Not right away. However.....

Why were they not in class yet?! It figured that the people who were about to catch Anna were delinquents. From where she was, she could see five girls and two boys. They walked painfully slowly, chatting, laughing, and making fun of one another. Thankfully, they seemed to be oblivious to everything but their own conversation. At last, they passed by. Their voices grew more distant. Anna breathed a sigh of relief. Then, suddenly, Anna heard the fast pounding of footsteps. One of the girls was running back. She yelled to her friends, “hang on, I got to refill my water bottle!”

Fucking fuck! The girl approached, without making any remarks. Apparently, she was so preoccupied with fumbling for her water bottle that she did not see Anna. The fountain’s basin might be just barely large enough to conceal Anna from view, if she was positioned just perfectly, and if she kept herself very still. The water trickled out painfully slowly, for a long time. Did the girl really need this much water??

The girl still had not noticed her, but now Anna felt a cough coming on. She tried desperately to hold it back. However, the scratchiness in her throat compelled her. Ironically, all she probably needed to make it go away was a drink of water.

She heard the stream of water above her…

She swallowed desperately…..

The water continued to fill…..

Hold it………

There! She managed to stifle it. She stayed safe for another moment.

However, now, the girl was taking so long, all her friends walked back to this part of the hallway. “Are you coming or what?” “I’m almost done!” Amazingly, no one seemed to see her yet. Please, please, please….. At last, the water shut off. Everyone turned to leave. Anna was moments away from safety. The girl began to walk away.

KLUNK! klunk klunk klunk…..

The girl dropped her water bottle on the floor. It sounded like a hundred decibels to Anna's now hyper-aware ears. “Dammit...” the girl said.

Anna trembled as the bottle slowly rolled on the floor….