Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ
For the rest of the day, TJ blended in. Finally managing to find her locker, TJ ditched the heavy textbooks she didn't need and was relieved when her backpack felt considerably lighter. She was also beginning to understand the layout of the school and the different class codes associated with each block. One thing was for sure, she wasn't used to walking so far in between classes.
Like she hoped, TJ did not see the students from earlier again.
She found the library, too, and was crushed with the realization she didn't have her swipe card to get in. After a trek back to the office and standing uncomfortably for a student photo, she finally had the silly little card in her grasp. The library was like a slice of heaven on Earth; it was beautiful and huge, with double staircases leading to a mezzanine level and plenty of spots for her to spend her free time, hidden away from people. TJ hadn't felt so calm in a long while.
It was just before seven in the afternoon and she was still curled up at the end of an aisle, her back against the wall and backpack stowed under her bent knees. A book was open in her lap, mid chapter. After an eager text to her Uncle about the twenty-four hour access to the library, TJ had let him know that she was going to stay a while and would text either him or her Aunt to let them know when she was done.
The afternoon was going beautifully until her phone died mid-song.
"Shit," TJ hissed, pulling her headphones out and trying desperately to turn her phone back on. All she got in response was the dead battery icon before the screen went totally black. "Shit, shit, shit."
Frantically packing her stuff up, she threw her backpack over her shoulder and sped out of the library. Night had fallen, blanketing the empty school in long shadows and making TJ grip her backpack just that bit tighter. Her heartbeat had picked up, she was acutely aware of how hard it was beating, and she tried to remember which way her house was. She knew the street name, but that was useless information without having access to Google maps or even knowing which way to start walking in. Anxiety started to settle in, her skin buzzing, and TJ swallowed thickly. In the end, she decided to just pick a direction and walk until she bumped into someone.
Surely she wasn't the only person left on school grounds?
Without her music, TJ felt unnaturally exposed. She was on overdrive; every sound, every shadow, made her feel uneasy. The yellow light coming from the scattered lamp posts did nothing to help soothe her. Knowing full well it was just paranoia and first-day jitters, she forced herself to keep walking. Her finger traced rough circles on her thigh. Somehow, she had ended up on the second floor of the newer buildings. She could hear something, too, around the corner. There was shouting, which made TJ feel better because it meant someone else was there, and she quickened her step to round the corner.
