“You guys are full of shit.”
Wayne’s voice echoed in the sparsely furnished teacher’s lounge. He was accompanied by Laura, Jenn and Michael - the rest of the faculty had gone home almost immediately following the dismissal bell. Wayne was surprised at the heavy silence that followed his statement.
“We’re not joking, Wayne.” Jenn said, and she sat erect from her lounging position on the plastic covered couch. “The extra gates are a real thing.”
Wayne’s eyes darted between Laura and Michael, both of which kept their gaze affixed on the table in front of them. He was sure they were lying, trying to set him up for some wise-ass prank. They probably ran this gimmick on all the new teachers. Sighing deeply, he retrieved his briefcase from the chair next to him and stood to leave.
“It’ll try to confuse you,” Laura started. Michael and Wayne faced her as she spoke. Jenn’s eyes remained trained on Wayne.
“You’ll be there, standing in front of the gate. The one you entered to get to campus. You’ll know for sure that’s the direction you came from.” Her voice carried, despite the occasional waver.
“Then you’ll see the other gate. Regardless of how confident you were 30 seconds ago, you’ll question it- question if you actually entered through that one. It only takes a split second, but you’ll doubt if you remember when, much less where, you came here from. You will go through the wrong gate.”
A heavy silence followed her declaration, in which Wayne momentarily felt as if his stomach had plummeted to the floor via his anus. The sound of static as the PA system roared to life startled him, and he was suddenly aware of three pairs of eyes focused on his face. He even thought he saw the beginnings of a smirk on Jenn’s lips.
Wayne had had enough.
“Hazing new staff is wrong!” Wayne’s tone was indignant, scornful. He turned on his heel, determined to shame the trio for what they were attempting to do.
I’m a grown man, he thought. I’m not afraid of an old building.
He glanced over his shoulder as he left, wanting to savor the image of their faces as they realized he wasn’t going to fall victim to their prank. His gaze only captured Laura, and her look of disappointment.
The walk to the car was refreshing for Wayne, as the crisp autumn breeze nipped at his nose. The cool air washed a more pleasant mood over him, and he decided to leave his brisk pace at the doors and stroll through the courtyard. He smiled as he admired the piles of red and orange leaves scattered throughout the grass. Some had become nesting supplies for birds, with two of the creatures hopping along. Wayne chuckled to himself as he watched, noting how they seemed to almost be following him.
Returning his gaze to his path, Wayne laid eyes on the black, wrought iron gate that led to the parking lot. As his free hand drifted to his coat pocket for his car keys, his mind wandered to potential dinner options. His leisurely pace came to a complete halt as he removed an empty hand from his pocket.
Adrenaline began to flow through his body as he shoved his briefcase underarm and searched the opposite pocket. Nothing.
Frustration, anxiety and confusion swirled in Wayne’s mind. What did I do with those keys? His mental replay of the day was cut short, however, when he lifted his gaze to discover another gate in front of him.
Mind blank, Wayne stared at the gates. The second gate was slightly to the left of where he stood, while his feet were pointed directly at the other. Disoriented, a brief bout of motion sickness overtook Wayne, and he fell forward a bit, catching himself before he lost his footing. He righted himself, shook his head a bit to shake the nausea. As he wrapped his mind around the fact that he was standing in front of two gates, where he knew there was only one, he thought of his encounter in the teacher’s lounge.
Embarrassment rose up inside him, but was quickly smothered by anger. Wayne glared into the windows of the building- specifically the teacher’s lounge. He knew they were watching him, and he wasn’t going to let them win.
There’s a logical explanation for this. There were probably always two gates, and I only noticed the one I entered through this morning. Besides, if I fall for this I’m gullible, and they’ll keep messing with me. He returned his attention to the gates.
Both were wrought iron and black, some patches of rust here and there. Hedges lined either side of both, and they both appeared to open to the school’s parking lot. Wayne wished he could peer through to see his car, but he’d arrived with only a few minutes to spare before being considered late- he’d been forced to park the furthest from the entrance.
Wayne could feel the eyes of the other teachers boring into the back of his head. He saw Jenn’s smirk in his mind’s eye. He had to make a choice.
I should just go through the gate that’s in front of me. I mean, my feet are pointed there, that’s where I’ve been headed the entire time, right?
Wayne snuck a glance at the other gate.
But didn’t I take a step to catch myself when I was dizzy? Did I move far enough to be facing the wrong gate?
Wayne’s heart rate began to accelerate. The lump in his throat seemed impossible to swallow.
Screw this.
Defiantly, Wayne marched to the entrance of the gate at his feet.
Wayne had always been one to form a decent educated guess. “Common sense wasn’t all that common”, a quip he’d like to drop when he noticed basic mistakes. And most of the time, Wayne was right.
He was right about the teachers in the lounge, watching his exit through the window. He was also correct in regards to the step- or rather, steps- he took when he was disoriented. Unfortunately, he was incorrect in his choice of which gate to exit.
“We should have told him,” Laura was close enough to the window that her breath fogged the glass. The trio stood rigidly as the observed Wayne crossing the threshold of the looming gate. None of them flinched as Wayne collapsed, only two steps in, unable to breathe the air. As he writhed in agony, his face filled with panic and confusion, the creatures emerged from the hedges.
Michael was the first to abandon his post at the window. He returned to his seat at the table and resumed grading tests. Laura studied the rigid movements of Wayne’s body as his lungs cried out desperately for air. As the creatures, reminiscent of house cats, formed a tight circle around him, she reached her limit and joined Michael.
“It wouldn’t have changed anything,” Jenn’s tone was indifferent as she watched tentacles spring from the mouths of the kinda-cats. The tentacles wrapped themselves around Wayne’s limbs, and even from this distance Jenn could tell that the pressure they were applying was painful. She lingered for a moment more, watching as Wayne’s limp figure was dragged out of sight. Reluctantly, she returned to the familiar discomfort of the plastic covered couch.
“They never believe both gates are wrong.”