A Helping Hand

It's already past 4:30 when I finished drawing the second drafting plate I need to submit. It's been months since we started our drafting class, and until now I'm still one of the last students who finished those. I immediately stretched my aching back, and I groaned as I heard some bones creaking.

"Ahhh... I'm just fourteen, but why does it feel like I'm already in my sixties?", I silently complained as I gathered up my stuffs and arranged them inside my backpack.

I carefully picked up my finished outputs, and after that, I stood up and bid good-bye to my classmates who were still struggling on their plates.

"I'm done, people! See ya then!", I cheerfully said as I slung my backpack over my shoulder and walked towards the door. I immediately felt its weight the moment it hit my back. I sighed as I looked at myself in the glass window.

'One more month in drafting class, and I'll become the next hunchback of Notre Dame,' I thought grimly as I tried to straighten my posture.

I looked up at the big wall clock in the hallway, and I saw that two minutes had passed. I hastened because I still want to go to the library before it closes. It's the only place that destresses me, and I wanted to visit it at least once a day.

I knocked at the faculty room and said pleasantries to other teachers there. After handing out my outputs, I excitedly rushed towards the stairs.

I once told you that these stairs were overrun with rumors about the doppelganger, but despite that, I always used it because I disliked the hassle of walking the long way towards the library more than that possible rumor. Besides, I don't believe in it because if there's one, then I'll probably be one of her victims, right? I always used these stairs, and so far, no doppelganger has copied my face. I've probably outgrown the fear I had in seventh grade, so I just casually walked upstairs.

_Source

Surprisingly, the hallway was empty at that time. I thought the senior students would be crowding it, but I guess the gloomy weather drove them away. I was walking calmly towards the library when I noticed something standing in its doorway.

I thought it was just another student, but as I drew near, I realized that no one was standing there.

'Probably just my imagination,' I thought as I turned the door knob.

Our school has been infested with a lot of creepy rumors since then, but I usually just ignore those because I'm not really a believer in rumors.

You see, I'm a to see-is-to believe–person, so I don't believe unless I see it with my own eyes.

'But there won't be smoke if there's no fire, right?', I wondered silently as I casually greeted our librarian.

Unlike Ms. Dorothy, she just nodded, which I completely understand since we aren't that well acquainted yet. Ms. Dorothy was replaced because she had already resigned because she's now a mother. Although I'm quite sad that she's not our librarian anymore, I'm happy for her because, finally, she got to raise her own child. She's really good at handling children, so I wasn't surprised that she would want a child for herself.

I took a seat in my usual spot, and there I started reading the book I'd borrowed. Since bags are not allowed inside the library, I already brought the essentials for my reading session. I put my pen, mechanical pencil, and small piece of paper on the table.

I like jotting down important lines from novels, and I also end up doodling stuffs that were about the book I read. I uncapped my pen and jotted down my favorite lines. I noticed that my pen's cap fell down, but I just ignored it. It rolled down below the chair across to me, but I didn't pick it up. There's no other person in the library, so I'm confident that no one will get it. I continued reading further, and after I finished a couple of chapters, I decided to pick up my pen's cap.

_Source

But to my astonishment, my pen's cap wasn't there anymore. I tried to look for it under the other chairs, but it wasn't there. I turned around to look for students because maybe a student just picked it up, but there's no other student inside the library.

It's just me and the librarian.

I went to the librarian's desk to ask if someone had gone to my side. The side where I read is easily seen by the librarian, so I hoped that maybe she had seen the person who picked it up. She looked at me incredulously and answered.

"Huh? None; I had seen none...You're the only student here in library...By the way, it's almost five; I'll be closing it in 15 minutes, so you better..."

The rest of what she's saying fell into deaf ears as beads of cold sweat formed on my forehead. Suddenly, I remember a rumor about a sister who helps students pick up their fallen belongings. She doesn't really disturb them, for she just picks up the things that fall down the table and puts them back silently. Some said that they saw her hand picking it up, but they never got to see her face. It isn't really a bad rumor—just a creepy one because...

The sister is already dead.

I hastily wiped the sweat off my forehead, and I went back to my seat, but I stopped in tracks as I saw something on my table.

"Hala! It's the cap!", I blurted out loudly.

The librarian gave me a stinging look while pointing out the Observe Silence sign.

I immediately picked up my belongings, including the cap, and even though it wasn't yet closing time, I hurriedly moved out of the library.

I picked up my backpack and stuffed my books and other belongings in it. I strode my way towards the other stairs. I jumped my way down, and I almost yelped in fright as I came face to face with the bust of our school's founder. Out of terror, I totally forgot the bust, which somehow made me realize how silly I was at that moment.

'Ha! As if those rumors were true! Maybe another student just played a prank on me, and the librarian didn't notice it,' I reasoned out in my mind.

I snorted at my irrationality.

'There is no such thing as ghosts who can move things. Ghosts are just clumps of emotions, and they don't have the power to grasp things,' I happily thought as I climbed down the lower stairs.

I was about to laugh at my silliness when, accidentally I slipped out. Unlike the upper stairs, which were covered with fine pebble stones, the lower stairs were covered with tiles, so I easily slipped down through them.

The senior students who were eating kwek kwek in the lobby saw my unfortunate gliding down the stairs.

They stood in shock as they gazed at me, who was struggling to get up from the fall. One of them attempted to help me, but before she could get closer, I immediately stood up and acted as if nothing had happened.

They seemingly understood what I felt at that time, so they just continued their talk—as if nothing had really happened.

_Source

Certainly a lot of things did happen that gloomy afternoon, but I'm glad my spine and hips survived.

And that night, I slept with my back facing our wall. Oh—how unfortunate indeed!