Several Short Storiesss

Walking Backwards 1

I can't power through.

I'm going to fail this test!

That's what I told Sarah this morning. I was one hundred percent right. Freaking Sarah said, "Nah, fam, it'll be easy. If you remember all the steps, you'll be fine."

I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THERE WERE STEPS.

So now I'm sitting in history, wondering what steps could be involved in... what does this question even mean? I wanna raise my hand to let my teacher know that I no longer speak English.

But I don't even know my teacher's name. I've been in this class for a whole semester, and I don't even know my teacher's name! I'm halfway sure it starts with a... letter...

This is hopeless.

Okay, there's no way this plate-guy described humans in a way that 'could be interpreted as a plucked chicken'. I'm pretty sure he's a respectable dude. This is definitely not the answer.

Ugh!

The class is desperately silent. The other kids are scratching up their test packets quickly. I glance at the future questions. Short answer? My head screams. I look back at Plate-Man. Wait. That's an 'o'. His name is Plato.

Maybe I don't speak English.

How are kids at short answer questions already anyways? The test started, like, an hour ago! And it's forty questions of pure torture!

I raise my hand quietly. Mr. Letter turns to me. That actually sounds like it could be his name though, I mean, it's about as likely as my other guesses.

 "Can I go to the bathroom?" I crunch. That came out ruder than I thought it would. Mr. No-Name sighs. I probably sound like that all the time.

"Fine. But leave your phone here," he says. I roll my eyes. Another oops. His face folds into a frown. "You have two minutes."

For what? I barely did anything. I walk between the desks of my faceless classmates, bumping each desk as I go along. They hardly react, but I messed up one kid's 'e'. He erases it and starts over. I smile a little bit before I walk out the door.

The tiles on the hallway walls feel slick as I drag my fingers against them. I hit some papers as I go, ripping some, taking some off the wall. The ones that drop flutter slowly and drunkenly, hitting the floor with a small ssssk, like the ocean or something. Sssssssssk.

Like snakes or something.

I push open the heavy bathroom door, and inside is someone I've never seen before. Well, okay, let's be honest: I've never really seen anyone before. But this person, they're completely... different. They're standing in this weird, springy stance, but, at the same time, it's like they're hunching over. They look completely drained though. That, I recognize. Their skin is a pale greyish tint.

This kid though... they must be a weirdo. They're in all white, from their short, layered hair to their white flats and pale nails. In their shaking hands are a white lighter and bleached-white cigarette. They click the lighter on, and I walk into a bathroom stall.

I was staring for too long. It felt like a million years. But, they didn't look over, not even once. The bathroom quickly fills with light smoke. It doesn't even smell bad. Must be one of those new scented ones. Like 'cranberry-flavored' or something. Cranberries taste bad, but they actually smell pretty good. That's what fools me every time. I'll end up eating them just cause they smell nice.

I've been in the stall too long. They'll think I'm taking a massive turd or something.

Ugh.

I just wanna skip that test!

Flushing and opening the door, I look at the kid, a girl, surrounded by smoke. It's white and hazy. She's not even smoking the cigarette, though. She just set it on the sink, and now it's billowing cranberry-scented clouds. Do cigarettes do that?

"Uh," I say, turning on the faucet. "So, what do you know about Plato?"Great conversation. Well, if I end up going back, I might as well get one question right.

She slowly turns her face towards me. Suddenly my throat dries. I wish I didn't say anything at all, because it was way better when I couldn't see her eyes. Literal snake eyes.

They're horrifying. I see slits of black vertically split through grey and white irises as she stares silently. There are no whites in her eyes, just these massive holes of marbled stone. She looks at me, her pupils never moving from my face. Meanwhile, I'm nearly shaking in my knees. The faucet stops automatically.

"What the," She says something not fit for children. "a 'Plato?'" She says in this weird accent.

"That's what I said..." I croak. It comes out gruffer than it should. The girl doesn't recoil; she just watches me.

"Did I use that word right?" She asks.

"Plato?" I don't really know how to use the word either.

She shakes her head and says the 'not fit for children' word again. It... it rhymes with duck.

Uh... "Yeah... I guess." My arms start to cross. I feel the tension in my arms and legs, like I'm about to pop out a punch. I feel like squaring up and fighting this kid for no reason; she just looks at me.

"Do you want to exit?" She says.

The du... exit? "What's that supposed to mean?" The room is getting hazier, with the smoke crowding my eyes and lungs. Has it been two minutes yet?

"Exit, leave. Do you want to leave?"

I don't...? "Leave where? The bathroom? I'll leave right now if that's how you wanna be."

She looks frustrated, setting her jaw. "That's not what I meant-"

"Then spit it out!" I say back. What does 'leave' even mean? It better not mean going to take my test. I'm planning to skip the rest of the class. Forget my phone, I'll snatch it back later.

She's about to open her mouth. I swear if it's about morals or something... ugh, her eyes. They're literally the most terrifying thing on earth. And they haven't moved from my face. At. All.

"Argh." She says with a weird lilting accent. She picks up her stark white cigarette. It smokes like a hundred times faster in her hands. It hasn't even gotten shorter or anything. What's up with that?

She circles it around her pinky, still staring directly into my eyes. "I can't explain it," She says. "but we're leaving."

"We're... what?"

She finally springs. Or straightens. Whatever, she's not hunched. With her back straight, she looks horribly tall. Her mouth tightens and her long white hand snaps around my wrist. We were several feet apart. She was at the far sink, I was the one closest to the door. That's at least two yards. No one's arm is two yards long. Before I know it, I'm right in front of her. She puts the cranberry cigarette into her mouth. "We're leaving."

The smoke socks me in the face heavily, and before I can hiss out a no, I feel my body crumple and my vision go black, white eyes echoing in my brain.

Freaking girls' bathrooms. They're never normal.

**a/n: I feel like this was so short, haha! This is Walking Backwards, a kind of mini-story about a mysterious heroine with no name. I think it's a good way to close out SSS because of how short it is. There are only two more parts after this and then it's done, so I hope you enjoy! 

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to comment and vote, I think!

-Tara ^3^