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Fear sweeps through me. It’s not only dark here, due to the lights being off and the stained-glass window hiding the natural light, but I’m also stuck.
The tiny hairs on the back of my neck lift and my arms begin to quiver.
I grab the handle again and pull, shaking with one hand while pounding on the door with my other.
A glimpse of a dark shadow catches my eye through the cloudy, thick pane on the door. My body stills as I listen and wait.
When the only sound is the drumming of my heart, I say in a hushed tone, “Is someone there?”
Leaning close, I press my ear to the door and I’m not sure if I’m hoping someone is out there or terrified that there could be.
A thunderous bang on the door has me jumping back. My legs go weak and I stumble, but catch myself, falling onto a desk behind me.
Something, or someone rather, comes closer to the glass pane. I can see his shadow. I steady myself and take a step toward the door, hoping to make out who is on the other side.
I see black. A hood? A cloak, maybe? The same robe the guys wore at the ceremony and the same robe the intruder wore at the dorms. It has to be.
Whoever it is, they’re watching me. Watching the rapid rise and fall of my chest, my panic-stricken eyes, the tremble in my bottom lip. If they look closely, they’d also be able to see the pearled tears in the corners of my eyes.
Who are you?Another step has me closer to the door—staring back and searching for a glimmer of resemblance to someone I know.
“Neo?” I whisper, taking a step forward. But as I do, they step back. Farther and farther while I move closer and closer. I’m only a foot from the door when they disappear.
Hoping the door is unlocked now, I give it a try, but it’s still locked.
“Let me out!” I shout, slamming both hands to the door repeatedly, while shouting over and over again. “Let me the fuck out!”
In one breath, something crashes into the door, shattering the glass pane and sending me flying backward on my ass. I cry out in fear, my soul leaving my body as I sit there on the floorwith my hands pressed to the jagged pieces of thick glass at my sides.
I don’t move. I’m too shocked to move. Too scared.
Instead, I wait, because they did this for a reason. To instill fear in me, maybe?
Be afraid, Scar. We’re thirsty for your fear.
Neo said that. He’s also the one who made me get detention.
All this time I was thinking it wasn’t one of them, but who else would do this to me?
Mustering up the courage to face what’s waiting for me on the other side of the door, I push myself up. My weak legs wobble and threaten to fail me, but I’m stronger than this. I am not a punching bag, and I refuse to be defeated. I will die before I cower to these assholes.
“Show your face, coward.” My voice cracks and breaks and does little to show my resilience—even to myself.
Maybe I'm the coward. After all, I’m the one standing on the other side of this door on the verge of a mental breakdown.
It’s soeasy to make people believe you’re strong when you cover the frail parts of yourself with brashness and crude humor. They only see what I show them. But something tells me, this person has seen it all. They know my weaknesses and have every intention of using them to their advantage.
My entire body trembles as I approach the door, stepping on broken pieces of tempered glass. Each crunch beneath my boots sends a jolt through my body that throws my heart into another frenzy of rapid beats.
It’s safe to assume the door is still locked, but now there’s an opening I can use to reach out and unlock it. I guess I should be grateful for that.
Whatever moment of optimism I had is shelved when I look down at my feet and see a large rock with a ribbon tied around it, holding a folded piece of paper. Not just any ribbon—it’s white with black crafted snowboarders embroidered on it and it’s attached to a medal. My medal.
With a shaky hand, I pick up the rock. I don’t even have to look at the medal to know which one it is. But, I do anyway. I flip over the rock, and there it is.1st place in the 2020 Coy Mountain Snowboarding Championship.
Curiosity has me unfolding the white paper, but when I do, another paper falls out. I bend down and pick it up, immediately noticing that it’s a newspaper clipping.
A lump forms in my throat as I unfold it. The headline has me closing my eyes while tears pinch their way out.
