Five stood there, begging for her to enter. They competed over one another desperately, yelling, “Pick me! Pick me!” She stood confused among the fog. The the smell of the afternoon rain filled her nostrils and the only sound she could hear was the eerie dripping noise from a gutter. Drip, drip, drip. The shudder-some noise echoed down the deathly quiet street. It was mysterious how they simply stood there, side by side against the brick wall in a deserted street. Corey did not happen to stumble upon them one day, she was led there by an peculiar group of people. Well, she actually followed them clandestinely.

She observed the five structures from afar, afraid to step too close to them. The second one of the five was the dirtiest and dingiest. Its red paint was chipped and dull, unlike the other four. The others were like freshly painted finger nails, their red color popped out against the bricks that were worn out from the heavy rain. Each one stood prominently tall, and each held the same dark secret. If she could only slip surreptitiously through one of their doors and uncover what that secret was. The knob of a door whispered persuasively to her, “Come and see, come and discover the unknown....”

Just as she considered taking a step out from the shadow of which she concealed herself, voices reverberated against the building's walls. Corey bit her lip anxiously. She shuffled back hurriedly and watched wide-eyed with curiosity from her shadowy shelter. It was them! The ones who unknowingly showed her the mysterious place were approaching. She stood like a tree, unmoving, as five shadowy figures strolled down the street. They whispered amongst one another, and their eyes darted about suspiciously. They stepped under a bright street light and the glow illuminated their faces. Their countenances were unnervingly serious. There were two girls and three boys. The two girls had soot colored hair, and their skin was pale and perfect like a porcelain doll. Their eyes were dark and mischievous, and their faces expressed no emotion. They never smiled, but kept their mouth in a tight, thin line. The three boys differed from one another. The tallest one had chestnut hair and sea-green eyes. He appeared unusually calm. If a plane were to come crashing down before him and blow up into a billion pieces, he would most likely watch serenely without the bat of an eye. The next one down had pale gray eyes and strawberry blond hair. His expression was inscrutable. The shorter of the three was sinister looking. He had jet black hair and piercing emerald eyes like daggers. Corey could not stare at him for long, for he terrified her. She knew them from her school. People tended to stay away from the odd group; they were the outcasts. Like wolves, they traveled in a pack, never associating with the other students.

Corey stood in a puddle and watched a rat scamper by. She held her mouth shut and tried to hold back a shriek of fear. Her brown eyes followed the rat's agile movements. She tried to shuffle away, but its attentive ears caught the sound of her sneakers splash in the puddle. It stopped with its perked and turned its coal colored head towards her. She sweated nervously, and prayed it would not come any closer. Suddenly, she heard the voices from the group rise.

“Let's go.” said one of the girls callously.

“Wait.” the boy with emerald eyes held a warning hand up. “I think I hear something.” He stared into the shadow where Corey hid. She glanced up fearfully and held her breath. The rat and the boy both stared at her intently, only the boy did not seem to actually see her. The darkness of the shadow covered her well. He rolled his eyes suspiciously over the area, and then snapped his head back towards the others. “I guess my ears were playing a trick on me.” he remarked apathetically. The others nodded stiffly and turned toward the cherry red booths. Each one of them took their place in front of the structures. The boy with pale gray eyes was the last one at the end, and he signaled to the others with a brisk nod. They then faced the windowed doors like an army lined up for war and opened them simultaneously. Corey's heart beat erratically in suspense. Just as they were about to step inside, she felt a rough brush up against her leg. She tore her stare away reluctantly only to see a huge, wet haired rat chewing at her shoelaces viciously. She whimpered pathetically and leaped on top of a rusty dumpster in a panic. She trembled silently and watched the fat rat scurry towards a rotten apple. She did not dare to leave her safe spot on top of the greasy box. She scrunched her face up in disgust as the putrid smell of rotted garbage drifted its way to her nose. Plugging her nose, she shifted her gaze back over where the five teenagers were, but there was no sign of them. They disappeared.

Corey waited a few moments until she thought it was safe to step out. While the repulsive rat feasted on garbage, she walked cautiously over to where they last stood, her sneakers making a slip-slop sound on the damp pavement. The gloomy storm clouds gathered overhead and threatened to burst. A drop fell from the sky and landed on Corey's forehead with a refreshing splash. She stared at the five red telephone booths inquisitively, and tried to decide whether or not to call it a day, or to embark on an adventure. Little did she know that she witnessed the secret dealings of The Telephone Booth Society.