Chapter 4

Shortly before the exchange program departure, the school suddenly asked me to pick up the performance records from the old auditorium.

The place was crammed with props from past anniversary galas. The mascot costume Mom tore open was still lying in a corner.

The teacher in charge of locking up got a call and told me to let myself out when I was done. Shortly after he left, the overhead lights flickered twice. Then I smelled something burning behind the curtains.

An old outlet spat sparks, and the scenery beside it caught fire. I grabbed an extinguisher and squeezed the handle, but nothing came out. It was empty.

Flames shot up the curtains. I slammed my shoulder into the door, but the lock was jammed, and it wouldn't budge.

With one hand over my mouth and nose, I pulled out my phone and called Delilah.

She didn't answer.

I called again. She declined it. On the third call, she did the same.

Over in the new auditorium, Mason was rehearsing for another performance of the piano solo he hoped would go viral. Delilah watched my name flash across her screen, getting more annoyed with every call.

Mason stopped playing. "Is that Sam again?"

"Yeah."

"He asked me when I was playing." Mason gave a tight smile. "Probably has another stunt planned. Got to remind us how much we need him."

Mom frowned from her seat in the audience. "I thought he was packing. Please tell me he's not coming here to make another scene."

Dad snorted. "Always has to make it about him."

Delilah rejected the fourth call without a second thought. "Just ignore him. I told him three calls meant an emergency. Now, he's just trying to wear me down."

Back in the old auditorium, smoke hung thick overhead. I lay flat on the floor and forced out a voice message.

"Delilah, there's a fire! I'm not messing around."

The voice message sat in our chat with a single gray tick. She had blocked me.

I tried to laugh and choked on hot smoke. She promised she would pick up. That promise didn't even last a day.

My phone slipped from my hand. Just before I blacked out, I thought I heard someone pounding frantically on the other side of the door.

-

When I opened my eyes, emergency lights flashed overhead. I tried to speak, but nothing came out.

After the performance, the Gardners walked out of the new auditorium, laughing and chatting, then stopped at the sight of fire trucks crowding the school entrance.

Dad caught a passing teacher by the arm. "Where's the fire?"

The teacher was soaked in sweat. "The old auditorium. A student was trapped inside."

"Who?" Mom asked immediately.

Vanessa rushed over from the ambulance and slapped Delilah across the face. "Sam called you 13 times! Why didn't you pick it up?"

Delilah went white. "N-No. He only called four times…"

At the hospital, a doctor finally came out of the emergency room. "Sam's family?"

All four hurried toward him. He pulled off his mask, his expression grim.

"He's suffered severe smoke inhalation and serious damage to his throat. We don't know yet whether he'll regain the ability to speak."