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There and Back Again (10) : The hallway looked like it belonged there, maybe even felt like it had always been. There was nothing immediately disarming about it, except perhaps for one flickering light. But, you’ve been here enough times to know that this place is strange–foreign. It’s not supposed to be here. Or, did you really just miss it, all this time? Well, it’s here now. Why not investigate? The hallway stretches on. And on. And on. And the worst part is, you don’t even realize how long you’ve been walking until you turn around and there’s nothing behind you but an endless hallway. Maybe there is furniture, or decorations, or doors that never open, but there doesn’t seem to be any end to this hallway in either direction. You’re stuck here, under the harsh lights that buzz loudly around you. Maybe it feels like a moment passes, maybe an eternity–eventually, if you keep walking, you reach the end–and you’re right back to where you started, and it’s like no time at all has passed. The hallway is gone–but the hum of electric lights vibrates in your ears for hours after the experience.
Staying late at the university wasn’t a common occurrence for Pippa, but tonight she needed to work on some composition practice, and the quiet hours at the condo would keep her from doing just that. So she’d set up in one of the practice rooms with her snacks, drinks, and everything she needed, at least that’s what she thought, until she saw she needed to replace one of her guitar strings. With her locker just down the next few halls, she got up and stepped out of the practice room. It seemed like it was just her tonight, as no sounds came from the other practice rooms on either side of the one she had reserved.
Some of the lights above hummed and clicked when they popped on, now that the motion sensor was triggered. So, taking a right, which she thought was the right way to go, she started down the hall as she looked at the various posters up on the wall, which were covered with information about instruments and the different types of music classes that were available.
Then something seemed off, the posters disappeared as she walked, and the sound of the floor beneath her feet had shifted. The strip of carpet that was usually running down the center of the hall was gone, just like the posters, and then the lights were making a different kind of hum, too. It wasn’t the same low noise that she was used to, the one that lasted only for a few moments before evening out and quieting down. This hum was present, insistent, and lingered even as the lights reached their normal brightness.
“Hello?” Calling out, she turned around to see if she had maybe taken a wrong turn, but the hall looked just as plain and boring behind her as it did in front of her. So after a moment with no response and with the buzzing getting slightly louder as the lights turned on one at a time ahead of her, further down the hall, she kept walking. Each of the doors she passed looked like classrooms, but when she jiggled the knobs, they were locked. That at least made sense, though, it was after hours, and she figured the janitor might have locked them after cleaning each one to make sure nobody stepped on the freshly mopped floors or tracked dirt or mud in there until the morning.
Looking up at the lights, they felt like they were getting harsher as the fluorescent bulbs really warmed up. Part of her wondered why they hadn’t been changed to LEDs, but then again, this wasn’t England, and the standards on important energy things could be different. There were already so many differences with things and rules and laws between here and home that she felt her head spin sometimes when confronted with the difference.
When one of them started to flicker, like it was going to go out, she picked up the pace and hurried down the hall, now pretty sure that she had walked farther than she’d needed to to get to her locker and retrieve her extra guitar strings. But she hadn’t even seen any of the off-shooting hallways since she’d felt the carpet vanish under her feet. With a huff as she finally saw a water fountain, she bent down to use it before something shifted agai,n and both the hallway and the fountain were gone. It was dark and then when she moved and waved her hand, the motion sensor caught her and turned the lights back on.
Looking back behind her, the hall had carpet, and all the posters were up just as she’d thought they’d be. But at the same time, she was standing right by the practice room, almost as if she hadn’t really moved at all. Well… that was odd. The clock was even at the same time as when she’d looked up at it before moving.
So with a bit of caution and with her phone out and the camera recording, she walked down the hall again and was glad to see that after a minute or so she found her way to the turn where the lockers and bathroom was. Nobody else was here, at least no students, but she could see the janitor’s broom closet open and could hear the mop bucket being dumped out and refilled. So, at least if anything else happened, then she knew someone was here at least.
Nothing seemed off; everything was normal, at least it seemed like it. So she put the combination in and grabbed the pack of strings before taking a detour to the bathroom to splash water on her face and fix up her hair ties. Looking in the mirror, she could tell she was a little tired, but other than that, everything looked fine, and as she tightened the ties and adjusted her hair, she washed her hands and walked back down the hall with a little more certainty in her steps.
The path back was the same as usual, something that she’d never thought might change, but at least whatever hiccup had happened, her stuff was still in the practice room right where she left it, snacks and all. Even her cold bottle of tea was still there and just as cold and refreshing as she’d left it.
Stepping inside, she looked both ways down the hall before closing the door and sitting back down to work on her guitar. Getting the new string on, she coiled the damaged one up and put it back in the used envelope so she could toss it out later without someone cutting themself on the sharp bit where it had frayed.
Shaking her head, clearing the last bit of her worries about the weird time travel hallway magic she’d dealt with, she went to work on her music with the same energy and focus that she had whenever she really got to practice what she wanted. If her brother asked about anything odd happening, she’d just tell him it was a normal night, nothing to worry him over, since it all seemed okay this time.
Word Count: 1,028
