Clock In The Classroom

This is a short story I created in class. While writing I wanted to tackle this idea of time. To me, time can either be a very beautiful or deadly thing that is easily misused.

THE CLOCK IN THE CLASSROOM

By: C.H.

I was ten when it first dawned on me. The sad but undeniable fact that everyone dies eventually. It is tragic but true. 

Even the most optimistic mind can’t deny this inevitable fate of us human beings. 

Naturally, at my young age the idea of dying was quite strange but life was even stranger. I suppose the accurate way to describe it is ‘the circle of life’. We go through an endless amount of trials and tribulations only for it to end within an instant.

The day was bleak and dull. White snow silently fell onto the ground. Covering every inch like a warm blanket. Winter was always my favorite time of the year. 

Maybe it was the cool air that chilled my ears or the quietness that surrounded it. The birds which would normally be chirping constantly had vanished. Moved south for the upcoming storm.

I remember we had a test that day. Which was causing me a harrowing amount of stress. It wasn’t because I didn’t know anything. No, I was quite smart for my age. I was very advanced and capable of solving even the most tedious of problems. 

The thing that always bothered me was the time. 

In our classroom we had a huge clock on the wall above the teachers desk. It was very old and rusty. One of those antique ones you’d only find in a store run by an old couple. Every hour on the hour the clock would ring an alarming and disturbing ring. 

It sounded similar to a hyena screeching in the middle of a dark night. 

I loathed the sound more than anything. 

“Today we are going to be taking our reading test, take out your definitions and get prepared”. 

We all did as we were told. Our teacher slowly passed out the paper. She laid it carefully onto my desk. I took the heavy packet into my hands. There were about six pages and only an hour to do the work. 

“Ready, begin!”

I’ve never been very fond of the reading test. The mere hour we had gotten always caused my mind strain. Anxious at the thought of not finishing on time and failing.

Witnessing the disappointed face of my teacher is what really struck my fears. 

Fifteen minutes in and I saw most of my  peers were half way through the work. I put my attention back onto my paper. I stare at the words only to find them getting further away. 

I was sinking.

My seat was pulling me down as the words on the paper got further and further away. 

                       

‘Tap

My teacher tapped me on the shoulder. I had awoken from my euphoric experience. She told me to continue. 

I tried to focus back onto the task at hand but couldn't.

‘Tick, Tick,Tick’

The old clock was ticking as time was slipping away. The noise the clock was making didn’t sound like normal ticking though. 

It was a creepy, ominous noise, like someone gritting their teeth. 

‘Tick, Tick!’

The sound was only getting louder. I looked up at the clock. The longer I gazed at it the more the sound increased. 

Tick, Tick, Tick

My head started to pound. It felt like the clock had planted itself inside my brain. The noise kept ticking and clanging in my skull. 

Grrrr- it Grrrr-it’

The clock's infernal ticks had changed into the gritting of teeth. My head was throbbing at this point and I was gaining a migraine. 

I observed the others in my classroom. They all seemed perfectly fine. Rushing to finish their test. I couldn’t believe they were unaware of this monstrous sound the old clock was making. 

Ting! Ting!’

The noise grew louder. I looked around and saw my classmates fading away. Much like my paper from earlier. They looked like dark fearful creatures as they scurried away from me. 

“Had they gone mad!” I thought. 

Tick, Tock’

My eardrums felt like they were going to melt off. Alone I tried to distract my mind by focusing on my breath. Which was a terrible mistake. My breathing was heavy, almost suffocating and much louder than the clocks. I felt like I was drowning in this dark, cold place I had stumbled into. 

I kept breathing, faster and faster as if that would help my lungs gain more oxygen. The infuriating ticking had stopped finally and everything was calm again till…

DONG! DONG!

The chimes of the clock rang signaling the end of the hour and within that moment my breath came to a complete halt. 

Strangely it didn’t feel like anything though.

There was nothing. Just me, in this unknown dark space. Quiet and still. 

 A feeling I could only imagine one would call death. 

Which made an unbearable thought cross my mind, that maybe, just maybe.  Dying wasn’t so bad. 

Of course, that moment and thought had come to a close just as fast as it had opened.

When my eyes had readjusted to the light of the room. I saw my teacher kneeling over me and the students surrounding us. We were on the floor of our classroom. 

Tick-Tock, Tick- Tock

My eyes gravitated towards the fading sound to the old rustic clock on the wall. I was disturbed yet amazed to find it frozen in place. 

No more ticking.

It was broken.