The Hidden Room

The trip had been a nightmare. The crying of my eleven month old baby sister, the constant “Are we there yet” from my ten year old brother, and the sound of my dad’s old rock music blasting from the radio all took a toll on my attitude that day. I was ready to be out of the car, but I was not ready for where we were going.

We pulled up to the house. I could tell it was recently painted a shade of tan and the framework was repainted white. The front door had stained glass in the middle and it looked as though a rich family had just redone the whole thing, got bored with it, and left. After looking at the yard and the colorful garden surrounding the front porch, reality hit me; a new house, a new school, and a new life. Suddenly the vibrant house didn’t seem as appealing.

            I opened the car door and it hit me: the smell of leaves burning and nature. It brought back memories from my old house, and my old life. Every fall, my friends and I would have an annual bonfire at one of our houses.  We used to sit around the fire and talk for hours. We talked about shopping, boys, all the latest gossip, all the old gossip, everything. Those girls were a part of me. This move came at the worst time of my life. What teenage girl wants to leave all that behind for some stupid new house with a stupid new school? I didn’t want new friends and I refused to make any.

            My thoughts left my mind when my mom called for me to unload the car. We had so much stuffed into the minivan. I’m not sure how we fit. The truck we rented had not arrived yet, so I took my belongings out of our car and took them up to the room I had been assigned by my dad. I looked around and noticed how clean everything was. I don’t remember seeing a speck of dust anywhere. I didn’t feel at home.

            The truck showed up about an hour after we finished unpacking the car. It was full of boxes that contained my brother Ben and my books, past projects, and memories. All these things belonged in the basement at our old house, so we kept it that way at our new house too.

           

            I turned on the light to the basement. It wasn’t as clean as the rest of the house. I made Ben go down first, just to avoid all the cobwebs. I walked down slowly, and as soon as I reached the bottom step, I saw Ben trip. I hurried and put the box down. I ran over to Ben to make sure he was okay. I moved the old rug he tripped on.

            “Jessica, what is that?” I looked down to see a square piece of wood surrounded by the cement that covered the rest of the basement floor.

            “I’m not sure Ben. Move out of the way, I’ll see if I can open it.” I grabbed the two corners on the square. It barely moved.

            “Let me try!” Ben pulled with all his might on the corners of the square. He fell back as the box opened. Dust flew up like lava from a volcano. I helped Ben to his feet and we moved towards the hole. It was dark and we couldn’t see a thing.

            “Grab a flashlight, Ben.” Ben brought over a flashlight out of a box I had set down by the stairs. We shined it into the hole. A ladder lead down the side. It looked about 8 feet deep.

            “Should we go down?” Ben asked me. I looked down at the recently discovered hole and back at him. He could tell I was nervous because as soon as we made eye contact, he panicked. His cheeks got red and he looked worried. I attempted to change my expression to look more calm but it didn’t help. “We have to tell mom and dad, Jessica.”

            “No, Ben! This can be our little hide out! We just have to see what’s down there first.” I walked over to the ladder buried in the ground. As I climbed down, thoughts were racing through my head. What could be down here? Who put it down here? How long has it been here? Is it scary? Is it treasure?

            “Wait for me!” Ben yelled down from the top of the hole. He began to climb down when I reached the bottom. It was all dirt. I shined the flashlight around the room. There was nothing. Ben joined me at the bottom of the empty pit. “Hey what’s that?” I shined my light in the direction he was looking. It was a door. The door looked old and beat up. We approached it, each taking a tiny step as we moved forward. I was so nervous, I could feel the sweat dripping down my face. That’s about all I could feel though; the rest of my body was numb.

            The door read, “Beware.” I dusted off the handle. As I started to turn it, Ben grabbed my arm. I jumped, not knowing my little brother was that close to me. “We can’t go in there, it says ‘Beware’,” Ben whispered.

            “We’ve made it this far, haven’t we? Why not finish what we started?” I reached for the doorknob again and twisted it all the way. The door slowly cracked open. I shined the flashlight into the room.

            Dust fluttered around and the musty smell was overwhelming. We stepped back and tried to breathe the fresh air. Ben stepped forward, grabbing the flashlight from my hand. He leaned into the dark room. I followed closely. We looked around to find cement walls and a dirt floor. That’s when we spotted the box. It was wrapped in yellow wrapping paper and looked like a shoe box. It had a bow placed on top with a card.

            “Go get it, Ben!” I pushed him toward the box. He picked up the box then read the card aloud; “Jessica.”  I grabbed the box from his hands and opened the card. Just when I was about the open the card, I light shined onto us.

            “What are you two doing down here?” My parents stood at the door of the hidden room. They looked confused and mad. My mom came over and grabbed the box and card from me.

            “We knew you’d snoop, but not in hidden rooms! The past owners told us this was a good room to hide birthday presents. I guess we underestimated you kids!” My dad chuckled a little bit as he told me I had just spoiled my birthday surprise. I looked at Ben who looked shocked. Once he saw the relief, yet some disappointment, in my face, he began to laugh. We laughed and promised we would stop snooping for the rest of our lives.