Circumstances a decision

Mulling these options in her head, Amira once again became paralyzed with indecision and anxiety. Still peaking around the corner at the end of the long hallway, she could not help but pace in place, unable to keep her legs still. She pondered the pros and cons as quickly as her frazzled mind could. The hallway route meant she’d have to run past the cafeteria, and if the gym doors are open too, anyone looking outside the doors would have a clear view of Amira running down the hall. But she couldn’t just go through the music room, what if she fell, and what if she was followed? But in the hallway the bell could ring at any moment and…

The bell… Amira’s mind went blank for a few seconds. How long has she stood here, contemplating her choices? Somehow, no one walked by at this point, but her luck runs out this very second, as the bell signaling the end of the period rang throughout the school. The shock was so great, Amira found herself incapable of screaming. Immediately, the noise of the students getting ready to leave the nearby classrooms enclosed around Amira. She had perhaps five seconds to run, hide, do anything before dozens of her fellow students saw her, so Amira bolted towards her only hope, the nearby janitor’s closet. Moving practically like an animal outrunning its prey, Amira stumbles feet away from the door, and madly crawls on all fours to the door. Literally as she broke through the door, students began their trek through the hall. Falling into the extremely small closet, Amira turned and slammed the door shut, and immediately pressed her back to the door, praying that no one would try to open it. At this point, her knees were nearing the point of collapse, as Amira felt as if her heart would leap out of her chest. Breathing intensely, the noise of all the students through the door disabled Amira’s thoughts once more.

Before, Amira was relatively displaced from other people in her lewd state. Now, one unlockable, weak door was all that separated Amira from being seen by people. At this point, Amira fully began to comprehend how close she was to having her life essentially end in just a few seconds of exposure. Every single person she knew had a smartphone. Almost all of these had HD cameras. Once she was caught, it would be impossible to run away fast enough, there would be dozens and dozens of pictures and videos taken of her worst nightmare. Even without her hijab, her skin color and body gave away who she was. She couldn’t even move; the videos and pictures would follow her forever. Potentially, a new life would have to be started, perhaps multiple times. She slumped down to sit, folding her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. Once again in her protected, curled-ball position, Amira began to uncontrollably cry. Rocking back and forth, this process continued for an indefinite amount of time.