Blackout

by Michelle


"Bye Pam!" Dad and Mum shouted as they closed the door behind them. "Bye!" Pamela shouted back, waving at the door. Pamela pressed her ears against the closed door. When the sound of footsteps faded, she jumped onto the sofa and switched on the television. Her parents had left to attend a friend's wedding dinner and they won't be back till midnight. Her sister was in her friend's house for a sleepover, so nobody was at home to fight with me for the remote control. It was bliss.

It was already ten at night, and Pamela was sitting eagerly on the sofa, munching on popcorn while watching the late-night horror shows. Suddenly, the television went off. The lights also went out, plunging the whole room into darkness. Bright spots appeared before Pamela's eyes as the darkness came suddenly, cutting out every inch of bright light. Pamela clutched her popcorn bag tightly, her eyes darting around the room. Cold sweat dripped down her face, and she wiped them off with the back of her hand. Then, Pamela decided to do something, so she got up from her seat and stumbled blindly towards the kitchen.

Pamela groped around the kitchen as she headed for the emergency drawer. Everything that were needed during emergencies were in there. Grasping the drawer handle, Pamela pulled the drawer open. She rummaged through the things in drawer. Then, her hands touched the torchlight. She curled her fingers around the torchlight and pulled it out. Pamela immediately tried to switch the torchlight on but to no avail. She slapped her hand against her forehead, suddenly remembering that she had used the batteries in the torchlight for her Game boy. Pamela let out a groan and wished she had not been so playful.

Pamela rummaged through the drawer again and pulled a box of matchsticks and a candle out. She struck the first match. Fire danced on the matchstick as the matchstick was lit. Then, a gentle breeze brushed past the fire, causing the flame to sizzle away. Pamela gave a sigh of exasperation as she struck another matchstick. The matchstick 'came alive' and Pamela lit the candle hurriedly. When the flame touched the wick, it lit up instantly. Pamela gave a sigh of relief as the flame lit up the area around her.

Pamela walked out of the kitchen and sat on the living room sofa. What now?

Pamela then decided to read a book to calm herself down. She selected her favourite book, Twilight. Pulling the book out from the shelf, Pamela settled down on the sofa, reading and eating popcorn at the same time.

Suddenly, the lights came back on again. Pamela jumped in shock as the bright light flooded the room. As fast as the light came on, it went out again. Then, the light started flickering. Fear, raw and intense, swept through Pamela. Her thoughts ran wild and she was imagining all sorts of things. Was this place haunted? This month was the Hungry Ghost Festival. Pamela remembered that she was playful enough to pull out every candle which was used for praying from the ground earlier this morning with her friends. Was the ghost out for revenge? Pamela dropped to her knees, her hands clasped together. "I'm sorry, ghost, if I have offended you. Please forgive me and leave me alone," Pamela whispered fervently. Suddenly, suppressed giggles reached her ears. She knew that sound. Her face turned to the colour of molten lava as she stormed towards the door.

Peeping through the peephole in the door, Pamela saw her sister and her group of friends crowding around the main switch of the house. Pamela's suspicion was confirmed. Her sister and friends were behind all this. "They must have been bored enough to come here and tamper with the switch, scaring me!" Pamela thought. Then, Pamela decided to have her revenge.

Pamela draped a white cloth over her body and slowly opened the door. Good. Her sister and friends were too immersed in tampering with the switch to notice her! Creeping behind the group of friends, Pamela raised her hands and moaned, "How dare you... How dare you..." The whole group stopped giggling. Pamela's sister withdrew her hand from the main switch. Turning around, they stared wide-eyed at the 'ghost'. Screams reverberated down the corridor. Fear and horror was evident in their eyes.

Laughing uncontrollably, Pamela pulled off the white cloth.

"Sorry for scaring you!" Pamela said sarcastically as she walked back into the house. Her sister came running into her house and swore that she was going to tell Mum and Dad. "Let's see how they will take it when I too tell them that you were tampering with the main switch!" Pamela threatened, narrow-eyed. A smile spread across Pamela's face as she waited for her sister's answer. Pamela had her in a tight corner. Then, Pamela's sister threw in the towel and promised not to play such tricks ever again. She even made her friends promise to Pamela. Pamela laughed with satisfaction. She had won!