AYESHA POV
"Here..." Suddenly, a can of milk appeared on my desk...again. "...You don't look okay" When I looked up to see who it was, I saw Mrs. Paola, the middle-aged woman with glasses, standing in front of me. Unlike the first time I saw her with furrowed brows, now she was beaming with warmth and a gentle smile. What's with her? Think I'm a baby or something? Need milk? "T-Thank you, Mrs. Paola" I forced a smile, nodding slightly in thanks.
As she left, I grabbed the last book I needed to summarize. "Ahh, why are you so thick?" I muttered, talking to the book like it was a person. "I summarized you till midnight, but you're still so thick."
After an hour of summarizing, I was getting sleepy. "One page left, Ayesha. One page, you can do it," I lied to myself. It was actually three pages left.
Staring at these stupid books was making me sleepy. I wasn't getting enough sleep. "Ugh...nothing's gonna happen if I sleep for a bit...right?" I talked to the book like it was gonna answer me.
Well...5 minutes won't hurt right? Just 5 minutes. I couldn't fight the sleepiness anymore, and I slowly rested my head on the book on my desk until...I...fell...asleep—
I was startled awake by someone shaking me. "Ms., please silence your cellphone. It's disturbing others," Mrs. Paola said with furrowed brows.
Huh? Mrs. Paola? "Ehh? Cell...phone?" I asked, confused.
"Your cellphone's ringing," she said.
I snapped back to reality, realizing it was my phone. My face flushed, especially since my ringtone was rock music – electric guitar and all. F*ck, everyone here was looking at me.
Who the heck called me? I grabbed the phone and checked the caller. "S-Sorry ma'am, I fell asleep, I didn't notice," I apologized to Mrs. Paola, bowing slightly.
She just nodded and went back to her spot.
"Hello brother, why did you call? I'm inside the library. So embarrassing!" I answered the call, annoyed
This guy's gonna get me killed. He could've just sent a message, but no, he had to call and almost got me in trouble. He's mad I got detention, and now he's gonna be the reason I get detention again. Good thing Mrs. Paola wasn't too strict, despite her grumpy face.
["Ohh THANK GOD you answered your phone, bunso"] he sounded breathless.
"Huh? What's wrong with you?"
["Listen to me, Ayesha... this is very important. If you see anyone covered in blood, don't go near them. Stay away, hide, and I'll pick you up, okay? Do you understand???"]
I heard the tremble in his voice. What the...is he panicking? What's going on with him, and what—
"Brother, are you using drugs or what? What are you talking about?"
If this is another one of his jokes, f*ck him. I'm not in the mood, and my head's killing me. Please don't make this worse.
["I-I don't know how to explain this b-but b-but you know the thing you always watch w-with Ivon?"]
Huh? That movie he's always mad about when we watch?
"Train to Busan?"
["Y-Yeah that thing and the... the monster ther—"]
"Zombie?"
Ugh, what's his deal? Is this some nurse thing? I think I'll suggest to Dad tonight that we send Kuya to a military camp in the US before he totally loses it.
["Y-Yea that thing is true. They're here at the hospital. They're attacking and biting people here"]
"...."
Something in my brain just snapped. My eyes started twitching. I took a deep breath to calm myself
["...Ayesha, believe me, I'm not jok—"] I cut him off, 'cause if I heard one more stupid word, I'd scream. And I can't do that, or I'll end up in detention again.
"Ha.ha, very funny, brother," I said, and hung up 😒. Like his jokes are that funny. They just give me a headache.
My phone rang again. This time, I turned down the volume. I didn't want to look up and see the dirty looks from everyone here.
Should I answer this? He's gonna say more nonsense, but if I don't, he'll just keep calling. I know that idiot.
I took a deep breath and answered. "Brother, if you don't stop, I'll block you," I said, annoyed.
["Ayesha, I'm telling the truth. I don't believe it either, but I saw them. I saw that freaking—"]
I lost focus when the door suddenly burst open. Everyone looked up. The student who came in was covered in blood, looked terrified, and was holding her arm, which was dripping blood.
"AHH HELP S-SOMEBODY HELP ME!!" She screamed, causing everyone to alert and rush over.
Mrs. Paola immediately approached the bloody student.
["Ayesha, what's happening?"] Brother asked, but I ignored him. I tried to peek past the crowd, but there were too many people blocking my view.
"Miss, what's happening to you?"
"Mrs. Paola, look, he's wounded in the arm!"
"WHO HAS A TOWEL? We need a towel to stop the bleeding!" "HERE HERE!"
"TAKE HIM TO THE CLINIC!" "
Oh no, what's that? So much blood!"
Aish, what's going on? I can't see past the crowd.
When I tried to move closer, suddenly screams erupted, and the library doors burst open again. More students, covered in blood, stumbled in. "H-Help me!!" a girl begged, but was trampled by another bloody student and bitten on the ear till it was torn off.
Screams filled the library. Students panicked, running, knocking over chairs, small shelves, and vases. "Aarghhhh AHHHHHH RGHHHH" One of the bloody students screamed, and suddenly more of them poured in. Like they weren't in control, attacking everyone.
Blood splattered everywhere. Someone fell in front of me. I fell back, shocked. I saw a student—no, it was like the zombie in Train to Busan, the one Cess and I always watched when he'd sleep over—bite into a student's nose. Blood sprayed my face as the zombie yanked its bite loose. The student's eyes locked on mine, begging me to help, while the zombie kept chewing.
I was frozen. Eyes wide. Shaking—I'm shaking with fear. W-what do I do? Ayesha, get up. Why can't you move? STAND UP!!
I wanted to scream, but no voice came out. I wanted to close my eyes and cover my ears, but my eyelids and hands wouldn't move. Tears started streaming down my face – I'm next, any moment now.
...Zombie? Is this what brother was talking about? The thing I didn't want to believe? His warning...
Brother...yeah, my brother was on the phone. My phone...where's my phone?... I frantically felt for it, but couldn't find it till I saw it under the desk. I shakily stood up, inching toward it.
Almost there, Ayesha...you can do it...
As I bent down, I knocked over the milk can. F*ck, I touched it. It made a loud clang, empty as it was. I looked up – the zombie near me was staring at me.
No...no...please leave me alone....not me!! I wanted to beg, but my mouth was locked.
It stood up, head tilted. I saw flesh fall from its mouth, blood dripping, grey pupils veined, staring straight at me.
I'm shaking. Fear's taking over. I could fight, but I'm terrified.
T-Tulong...help...please... brother...D-Dad...
"Arghh raaaaghhhhh" It lunged at me.
"AHHH!!" I squeezed my eyes shut, arms up to shield myself