the bell rang sharply, and the hallways flooded with students rushing to their next class; lockers slammed, sneakers squeaked against the polished flooring, and somewhere a backpack strap snapped.
sebastian navigated through the crowd, a notebook clutched under his arm, with his eyes half on the clock and half on the notice board plastered with announcements.
finian was already at her desk, tapping her pen against her textbook, her head bent over the notes. she looked up when sebastian slid into the seat beside her. "late again," she said, not annoyed... just observing.
"it was traffic," sebastian muttered, tossing his bag under the desk. the teacher started the lesson, the classroom settling into the usual rhythm of murmured questions, scribbling pens, and the hum of the lights above. nothing out of the ordinary.
for now.
the lesson dragged on, formulas and definitions blurring together. sebastian doodled absentmindedly, his pencil tracing strange shapes along the margins of his notebook, while finian muttered terms under her breath, correcting herself whenever she stumbled.
hours slipped by unnoticed. the sunlight outside dwindled, melting into the dusky glow of evening. the classroom emptied one by one—first a few students, then the janitor wheeling his cart down the hall—but sebastian and finian kept working, lost in their notes, unaware the world outside had gone quiet.
finally, sebastian leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes. "we've been at this forever, haven't we?"
finian yawned, snapping her notebook closed. "yeah... guess we're the last ones."
they slid the door open together. the hallway stretched before them; it was long and silent—empty, too. the familiar polished floors seemed to shimmer in the dim light, stretching further than they remembered. the lockers' metallic gleam was caught in their eyes, but... the numbers were repeating, skipping?
"we've been talking for, like... how long?" sebastian said, stepping forward.
finian paused, frowning. "longer than we should've."
their footsteps echoed. turn after turn, the hallway seemed to extend, bending impossibly around the corners. a shiver crawled up finian's spine...
"why... does this feel endless?" she whispered.
sebastian swallowed. even the hum of the lights seemed heavier now, pulsing, like the building itself was breathing.
they walked. step after step. the hallway twisted just slightly at each corner, the lockers repeating in patterns they couldn't remember seeing before.
a faint smell of something burnt—or maybe old paper—lingered in the air, making sebastian wrinkle his nose.
"this isn't... right," finian said, slowing down. she tapped her watch. "it's only been like... ten minutes since we left class, right?"
sebastian frowned, "felt longer. wait..." he glanced at the wall clock. the hands were moving too fast, twitching. skipping seconds. "the clock...is it me or—"
finian grabbed his arm. "it's not you. it's... fast. way too fast."
the more they walked, the more hallways repeated. they passed the same fire extinguisher three times, the same locker with scratches forming an initial 'V.' each turn led to another.
sebastian laughed nervously. "maybe we're just... lost."
finian shook her head. "no... this isn't normal. the school..."
a soft whisper brushed past them from the ceiling vents. just a syllable, almost like a name. sebastian spun around, eyes wide. "d-did you—"
