THE CUBICLE

I carefully listen and hear the soft sound of sobbing.

I sigh in relief. At least, it wasn't those globby creatures from my nightmares coming to haunt me in the real world.

Cautiously, I shuffle closer to the door where the sniffing sound is coming from.

My heart swells with concern.
This is just the first period and someone is curled up here, crying? And I was lamenting not too long ago about my miserable life?

I shift closer to the cubicle and say, "Hello?"

There is a sudden gasp. I can almost picture whoever it is behind the door, curling up further into a corner more frightened and probably a little embarrassed.

"I'm sorry to intrude, but are you fine?"

Silence.

I sigh aloud, having a sudden compassion and urge to comfort this person.
I feel it so strongly that I am certain that at that moment, God is trying to tell me something.

"I don't know why you came here and I'm probably already annoying you with my pestering, but, um," I let out a small chuckle, "I also barged in here, utterly dismayed and scared out of my skin... Just thought to assure you that no matter what happened to you, you'll be fine."

A mocking snort is the first response, then:
"Life is useless. Forget it! Since life and everyone in it don't care about my existence, why don't I relieve them of the uselessness of my existence? "

The voice is pitched high, and feminine at first hearing, but obviously, the pitch and British accent are forced.

I stay silent because I don't know what to say.
The hurt in this person's voice is so raw that I am scared.

God, please let there be no suicide object in there with her.

I feel peace, so I know that nothing tragic is going on behind those closed doors.

Taking a deep breath, I slide down and sit on the floor, resting my back against the door of the cubicle.

The rhythm first comes to me as a soft hum. It's a song my mom sings to me on the rare occasion that she is home when I feel scared or sad.

Don't be afraid,
Do not worry,
Though the path seems dangerous,
And the world seems,
like an avalanche tumbling down to bury you.
'Cause the one who holds your future,
Will never leave you.

I stop singing and smile. The song has calmed me down too.
I hear a large sniff after a long pause.

"You have a beautiful voice," says the girl.

It's useless to blush but I suddenly feel coy.

"Thank you."

"No... I should thank you. Your song... it made a lot of sense to me. More than you know."

"I'm glad it did, um..." I suddenly drone off as I don't know my comrade's name.

"It's Jadiel," comes the small, hesitant reply.

My eyes almost pop out of their sockets.

There's only one Jadiel in this school.

Jadiel Majek, the daughter of our school's principal.
She is a loner for obvious reasons. A tomboy to the core, there was once a rumour that she is into girls.
Due to her low IQ, she is retaking a class, meaning that though she is in HLS1 and I in HLS2, we probably are age mates.
We've had no reason to interact one on one until today.

"No way!" I hiss.

Jadiel chuckles dryly, pries the door open, making me have to shift away from my leaning posture, and peeks her head out.

I take in her dishevelled look-swollen eyes, a low haircut dyed brown and a long stitched wound that runs along her jaw.

"Hey, not all the rumours about me are true..." she says softly, a hurt look in her eyes when she realised the direction my thoughts are diving to.

I raise my hands. "I'm not judging. I was just surprised it was you."

"Yeah, I know, right... A whole daughter of the principal, crying in the girls' toilet... Now, that's what is supposed to make the headlines not a picture of your stunt on the train, Naomi Adams."

I almost groan. "You saw it too?"

"Everyone did."

Oh, good gravy! All that is left is for my face to make the national headlines.

A pause.

"So, why were you crying?" I ask, treading gently.

"It's a long story," Jadiel says and fully emerges from the cubicle. "It could take a whole period to discuss it."

I suddenly remember that I left a class. How long have I been here?

"Maybe we'll talk after school," I suggest.

"That won't work. My mom will want me home ahead of her so I can do my homework," Jadiel says, the spite in her voice very obvious.

We know the unpleasant family history of our school's principal, Mrs Majek.
She divorced her husband and proclaimed herself self-partnered.

Jadiel went through a lot of shame that time and I wonder if that's what has compounded to make her feel so depressed.

"You can come sit with me and my friends in the cafeteria for lunch," I chime.

Jadiel smiles. "Thanks for the offer. I'll consider."

Suddenly, we hear a loud banging on the bathroom's main door.

Startled by its intensity and urgency, we fix our gazes on the door.

~~~

Author's note:
Suicidal thoughts and depression are tools the enemy uses to rob many unsuspecting souls of the value of their life.

The sad part is that the people around you can put up a pseudo-happy facade, but if you can sense in the spirit, you will know that most people are carrying heavy weights on their necks.

I like the fact that Naomi momentarily abandoned her problem (the mares about globs) and extended an arm of love to another hurting soul. I challenge you (and myself) to deliberately do this more often.

PS: Remember this story was my entry for a competition? Apparently, I wasn't shortlisted among those to proceed with this competition. Out of 300+ participants, only 49 are proceeding. Don't feel sad. At least, I have gotten the boost I need to start a story that has been swimming in my head for a long time now...
And I, by God's grace will stick to the daily updating schedule.

What I want to say is that soon, I might revamp earlier chapters and include more details to make them more robust since there are no more word count limits to curtail my writing. You might want to later revisit earlier chapters if you'd like.

Still, I'll continue this story and be posting daily updates.

Keep your eyes peeled for the next chapter coming up tomorrow.

Don't forget to vote, comment and share.
God bless you all.