Switched Read Free Page A

paying for the crimes they had committed.”
    I stared at the wall. “Wow,” I murmured. I turned to Lucy. “How did your grandfather find out about it?”
    â€œFrom the old caretaker at the Fear Street cemetery,” Lucy replied. “The caretaker lived in a cottage in the woods behind the cemetery. He knew all the old stories and legends—horror stories, mostly—of what went on in the woods. He would never repeat the stories, until one day many years ago. On that day, he told my grandfather the secret of the Changing Wall.”
    Lucy ran her hand gingerly over a smooth gray stone on the wall. As she touched it, the sky grew even darker. A deep gray settled around us. It seemed as if her touching the wall had made the world grow darker.
    But of course that was only my twisted imagination.
    I reached up my hand to touch the wall, but slowly drew it back.
    Lucy snickered. “It’s only stones and plaster, Nicole. It won’t bite you.”
    â€œH-how does it work?” I stammered. My chest suddenly felt fluttery. I realized I was very frightened.
    â€œGrandpa explained it all. It’s really so simple,” Lucy replied. “We climb up on the wall. We hold hands. We jump off, down to the other side. And when we land on the other side of the wall—”
    â€œWhen we land, we’re switched?” I interrupted.
    Lucy nodded. “When we land, we will be switched. Your mind will be in my body. And my mind will be in your body. When people look at me, I’ll look like you and everyone will think I’m you.”
    I stared at her, letting her words sink in. Then I raised my eyes to the wall, so gray and solemn, its dark shadow slanting over us.
    â€œYou really want to do this?” I asked Lucy.
    â€œCome on. We have to try it,” she replied. She took my hand again. This time both of our hands were cold and clammy.
    She squeezed my hand. “It’s so simple, Nicole. A simple jump. We have to try it. We really have to.”
    She raised her hands toward the top of the wall. “Give me a boost,” she instructed.
    I helped hoist her onto the top. It took her a short while to gain her balance. “It’s kind of bumpy up here,” she warned, lowering herself onto her knees.“The wall is so narrow and cracked. Be careful, Nicole. Be careful not to fall off.”
    She reached down both hands to help pull me to the top.
    I hesitated. Behind us I heard the mournful wail of the bird, high in the trees.
    Was it a warning sound?
    Was the bird warning me away?
    What kind of a bird sounds so much like a girl crying so bitterly? I wondered.
    â€œCome on, Nicole,” Lucy urged, shaking her hands impatiently. “Hurry. It’s hard to balance up here. And the stones are cutting my knees.”
    I ignored the wails of the bird and grabbed Lucy’s hands. She tugged me to the top. I scraped my left knee on the side. But I managed to scramble up beside my friend.
    On our knees we rested a few minutes, catching our breath.
    Then we both slowly, carefully, climbed to our feet. And turned to face the other side.
    I don’t know why, but I expected to see something different on the other side of the wall. Different trees. Different sky. A house or something.
    Some sign that everything on the other side was changed.
    But the clearing on the other side was surrounded by the same tangled, shadowy woods.
    My knees began to tremble as I took Lucy’s hand.
    Can I do this? I asked myself. Can I really do this?
    A simple jump, I reminded myself. That’s all there is to it. A simple jump.
    And my life will be changed.
    Lucy and I glanced at each another. I could see my fear reflected in her dark green eyes. I was sure she could see her fear reflected in mine.
    It was as if we had traded our frightened feelings even before we leapt off the wall together. As if the switch had already begun.
    My chest fluttered so hard, I could barely