Going Wild by Lisa McMann

the heavy end. “Watch your step here,” she called out as she led the way down the ramp backstage. It was dimly lit. Charlie looked over her shoulder for the glow tape that marked the corners and edges of the steps so shewouldn’t lose her footing.
    Kelly struggled on the other end. “It’s so dark back here. This thing is heavy.”
    â€œQuit whining,” Charlie muttered, but Kelly wasn’t listening—her ears were attuned elsewhere.
    Mr. Anderson gave a joyful greeting to whoever had entered. Kelly quit complaining long enough to listen, and they could hear the sound of a young man’s voice floating through the auditorium.
    Kelly’s eyes opened wide. She stopped walking, which nearly pulled the bed out of Charlie’s grasp.
    â€œWhat the—” Charlie began, fuming and trying to get a better grip on the bed, but Kelly shushed her.
    â€œIt’s Hickory James!” she hissed. “Last year’s Gaston from Beauty and the Beast . He’s in high school now. Oh my gah—how’s my hair? I have to go say hi! Dropping this now, bye!” And with that she let go of the bed and ran to the stage.
    Charlie lunged forward, cringing. Rude! Then she stared at the bed, stunned, as she realized something even more horrifying than Kelly’s behavior.
    Kelly’s end of the bed hadn’t fallen to the floor.
    Charlie was holding it—all of it. The entire bed.
    All by herself.

CHAPTER 15
OUT. OF. CONTROL.
    C harlie stared at the bed, held suspended by her own two hands. “What the—!” She let go of it and instinctively jumped backward as it thudded to the floor. She stood there a moment in shock. Had that really just happened? Had she been holding an entire bed by herself? It wasn’t possible.
    A cold sweat broke out on her forehead, and her stomach roiled. She whirled at the sound of Mr. Anderson and Kelly laughing in the auditorium. “I have to get out of here,” she murmured. She took off out the stage right exit, went down the hallway, and ducked into the girls’ bathroom.
    Once inside, Charlie ran into a stall and slammed the door behind her so hard that the top hinge broke off. The door swung wildly and came to an abrupt stop, hanging limp and at a strange angle from the bottom hinge. Charlie didn’t notice. She dropped to her knees in front of the toilet, hands shaking as she gripped the seat—she felt sick. She closed her eyes and felt her heart pounding, her breath becoming more labored, her stomach churning as she thought about all the strange things that were happening to her. Because they were strange—very strange. Running fasterthan she’d ever run before. Healing from a serious injury virtually overnight. Being strong enough to hold that entire bed by herself? That was insane! She couldn’t brush the incidents off anymore. They weren’t normal. Nothing about her was normal lately.
    She clenched her jaw, wanting to scream. What was going on? Her grip tightened on the toilet seat as the frustration grew inside her. Her skin burned, and she could feel herself losing control. “Why is this happening?” she whispered. “Why? Why?” With each plea, she gripped the toilet seat tighter, and with one final cry, she pounded it with her fists.
    The seat shattered, and the pieces fell all around. Water splashed up in her face.
    Charlie stared. “How is this even possible?” she cried. “What is happening to me?” She backed out of the stall and lunged toward the sinks, grabbing hold of one and staring at herself in the mirror above it. A stranger with her own face looked back at her—or at least it felt that way. The girl in the mirror looked normal. Scared, sure, but ordinary. Yet inside Charlie felt like some strange force had taken over her body.
    She twisted the faucet so she could splash clean water on her face, but the handle broke off in her hand and a stream