ALL THAT WAS LEFT BEHIND

A Strange Continuation Of Continual Strangeness

The halls were endless tunnels, turning into a maze of open twirling confusion, and unnerving whispers. A few heads turned to survey me, their eyes barely sweeping over mine, before submerging back into obliviousness. They weren’t on the edge of the brackish water. They were deeply immersed in it.

            We pushed past the clumps of students gathered in groups, all with their own world within that strange world.

            I was reminded incredibly of the old run down school back home, and how long it had taken for me to acclimatize to the uncomfortable, subtle interactions, and the old fashioned layout of the actual building.

            I was lost in this concept of a new way of the same old thinking.

            After a brief period of sheer puzzlement and discomposure, the main office was in sight, with a tiny, chipping plaque on the door to announce so. Claire held open the door for me, leading to the quiet white oasis away from the unending halls and darkly dressed kids. I took a step inside, and inhaled the aroma of thick morning coffee and the distinguishable scent of paper.

            Many of the busy looking secretaries ignored us, until an older lady glanced up from her computer screen from the corner of the cluttered room. She gave Claire a bright smile to notify her acknowledgement of out presence, and I couldn’t help but drift off back into the corners of my mind, somewhere floating into an endless ebbing river of flowing rifts.

            The world froze for a second, and everybody’s eyes fell upon me with gentle smiles.

            “Sea?” Claire murmured.

            “Huh?” I asked in surprise.

            “They asked you how you were,” she murmured to me.

            My eyes widened, and my face flushed in embarrassment. “Oh! Sorry, I'm good. Thanks. How are you?” I asked her.

            She laughed a little, throwing her head back, and making her bob of silvery grey hair wave back. “Good, thank you! Are you a little nervous?”

            I shrugged. “I don’t know, I suppose so?”

            She smiled again. “It’s okay though, you can relax.” Then she looked to Claire, and said, “Mrs. Smith is in her office, and is free to speak with you two.”

            I drew a shaky breath, and clenched my hands together.

I shivered uncontrollably, and went over everything I was told. No memory could be perfectly obtained, which irked me. Nothing was focusing, as if everything someone said to me hit me hard in the face, overloading me. I would nod, understand, and then let the information slip. 

            I stood in the empty heartless corridor with a map, a timetable, and a vague memory of how to get to my homeroom, and a thick cloud of mixed emotions to block my sight.

            I took a step to the right, knowing that it would be in the general direction, and established the beginning to my wanderings.

            Claire had given me a quick word of advice before she scurried off to not be late to a client meeting, and I walked in sheer solitude. I listened to the quiet echoes of my footsteps over the grey flooring. Eventually, another pair of feet was heard.

            Fragile clicking sounds of a duo of white flats rung out to announce the presence of another. My gaze immediately stuck to the ground, unsure of how to interact with another so suddenly. I would be paid no attention, surely, but the thought of being thrown into this new world so rapidly made my heart seize.