Love of a Thousand Colors

Chapter 14

"It's 8:00 pm," Israel said and the time matches the clock inside the room. But here we are having an exam and the windows present sunny, fair weather outside, as opposed to the actual time. The terrifying teacher forced us to sit down by pushing our shoulders and I grimaced in pain. I hope my rib wrap is tight and strong enough to withstand the force. The phone drops out of my hand onto the floor sharply, the LCD screen suffering a crack. "What's going on?!" He shouted impatiently at the other end of the line.

All the students submitted their papers and left except for us. I and the girl stared at each other and schemed a way to get out. Our desks now have a mountain load of test papers. If I start answering now, I doubt I'll be finished tomorrow morning. This teacher is monstrously strong and we are stuck on our seats.

"Answer your tests now!" The facilitator demanded, she taps her foot and crossed her arms, her beady eyes watching our movements scrupulously. The girl beside me becomes paler and her countenance is transforming in a way similar to how she was when we were in the hospital. Even if I find this greatly annoying, this appears to be affecting her greatly than I do.

I tried to pick up my phone and luckily evaded the teacher's stick about to hit my face. I always respected my teachers and other staff at school, but this one deserves a roundhouse kick on the face!

The girl shakes while answering the tests. I stared at her in disbelief for continuing to answer despite the unbelievable situation we're in. "Stop it!" I told her, but she didn't budge. It's as if I'm not there and she can't hear me. She's beyond my arm's length so I decided to hit her with the test papers. "Snap out of it!" 

"Ow!" And she stopped and touched her head. "You b..." She massaged the back of her head and restrained herself from calling me names. Good thing the teacher didn't smack me on the face. "How do we get out of here?" She asks me.

"Beats me..." I said. The lights from the phone faded out, so I guess Israel must have hung up. I'll call him back and report where we are. Slowly, I extended my arm while my eyes watched the facilitator's movements. My fingertips are getting closer and she's still standing there, with a scowl on her face. Quickly, I grabbed the phone and luckily she didn't strike me with her stick. 

The girl decided to stand up again and make a run for it, but the teacher caught her and forced her to sit down again. She yelped and fell backward on her chair. I made a pained expression when I heard the sound of her head hitting the floor. 

"Are you okay?" I asked, coming to her side quickly and helping her on her feet. She winced in pain as she probes the back of her head for any lump or injury. I was able to help her up without the teacher attacking me, but the teacher was about to push her down again when I made the girl sit down very quickly. We don't want to have two injured girls at this moment.

Strangely though, the teacher hasn't made any move against me yet. The girl grasped my hand and she had a Eureka moment. We noticed that I was holding some of the test papers in my hand and I haven't let it go till now. She took a few pieces and stood up and walked cautiously away towards the door. And the teacher just stood there, still looking angry but not budging or saying anything.

We run to the door and she grabbed the knob and turned it. She tried her best to turn but it doesn't open. It's locked! I pushed her aside and tried it, thinking she must be too weak to open it. It's locked! When I thought we now have the means to escape.

We roamed around the room, looking for possible exits. We opened the drawers, the windows, even the teacher's table but they won't open. We've been doing this more almost an hour I guess and I'm getting impatient. 

The girl sat on the chair with a mountain load of test papers, "Do you think we have to finish this before we can leave?" She asked. She skimmed through the papers and measure how thick they are.

"I don't have the time," I responded, kicking the test papers that were on the floor. "I have to go to a rave concert and rescue my sister."

The girl seems very surprised, 'Then why are you here?" She asked, checking and reading the papers by page. "Did you get summoned here too?"

I said no, "Your father was crying like a baby when I got discharged. I feel so sorry for him, so I decided to go back and see what I can do," Now that we disappeared at the hospital, it must be driving him nuts. I knocked at the chalkboard to see if there's some hidden passageway behind it.

"He's full of pride. He wants me to quit my internship and let him provide for the family like he used to," She said, with a bit of bitterness in her voice. "He's not making enough and wants me to stop. He's not making any sense."

"He admitted that, but he's noticing how your health's deteriorating. He knows his wages are probably like spare change compared to what you're receiving now. But he's extremely worried about you," I stood in front of the teacher and have a staring contest. I made some faces, tried to make her laugh or smile. This could probably be a magical trial of some sort and I have to do all means for us to be able to leave. I accidentally found out that holding the test paper can make her stop attacking us, perhaps I'll be able to find out how to escape by chance.

"I know, but we have to be practical. I don't want to be a welfare recipient or go to the streets scavenging for food," She spoke in utter disgust. My heart ached a little because of her words. She started answering the test again. She's such a tool.

"Yeah, but with your health on the line, maybe a change in the work environment is needed," I suggested. Thankfully, the facilitator is a woman. I frisked the contents of her pockets, but there's no key there or clues that can help us. They are empty. 

"What are you doing?" She asked, a little bit puzzled.

"Relax, I'm not a perv," I told her. She finally caught up with what I'm doing and she didn't make an argument about it. "Say, what if we strip her?"

Her mouth opened in shock and before she says anything, I said it's just a joke. 

"Hey smart girl," I approached her and sat on the chair next to her. "Why do you think she doesn't attack us while we're holding the papers?"

"What do you think I'm doing?" She gave a snarky reply. I can't believe how rude this person is. I rested and slouched on the desk. I looked outside the window. It looks pretty normal, but I know it's fake. I took out my phone and placed it beside the girl. 

"Check how many seconds till she moves," She doesn't want to, but I coaxed her to do it. "Ready?" I dropped the paper on top of a shelf and lifted the chair. She began moving and I threw the chair right at the window. Crash! The glasses went crashing down, and the steel frame fell violently from the wall. The chair's impact on the pavement was heard a few seconds later. Before I could check what's outside, the teacher dragged me and made me sit again. I forgot to pick up the paper after. My rib hurts a lot, but at least it's possible to go outside through the broken window. 

"4 seconds," She said and rushed to the hole I made through the window. She looked at me and asked me to check, too. But I'm too hurt to move. "I don't think this is what the school grounds look like."

I struggled standing up and it took me some time to go look. There are parking lots, trees, buildings and cars. But I can't recall this side of the school. The most alarming thing is we are several floors high up on the ground. Even if we use our clothes and the facilitator's, it's not enough for us to be able to escape safely. "Do you see anyone? Someone who might help us?" No people are walking or strolling outside. It's eerily quiet. There's not even a bird outside. My eyes tried to look for ants or any small insect, but there aren't any.

I picked up a chair and threw it at the door, but it didn't open or get a single scratch or dent on it. In my frustration, I tried to turn the knob using both hands and in my shock, it opened. The hallway is dark but slightly illuminated by the moon's light coming through the window pane. I was about to sprint outside but the teacher is about to get me. The girl caught the teacher by the hips, but it didn't deter her from coming after me. She clung on her for as long as it took, but the teacher pulled me again and pushed me down on a chair. The teacher removed her arms around her waist effortlessly. 

The girl touched and caressed her bruised arms. They were red and swelling. 

"Thank you," I said. I can't believe she did that. She might not be a spineless person after all. 

She asked me if I was okay. I nodded. "The door opens granted we don't have any paper in hand. It means we just have to outrun her and we'll be free," We both smiled for the first time we got trapped in here. 

"Are you ready?" I asked. We're both standing at the door, still with exam papers on hand, our eyes locked on the monster we're trying to evade. My hand is at the knob of the door, while she stands behind me, ready to run like mad outside once we release the papers. "In the count of 3, 1... 2... 3!" We let go of the test papers and opened the knob. From my peripheral vision, she started chasing us, we opened the door and run away. 

"Yes!" I cried. Then a throbbing pain radiated from my chest, I slowed down a bit but regardless, I didn't stop running. But I'm running out of breath and I'm getting exhausted.

"Can you still run?" The girl asked as we're about to descend the stairs. "We could stop if y..." She trailed off, as her hand got caught by the test facilitator. She tried to shake the teacher off by holding tightly on the railing and kicking her away. With my remaining strength, I tried to hurl a punch on the teacher, but she evaded and she caught me as well. "Let me go!" The girl cried while we are getting dragged to the door to the examination room. Both of us are squirming and trying to prick her hands away. We tried kicking her to throw her off balance, but her body is as strong as a rock.

Why? Why is it so difficult to escape? I looked from afar and somehow saw my sister from a distance. My sister! My sister is waiting for me! 

With the shut of the door, we found ourselves at the same spot for over ten times already. "It's no use." The girl said, finally giving up. "I have recurring dreams about this and now it's real! Please! Please, I want to wake up!" She cried. I looked at her and I started to feel hopeless, too. 

The mountain of paper is waiting for us. Maybe the whole point is for us to finish everything. I read the questions on the topmost part of the bulk. The questions are real and some of the items are easy enough to answer. Maybe we can wait here until the real classes start and some students or school staff find us. I don't have the luxury to wait. 

'Then the cure lies in reality, once found, it'll be gone in a jiffy.'  

But what is the cure? Where is it? My eyes rested on the girl once again. She said she's stressed and has no personal time. She misses her friends but she has work to do and still has to attend classes. She's a genius but she's burnout. She wants normalcy and rest. Yet, she keeps on doing what she needs to do and now her wellbeing suffered. Even her relationships at home...

In this scenario, we can carry our papers and we can go anywhere in this room but the doors are locked. However, the moment we let go, we are chased down and forced to sit. Only the two of us left...

"Follow me..." I said somberly. She didn't stop crying. "Do what I do!" I commanded her. She complied and both of us are now carrying both the test papers placed on the arm chair's table. We carefully walked towards the teacher, not letting a single paper slip. My body hurts so bad, but I think this is the way to do it. "Teacher, I'll submit my test papers."

She scowled, her face contorted into something terrifying and violent. "But you didn't answer!" She's about to hit me with her stick. Then, without waiting for another word, I placed all my exam papers on her desk. I smiled at her and told her I'm done. Slowly, she lowered her stick and turned to the other girl. I made my way to the door and turned, looking at the girl and the teacher.

"I'll submit mine, too," The girl said weakly. She looks scared.

"But you haven't finished!" The teacher said, she raised her stick about to harass her.

"B-b-b-ut," She stammered and the teacher hit her. The whistle in the wind resounded as the stick hits her arm. She cried in pain and the test papers scattered on the floor. The teacher hits her repeatedly and she covered her head to protect herself from the blows. 

"You lazy, disobedient child!" The teacher growled.

"Just put the papers on her desk!" I shouted. "This is no time to be weak! You can do it!" I slammed the door with my fist and opened it, showing her the exit. "You are a genius! You should know that these tests don't define you!"

She stood up and picked whatever she can. She slapped them on the desk and the rest got thrown to the teacher's face. "I study well and do what's asked of me..." She said, sobbing. "But I had enough..." She walked away from the teacher and came out. She walked without looking back, wiping the tears from her eyes. My hand is still on the knob and I saw the room dissolve the teacher disappear as well. I closed the door and followed her. I made one last look and saw a plain white wall.

"You did it!" I said, giving her a high-five.

"Yeah" was all she said, but she didn't look at me or returned my high-five. I put down my hands awkwardly. 

Then the stairs blurred out from our view and the surroundings changed again. We turned around and the environment morphed into something else. We're no longer inside the school. It looks like a factory.

"Oh no..." The girl said and I don't like the sound of it. "This is our car plant in the countryside. Why are we here?" 

I saw two offices and a man sitting behind his desk. He noticed us and is making his way towards us. "Perhaps another dream of yours..."

The girl nodded. Time for Round 2...