Locker 13 by R.L. Stine Page B

Zip disk.
    I still have a chance, I told myself. The Fate Master thought he shut me down. But I still have a chance.
    I stuffed the disk into my jacket pocket. I hurled myself down the stairs two at a time. “Bye! I have to go back to school!” I shouted to my parents.
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œWhat’s going on, Luke? We need you here.”
    â€œHey—come back and explain!”
    I heard their cries, but I burst out the front door and kept running.
    â€œI’ll stop the bad luck,” I said out loud. “I’ll stop it. I’ll stop the Fate Master—now!”
    I found Mr. Handleman in the computer lab, leaning over a keyboard, typing an e-mail message. He spun around when I shouted hi to him.
    I held up the disk. “Here it is! Please! You’ve got to check it out!”
    He motioned for me to sit down next to him. “I spoke to the producer of the computer show,” he said. “He called me this afternoon. He said that if I liked your animation, I should send it over to him right away.”
    â€œExcellent!” I cried. “That’s great news!”
    â€œAren’t you going to take your coat off?”
    â€œNo,” I answered breathlessly. I shoved the disk into the Zip drive. “No time. You have to see this. Right away.”
    He laughed. “Slow down. Take a deep breath.”
    â€œI’ll breathe after you see it!” I said.
    He leaned back in his chair and used his hands as a headrest. “You’ve been working on this for two years?”
    I nodded.
    I found the file in the disk directory and double-clicked it. “Here goes,” I said. I was so nervous, the mouse trembled in my hand. My chest was so tight, it felt about to burst.
    Is it possible to explode from excitement? I leaned forward to watch.
    The screen was solid black. “It’s starting now,” I whispered.
    I stared at the black screen, waiting for the bright burst of color at the beginning.
    Waiting …
    Finally a dim glow spread over the screen.
    Two circles of light. Two red circles glowed in the center of the darkness.
    Two red, glowing eyes.
    The eyes stared out, unblinking, unmoving. Blank, round circles of shimmering red.
    Mr. Handleman cleared his throat. His eyes remained locked on the monitor screen. “Are those eyes?” he asked. “Do they move or anything?”
    I opened my mouth to answer, but no sound came out.
    I stared frozen in horror at the glowing eyes. The evil eyes.
    And knew I had been defeated again.
    Mr. Handelman’s cheeks were bright red now. “Is this all there is?” he asked.
    â€œYes,” I whispered. “That’s all.”
    My project was gone. My two years of work were lost.
    The fiery eyes stared out at me in triumph.
    I climbed to my feet and slumped out of the room.
    I trudged down the empty hall, head down, hands shoved deep in my pockets. I’ve lost, I realized. I’m a loser forever now. Hannah and me both. Bad luck for the rest of our lives.
    I turned a corner—and almost bumped into Coach Swanson. “Hey, Luke—how’s it going?” he asked.
    I muttered a reply under my breath.
    â€œI was going to call you tonight,” he said. “Andy Mason is sick. You have to swim in his place tomorrow.”
    I raised my head. “Huh? Swim?” I had nearly forgotten that I was on the swim team.
    â€œSee you after school at the pool,” the coach said. “Good luck.”
    I’ll need it, I thought glumly.
    But then I realized I was being given one more chance.
    One more chance to win without luck. One more chance to defeat Fate.
    One last chance …
    The next morning I wore a baseball cap to school so no one could see the bald patches on my head. When I brushed my teeth that morning, another tooth came sliding out between my lips.
    My tongue was covered with hard, white bumps. My arms and legs itched. I was starting to get the same red blotches on