Maya
There’s a rule at my school about sharing. I thought it was a Ms. Okafor rule.
It’s older than that. Because when Bea said "mine" — something said it back.
The closet: “Mine!”
Maya
Hi. It’s Maya. Welcome to Maya and the Fog.
Leo
And Leo. Who was there.
Maya
As a reading buddy.
Leo
It’s a very important job.
Maya
You read one page.
Leo
It was a long page.
Maya
Okay. Before we start. This one’s different. My friends are in it. Bea, and Ashi, and Twiggy. And Leo’s friend Lucas.
Leo
Luke.
Maya
Lucas. So there’s more people to be scared. And it happened at school. In the daytime. With the lights on.
If you have a hand — hold it. If you don’t, hold your own. That counts.
Leo
Also there’s a closet.
Maya
Don’t tell them about the closet.
Leo
For the record, echoes are physics.
Maya
Leo. It said it in Bea’s voice. Then it said it in mine.
Fog day
Ms. Okafor
Indoor recess, friends. Fog day. Nobody’s going out in that. The sharing shelf is open — and the shelf rule is?
Ashi
Everything on the shelf is everybody’s.
Ms. Okafor
Everything on the shelf is everybody’s. Thank you, Ashi. I’ll be at the office for two minutes. Be kind.
Maya
Okay. So. Indoor recess. Me, Bea, Ashi and Twiggy, at the sharing shelf, with a rule, and no grown-up. That lasted about four seconds.
Bea
Blue ones! The blue blocks are out! Nobody touch the blue ones. No! Mine!
Ashi
You have to share the blue ones. That’s the shelf rule. She just said it.
Bea
I am sharing. I’m sharing them with me.
Ashi
That’s not how sharing works.
Bea
Uh huh. It’s how this sharing works.
Twiggy
I don’t need any blocks.
Bea
Good.
Twiggy
Oh — wait. Actually. Bea, could I please have one? Just one?
Bea
No.
Twiggy
The ugly one? With the bite mark? Please?
Bea
Especially not the ugly one. The ugly one’s my favourite.
Maya
You can’t have a favourite ugly one.
Bea
Watch me.
Maya
Fine. Then I get the glitter markers. All six. Even the gold one.
Milo
Maya? Can I please have the gold one?
Maya
Uh uh. It’s mine.
Ashi
Maya.
Maya
I said it nicely.
Milo
She did say it nicely.
Ashi
Okay. I’m making a list. Bea: all the blue blocks. Maya: all the markers. Twiggy: nothing.
Twiggy
By choice.
Ashi
Me: the rules.
Bea
You can keep the rules. Actually — give me the list.
Ashi
Hey! That’s — Bea! Give it back!
Bea
Hey! Mine!
Ashi
That’s it. I’m telling Ms. Okafor.
Bea
She’s at the office.
Ashi
I’m telling her later.
Bea
Tell her this. The blue ones are mine! The ugly one is mine! The list is mine! Everything I’m holding is —
MINE!
The closet: “Mine!”
Bea
WHAT was that?!
Ashi
The lights — did you see the lights? The lights went off — they went off when it —
Maya
They flickered. They flickered when it said it. Who said that? Bea, who said that?
Bea
Not me! I mean — me. The first one was me. The second one was not me.
Maya
Nobody else is in here. It’s just us. It’s always just us.
Twiggy
Something said "mine" back.
Ashi
…Bea. Say it again.
Bea
Mine.
Ashi
See? Nothing. It was probably just the heater. And the lights do that. The lights do that all the time.
Twiggy
Bea? Could I please have the ugly one now?
Bea
No. Mine.
The closet: “Mine.”
Ashi
The lights. The lights did it again. Okay. Nope. Nope nope nope nope nope.
Bea
Did you hear that? It said "mine" again! It said it in my voice! Why does it have my voice?
Maya
It was little. Like somebody behind the bookshelf, whispering "mine" back, in Bea’s voice. A little bit late. And a little bit lower.
Ashi
It’s the heater. The heater makes a noise. Heaters make noises.
Twiggy
The heater doesn’t know the word "mine."
Bea
Okay. Okay, that’s — okay.
I’m going to draw. I’m going to draw a sun, because it’s a fog day and there isn’t one. Maya, can I please borrow the gold marker? Just for the sun. I’ll give it right back, I promise.
Ashi
Bea. Don’t.
Bea
Maya.
Maya
…No. It’s mine.
The closet: “Mine.”
Bea
…That was you. It said "mine" in your voice.
Ashi
And the lights went almost all the way out that time. It’s getting worse. Every time, it’s getting worse.
Maya
It was. It was my voice. Lower than the others. Slower. Like it had been waiting for that one.
Ashi
You said it on purpose. You said it on purpose, Maya.
Maya
I wanted to see.
That’s what I told them. I also just didn’t want to give her the gold one.
Ashi
Okay. Okay okay okay. New rule! Nobody says "mine." Nobody says it, nobody whispers it, nobody spells it.
Bea
You just said it.
Ashi
I’m allowed. I’m the rule.
Twiggy
Hm.
Ashi
No — wait. Wait. It didn’t do it when Bea said it to nobody. It did it when Twiggy asked and Bea said no. It did it when Bea asked Maya and Maya said no.
Twiggy
It only says "mine" back when somebody wants the thing.
Ashi
It’s not the word. It’s the not sharing.
Bea
Then I’m not sharing and not talking. Problem solved.
Lucas
Hi! Hi, we’re your reading buddies! I’m Lucas, this is Leo, that’s Junie, and I brought a book about fog. It’s nonfiction. It has facts. Leo, who’s your reading buddy?
Leo
My sister. I’ve had her for five years.
Junie
Ms. Okafor said sit on the rug, so — that’s where I’ll be. Sitting. On the rug.
Bea
Junie. Junie. Ask Lucas for his book. Don’t ask why, just ask him, and then listen.
Junie
Lucas? Could I please see your book? Pretty please?
Lucas
What? No! Mine!
The closet: “Mine!”
Lucas
What — what was that? It said "mine"! It said "mine" in my voice! Leo! Leo, did you hear it? That was my voice!
Junie
…Okay. The lights. Somebody tell me the lights always do that.
Ashi
They don’t.
Leo
That was an echo, Luke. Obviously that was an echo. Echoes are sound bouncing off flat surfaces. This room has a lot of flat surfaces. It’s physics.
Bea
The "mine" came a second late, and it came back lower, and echoes don’t do that!
Leo
Big room. Big, low room.
Twiggy
The voice came from the closet.
Maya
The coat closet. Where the coats go. Where nobody goes, because it’s full of coats. And there was fog. Coming out under the door. Inside. On the floor of our classroom.
Junie
Last year a kid said "mine" about a cupcake in here and nobody’s seen him since.
Ashi
That’s not true.
Junie
Then where’s Devin?
Ashi
Mm-hm. Devin moved.
Junie
That’s what they’d say.
It gets later
Maya
Here’s the thing about a room full of kindergartners on a fog day. Everybody wants something somebody else has. And everybody says no.
Junie
Milo, could I please hold your dinosaur? Just for a second?
Milo
No! Mine!
The closet: “Mine!”
Lucas
Ashi, could I please borrow your pencil? Mine’s —
Ashi
No! Mine! Sorry. Reflex.
The closet: “Mine!”
Maya
And every single time — it said "mine" back. And every time, a little bit later. And a little bit lower. And then Bea had an idea, which is never good.
Bea
Everybody! Game! On three, everybody ask somebody for something, as nice as you can — and then yell "no, mine!" as loud as you can. One, two —
Ashi
That is the opposite of the shelf rule.
Bea
— three! Twiggy, go!
Twiggy
Bea, may I please have one block?
Bea
No! MINE!
Lucas
Junie, can I please try on your hair clip?
Junie
No! MINE!
Milo
Leo, can I please have your glasses?
Leo
I’m not playing.
Milo
Say it!
Leo
No. Mine.
Lucas
Maya! Maya, may I please, please have the gold marker?
Maya
No! MINE!
The closet: “Mine!”
Bea
…That was only one. We all said it. It only said one back.
Junie
Okay. That’s not the heater. Heaters don’t turn the lights off.
Milo
I want Ms. Okafor. I want Ms. Okafor to come back.
Ashi
It could still be the heater.
Twiggy
It’s not echoing anymore. It’s answering. Somebody says "mine," and it says "mine" like it means it.
Maya
That’s the part I didn’t like. When Bea said "mine," the room said "mine" back in Bea’s voice. When everybody said it, six of us, all at once — it picked one voice. It picked mine.
Twiggy
It picked you.
Maya
Why me?
Twiggy
You have the gold one. Everybody wants the gold one.
Bea
It’s a him. I’ve decided. His name is Gerald.
Ashi
You can’t name it.
Bea
I already did. Gerald, say "mine."
He’s shy.
Twiggy
He’s not shy. Nobody’s asking for anything. Bea? Please may I have the ugly one?
Bea
…No. It’s mine.
The closet: “Mine.”
Bea
…He’s not shy.
Ms. Okafor
Friends, I’m back. Why is everybody whispering. Never mind — the office needs me again. Buddies are in charge. Junie, you’re the grown-up.
Junie
Great.
Maya
That’s when Milo went to his cubby.
Milo
My dinosaur’s gone. My dinosaur was in my cubby and it’s gone.
Leo
Did you look under —
Milo
It’s a cubby. There’s no under.
Bea
Wait. My blocks. I put the blue ones in my cubby so nobody would — they’re gone.
Maya
The markers. I put them in mine. They’re gone.
Ashi
Okay. Everybody stop. I’m making a list. A new list, because somebody took my old one.
Bea
It was a good list.
Ashi
Milo’s dinosaur. Bea’s blue blocks. Maya’s glitter markers. My pencil. I’m writing this with a crayon. Junie — Junie, what’s gone?
Junie
My hair clip. The good one.
Ashi
Junie’s good hair clip. Twiggy?
Twiggy
I still have my nothing.
Junie
Her mug’s gone. Ms. Okafor’s mug. The one that says "world’s okayest teacher."
Twiggy
She said "mine" about it. This morning. When Milo asked for a sip. I heard.
Ashi
Ms. Okafor’s mug. That’s a grown-up thing. It takes grown-up things.
So. Everything on the list — is a thing somebody asked for. And somebody said "mine."
Leo
Coincidence has a very strong track record.
Lucas
Page nine. Page nine! "Fog creatures are collectors. Like magpies. They take what is held too tightly." That’s basically what happened!
Leo
Who wrote that.
Lucas
It says "a friend."
Leo
That’s not an author.
Lucas
It’s a friend, Leo.
Maya
And I’m standing at my cubby, and I’m thinking: it took the markers. It took the blocks. It took a dinosaur. What if it takes the thing I’d say "mine" about the most? What if it takes Bea?
The closet
Ashi
The lights did that on their own. Nobody said anything. Nobody said anything and they did it anyway.
Leo
Fog day. The power’s —
— the power’s fine, actually.
Maya
It sounded like someone dragging things. Lots of little things. Across carpet. Toward the closet.
Bea
Gerald’s cleaning up.
Twiggy
Gerald’s collecting.
Ashi
Okay. Step one: nobody moves. Step two: we count the things that are gone. Step three: we get Ms. Okafor.
Junie
She’s at the office.
Ashi
Then step three is us.
Bea
I’m going to look.
Ashi
That’s step one! You’re breaking step one!
Leo
If you think about it acoustically —
Lucas
Leo. Not now.
Leo
…Later, then.
The closet: “Mine.”
Maya
And then it said them. All of them. Every "mine" anybody said all day. At the same time. In everybody’s voice.
Bea
That one’s mine. That one’s Milo’s. That one’s — that’s Ms. Okafor’s. She said it about her coffee.
Milo
I don’t like it. I don’t like it, I want to go home.
Ashi
Nobody move. Milo, hold my hand. Nobody move.
Maya
And then the closet door opened. By itself. One inch.
Twiggy
It’s very organized in there.
Maya
She was right. It was. Everything was stacked. Blue blocks in a tower. The markers in a row. The dinosaur on top, like it was in charge. And on every single thing, a little whisper, going round and round. Mine. Mine. Mine.
Lucas
It’s keeping them.
Bea
Gerald. Buddy. Give Milo his dinosaur back and we’ll call it even.
Ashi
It’s not a buddy.
Bea
Everybody’s a buddy if you say it nice.
…That was a no.
Maya
And I thought: it’s going to keep it. All of it. And when it runs out of things — what if somebody asks for something that isn’t a thing? What if somebody asks for Bea, and I say "mine"?
Leo
Maya. Get back from the door.
Bea
I’m going in.
Ashi
Bea. That’s step one.
Bea
…Fine.
The cure
Maya
Okay. Okay okay. It took the things we said "mine" about — when somebody asked. So the rule isn’t Ms. Okafor’s rule. It’s older. Whatever you won’t share when somebody asks — it keeps.
Ashi
So we share.
Bea
I don’t know how.
Ashi
You say it. Out loud. To a person.
Bea
That’s not a thing.
Ashi
It’s the whole thing!
Maya
Here’s the thing about the gold one. It was the only gold one. In the whole school. And Bea had asked me for it, and I’d said the word to her face. So it had to be her.
I’ll go first. Bea. The glitter markers. You can have them. All six. Even the gold one.
The closet: “Ours.”
Lucas
It said ours.
Maya
And the markers came out. Rolled out. Under the door. All six. Gold one last.
Milo
Do me. Do the dinosaur.
Maya
It has to be yours, Milo. You have to give it.
Milo
…Junie can have my dinosaur.
Junie
I don’t want your dinosaur.
Milo
You have to take it, that’s how it works!
Okay. Can I please have it back now?
Junie
Fine. Great. It’s mine now. Wait —
The closet: “Mine.”
Leo
Don’t say that word again.
Junie
Ours. Ours. I meant ours. Milo, it’s ours, take it, it’s ours.
The closet: “Ours.”
Junie
…That’s my clip. That’s the good one.
Lucas
Ashi? Could I please borrow your pencil now?
Ashi
It’s in the closet, Lucas. But yes. You can borrow my pencil. You can keep my pencil.
The closet: “Ours.”
Lucas
It rolled right to me!
Twiggy
I’d like to share too.
Ashi
You don’t have anything, Twiggy.
Twiggy
I know. Bea. You can have my nothing.
Bea
…Thank you?
The closet: “Ours.”
Ashi
That doesn’t count.
Maya
It said "ours." It said "ours," so it counted.
Ashi
Bea.
Bea
No.
Ashi
Bea. Bea, could I please have the blue blocks?
Bea
You’re bad at towers.
Ashi
I am excellent at towers.
Bea
Ashi. You can have the blue blocks. Not because you said. Because you’re bad at towers and you need them more.
Ashi
That’s not sharing.
Bea
It’s the closest I’ve got!
Maya
And the blocks came out. Clattering. Every blue one. And the closet was almost empty. Almost.
Lucas
There’s one more thing in there. It’s big and it’s squishy.
Leo
I didn’t say "mine" about anything.
Lucas
You said it about the beanbag. The reading-corner beanbag. Every time we visit, every single time, you get there first and you say it. Leo, can I please have the beanbag?
Leo
…The beanbag is mine.
The closet: “Mine.”
Maya
It said "mine" back. In Leo’s voice. Low. And Leo heard it. I watched him hear it.
Leo
Luke. You can have the beanbag.
Lucas
You’ve never let me have the beanbag.
Leo
Don’t make it a thing.
Maya
And the beanbag came out. Slowly. Like it was heavy. And the door shut. And the fog went back under it, the way water goes down a drain.
Ms. Okafor
Friends. You cleaned up? Who are you people.
Maya
So here’s how it ended. Everything went back on the sharing shelf. Everything. The dinosaur, the markers, the good hair clip, Ashi’s pencil. Ms. Okafor’s mug came back after she told Milo he could have a sip. She doesn’t know why that worked. We do. Except one thing didn’t go back.
Bea
I kept one blue block. The ugly one. With the bite mark.
Ashi
You can’t —
Bea
Gerald let me. I asked nicely. I said "please can I keep the ugly one," and it didn’t say anything. That’s a yes.
Twiggy
It’s a yes.
Ashi
It’s a yes.
Leo
For the record. Echoes are still physics.
Maya
It gave you back your beanbag, Leo.
Leo
…Physics is generous.
Ms. Okafor
Also — why is there fog in my closet?
Junie
Devin.
Ms. Okafor
Devin moved, Junie.
Junie
That’s what they’d say.
Maya
That’s the story. Everybody shares now. At school. Mostly.
But here’s the thing. That night, at home. Moose had his bone. And Leo went to take it —
Leo
Moose. Share.
Maya
It growled back. In Moose’s growl. Lower.
See you next time. In the fog.