Theme: My story is about a linguist in a storeroom clicking the wrong ‘X’.
“Paper needed!” Colin gestured to the printer in front of him, looking at me meaningfully.
“What?” I said. “Am I some sort of servant now?”
Colin shook his head and sighed, still pointing at the printer.
“I can’t very well leave my work here, can I?” He asked.
This time, I sighed. Neatly stacking the books I’d been using into a pile, I got up from the library desk.
“If my seat is taken when I get back, I’m blaming you!” I pointed at Colin and he shrugged as if the disruption of my work was no big deal. The essay I was working on was the last of the semester. The sooner it was finished, the quicker my summer could begin.
I trudged down the corridor to the store room which was conveniently open for use. As I stepped into the pitch black room, I couldn’t see a thing. Mentally cursing Colin for making me run errands for him, I reached for the light, thinking there would be pull down switch. No such luck.
My fingers traced the walls which were cold, and strangely a little damp. Finally, I found a switch and gladly clicked it without hesitation. Instead of the room being illuminated with light however, I heard a strange beeping sound and the door banged shut behind me. I held my breath for any more alarming sounds, but it had suddenly turned eerily silent.
My hands locked around the door handle in the dark and twisted. Just as I had feared, I was locked in this pitch black store room where God only knows what other creatures made their homes.
Again, searching for the light switch, I ran my fingers along the walls. Before, they had seemed rough and damp. Now though, they were smooth and felt like metal. The switch must have locked the doors, but could it have locked the walls too?
I hated being blind, and I was getting more and more frantic by the second. I used both my hands to attack the walls to try and find a light switch, and eventually I found one. I braced myself for the effects of clicking this one, but was relieved to see that it actually was a light switch this time. Or so I thought.
As the room came into view, I realised that this was no store room. It was much bigger. After further investigation, I noticed it looked exactly like the library I had just left, except… backwards.
Making my way over to a similar table I had just moments ago been working on, I noticed two huddled figures poring over a book. This stopped me in my tracks. I had never seen anything so dream-like in my life. I tapped the girl on her shoulder.
“Excuse me…” But my words dried up in my throat. The girl did not hear me. Neither did the boy. I was looking at me and Colin.
My brain refused to believe it and I walked round to the front of the table to get a better look. Sure enough, there I was, cuddled up to Colin and whispering over a book we were paying no attention to.
Sick rose up in my throat. How could this be real? Firstly, how could I be in two places at once, and secondly, how could I be cuddling up to annoying Colin?
I turned back round to where I had come from and noticed the one metal wall and door I had felt in the dark. Running wildly back to it, I mentally cursed Colin, conjuring up all sorts of profanities and satisfying ways to describe him that only a linguist like me would know.
I yanked on the door handle but it dissolved into my hand and disappeared. Soon, the walls did the same and it just became part of the library. I screamed and hit the wall, shouting for someone to help.
A noise to my right made me turn around again. It sounded like paper falling to the ground. My eyes scanned the room until they found the printer. That blasted printer.
It was spewing paper like there was an infinite amount inside, and I hurried over to it. I clicked the stop button but nothing happened. Instead, I scooped up sheet after sheet of paper, trying to stop the flow, constantly becoming more irritated and worried I was going mental.
Soon, the printer dissolved into nothing, and I was left holding the paper. I whipped my head around to view the room again, but it was all still the same. Except for the two figures. Or should I say, me and Colin.
They were heading for the door which had suddenly materialised again. I hurried after them and slowed as I watched them float through it. After they had gone, the door reopened. I rushed forward and got through it just before it closed again. Looking back at the door, I saw it was padlocked. Impossible…
I searched the corridor wildly. It was the same as when I’d left it. From the real library down the corridor, Colin popped his head out.
“What’s taking you so long?” Again, I mentally cursed him.
Composing myself, I walked back to the library, thrust the crumpled paper into his arms and sat back at my desk, breathing heavily. The words of my essay jumbled around the page when I looked at them, and I couldn’t focus. I rubbed my head, trying to make sense of what had happened. Colin was looking at me with narrowed eyes.
“Why is the paper crumpled, Georgia?”
Also, kudos for such crazy visuals! I could see everything very easily, and what I saw was pretty darn groovy, I must say. It was an interesting read, which is always a plus.