As I walked down the quiet hallway, my mind drifted back to my fight with Mike, if it could even be called a fight. In reality, it was completely one sided. He had taken me down in a matter of seconds without much effort.
Well, it made sense. Mike was a sports player and the captain of our school's basketball team. Of course he had that kind of strength and reflexes. I was no match for him at all.
My heart grew heavy with dread as I thought about how pathetic my defeat had been. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I never wanted to get into a fight with him again. Just the memory of how easily he overpowered me was enough to make me feel small.
As I turned around the corner, my eyes landed on two figures walking toward me from the other end of the hallway.
It was Mike and Mr. Sebastian, the coach of the school's baseball team, walking together down the hallway. I quickly stepped back and hid behind the corner wall, carefully peeking out to watch them as they walked closer.
'Fuck… they're coming this way,' I thought, my body tensing up as I prepared to turn around and walk away in the opposite direction. But just before I could move, both of them suddenly turned to the side and walked into a room.
I blinked in confusion. This part of the school was old and rarely used. Besides the infirmary, there were only a few club rooms here, which was why the hallway was usually empty. The room they had just entered was an old boys' locker room that had been left unused ever since the new one was built last year.
Seeing Mike and Coach Sebastian walk into that abandoned locker room together felt strange and very suspicious.
Curiosity got the better of me. I quietly made my way toward the door, constantly glancing around the empty hallway to make sure no one was watching. Once I reached it, I carefully peeked inside. There was no one in sight. After a moment of hesitation, I slowly pushed the door open a little more and stepped into the room.
Just as I expected, the place was old and completely worn out. The large locker room looked abandoned. Rusty lockers lined the walls, some with their doors hanging open or completely missing. Old wooden benches were scattered around, covered in dust and cobwebs. The air inside felt stale and heavy, like no one had been here in a long time.
I looked around carefully, but there was no sign of Mike or Coach Sebastian. Then my eyes landed on another door at the far end of the room. It was the old coach's office. They must have gone inside.
I quietly walked over and gently pushed the door open just enough to see through the gap. The room inside was dark and gloomy. The only source of light was the sunlight coming in from a window on the far wall. Even though the window was fairly large, it was almost completely blocked by piles of old junk and broken equipment covered with dirty, torn rags. Dust particles floated in the thin beams of light that managed to slip through.
No one could tell that this place used to be an office. With piles of broken equipment, old boxes, and random junk scattered all over, it looked more like a storage room that had been forgotten for years.
"That's all?" Mr. Sebastian, the coach, asked as he took something from Mike's hand and quickly slipped it into his pocket.
"Yeah. What, you don't trust me now?" Mike replied casually, standing in front of him with his hands in his pockets.
"Trust? And you…? Hahaha..." The coach let out a loud, sarcastic laugh. Mike chuckled along with him, clearly unbothered by the jab.
"But yeah, I've got to give it to you. You got us some of the finest goods this time." Mr. Sebastian continued after his laughter died down,
"That? That was nothing," Mike said with a casual shrug, as if what he had done was barely worth mentioning.
"How's she doing, by the way?" Mike let out a low chuckle before asking,
"She's excellent," the coach replied with a small, satisfied smile.
"She tries to rebel sometimes, but in the end, she always gives in." He let out a short, amused giggle.
"She'll melt soon enough," he said confidently.
"Just have some patience." Mike smirked and leaned back slightly against one of the old lockers.
I stood there silently, peeking through the gap in the door, completely lost about what they were talking about. I had no idea who this "she" was that they kept mentioning.
"Hell, I have to go now," Mr. Sebastian said as he glanced at his watch. He let out a sharp exhale and started walking toward the door.
My heart dropped. I quickly pulled back and rushed toward the exit of the locker room as quietly as I could. The last thing I wanted was to get caught by either of them.
Clack!
Just as I was about to reach the main door, I heard a sharp click, the sound of the locker room door knob being open from the outside.
I froze on the spot.
My mind went blank for a second. Someone was entering the locker room from the hallway at the same time the coach was stepping out of the office. I was stuck right in the middle, trapped between both doors with nowhere to hide. My eyes darted between the two doors as panic surged through me. I couldn't move. I couldn't think. All I could do was stand there, heart pounding violently in my chest, praying that neither of them would find me.
Just then, I spotted an open locker nearby. Without thinking twice, I rushed toward it and quickly slipped inside, pulling the door shut behind me as quietly as I could.
The locker door had thin horizontal gaps, just wide enough for me to see through. My heart was pounding so loudly I was scared they might hear it. I held my breath and stayed completely still.
A moment later, Coach Sebastian stepped out of the abandoned office. At the same time, someone entered the locker room from the main door. I couldn't see who it was at first, but as the person walked further inside, they finally came into my line of sight.
My eyes widened in shock.
'Rose?!' I stared in disbelief. What was she doing here? My stomach twisted with unease. Out of all the people who could have walked in, I never expected it to be her.
Rose and the coach stopped in front of each other. A wide, unsettling grin slowly spread across Mr. Sebastian's face as he looked her up and down, his eyes lingering a little too long.
To be continued...
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