You by Charles Benoit

have no intention of pardoning Miss Savage. In fact, I think she needs to be taught a lesson.” He makes a quick mark, changing the one to a four.
    Ten seconds later the secretary returns and you’re back in your seats. When the bell rings, Zack asks politely, and she writes you both passes to your next class.
    Â 
    Y our uncle Kevin bows his head. “Lord, You have given us so much to be thankful for….”
    Â 
    Five things you are thankful for:
Online gaming
Ways around the lame porn filter your father put on your computer
Ultimate Fighting marathons on Spike TV
Ashley
 
    â€œ Y ou’re probably wondering how long we have before the alarm goes off.”
    You’re standing next to Zack in front of a beeping keypad mounted on the wall inside the maintenance entrance of Midlands High School, and that’s exactly what you’re wondering.
    The beeping started when you came out of the dark classroom, the motion detectors picking you up with your first step into the empty corridor where the foreign-language classes are all clustered together. During the three days of school that led up to Thanksgiving break, the French teacher focused on conjugating verbs while Zack concentrated on disabling the window’s locks.“You’d think the tricky part would be to make it look as if it’s locked when it’s not,” he had pointed out after you had both slipped through the window and pulled it shut behind you, careful not to drop the tire iron. “But the fact is, people don’t expect things to change. If it was locked last week, it’ll be locked today. It’s an assumption that makes my life so much easier.”
    You stayed low, letting your heartbeat slow back down, quieting your breathing, certain that someone would come busting into the room. But no one did and after five minutes you were ready to move on.
    Now, just seconds later, Zack has you standing in front of the keypad. He’s got a hold of your elbow, keeping you centered, but you’re not trying to get away. Not yet anyway.
    â€œYou see, Mr. Chase, this alarm, like most entry alarms you’ll encounter, has a delay before it triggers the main alarm. That’s the beeping you hear. It gives you time to punch in the code number todeactivate the alarm. And notice that the small red LED at the top is now on.”
    â€œTurn it off.”
    â€œWell, that requires the code. Without the code the main alarm will sound, the emergency lights will go on, and the police will be here in seconds.” He gives a nod in the direction of the keypad. “It’s very efficient.”
    â€œTurn it off.” You raise your voice to be heard over the beeps.
    â€œNotice anything unusual about the keypad?”
    â€œDon’t be an ass. Turn it off.” The beeps are getting louder and faster, or does it just seem that way?
    Zack ignores you. “There are twelve keys, arranged like a phone. Most codes for alarms are four digits. But which four?”
    You feel your teeth grinding together, the beeps definitely louder. “Turn it off. Now.”
    â€œIn the light of day I noticed that five of the keys are smudged—the four, the six, the eight, and thezero, along with the star key. Obviously, these are the keys most often pushed. Star will be the last key, but what is the order of the rest? Had me puzzled all through physics class.”
    The red LED starts flashing. You pull your elbow free and glare at him in the dim light.
    â€œSimple logic tells us that the code would have to be something that everyone authorized to enter the building could easily remember. If you haven’t noticed, teachers are not an overly bright lot.”
    You can feel your fist tighten and you know what’s coming.
    â€œBut then I realized where I had seen the numbers—the last four digits of the school’s phone number. Eight, six, zero, four.” He punches the keys as he says the numbers.