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A blaring sound that seemed to come from no where woke me. I struggled to open my eyes and realised it was coming from my mobile phone on a chair nearby. I looked to my left where a clock was sitting on the side table. I squinted to see and the clock read 6.15 a.m. I reached out for my mobile phone and turned off the alarm with a tap on the blinking screen. One of the many features that I am glad was invented for the mobile phone. Living in this century, technology has been a huge part of our lives. You see, I am not a morning person. Table alarm clocks fail to work on me anymore. The only two things that successfully force me out of my bed every morning is the alarm feature on the mobile and my father.

As I lay in bed for another good ten minutes, I ran through today’s agenda mentally. This is a daily ritual I follow every morning to prepare myself for the day. However, I realised today will not be like every other Thursday. Today will be Miss Flo’s last day in Taylor’s. After five months under her guidance, we were definitely going to miss her. That aside, today’s Biology practical would be graded and a Chemistry test tomorrow to study for. Today is going to be quite a day. After checking the clock again, I dragged myself from under my comfy covers and head for the washroom. Half an hour later, my family and I were already caught in the morning traffic, just like every other morning.

The day started off with Mathematics lesson, where at the end of the lesson, we said our goodbyes to our teacher and wished her well for the new path that she will be taking. Class ended with plenty of hugs and photographs. At the end of the next lesson, Chemistry, a fellow classmate fainted as she left her seat. The whole class went, “Claire!!!”, and most of us were paralysed with shock; we simply stood there with disbelief. Thankfully, some of the class acted fast and rushed to lift her from the ground to the chair.

Not long after, we left the classroom and headed for the Biology lab for our practical lesson. Since I was going to be in the lab for two hours, I thought it would be best if I use the toilet first. With a heavy bag and a set of books, I headed to the nearest toilet which was located on the first floor. I walked up to the first floor and headed straight to the toilet. I could see the quiet street nearby from the entrance of the toilet. As I stepped into the place, a gush of wind blew in my direction. Like dancing to the beat of the wind, the trees sway even more as the wind blew stronger causing shadows to prance back n forth in the room.

For the sake of convenience, I decided to leave my bag and books by the sink, something I have never done before but all I had in mind was to get out of the place as fast as I could. Being in a somewhat safe environment, where the guards never fail to check for identification cards as part of their daily duty, I was made to believe in the college’s safety. As safe as the toilet seemed to be, it never fails to cast an eerie feeling upon all who enters. Without wasting a minute, I hurried into the nearest cubicle and shut the door behind me, making sure the lock was secured. After doing what I had to, feeling relieved, I was about to reach for the flush when I heard footsteps in the room. The heavy and fast-paced footsteps echoed through the room. I listened carefully, the footsteps stopped and I heard movement, fast movement. Like a rat scurrying through the streets as if searching for something, the movements grew suspicious when I heard like what seem to be a bag being unzipped.

Without much thought but a little voice in my heart telling me I should leave the place fast, I pulled the flush and swung the door open. Standing in front of me was a figure smiling at me. A smile that sent shivers down my spine. As the sunlight shone, a dark hunched shadow of the figure was formed. Paralysed by shock or fear, I could not decide, I was staring into its eyes. Eyes that seemed to burn with evil unflinchingly returned my gaze, penetrating my soul. The question burning on my mind was, “Where did it come from?” I looked at the figure from its head right to its feet. Strands of hair covering half its face and the reddest lips I have ever seen caught my attention. What really bothered me was when I noticed something was clutched in its left hand. When I looked closer, it was something so familiar and I searched my memory to recall what it was. I realised, it was my mobile phone.

Rage filled my body and adrenaline rushed through my veins when I realised that I had to get back what rightfully belonged to me. I was not going to let anyone or anything rob me. The adrenaline rush must have moved my body so close to it that I was even ready to slam the body against the wall, if I really had to. Of course, violence is not an option for me, unless necessary. The room was silent and all I could hear is our heavy breathing. I stared right into its eyes to make sure that this time, I was not afraid, and instantly reached for my mobile phone, the mobile phone that I relied on every morning to wake me up. I had to use some force to free my property from its fingers. Once the mobile phone was in my hands, I reached for my bag to check for any other missing things. I remembered that I had brought my brand new digital camera to record those precious moments with our Math teacher. Panic overtook my body now. To my relief, nothing else was taken. When I turned to look at the figure, it was gone. It seemed to have disappeared in a blink of an eye.

I stood by the sink for awhile, unsure of what just happened. With eyes closed, I calmed myself down and said a prayer of gratitude. I was truly thankful that I was safe. I glanced at my watch and gathered my belongings and hurried out of the toilet for my Biology class. As I walked away from the place, I turned behind to get one last look of that place. At the corner of my eye, I see a figure lurking along the corridor, watching me leave. Not long after, I saw it disappeared again. Maybe, it had made its way back into the toilet, patiently awaiting its next victim…

By Cheryl Chong