The Secret Room, 14th Chapter

"Tonight?" Jan balked. "No way, I'm too beat up!"
Jimmy was about to second her, then decided against it. "I'd like us get on with this thing as quickly as we can, before word starts getting round. Mrs. Banks isn't unaware of what we're doing, you know."
"So that's it!" Will said. "We do it tonight!"
"You serious about this, guys?" groaned Jan.
"Dead serious."

A good few hours later, Will and Jimmy found themselves creeping along the dark hallways long after lights out. Every now and then, they would stop and press themselves against a wall to listen out for any footsteps that weren't theirs.
"Where's Jan? We agreed to meet at twelve."
"Duh, this isn't the fifth floor yet."
"Whoops, silly me."
Cautiously they went up the stairs, taking great care to lift each step off the ground and land it gently.
"Man, this is taking longer than I expected. We're so going to be late."
"Shut up and keep walking."
After what seemed like a hike up Mount Everest, they finally reached the intended floor. Even in the near pitch dark conditions, Will could see clearly the grim purple door. "Jan!" he whispered as loudly as he could. "Where are you?"
A recognisable silhouette revealed itself. "Sheesh. I have a nice warm bed waiting for me downstairs, you know."
"Okay, okay, sorry. We had to be sure nobody heard us."
"Jan, did you see anyone while you were here?"
"Nope! Just me, myself, and I."
Good, that means Mrs. Banks could still be coming up here later."
"Guys," Jan quipped. "If we stay up all night, won't we be life-size zombies in the morning? I hear they've got another busy day planned out for us."
The two boys looked at each other.
"Why don't we do this instead," she continued. "We take turns staying up, so each of us loses only two hours of sleep."
"Yeah, and that way we'll only be half-zombies." Will cracked.
"And since Will is the leader of this team," said Jan. "He'll have the honour of being first!"