The Phantom of

The A Building

by Valerie Dohrer

Rain pelted the thick glass windows of Berkeley High. Gabby groaned knowing that the basement of the A building flooded when it rained. She hoped nothing had been left on the floor of the Costume Shop or else it would be ruined. She would have to go down there to check after school.

The distinct musk of the A building accompanied the warm air escaping from the vents. The squeak of rain boots and rustle of jackets filled the hallway as students chattered about weekend plans. The part Gabby hated most about being in charge of the Berkeley High Costume Shop was that she was not allowed to have a key. Whenever she wanted to go down there she would have to hunt down the Drama Teacher, Mr. Mullins or Jim, the Theater Manager.

Jim was almost never in his office so Gabby headed upstairs to find Mr. Mullins. Though Mr. Mullins had a seventh period class, Gabby walked right in and an unspoken passing of the keys ensued. Twirling the keys around her index finger, Gabby hummed down the two flights of stairs and halted before an inconspicuous door. The lock turned with ease but protested its removal from the lock. After a practiced wiggle of the key, it came loose.

Gabby flipped on the light and walked down the dusty stairs to what she sometimes referred to as the dungeon. She used the key to swiftly open the door to the Costume Shop although she’d taught herself how to break in the summer before. She habitually turned on the lights and then her ancient purple radio to keep her company before she dared to look at the potential damage.

It didn’t seem so bad. The ground was only faintly moist but something wasn’t right. Gabby joked about having a sixth sense to know when anyone else had been down there. It was different; things were out of place and most of the work she’d done the summer before seemed to be in vain.

As she picked up discourteously abandoned articles of clothing from the floor, Gabby pondered ways to keep people from going in there without her. Changing the locks wouldn’t be effective enough. She wasn’t the only one who knew how to break in. A barbed wire or electrified fence might work. If only she had that kind of power.

Gabby groaned in frustration as she uncovered props that had been borrowed for the Drama classes. There was no reason that they should end up in there. The prop room was only thirty yards away.

She piled tattered, old books, a magnifying glass, a whistle and a rotary telephone into an empty milk crate and carried them down the hall, through the set room and turned right into the prop room. The maze of unused furniture and keyboards surrounded her. She returned the items to their rightful places before she left.

Gabby stopped to pick up a lone hanger that was half covered by a wheelchair when she noticed smears of red paint coming from under the wheels and a pinkish tint on the brown leather. She silently scolded the techies for messing around with the props and picked up the hanger. It was wet and sticky and she immediately dropped it again in horrified disgust.

She grabbed a rag from a nearby pile to wipe the goo away. Gabby cautiously sniffed at her hand. She smelled the sickening sweetness of dyed corn syrup. Of course, it was stage blood. But why was it all over the wheelchair?

“Danny? Sam?” she called to the head student techies. Her voice broke the silence of the empty basement. There were no techies to be found. Crap, they must all be upstairs helping Jim.

Gabby dropped the towel in a laundry bin and headed up to the surface to thoroughly wash her hands. The door to the Costume Shop was still wide open and the radio loudly crackled in attempt to find a better signal.

Five o’clock in the evening used to scare her when she was alone in the Costume Shop. She would imagine mass murderers or monsters coming to get her and no one would be able to hear. The basement was seldom used and if there was an earthquake and tables or keyboards or other set pieces fell on her, it could be weeks before anyone found her. The quiet used to be a terrifying change from the loud screeches of high school students during passing period. She was so used to it by now that the basement, as creepy and foreign it had once been, she knew by heart.

Gabby expertly avoided the spray as the Niagara Falls gushed from the faucet. The unpracticed victim often left that bathroom drenched and frustrated. The anticipated creak of the door hinges didn’t draw her attention. She crossed the hall and descended once again into the basement.

The door was shut. Hmm, that was strange. Air from the heater probably blew it close by mistake, she decided. Without hesitation, she fiddled with the lock until the door burst free from its frame. The lights were off and the radio no longer played. This was no gust of wind. No gust of wind could reach behind the organizational boxes and turn off the light. This was starting to get creepy. Gabby was so used to everything down there that it wasn’t easy to freak her out. She quickly turned on the lights. Nothing seemed to be different.

“Danny?” she called a little louder. “Sam? Where are you guys? Come on this isn’t funny!”

Gabby went back upstairs to the Community Theater stage where the techies usually hung out if they weren’t working. The florescent work lights were still on and the ghost light sat on the edge of the stage casting shadows into the house. She missed the music that usually played during work hours. The absence of it worried her. It was probably best she went home by now anyway. It would be getting dark soon and the mess could wait until tomorrow.

Gabby’s heart pummeled her chest as she quickly slung her backpack over one shoulder, turned off the lights and closed the door. She knew it was silly to get freaked out over this but adrenalin shot through her veins with a force that brought her close to hyperventilation. Gabby speed up the steps knowing how ridiculous it was to be scared of what was probably nothing but not wanting to spend any more time alone in the basement.

*****

The next day Gabby was determined to discover the cause of the previous day’s events. Some excitement now accompanied her job, though at the same time it made her nervous. There seemed to be a ghost in the basement. What else could explain how the door could have been closed and lights turned off?

“Hey, Sam,” Gabby called, as they crossed paths between passing periods.

“What’s up Gabby?”

“Did anyone go into work yesterday?”

“I wasn’t there so I don’t know if anyone else went in. Why? Is something wrong?”

“Well, no, not exactly.”

“You should ask Danny. He was probably around since he practically lives down there.”

“Right, thanks Sam.”

Gabby kicked herself for not going to Danny right away. He knew the basement better than anyone.

Gabby finally tracked him down on the Community Theater stage after school.

“Danny!” Gabby called from across the stage.

“I don’t have the keys so I can’t let you into the Costume Room,” he replied without looking up.

“No it’s no that. Were you working yesterday?”

“Of course, I work everyday. Why?”

“Well I got stage blood on my hands so I went to the bathroom to wash it off and when I can down the door to the costume room was locked, my radio and the lights were turned off.”

“Oh sorry, I did that. I thought you’d left.”

“No it’s ok, I was just being stupid. Don’t worry about it but why was there stage blood all over the wheelchair?”

“Eric and Cole were messing around and got it everywhere. I told them to clean it up. I’m going to be pissed if we have a bunch of ants down there now because they didn’t clean up well.”

Gabby said goodbye and headed home. At least now she knew what happened. She was embarrassed for overreacting but at least the phantom of the A building had been unveiled.