The Hole Behind the School
by patrick keene
Sept 20, 1996
Tracy found a hole in the woods past the basketball courts. I was sitting by the 6th grade classrooms with Danny, Carla, Emily, Sam, and Michael (<3) when she told me she had something to show me. I was annoyed because we were having a lot of fun. We slipped through the broken part of the fence and went into the trees. The hole was disgusting. It smelled like s--t and I said it looked like a muddy butthole. Tracy told me to listen, but I didn't hear anything. I leaned over and looked down. It was big and I couldn't see the bottom. I got really nervous. It felt like being on top of a big cliff. When I got back recess was over.
Sept 25, 1996
We got put in groups for an ecosystems project and Michael is in another group. UGH. At lunch, Tracy keeps trying to get me to go to the hole. She is obsessed. She said she heard her name come out of the hole. That scared me a little, but Tracy is just being a freak.
Sept. 28, 1996
Emily has been going to the hole at recess with Tracy. I don't care. When they came back through the fence some of the boys wanted to know what they were doing and threw dirt clods at them when they wouldn't tell. Aaron called Tracy a b---h. After lunch we had a spelling test and I blew it big time.
Sept. 30, 1996
Tracy, Emily, Jen, and Sam made me go with them to the hole today. They said I had to or they wouldn't talk to me anymore. All of the boys hate them. They wait for them to come back to the playground and throw rocks at them sometime (even Michael). At the hole, Jen dropped a pair of her mom's earrings in. Tracy told me I should throw something in and that they all had. I threw a rock in. Tracy got mad at me. The hole is wet and spongy and I got my shorts dirty.
Oct. 2, 1996
Miss Morrel said we aren't allowed to go past the fence anymore. Ben got suspended for hitting Emily with a rock when she crawled through the fence. Tracy said she didn't give a crap what Miss Morrel said and that we shouldn't be punished for what the boys do. I said I was ok hanging out near the 6th grade classrooms.
Oct. 5, 1996
Last night I had a dream. I left my house and walked toward the school. I didn't have a flashlight but the moon was full and I wasn't afraid. I walked through the playground and past the basketball courts and through the broken fence that Mr. Laurel closed on Tuesday. When I got to the hole all of the girls from my class were in a crowd around it. I saw Macy throw a book into the hole. Everyone was quiet. I got on the ground and crawled to the edge. Girls were throwing things in all around me. I saw keys, stuffed animals, bracelets, clothes, photos. Sam threw in a credit card. I looked down trying to see where they were going. The inside of the hole was warm. I listened, but didn’t hear anything.
Oct. 8, 1996
I took Michael to the hole. He said the other boys were being chicken s--ts, but he wanted to see. Michael looked down into it and when he got up he looked all white like he was sick. He said it was dumb and that we should fill it up before someone gets hurt. He picked up a big rock, but threw it into the woods. Tracy saw us coming back through the fence and got really mad at me. She said it wasn’t for boys. Michael pushed her. I was mad at Tracy for yelling at us.
Oct. 10, 1996
Michael hasn’t been at school in two days. I hate Tracy. Even though we are not allowed, all of the girls keep going to the hole during recess. Sometimes I will go with them. Mostly they just stare into the hole listening. Sometimes they will throw stuff in. One time I threw in an eraser I didn’t really like. Tracy said it wasn’t the same. The boys don’t use the basketball courts by the fence anymore.
Oct. 15, 1996
Last night I had another dream. I left my house and walk toward the school like last time, but this time only Michael was standing at the hole. I walked up until I was right behind him but he didn't turn around. I could see that he was looking into the hole. His hands were in fists at his side. He looked scared and he was shaking. In the dream I picked up a big rock like Michael had done the other day, but instead of throwing it into the woods I slammed it down onto Michael’s head. It made a loud crack and Michael fell over. I turned him around to look at his face. His eyes were open and there was blood coming down his forehead and into his mouth. I pushed him toward the mouth of the hole. I could hear the sounds of the spongy ground moving beneath him and he slowly went down the hole. I looked down and never heard him hit the bottom.
Oct. 17, 1996
At lunch all of the girls slip through the fence and come to the hole. We sit around and listen to it speak. Sometimes we throw things in.