Five
665 Words
Helena walked into the half-filled class, her eyes darting around.
The air was filled with the whispers and chattering of students, the quiet rustling of papers and flipping of book pages.
The lecturer hadn’t arrived yet.
A sigh of relief escaped her lips and she immediately slid into a seat in the middle row, her chest heaving.
Melting against the chair, she let go of the books she was clutching to her chest and dropped them heavily on the desk in front of her.
It slammed down really hard making a loud thud that earned glares from people beside and across her.
She took out her phone, her mind jumping to Louise.
Almost immediately her phone alerts her with a beep and Louise's name pops up on the screen with a text underneath.
“Wanna meet up for lunch after class?”
“Uhmmmm, sorry but my schedule is really tight and messed up today. Probably another time.”
Helena’s thumb hovered over the send button. The polite lie felt heavy and useless. She didn’t want to go to lunch with anyone, not with her chest still heaving from the encounter with Jason and her mind still replaying every second of it. She wanted to be alone, to disappear into the calmness of the half-filled classroom and to pretend that she hadn’t just ogled at Jason— the Jason Jordan.
She slowly tapped the send button.
A low click from her phone confirmed the message was delivered. She let out a small, quiet exhale and pushed her phone back onto the table, leaning back in the chair.
Her hair bounced slightly, her skin remained flushed, her pulse refused to slow down.
She pushed her chair back, the metal leg scraping against the tile beneath it.
Grabbing her books in one hand she stood abruptly and bolted for the restroom, desperate to find a place to finally calm down.
The hallway was a mixture of laughter and chatter, but all that was the least of her problems.
She ducked through the crowd and chattering, her gaze scanned the unfamiliar faces in a frantic blur, her eyes searched for the restroom so quickly leaving her with a throbbing headache.
A few seconds later she found the restroom and quickly dashed to it, oblivious to the sign on the door that read “male”.
She gathered her last strength and pushed through the heavy bathroom door, the cool, tiled air hitting her face like a reset button.
Taking a deep breath, she trudged in, shoulders slumped in weariness.
She walked to one of the porcelain sinks she first saw, dropped the books down on the flat surface on the side of the sink and leaned over, gently twisting the faucet’s handle.
The running water cut through the silence like a blade, as she reached out to touch the cold stream.
Her mind and body relaxed on first contact. She cupped her hand under the stream, scooping the cold water.
Bringing it up to her flushed face and cheeks she let her damp hand unwind freely on her face touching every inch of her flustered skin.
Helena kept her head down, letting the water drip from her chin into the sink, lost in the sound of the gentle, steady hum from the faucet’s mouth.
It was only when she heard the chattering of students outside the bathroom door did she snap out of her own world and look up.
Her breath hitched. The reflection in the mirror of the urinals behind her clicked into focus, the air in the room suddenly turned heavy and suffocating.
Helena spun around instinctively, her heart hammering against her rib cage, her back rested against the cold porcelain sink and her eyes fixed on the door.
Every nerve in her body screamed for her to run or take a step, but her feet felt heavy beneath her.
Then the door knob began to rotate, sending waves and shivers through her.
Helena froze.
- Writer
