THEHIDDEN SCHOOL SBE - VOLUME 3 U N C O V E R I N G M Y S T E R I E S S E M A R A K I S N ' T W H A T Y O U T H I N K I T I S
I woke up to a gloomy and dark atmosphere around my house. It was just yesterday that the skies looked clear and radiant bright. But this morning, it is grey, misty and cloudless. It feels unnatural, and strange as this has never happened before. As if it was alarming, telling everyone that dreadful thing is going to happen. As much as it sounds odd enough, it did not baffle me. Perhaps because I just woke up from my deep sleep, and wanted to prepare myself for the first day of going to school as a pre-service teacher, rather than staying in bed and wondering about it.
Outside of the school, I caught sight of the students wearing masks that covered their entire faces, giving the impression that they were in disguise. I couldn't stop wondering why. It was the first tick of time when I walked into the school, I noticed something strange like that. Here we go again, confused and puzzled just as I first stepped into the place that I was excited about. I had a feeling that the students' true identity was hidden behind the masks, filling me with questions and inquiry about what kind of creatures they could be. They had forms like humans, but somehow, deep down, the vibes sent me plummeting in the uncanny valley. Though, I assumed it was part of the school’s culture.
With the courage I had in me, I took a few steps closer to the entrance of the school building. There, immediately I noticed a doorway in the middle of the school that suddenly appeared like a bolt from the blue. It seemed like an invitation. Turns out, it led to an underground tunnel. I was struck by the situation, which made me choke up and hesitate for a moment before walking further into the tunnel. It was dark and damp, with disturbing noises that could be heard echoing off the walls. The tunnel eventually led me to wooden blocks perched on a cliff above the sea, far from the city buildings that I just saw this morning. “Is this where I am supposed to be? This could not be a school. Oh God.. where am I?” I speak indistinctly. I could not help but feel like I had entered another world as I walked through the mystical-looking gates. Inside that place, those students uncovered the curtains that displayed their human physical looks before. I was astonished by what stood in front of me now. As curious as a cat, I finally understood that there was more to this school than what the eyes could see.
As I walked around the school, the walls and grounds were screaming, as if telling me to unveil something for them. Out of nowhere, I felt my feets following the unknown trails to the staircase, going up to an athenaeum of this school. There, it was dimly lit by sunlight, and I noticed some of the books inside glow. It occurred that some words in the books were glowing, as if it was trying to help me decipher the message. “FOLLOW THE LIGHTS, FOR IT HELPS YOU TO FIND YOUR PLACE”
Seeing that, it came to realisation that I needed to find the exit from this place immediately. I searched for the lights, flickering rhythmically, shining the way to the exit. Only then I could make sense of the masks. It was their way to disguise themselves from the evil creatures that they are. What I saw was only a glimpse. They were some type of faceless humanoid slowly approaching and circling me. As they got closer, the lights shined a lot brighter, which somehow repelled them. With my heart racing, my adrenaline spiked, I sprinted as my life depended on it. If only the silent scream from within myself can be heard. As I looked back at the school again, it vanished. In the back of my mind, thoughts were scrambled and connected, trying to think of an answer, “What in the world did I just go through?”
THE END