Daydreams And Nightmares

I was standing at the gate of the university. Time flew by so fast. Five years ago, I was a student here, but now, I'm finally one of the teachers. It's my first day, and if I ever said I'm not nervous, I would be lying. I took a deep breath and finally took a step inside.

"Good evening, Ma'am." I looked up and saw the sky in an orange to violet gradient. I threw a glance at the guard and smiled.

"Good evening, Sir." I went ahead and, through the softest whispers and giggles of students in the corridor, the sound of my heels hitting the floor reverberated within the halls.

I absent-mindedly went to the elevator and pressed the up button. When it opened before me, I silently went inside. I clutched the things I was holding, arranging them neatly before pressing my floor. I stayed near the button panel and waited. I closed my eyes, hoping to get more rest from the restless day I had had so far.

When I heard the elevator chime, I opened my eyes and walked out of it. I started walking to the same room I was in during my school days. My feet came to a stop when I saw the room number at the door: 404.

Some of my students are talking to each other, and some stayed quiet. Quite typical during the first day, wouldn't you agree? I remember I was one of those silent students on my first day at the university.

I walked in and saw the teacher's table in the center, in front of the board. I closed the distance between me and the table before putting my things down. My students continued talking when they heard the table screeching as I slowly pushed it to the left. One of my male students stood up and helped me with it.

I smiled and told him to sit down. My students, recognizing my presence, stopped talking and sat down. I looked over to the windows and saw that one of the three was open. I went over and closed it gently. I eyed the second door I had never gone through and smiled when I realized it was open. I scanned the room for a few more minutes, looking for something.

I noticed something covered in a white sheet at the back. I inched towards it and pulled away the sheet. There it was. A chair.

My students were watching my actions, and even though I'm not looking at their faces right now, I could feel their piercing gazes of confusion as I started carrying the chair and plopped it to the table's left, facing the board. I wiped it down with the sheet it was covered with and neatly folded to keep it away in one of the drawers the table has: the third. I pulled in the second drawer and got a hold of a notebook and a pen, laying it carefully on the armrest of the chair I just dragged. Everything's settled.

I fixed my suit by gently tapping away any dust that might have latched onto my clothes, making sure everything was settled before I began.

I walked towards the center carrying a marker while clearing my throat.

"Good evening, class." I eyed every single one of them while waiting for their response.

"Good evening, Teacher." They stood with confusion marked clearly on their faces. I ushered them down and started writing my name on the board.

"I am Margaret Gonzales. I will be your class adviser as well as your history teacher for this semester." They stayed silent. They must have been waiting for me to say what I just did. Well, maybe not about what I did. But the reason why I did it.

"Before I start discussing what we will cover throughout this semester, I have a few ground rules to start us off, and whatever happens, always follow them. I don't want any of you to break them. I can't guarantee your safety if you do." Their eyes are full of trepidation now. Looking at them made me look back. I eyed the same seat I was in and saw the girl with inexplicable fear in her eyes. I quickly smiled at her. I was just like her five years ago.

I was sitting on my chair when Mrs. Del Rosario introduced herself. I didn't notice her entering the room.

"I have some rules for this class, so follow them religiously." Mrs. Del Rosario was the kind of teacher that you don't want to mess with. She was terror to say the least. I've heard from my seniors that she's very strict and whatever she says, you have to follow it or else.

"One, always leave the windows closed and the doors open throughout the entire night." That's weird, but okay. I mean, even though it's barred from the outside, sometimes you want to see what's out there, right? I heard from rumors that they used to be sliding windows, but ever since someone died from falling over it, they have barred them.

"Two, if I haven't arrived at this room thirty minutes before the first period starts, do what I just did. And never make a mistake while doing it." The class threw glances at each other. Did we hear her right?

"I am not fooling around. I will do my best to always come early before all of you, but in cases where I get sick or something happens that delays me from coming early, you have to do it yourself or else your night will be ruined." I've heard some other rumors about this room, and I guess some of my classmates might have been too. I saw some of them shuddering from the mere thought of a possibly baseless rumor. They said one of the students used to sit beside the teacher's table and died later because she fell out of the window, and so she haunts the chair. It's a story to make us all scared because we're taking night classes, right? How true could it be?

"Always make sure the chair is always to my left, facing the board and not to the class. Draw out the notebook and pen from the second drawer of the table and place them on the armrest. Do not sit on the chair. Do not do something on the chair. Leave it alone until all of the classes are finished." The fear within my classmates is growing. I'm afraid too. I don't know what to think.

"When the entire night passes and you've already finished your classes, but I'm still not here, put the notebook and pen where you got them. And whatever happens, do not pry on the fourth drawer. It is locked for a reason." Everyone looked at the table. We can't see the drawers, but the fear in us was growing by the second.

"Third, if you saw or heard someone other than your teachers and classmates inside this room, no, you did not." I felt the shivers climbing up from my spine to the back of my neck, and so did my classmates. I saw someone covering her ears and looked down. Some started crying. The others remained quiet but terrified.

I don't know what else happened that day. All I remember was the terrifying feeling I had as I was listening to the rules. From then on, we followed the rules. It was mostly Mrs. Del Rosario, but when she's not around, we do it on her behalf. Two weeks later, one of our classmates showed up. He hasn't been with us since the first day, so the president decided to tell him the rules.

After hearing it, instead of being terrified like we all did, he laughed so hard he had to stop his belly from bursting.

"Come on, you're clearly pulling off my leg." He looked at us, but no one was laughing with him.

"You actually believed her? Everyone knows that's a rumor. She's making us all terrified and whatnot." No one spoke a word.

Before we knew it, he violated every rule there was. He wrote hideous things on the chair, placed it at the back, threw the pen and notebook on the floor and stomped on it, and pried the fourth drawer open to no avail.

"See? This is stupid." He laughed as he walked his way towards the chair and sat on it like a king.

"It's just a way of keeping us in check, you know? All of you are like little blind mice trying to scurry around the room, fearing you'll break any of the rules." He even quoted the last word he said.

"Nothing's lost if we follow the rules, is there?" The president asked, but the newcomer just shrugged. If I'm not mistaken, he's Evan. All of us were looking at him sitting on the chair.

"You and your stupid rules. Hmf!" He closed his eyes and tucked his arms towards his chest.

Something loomed behind him. As much as we try to peel our eyes away from him, we can't. The shadow kept on growing behind him, and he didn't seem to notice. None of us could move or speak. When the figure came into full view, it screamed so loud, almost as if a car screeched. It was too sharp for our ears, so we started covering them, even the newcomer in his seat. We felt the room shake and the seats swaying in different directions. It went for a while until we heard Mrs. Del Rosario shout,

"Everyone, go out! Now!" All of us hurried outside. Two of my classmates dragged Evan away from his seat because he had fainted. Mrs. Del Rosario made sure that none of us were left inside.

"Bring him to the clinic. When you're done, go home. I'll take it from here." She said and we were stupefied. What was she going to do there anyway? Scared as I might be, I wanted to stay and find out.

"GO! NOW!" Her voice brought us back to reality. This was something we couldn't handle. Without being aware of themselves, some of my classmates are already running for the stairs. The two boys who were carrying Evan's body, although scared, toughened themselves up and carefully hasted their pace. I urged my other classmates to move as well because they're on the verge of tears, and their bodies wouldn't stop shivering.

When tomorrow came, some of our classmates didn't attend. Evan was sent to the hospital because he didn't feel quite right staying at the university. He almost died last night because of a cardiac arrest, or so they said.

Mrs. Del Rosario never spoke a word and continued doing the rules. She carefully laid out the notebook and pen on the armrest before sitting in her chair.

"Just to remind you, you are a block section. You are to spend your years here until you graduate. I trust that this will not happen again. Do you understand?" Without any of us speaking, we agreed to what she said.

Almost half of the class dropped out and transferred to other schools. Some people, like me, stayed because we didn't have the choice. It's the cheapest school in the city. Even if I wanted to, I didn't have the means to.

Over time, it felt natural. Everyone acted as if nothing had happened. We still did the rules whenever Mrs. Del Rosario wasn't around. The teachers for our other classes acted normally as well. It's as if they knew it all along, but maybe because they've spent such a long time here that it feels like a part of their everyday life.

I always came in ahead of everyone, so I would often have conversations with Mrs. Del Rosario before the class started. We would talk about a lot of things, especially her life, but never about the chair. Because it was always the two of us before everyone else, whenever she's not around, I do it for her. Even when the classes are over, I help her fix things up before going home.

One day, as I was putting the notebook and pen back where they came from, the fourth drawer clicked open. I saw a folded paper and a frame facedown inside. I wanted to pick it up, but at the same time, I was scared. I could feel my heart jumping out of my throat. Why did it open itself? I didn't do anything to open it.

"Gonzales, are you okay?" I heard Mrs. Del Rosario approaching me.

"Ma'am, I swear I didn't open the fourth drawer. It opened on its own." I could hear my heart beating so loud.

"I know. It's okay. No one can open the last drawer. It never opened before to anyone, except me." She said as she fixed her desk and crammed things in her bag.

"It also happened to me before. Even now, I can still open it without exerting much effort, but I choose not to because it hurts. You can read it if you want to. If not, then you can leave it at that." What did she mean it hurt? I was scared, but I also want to know what it is about. I reached for it and opened the note before me.

Hello, Mrs. Del Rosario!

Tomorrow is Teacher's Day, and I'm so excited to see you again. I've prepared a gift. It was supposed to be a surprise, and I shouldn't be telling you about it except on the day itself, but I'm waaayyyy too excited. The idea may have been foiled, but the gift isn't. The gift itself is still a surprise. It would still count as a surprise since you don't know what my gift is, wouldn't it? Anyway, I'm so thankful that you are one of my teachers. Don't tell this to others: You're my favorite teacher <3. Thank you for being there for me always, teacher. Thank you for answering my relentless questions and for excusing my lazy behavior at times. You're not the problem. I suppose you know that. There's just a lot going on in my mind. I appreciate you for understanding me always, even at times when I don't even understand myself. You're the reason why I keep going. I love you, teacher. I want to spend more days with you. You're the best teacher ever!

Written with love,

Shane

I held out the frame before me and saw two faces. It was Mrs. Del Rosario, and I'm assuming Shane is the girl beside her.

"She never had the chance to give it to me personally because she was shy. Whenever she wanted to give me gifts, she would often put them in the fourth drawer." She laughed a bit.

"She died on Teacher's Day. It was the day after when I noticed her gift inside the drawer." I could see tears forming in her eyes.

"I haven't read the letter before the event because I was too busy, but when I finally had the chance to read it, it was over. She was gone. I should have been with her during that time. If I had been there, she wouldn't-" Mrs. Del Rosario cupped her face and wept bitterly.

I saw a drop that fell on the frame I was holding, and was followed by more drops. It was a little while before I realized that the drops came from my eyes. Shane had such bright eyes and a smile with Mrs. Del Rosario on her side. She must've deeply loved the teacher, and so was the teacher.

"Until now, it hurts because I've been treating that child as my daughter, and the moment I heard about her death, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I didn't want to believe she was gone." I placed the frame back and the note inside the drawer and closed it. I rubbed Mrs. Del Rosario's back while also rubbing my eyes because the tears were blurring my vision.

My memory has gone hazy. I couldn't remember what happened after, but I do know that I'm no longer afraid. I'm doing things not because I'm scared, but because I pity Shane. I'm starting to think that she meant no harm. She just wanted a place in a room where Mrs. Del Rosario was present. She was her favorite teacher after all.

Before I came to the university, I paid a visit to Mrs. Del Rosario. She already stopped working to undergo cancer treatments. When she saw me, she shed a tear and smiled.

"You look great, Ms. Gonzales." It feels nice that a teacher is recognizing me as a teacher. She tried sitting up, and I hurried beside her, put my things on the desk and helped her sit.

"How are you, Mrs. Del Rosario?" I said as I sat down on a chair beside her. She grabbed my hands swiftly and hovered hers on top.

"Dear, I don't think I have much time left." She said casually. Am I hearing her correctly?

"They say you can feel it in your bones when you're about to die." She tried laughing it off, but a tear already escaped from my right eye.

"Shh. Don't be sad, my dear. Life must go on. But before I go, I'd like you to do something for me." I didn't reply. Perhaps I didn't have the right words to say.

"I don't know what becomes of Shane after I pass, so I want you to still recognize her in that little room like I have always done. Only after you promise me will I ever feel at ease." I swallowed the lump in my throat and cleared my voice.

"I promise, Mrs. Del Rosario. Now, rest up. The rest of the day is still long, and you have better things worthy of your time to do." I just smiled and stood up, holding back my tears. I don't want to cry in front of her. I picked up my bag and things and almost sprinted out of the room with my back in front of her, tears already racing down. I was clutching the doorknob when I heard her say something.

"Thank you, my dear. I wish you excel in what you do." I was facing the door, but I could see the smile forming on her wrinkly face.

"No need to thank me, Ma'am. You're the best teacher I have had. Let's meet again soon." I said, trying not to let the cracks within my words surface. You shouldn't leave a sick person's room sad.

"I'd be glad. I'll rest up and gather more energy to do that." She giggled, and I waited for a few more minutes before looking back and seeing her resting peacefully in her bed. I gave her a smile before leaving the room and went running towards the restroom. I locked myself in one of the cubicles and cried. I can't imagine Mrs. Del Rosario gone.

After regaining my composure, I went out of the hospital and hailed a taxi. I was on my way to the university when I received a text from her daughter.

'There was a smile on my mother's face when she passed away.'

Like a faucet being turned, tears gushed out of my eyes uncontrollably. I was just there talking with her earlier. The old taxi driver looked at me with concern, but never spoke.

The ride took some time, but I was thankful because I was reminded of what I promised Mrs. Del Rosario before she passed. I was wiping my tears and trying to distract my mind. It's my first day. I have to be tough.

When the taxi slowed down, it was already moving near the entrance. I paid my fare and never asked for the change. I stepped out of the taxi and fixed my posture in front of the gate. I need to keep the promise I made with Mrs. Del Rosario.

"Any questions about the rules before I move on from discussing the syllabus?" No one made a sound. I eyed each of them, reassuring them that everything is and will be fine.

I looked over to the once-empty chair and saw Shane smiling at me. I smiled back before bringing my eyes back to the class and smiling with more enthusiasm.

"Let's start."