The Phantom School - 50 Windy Day

“It is okay, let him in.”

Mr. Kenan had appeared from nowhere. He held me and Okan from our shoulders and separated us.

“B-but Mr. Kenan, if we-” Okan tried to explain himself, but Mr. Kenan didn’t let him.

“It is okay, I asked him to be here.” said Mr. Kenan.

“E-eh!?” Okan was confused for some reason.

“Come in, please.” Mr. Kenan invited me into the chemistry lab, and turned to Okan. “Thank you, but you should leave us for now. We will talk more about this later.”

Okan didn’t say anything and started running towards the exit. I watched him worryingly as he rushed outside. Mr. Kenan had noticed my confusion.

“Please don’t mind him.” he said.

“What was that all about?” I asked.

“I guess he didn’t have a very good day.” said Mr. Kenan, but the answer wasn’t very convincing. Perhaps he was aware of that as well… Even though I was in discomfort by everything going on, I didn’t question it any further. It was clear that Mr. Kenan didn’t want to explain things for now.

Mr. Kenan called me while I was lost in my own thoughts.

“Will you close the door and come here?” he said. I slowly closed the door and got inside. I sat on a chair close to Mr. Kenan. He looked at me without saying anything for a while.

“So… why did you call me here?” I finally asked him. He was startled and he suddenly looked away.

“Oh, that…” he said. “I had something important to talk about.”

“Which is?” I was getting impatient.

“I know you.” he said. We had another awkward moment staring at each other.

“Uhm… What?” I said.

“Oh… I mean…” he said, and thought for a while. “Well, anyway, let’s get to it directly. You were my student back in high school.”

“Really!?” I said. “I’m sorry, I still can’t remember clearly.”

“It is okay, don’t force yourself to remember. But, I have something to show you.” he said and got up. He grabbed something from a drawer and came back. It was a little notebook. He walked by me and gave it to me.

“Do you remember this?” he asked. I looked at the notebook for a while, and started turning it’s pages. The notebook was full of phone numbers which I had nothing to do with; but oddly, the notebook itself was familiar.

“I think I… sort of remember this notebook, but I don’t exactly know where or when I have seen this.” I said. Even though I looked uninterested, seeing objects that belonged to the missing parts of my memory… It was a chance I couldn’t lose. “What is this?” I asked.

“You will remember when I tell you everything.” he said. “But you need to be patient, otherwise, it is not going to work.”

“How old is that notebook?” I asked.

“Many decades, probably.” he said. “I don’t know how old, exactly. But I wanted to show that to you and see if you could remember it.”

“It makes very little sense.” I said. “What are we really doing here?”

“I want you to remember your high school days.” he said.

“And… Why is it that important?” I asked.

“Patience!” he yelled. “You will know soon enough.” He got around and started walking around the lab in circles. He sighedand looked at me after a while.

“Tomorrow, when you arrive at the school…” he began talking. “If the other teachers behave a bit… How should I call it… ‘weirdly’, please don’t mind them. Don’t tell them anything about your past and this school, alright?”

“But… Why?” I asked. “Why is everyone being so weird? I didn’t understand why Okan behaved that way, and I don’t understand what you are trying to do with me here.”

“I’m telling you for the last time, this is where the ‘Be patient.’ part comes in. So, please don’t make me say again, and be patient. Everything will clear up in a few days, and you will feel comfortable. Okay?” he said.

“Okay then.” I replied. Even though I didn’t understand anything, I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

“Well then, we should leave now.” Mr. Kenan said and pointed at the door. I stood up and started walking towards the door. Just when I was about to grab the doorknob, the door started shaking and making weird noises. I was startled and I immediately stepped away. Mr. Kenan coughed.

“Windy day, isn’t it?” he said.

“Yeah.” I replied, even though the weather wasn’t windy at all, and furthermore, all the windows were closed. I was still reluctant to touch the door. While I was standing in front of it, Mr. Kenan suddenly grabbed the doorknob and opened the door for me. We got into the hallway and headed to the exit.

While we were walking in the hallway, a strong wind started blowing and howling. The hallway went very cold in a few seconds. A few moments later, all the lights went out. The windows started shaking and clinking.

“Maybe we should stay inside for a while.” I told Mr. Kenan.

“No, we will go home.” Mr. Kenan objected.

“It’s pretty windy, I think we can wait for a while.” I insisted.

“We can’t.” he said. He was very serious.

“Then we should at least close all the windows before we go out. The airflow is reaching the inner parts of the building. If this turns into a storm later on, it can mess everything up inside, especially the paperworks.” I said.

“No, the windows are already-” Mr. Kenan didn’t complete his sentence. “I mean, it is not our job to look after everything.”

In the sounds of the howling wind, I thought I could hear someone, faintly. The voice was something in between screaming and crying. It was a bit frighening, but since I couldn’t hear anything clearly, I wanted to assume that I was mistaken. Even though I didn’t want to get into another awkward conversation, I couldn’t hold myself back.

“Is there someone else in the school right now?” I asked.

“No.” Mr. Kenan replied. He had been giving short, clear and serious answers to whatever I say. There was no signs of the cheerful personality he had when we first met today.

“I think I hear someone. Are you sure?” I said.

“Yes, I am.” he replied. “I think you are tired. It’s the sound of the wind that you hear. Just keep walking.”

“I guess…” I said. He could be right about that one. I was making things up. I wanted to think that.

We arrived at the main exit. Mr. Kenan pulled the door to open it.

The wind started howling even louder.

I got outside and he followed me. As soon as I got out of the building, the wind was gone. The weather was clear. There were puddles of water left by the rain this morning, but there was no wind, and it was rather warm.

“Windy day, eh?” I murmured as I walked away from the school building. I was not sure if I wanted to come back here tomorrow.