Three friends follow a strange noise into the school cloakroom and find Mr Roman, a mountain of jellybeans, and something inside the wall that should not be moving.
Joyful Adventure Primary School No. 13 was famous for two things: announcements that made no sense and a jellybean machine in the corridor that nobody trusted. On most days, that was enough to keep everyone busy. On this particular afternoon in May, just after chemistry, the school managed to outdo itself.
Filip had a talent for getting into trouble without meaning to. Ola, who could spot sarcasm from three classrooms away, was never far behind. Bartek, who treated every harmless object like a potential weapon, was already filming something on his phone before anyone had even decided whether this was a good idea. So when Filip heard a rustling sound coming from the cloakroom, he did the only sensible thing he ever did: he called the others.
The cloakroom looked normal at first, which was immediately suspicious. Then came the mumbling. It was soft and uneven, like someone trying to recite Pan Tadeusz while chewing gum and hiding inside a washing machine. Bartek lifted his phone torch. Ola gave Filip the kind of look that said this was entirely his fault, but she still stepped forward.
The broom cupboard door creaked open. A wave of jellybeans spilled out across the floor, skittering under benches, bouncing off shoes, and filling the room with the smell of sugar and something faintly radioactive. Raspberry, lemon, cola, even a disgusting green one that looked as if it had escaped from a science lab. Then Mr Roman, the caretaker, rose out of the mess like he had been waiting for a dramatic entrance all day. He was wearing a helmet made from crushed energy drink cans and holding a giant battery-powered broom like a weapon.
'Nobody move,' he barked. 'Only true friends survive the Mega Jelly Test of Courage.'
Filip grinned before he could help himself. Ola exhaled through her nose. Bartek kept filming, because of course he did.
Then the lights dimmed. The wardrobe slammed shut with a bang that shook dust from the ceiling. The floor gave a strange, slow shiver, as if something underneath the building had just turned over in its sleep.
A second later, the secretary's voice crackled over the school speakers: 'Attention. Ten minutes until the end of break. Anyone not back in class will answer to the headmaster.'
Right after that, the wardrobe shuddered again and began to slide, inch by inch, straight into the wall.