Htrae : The Four Stages

Chapter 2: Strange

Chapter 2

Strange

Carol

The hour of the horrible maths test was approaching. I, am so doomed. How can I forget about my maths test? I was so busy reading that addictive adventure novel last night I completely forgot about it. My studies are so messed up. My mother has been nagging at me to get at least Bs for my report card and so far my average math grade is a C. Hey, if you had a strict mother like her, you would worry too about getting good marks. I am so doomed. I talked to Megan and Helen about my panic as we walked to class. Malita and Amy were trailing not far behind, talking to each other.

"What I'm I going to do? My mom is going to kill me!" I exclaimed, on the verge of breaking down into moping panic.

"Hey... you're good in maths. Why are you so worried?" Helen asked.

"I'm not! This is a completely a new topic and I'm not really good in algebra," I whined.

"It's okay. You'll do fine," Megan comforted me, "You are even more nerve-wreaked than me, and it's usually me who freak out during tests, like should be right now. I'm completely calm despite not studying much. I'm the one who often fails! So I should be the one freaking out, not you. Okay, now I really am freaking out!"

"Calm down! You guys freaking out makes me freak out," Helen said "You can do a bit of last minute study when we get to class. Knowing you Carol you'll probably study the right points and be able to pass it with flying colours. You too, Megan."

"Still... I want to get As," I said.

"Well it's better to pass then to fail right?" Helen replied, "Just do the test and get over with it. It is just a test afterall. Not the end of the world."

Yeah okay, as soon as I get through this exam- or test?- nerves. I probably won't get over it on time and fail the paper. Argh...

I pushed open the wooden door of the classroom and the five of us walked into the bursting sounds of yelling and banging. The classroom was rowdy as usual. The boys were pulling and pushing each other - literally - around the room. George was being dragged on the ground by his friend, Ryan. George's head banged against the smooth tiles, he was laughing. A few boys cheered Ryan along. The others were ether talking really loudly or were busy with their iPhones. There was a group of girls singing off tune loudly without any care in the world. The desks were lined up in messy, unorganised rows, the chair were scattered everywhere. The bags were throw carelessly everywhere on the ground.

I hadn't walked a few steps when I tripped on a pile of bags in front of me, making me drop all my things as I fell. Like dominos, my friends behind me tripped on top of me. Ouch! Argh... Which idiot put those bags there? I could hear my friends groan in pain. I heard Malita call my name in subtle anger. I mumbled an apology, both to my friends and indirectly to the bags. Don't ask me why I said sorry to objects, it's a habit I gained after making several careless mistakes.

My friends quickly got up, grumbling and talking among themselves. I stood up, feeling slightly dizzy. I took some time to stand up, rejecting the help from Amy and Helen. I shook my head. I looked around, catching glimpses of people staring at me as I tried to find my things. I froze and stared. What the...

The classroom did seem like the same as usual, but it seemed larger somehow. The ceiling was towering over us, it must be at least 20 feet tall. The room was no longer small and cramped but it was large enough to hold five classrooms by judging it's breath and length. The walls was of a different colour, a dark black compared to the previous orange walls. Graffetti decorated the walls with vulgur imagery and pop-up robotic words. Behind the peeled paint on the walls were stone walls with swirlling patterens on them. If you looked even more closely, you could see the wall seems to be stretching. It was so small I wouldn't have realised it if it weren't for the graffeti that was growing at each passing second. Trash littered all over the dusty wooden floor along with stray stationary and ripped notebooks. The tables and chairs were scattered all over the room in pure randomness and chaos. What was the scariest part was the item within the rooms were all of varying sizes.