“That Time When I Thought My Brother Forgot to Pick Me Up From School”
As the wind whistled through the shrubs and trees, cars continued to zoom by the busy highway as the distant sound of a school bell echoed through the school gate. Just beside the gate stood a waiting shed where there sat a little girl named Leah.
Leah was new to the school. It wasn’t long before she was transferred there after her family decided to move. It had already been a week, and it had become a new routine for Leah to sit in the waiting shed while waiting for her brother to bring her home. She always had this feeling of being watched and she told her brother about it.
“Don’t worry about it, Leah. I’m sure you’re just overthinking. I’ve also been through this school when I was your age. Nothing bad will happen to you, I promise”, said her brother, Acer.
Like any other day, Leah sat on her usual spot in the waiting shed. She noticed how the other kids in the school rushed past the gate. Some were jumping, some were squealing, some were sprinting, and some were talking. They didn’t even care anymore if they were being loud and shouting as it was always exciting for them to finally get to play after a day in class.
As the crowd of children began to disperse, Leah was left sitting alone. Since the school was far from home, Leah began working on her homework while waiting for her brother.
The school had a wide expanse of space just before the gate. Beside the waiting shed was a parking lot used by the school staff.
Even after classes ended, a few children would still run around the lot while waiting for their parents. Leah liked staying there because there were always people around. Still, every now and then, strangers would pass by the area and she couldn\'t help but wonder who they were.
Leah always tried to observe her surroundings.
\"Always observe your surroundings, Leah. You must know whether there\'s a drunk person walking towards you or an old lady needing help,\" her dad would often remind her.
Leah used to think her dad was overreacting. But after hearing the same reminders from her brother, she figured it wouldn\'t hurt to be more aware.
Looking around, she quickly took note of her surroundings.
A group of uncles had already started drinking alcohol at a local store across the school.
Not a good sign.
Then she noticed someone riding a bike.
She saw someone, definitely a man, riding a bike. He was wearing a hoodie and long pants, covering up any skin that could help Leah distinguish the man’s age. That’s also not a good sign.
Since the man was wearing sunglasses and had his hood up, his entire face was all covered up. There was also a stick placed on his back. The man was dressed so suspiciously that Leah started to speculate who that person was and why he was around here.
Was the stick for hitting kids?
That\'s not a good sign.
Was he here to steal something from the school?
Was he carrying a pocket knife, ready to use against her if she went near him and asked what he was doing?
That\'s definitely not a good sign.
Leah continued to watch what the man would do next in a fearful curiosity.
Then, the man rode his bike down the parking lot.
‘Why is he getting near?!’ Leah voiced internally.
The man stopped his bike and parked it near the school gate.
Leah caught her breath.
What could the man be here for?
Will he walk towards here? With that stick on his back?
What if he hits me with that?
What should I do?
Should I scream? Should I run back inside the safety of the school or get help from those drunken uncles?
….
…
…
As if!
‘Brother..wuwuwu..what should I do.. QAQ’ Leah, who’s already feeling helpless, clutched her bag tight and was ready to make a run for it. But then, just when she thought the man would walk to her, she saw the man walking the opposite way where she sat.
“….”
‘WHAT?!’, the word ‘exasperated’ was almost branded on Leah’s forehead. She was almost amused at herself.
“All that thinking and worrying…..” and the man himself had no idea what Leah had been thinking about him this whole time, Leah mused.
She almost wanted to laugh out loud. The only thing stopping her was the people around who might see her laughing alone and think she was crazy.
Who wouldn’t be crazy with all that thinking and worrying?
Patting her chest, Leah calmed herself before rummaging to put her things inside her bag. She was not in the mood to work on her assignments anymore.
Looking around, the man still hadn’t shown himself since disappearing beside the school wall. There seemed to be a pathway there that led to who knows where.
Leah immediately stopped herself from being curious on what’s behind the wall when she heard a familiar horn beeping on the street.
“Leah!”, her brother called.
She instantly leaped from where she was sitting, almost darting towards the familiar red car.
“Brother!”, she cried.
“What happened sis?” Her brother, Acer, asked while putting on Leah’s seatbelt.
“I’ve been through hell, that’s what happened”, she muttered. “Remember when you and dad were always scaring me about not paying attention to my surroundings? Guess what, I scared myself today.” She harrumphed.
Her brother laughed at her the whole ride home after hearing the whole story.
“Stop it already, Brother. It’s not funny.” Leah gave up stopping Acer from laughing at her.
Acer\'s laughter finally died down as he watched Leah walk into the house.
“Good job looking out for yourself out there. Those drunk uncles would have been a huge trouble if they got out of hand” her dad advised after hearing the whole story.
“Although overthinking things like that can really scare you.\"
“That man you’re talking about is just grandpa Larry. He’s in charge of inspecting the chapel behind your school. He checks in the chapel every time near dusk. He also turns on the lights of the veranda every night and turns it off every early morning. “
Her brother giggled, “To think you thought of him like he was a serial killer or something.”
Leah covered her face in shame, her ears turning red.
Suddenly, every terrible thing she had imagined came rushing back to her.
Serial killer.
Kidnapper.
School thief.
Pocket knife.
Stick for hitting children.
All that over Grandpa Larry.
Leah wanted the floor to swallow her whole.
\"Ohh wait till I tell him~\" Acer grinned.
\"Imagine finding out a little girl thought you were a criminal mastermind.\"
\"Brother!\"
\"Poor Grandpa Larry. He was probably just thinking about turning on the chapel lights.\"
After a whole minute of teasing Leah, Acer finally stopped and brought her some snacks.
Seeing that the two finally have gone quiet, their dad finally replied.
“You also, Acer. Fetch your sister earlier next time. Thank goodness nothing bad happened. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have to be cautious. As your sister said, there were already men drinking alcohol near the school at that time. We don’t know what they might do in the moment of influence so don’t be careless about your sister’s safety, alright?”
“Yes dad. Sorry about that sis. I’ll fetch you earlier next time”
The following day, as promised, Acer went to fetch her early.
“Maybe a bit too early” Leah uttered, looking outside where her schoolmates were still playing on the school grounds.
\"Aww don\'t be mad. How about we go get some pizza?\"
\"Let\'s go!\" Leah chimed.
As the car pulled away from the school, Leah glanced one last time at the parking lot.
Everything looked exactly the same as yesterday.
The waiting shed.
The gate.
The passing strangers.
Yet somehow, it all felt a lot less scary now.
And with pizza waiting ahead, Leah decided she had done enough worrying for one week.
The siblings spent the rest of the afternoon in peace and safety.
The End.