The bathroom was old by my grandparents standards. That's why no one ever bothered to use it. There was a better bathroom down on the first floor that everyone flocked to. I sighed in relief and sat down, cross legged. I let my back rest against the third stall door. There was no way that the girls would think to look in here. After all, who expects to find a boy in a girls bathroom? I relaxed against the stall door and began thinking about the girl from my Business class.

......

It was fairly usual for me to take an elbow to the face while I was at school (my chin averages about the height of my schoolmates' elbows). But this one hurt. I prodded the dark, purple bruise. It throbbed angrily under my finger. I flinched and leaned forward until my nose was almost brushing the mirror, I could still just barely see my face in the dusty glass.

No one really came into this bathroom anymore because of the broken lights that the school's janitorial staff had never bothered to fix. But it was the closest bathroom to my next class, which I was about to run late for. With a sigh, I quickly entered a nearby stall and hurried to do my business. I checked my watch. I only had a few minutes. I finally finished and snaked my hand up into the toilet paper dispenser hanging on the stall's wall to get some.

"Just my luck," I muttered under my breath when my fingers connected with the empty metal inside of the toilet paper dispenser.

I heard the door to the bathroom open. I took a deep breath before I called out to the person out there.

"Um...Is there any toilet paper in the other stalls?" I asked awkwardly, feeling the heat rush to my cheeks as I did.

It was silent for a while. In fact, it was silent for so long that I began to wonder if I had heard the door open or if it was actually my imagination. But then I heard footsteps. I peered quickly under my stall door. It was a girl. She was wearing the school-issued Mary Jane style shoes just like I was. I sat back up and listened as she inched her way into the stall beside me. Suddenly, two hands shot under the divider in between the two stalls. I yelped and yanked my legs away from the wall. The other girl said nothing. I studied her hands. In one hand she had a wad of - what appeared to be - blue bath tissue, in the other, she held red. I stared at the two crumpled wads in confusion. Suddenly, the girl spoke.

"Blue... or red?"

She had a dry, raspy voice that seemed to creak like an old rocking chair on a front porch. It reminded me of dead leaves and insects that crunched under your feet as you walked.

"I'm sorry... but are the other two stalls out as well?"

I didn't figure the school had bought these strange toilet papers. Maybe the girl had her own stash.

"... Blue... or red...?" She breathed out again.

It seemed to be hard for her to talk. There had been a bout of strep throat tormenting the school, perhaps she had caught that. I sighed and looked down at her hands. The blue looked to be the cleanest, even in the dim lighting. Plus the red just looked too disturbingly blood-like.

"Blue, please."

It was silent for a moment before the hand holding the red retracted back into the other stall. I quickly accepted the blue paper from her, being careful to avoid touching her hand. I quickly cleaned up and pulled my skirt back up. I tucked my uniform shirt back in and straightened my collar before I headed to exit the stall.

But the door wouldn't budge. A cough from outside the stall told me that my helper was still out there. I peeked back under the stall to see if her Mary Janes were still visible. I bet she's holding the door shut, I thought as I looked beneath the door. But I didn't see a pair of Mary Janes. All I saw was a red sheet, hanging in front of my door. I frowned but called out to the girl all the same.

"Let me out!"

She ignored me. I pushed on the door in a feeble attempt to force it open. It didn't work. She was too strong. I started to sweat slightly. It was only a prank, but it felt like the stall was closing in on me.

"Please," I begged as I rammed my - now sore - shoulder into the door.

It shook slightly from the force but nothing happened. I backed away from the door and glanced around me, trying to figure out what to do. I looked over at the toilet and a quick plan was formulated. I placed a foot on the dirty rim of the toilet and balanced on it precariously. It wobbled dangerously under me. But I still couldn't reach the top of the wall. I put my foot on the toilet paper dispenser and tested it to see if it would hold my weight. It creaked in protest but held up like a champ. I hoisted myself up onto the dispenser.

I still couldn't see over the wall. I gaped at the golden mask that was blocking my view. Black eyes and a slit-like mouth grinned at me over the stall door. I shrieked and started to topple backward, but the thing caught me. It caught me by my throat. A scream rose to the top of my throat, but it couldn't get out. I kicked and grunted aimlessly as I fought to escape his fiendish grip. My brain kicked into overdrive, trying to find some way to get free. But nothing came. And after a little bit, my brain stopped, just like my legs.