Asphyxia

"Miss Telani?"

The teacher looked up from the homework she was grading and at the student standing before her desk. "What is it, Violet?"

The teenager avoided her gaze, wetting her lips nervously. "Could you... Ehm... Could you please come with me?"

Miss Telani placed her pen down and stood up. "What's wrong?"

Violet fidgeted with her hair. "It's Maylin... She and Sue had a fight earlier today and she locked herself in the bathroom. She missed two classes and despite being done for the day now, she still refuses to come out."

Miss Telani followed Violet through the school. The hallways were quiet; most students had gone home or were sitting through their last class of the day.

"What was the fight about? Did anyone get hurt?" Miss Telani inquired.

Violet was silent for a few seconds. "You know Sue and Maylin are dating?"

"Yes, I do."

"Well... Sue caught Maylin and Vince kissing..."

"Oh..." Miss Telani mentally shook her head. "I can imagine what happened next." She sighed, and mumbled under her breath, "Poor Sue..."

They reached the girls' bathroom on the first floor. To Miss Telani's surprise Sue stood there, leaning against the wall.

"She still refuses to come out," Sue stated angrily. "Hell, she's not even speaking to me!"

"I'll see if I can get her to come out," Miss Telani said as she moved past the girl into the bathroom. "However, if she wishes to not talk or even see you, please respect that."

Sue grumbled. "Fine, but only if she says so."

Violet followed the teacher into the bathroom. "She's in the last cubicle on the left."

Miss Telani knocked on the door. "Maylin? This is Miss Telani. Are you alright?"

There was no answer.

Miss Telani looked at Violet, but she just shrugged. "She hasn't said a word to us either..."

The teacher knocked again. "Maylin, please open the door so we can have a talk. If you want I will tell your friends to go home so we can have a private conversation."

Silence.

Miss Telani turned to Violet and lifted a brow. "You sure Maylin is in there?"

Violet nodded. "I was there when she locked herself inside. They were arguing through the door for a while before Sue called her all kinds of nasty and stormed out..."

"And you're sure she didn't leave when you two were in class?" She looked at the lock. "She could have easily locked it from outside using a nail file or something similar..."

Violet pointed at the small gap underneath the door. "We thought so too when she remained quiet, so we looked. Maylin always wears these black boots with rainbow laces."

Miss Telani lowered herself, and with her head on the tiles she peered underneath the door. To her surprise she saw the boots Violet had just described. Why's she standing on her toes? Uneasiness spread through her system and she couldn't help but think something was wrong. She quickly rose and checked if there was anything tied to the ceiling inside the cubicle, jumping to get a better view-but she saw nothing.

"Is everything alright?" Violet asked, her face blanching.

Miss Telani opened the door of the cubicle next to Maylin's and climbed on top of the toilet bowl.

"Miss ... Telani...?" Violet's voice quivered.

"Give me a moment, please..." The teacher grasped the wooden partition firmly and peered down into the Maylin's stall. At first she was relieved to see Maylin standing in front of the toilet, seemingly alright, but then the feeling in the pit of her stomach intensified.

"She's in there, right?"

"Yes, she is..." Miss Telani swallowed. Something's not right... "Maylin?"

The girl didn't move.

"Want me to give you a boost?"

Having trouble to look into the stall properly, Miss Telani considered this. "If you wouldn't mind... I'd appreciate it."

Violet stepped into the cubicle and moved between the teacher and the wall. Carefully, Miss Telani placed one foot into Violet's clasped hands. The girl groaned. "It's okay, I got you."

Miss Telani held the partition tightly and tried to place some of her weight on it in order to relieve Violet. She had a much better view now on Maylin, and the blood drained from her face. "May-Maylin...?"

The girl stood on her toes, straight and unmoving. Her lips were bluish-purple, her cheeks pale. She had her eyes open, but they were glazed and she didn't blink.

Is she ... dead? Miss Telani's stomach turned. She looks dead... But if she's dead, how can she be standing? Let alone on her toes... "Maylin?" she called again, her voice trembling. She reached out with her left arm. Maybe if I touch her she will react...

She imagined the girl suddenly turning her head and biting her fingers. She immediately retracted her hand in fear.

Damn it, Hannah, she's not going to bite you, she scolded herself. Still, the sight of the deathly pale teen sent shivers up her spine. What if she's a zombie? She stared at the girl and couldn't help but imagine her suddenly turning around and leap at her face. Miss Telani knew she was being stupid, that zombies didn't exist, but this didn't change the fact that she was terrified.

"Miss Telani," Violet called out. "I can't hold you much longer..."

The teacher snapped out of it. "I-I'm sorry." Slowly, she moved away from the partition, but she kept her eyes locked on Maylin-she still expected her to start moving at any moment.

"Is Maylin alright?"

Miss Telani stepped off the toilet bowl. After taking a moment to calm her nerves, she answered, "No. I don't think she is. Excuse me please."

Violet nodded and turned to knock on the door of Maylin's cubicle. "Maylin, please, say something..."

Miss Telani exited the stall and extracted her phone from her pocket. With trembling fingers she dialled the emergency number. "Hello, this is Hannah Telani. I need an ambulance." She gave the school's address to the operator.

It didn't take long for the emergency services to arrive. Within minutes they'd opened the door to Maylin's cubicle and got her onto a stretcher.

Violet held Sue's hand as they both waited outside of the bathroom, Miss Telani by their side. Sue paled at the sight of her girlfriend being rolled out with an oxygen mask on. Maylin's face was still pale, her lips blue. Crying, Sue leapt forward, screaming Maylin's name.

Miss Telani gently pulled her away from the stretcher. "Let them do their work."

The ambulance crew continued to move Maylin away, the paramedic's voice echoing through the school's hall. "... severe case of asphyxia, no obstruction of the airway found, oxygen is being administrated."

Sue collapsed onto the ground, weeping.

"Miss Telani, will Maylin be okay?" Violet asked, her eyes wet.

"I-I don't know... The doctors are doing the best they can." She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"It's all my fault," Sue cried. "It's all my fault..." She kept repeating the four words and Violet hugged her friend close.

"What do you mean?" Miss Telani asked.

"I-I caught her making out with Vince... He quickly ran off, and Maylin tried to explain what happened, b-but I wouldn't have it..." Sue snivelled. "I-I told her to choke on it..."