As she shouldered her backpack, her mom poked her head out
from the kitchen. “Don’t forget your earbuds. There’s a good podcast on 21st
century political scandals that you should listen to on your way to school.
Jenny rolled her eyes and grabbed her buds. She waved goodbye and headed down the
stairs to meet her BFF Zander, who walked with her to school every morning. She
tucked the buds in her ears and tapped them on. A piercing whistle made her
flinch and jerk them out again. She tapped them off, then back on, and tried
again. There was static, but at least no whistle.
“Huh. That’s weird. I’ll have to get Mr. Bateman to check
them out,” she thought as she waved hello to Zander.
“Hey, you listening to the scandal podcast?” he asked.
“Naw, my buds are acting weird. Is it any good?”
Zander rolled his eyes in answer, and she laughed.
As they walked down the street, Jenny paid more attention to
everything they passed than she usually did. Zander was listening to the
podcast, but she still just heard static in her buds. After a couple of blocks,
Jenny noticed there seemed to be some sort of rhythm to it, and she looked
around curiously. The static grew louder as they approached the corner of 121
Comm Ave, then faded as they passed the building. It was one of Jenny’s
favorite building on their walk, because of the cool carvings along the façade over
the two-story arched doors. It reminded her of the ancient civs art they
studied, like Egypt and Greece. The more you looked at the carvings, the more
there was to see. She liked the cats peeking out behind people, rolling on the
ground or standing on two legs.
Zander was still caught up in the podcast, oblivious as
usual. Since she wasn’t listening to it, they couldn’t maintain their usual
running commentary. As they neared 118 Comm Ave, the static in her buds
suddenly cleared, and Jenny heard someone say, “Status caution. Students approach.”
She frowned and looked around, but didn’t see anyone nearby.
As they passed the building, the same bored voice said, “All clear. Status norm.”
Jenny paused, and Zander walked on a couple of steps before
he noticed. He turned back to her. “You okay? What’s up?”
“I don’t know.” Jenny was looking around for something to
explain what she had heard. There was no one within 20 feet of her and Zander.
Could the voice have been talking about them? She felt a shiver down her spine
and hurried to catch up with Zander. She looked up and noticed more carvings on
the walls along 118.
Jenny started paying attention to the wall friezes as they
continued their usual path down Comm Ave. There were designs about every three
buildings, which spread out to one on each corner and one in the middle of each
block. As they passed each one, the static in her earbuds rose, then faded. She
didn’t hear any more voices until they reached the busy corner of Comm and
Delancey. They crossed over to the Metro entrance on the middle island, and
Jenny noticed the carvings around the wall of the fountain, just as the static
hummed again and she heard, “Ped traffic. Status norm.”
She jumped and looked around. Zander pulled a bud out of his
ear and stared at her with a concerned frown. “What’s up? You are jumpy as a
cat today.”
Jenny pulled her buds out and held them up. “I don’t know,
Zander. Something weird is going on. Let’s go, I want to get out of here. I
mean, I want to get to school.”
Zander gave her an odd look, then shrugged. As they rode
down into the Metro, Jenny noticed all the carvings on the walls. She
shuddered. As they scanned their passes, the security guard leaned forward. “Miss,
you don’t have your earbuds in. Is there a problem?”
Jenny stared up at him for a moment in shock. She held them
up and said, “I think they need new batteries or something. I’ll get them
checked when I get to school.” The guard nodded and waved them on. Jenny’s
fingers trembled a little as she tucked them back in her ears to avoid any
other notice.
They lucked into seats on the train, and Jenny pulled a
notebook and pencil from her backpack. She wrote a note and handed it to
Zander.
“I think people are checking up on us. Through the earbuds.
Don’t say anything. Leave yours in your locker at lunch and meet me down at the
track.”
Zander’s eyebrows lifted as he read it. He nodded, folding the
note and tucking it in his pocket. By the time they reached the school, Jenny
could predict the static surges by the statues and building artwork they
passed, and she heard three more “status” reports. Fortunately, none of them
seemed to be about her. Yet.
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Dogs in house:
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Houdini
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Music:
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Rachel Portman, Chocolat
soundtrack
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March word count:
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2530
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