Scribe Ch.1

       HeeAh watched the rain as it ran down the pane in aimless swirls. One hand propped on her chin, she stared out at the watercolor diluted street with the dying maples reflected in her oaken irises. Cars whizzed by like streaks of color, leaving smears upon the asphalt in long erratic lines.

       The hollow crack of chalk breaking in half echoed around the room. She turned back to the front, and watched as the instructor picked the broken piece up from the floor. He peered at it for a moment before laying it gingerly in its metal tray; a child safely back in its cradle. He cleared his sunken throat and resumed his lecture. HeeAh copied the notes that had been scratched upon the chalkboard. That’s the way her professor lectured: the most important points went on the board. Consequently, it overshadowed the brand new presentation screen with its faded green color and dulled chrome edging. It was a three-hinged contraption, as old as it was enormous. On a bad day all five sides would be taken up; but today had seen merely two filled thus far. The girl scratched her neck with the butt end of her mechanical pencil, scribbled down a few more notes, turned the page of her textbook alongside her classmates, and yawned discreetly. Her bench creaked when she leant over to take a sip from her water bottle, a hallmark to the university’s age. Two hundred-odd years of unremarkable history, and a library that every bibliophile would snub his nose at, could clearly be seen in the scuffed floor and sun bleached curtains in said chamber. The hallways were noisy, the stairs narrow and steep (no elevator, either), and the heater so useless in the colder months that the mini winter semester was an online or at-home only course. HeeAh glanced at her calendar and noticed again how the first half of her third year would soon be over. A few more weeks of studying, a handful of tests, and snow would be dusting her door.

       The rain pelted the window, and she felt her fingertips tingle like glass cylinders about to break. The room faded slowly backwards, folding in on itself to form a muted brown space. Snow spiraled softly down onto her eyes. Her pencil shuddered in her hand, leaving little black dots in her notebook, before breaking free to roll off the table. The floor shivered back to clarity as the sound bounced off the walls, the snow evaporating on her gooseflesh. She started back in her chair with a little gasp and faced the instructor. He was an elderly man, dreaming of retirement, with short steel-hued hair and a thin mustache that had more character than the wrinkles in his liver-spotted face. His eyes were full of light and learning, and twinkled warmly at the girl while she swallowed and hunched in on herself, trying to blend into the wood grain of her seat. The male student sitting in front of her handed her the writing utensil, neither face nor name known to her. She thanked him and turned back to her paperwork to find an entire page pockmarked by pencil holes. She’d clicked one of the lead pieces out completely and smeared it across the sheaf. The female looked at her left hand and found it stained with charcoal; she’d left a light dusting on her notes on the opposite page when she’d moved at the sudden noise. She was glad her short black hair was still long enough to cover her hollow cheeks and the confused tears that squeezed from beneath her closed eyes as she tried to remember what happened…unsuccessfully. The professor, making a closing remark, smacked his old leather bag shut and smiled at the throng swaying its way out into the hall on command.

       HeeAh remained where she was, not impolitely ignored, and wiped at the black residue with a tissue.

       “It wasn’t quite as long this time,” the proctor’s baritone wheezed from beside her. He smiled afresh, the gesture reserved entirely for her this time. HeeAh nodded and sniffled viciously.

       “I know. It hasn’t been of late, but still…” Her voice faded out. She felt her caged tears break free and slither hotly down her cheeks.

       The elder clucked and wiped a slack thumb quickly across them, before any stray passerby could see. “Perhaps it is time you saw him.”

       “Mmmmh…” HeeAh cinched her eyes to no avail. The reality of the situation refused to dissolve, like the smoke lingering in the wake of the rain ceasing. A car horn blared from across the block.

       “You cannot wait forever,” the male reminded her gently. “Better to make up your mind now, than to have the decision made for you later on.”

       “You’re right,” she mumbled glumly, nodding once. “I suppose I’ve drawn it out long enough.”

       “Good,” the professor replied, patting her on the shoulder. “As before we’ll balance out your classes during your absence, so just focus on what lies ahead.”

       “Yes.” With a final pat, he made his slow way back down the stairs to organize his desk. The girl sighed before packing all of her things away with practiced precision. She stood, shouldered her pack, waved goodbye to the man with the best imitation of a smile she could muster, and turned to head out into the carpeted hallway leading to her future.