always makes a loud clomping sound when he walks.
He shoved the black game-player into my face. “I’m playing World of Pain,” he said. “Check out the new player. It’s the Digi-GameFreak4. The 3-D version. Do you believe it?”
I squinted down at the screen. Three brown-uniformed soldiers were bayoneting a blue-uniformed soldier. The 3-D was amazing. It looked like you were gazing into a real world.
“3-D without glasses,” Eli gushed. “Best game-player ever?”
“Looks good,” I said. “But —”
“Here. Try it.” He pushed it into my hands. “There are no controls. It goes by finger motion. See?”
He wiped his nose with the sleeve of his T-shirt. His nose always becomes a faucet when he’s excited.
I pushed the GameFreak back at him. “Eli, give me a break,” I groaned. “I called you here for a reason.”
His whole face drooped. “Sorry, dude.” He shoved the player into one of his two dozen pockets.
I left the phone on the bed, and I pulled Eli into the hall. I didn’t want the girl to hear.
“I’m totally stressed,” I told him. “I — I’ve got a real problem.”
“You need computer help?” Eli asked. “Did your laptop hard drive crash again?”
I sighed. “No. This is a real problem. Like in real life.”
Eli scratched his thick, curly hair. When he touched his hair, it bounced like springs. Not like hair.
“I found a phone on the bus,” I said.
He squinted at me. “Is it 5G?”
“Who knows?” I snapped. “It … it doesn’t really work as a phone. I mean, I haven’t made a call. I —”
He nodded. “You want me to fix it?”
I shook my head. “No. Just give me a chance to tell you about it. Stop interrupting.”
He took two fingers and zipped his lips. Music still chimed from the game-player in his pants pocket.
“I found it on the school bus,” I repeated. “And as soon as I picked it up and held it to my ear, a strange girl started talking to me in this soft, whispery voice.”
Behind the square glasses, his eyes grew wide. “Really?”
“She knew my name,” I said. “She said we were going to be best, best friends.”
“Cool!” Eli exclaimed.
“Not cool,” I said. “I tried to figure out who she was. But I don’t think I know her. She’s a total stranger, and she’s weird. I tried to get rid of her. I mean, I powered off the phone.”
“And then she was gone?” Eli asked.
“That’s what I’m telling you,” I cried. “I powered off the phone, but she was still there.”
Eli chuckled. “No way.”
“I’m not making this up,” I said.
“Yes, you are,” he replied, grinning. “What’s the joke, dude?”
“No joke, Eli. The girl —”
“I get it,” Eli said. “It’s an exploding phone, right? You make up this insane story so I look into the phone, and it blows apart in my hands? I saw that phone in a catalogue.”
I took a deep breath. Eli is a total genius, but sometimes he only listens to himself. He doesn’t really hear what I’m saying.
I tried again. “The girl is in the phone, Eli. And she won’t go away. She says she’s going to be my friend forever.”
He raised his eyes to me. He studied me for a long while. “You’re serious. You’re totally serious.”
I nodded. “Just before you came, she shocked me. She sent some kind of horrible shock right through the phone. She says she can hurt me. She says she’ll hurt R
achel.”
Eli bit his bottom lip. He kept staring hard at me. “Crazy,” he muttered.
I think he finally believed me.
He stepped back into my room and picked up the phone.
“Go away, Eli,” the girl spoke up.
“YAAAAAIII.” Eli uttered a cry of surprise. The phone started to fall out of his hand. He caught it before it hit the floor.
“Did you hear me, Eli?” the girl said. She sounded cold, angry. “Go away.”
“Wh-who are you?” Eli stammered, staring into the screen.
“Go home, Eli,” she said. “I’m Jack’s best friend now. We don’t want you here.”
Eli had gone very pale. His chin was trembling.
He set the phone down carefully on the bedspread. Then he pulled me toward the hall.
“We have to talk,” he whispered.
“Don’t try anything,” the girl called from the phone. “I can hurt you both. I can really mess you up.”
Eli pulled me into the hall. “I see what you were saying,” he whispered. “The phone is definitely powered off. But she’s talking through it. She doesn’t turn off.”
“She won’t go away,” I whispered back. “And you hear how mean she is. She’s crazy.”
“What are we going to do?” Eli whispered, glancing toward my bedroom door. “How do we get rid of her?”
“Huh? You tell me!” I cried. “You’re the electronics genius.”
Eli chewed his bottom lip some more. Then his eyes went wide. “I have a genius plan,” he said.
11
He wiped his nose. He started to blink a lot. That meant he was thinking hard.
“What’s your plan?” I whispered.
“I need a small-bladed screwdriver,” Eli said. “And a small Phillips screwdriver. A watchmaker’s pick. And needle-nose pliers.”
“My dad has all that stuff down in his workshop,” I said. “But what do you plan to do?”
“I have to open the phone,” he replied. “I think someone has planted two SIM cards in there.”
“Two SIM cards?”
He nodded. “That’s what controls the phone. It would be easy to plant a second receiver and speaker in there, too.”
“You mean — ?”
“You turn off the one phone. But someone has installed a second phone inside that can’t be shut down.”