The World Through Various Eyes

[8] Lock-In (Jade's POV)

I blinked my tired eyes open abruptly. The once obnoxiously bright lights overhead were now significantly dimmed, to the point where it took a second to adjust to the darkness. The entire population had exited, no doubt a while ago, leaving me sprawled out comfortably on the library couch.

Had I really fallen asleep already? All evidence pointed to yes, especially due to my long, dark hair that had slipped out of its loose braid and was now a severely tangled mess. Thankfully, nobody was around the witness me. Not that I cared.

Had I been drooling? I groaned as I swiped my dry, pale hand across my mouth and the area around it. Disgusting,

I shifted my thoughts to something more productive- getting out of here. The whole place was as close to pitch black as you could get without it actually being that way, Due to this fact, it was no doubt fairly late.

Wait a second.

I sprung up from the couch, probably too fast, soliciting a dizzy feeling in my head. I struggled to gather my thoughts, scanning the dark deserted room. Pitch black, just as I had previously thought. Sort of.

Whipping out my cell phone, I used the back light to illuminate my path, The closer I came to the exit, the more furiously my anxious heart pumped. What if it was locked? What if I couldn't get out? What if they found me here in the morning and arrested me? I forced myself to take calming breaths, albeit short and labored ones.

My tall black boots made an unnerving clack on the tile floor, reminding me of the emptiness I was facing at that moment. An exit was visible now, and I continued my efforts to reach it,

Complete silence was all that could be heard... or maybe not. Directly in front of me was a bright rectangular light, shifting from side to side every so often. I wasn't alone, I as sure of it.

"Agh!" a voice exclaimed, one that clearly belonged to a teenage male.

I stepped back slowly and mumbled an apology for unknowingly bumping into him. He didn't seem too bothered by it, but I still felt a twinge of guilt.

Not like I would have known. But what struck me as odd was that he hadn't been the least bit startled by my presence. Had he known I was here all along?

My suspicions were confirmed as I glanced over his shoulder, his head dipping down in shame, as I saw it. On a large black camera was a photograph of me reading my book from earlier on the red velveteen couch. He sighed with embarrassment as my focus shifted to a black leather-bound sketchpad with an identical image, in illustrated form.

"Uhh... I can explain." he stammered, awkwardly, my harsh phone light illuminating his bright blue eyes that were avoiding my gaze. I couldn't believe what I had just seen! It was of me,there was no mistaking it. But why? I didn't even know this strange boy!!

At the same time, though, I was ridiculously flattered. My cheeks flushed and at that moment, I was thankful for the darkness, as he didn't notice.

"May I ask about that?" I inquired, gesturing to his sketchbook on the right with my bony, ring-adorned finger.

He shyly moved his arm off the desk, rolled up his hoodie sleeves and reluctantly handed me the leather-bound book.

Careful examination of the sketch provided additional details to me. I spotted my meticulously sketched locks, tied together into the braid I had earlier, before I had fallen asleep. This boy had obviously put a great deal of effort into creating this; did he do things like this for all strangers?

I handed the book back to him, and he accepted it with an eager hand, anxious to reclaim possession of the incriminating evidence, and closed it immediately after.