Scene 1
LAUREN
Monday March 5th
Dear diary,
It’s weird to think that back in middle school I actually liked gym class. Ever since I started high school it’s become the worst part of my week. I spend my mornings trying to figure out a way out of it, but I can only use the “I’m on my period” excuse so many times.
Today we had to run three laps around the track. Of all the days I can’t find my good sports bra! I gave up and had to walk the last lap. It was humiliating, with everyone waiting for me at the finish line like that. And that’s not even the worst of it. It’s what comes after that I dread the most.
The changing room feels like I’m walking into a snake pit. Everyone just stares at me. I used to think it was because I stink of B.O. or because I suck at team sports. I mean, that’s probably part of it, but there was always something else festering beneath the surface.
Then Stephanie and Rochelle started saying things like:
“Sssh. Lauren just walked in”.
“Quick, cover yourselves.”
“Watch out, Lauren’s on the prowl”.
“Careful, I think she likes you.”
Just loud enough so I could hear them. So everyone could hear. I shot them a glare once and they practically scrambled to cover themselves. (frustrated) Like they felt violated or something. What did they expect me to do when they were talking about me? (bitter) It’s like they don’t even realize they’re the ones who are always staring.
Aliya keeps telling me to ignore it, but it’s not that easy. Wearing a towel in front of everyone is embarrassing enough. Now I have to face the wall when I get dressed. Keep my head down wherever I go. All because they’ve decided I’m a monster. All because I’m gay.
Do they expect me not to look around when I’m going into the shower room? The lighting is really bad in there. It’s fluorescent at the entrance, but it barely reaches the shower stalls. They don’t even have doors. Just flimsy plastic curtains that probably haven’t been washed in months. They never close all the way. There’s always an inch-wide gap on one side, and a big gap at the bottom so you can see people’s feet while they shower.
(uncomfortable) I never liked that. Anyone could see me. Not that anyone would try. They just accuse me of doing that.
When I was leaving the changing room today, Rochelle made a snide comment about my leg hair. But at least I wasn’t the one staring at someone’s legs.
Scene 2
LAUREN
Thursday March 8th
Dear diary,
Aliya was off school today, so I had to go through the horrors of gym class alone. It’s a lot harder to stare at a wall when I have no one to talk to while doing it. Two of the showers were out of order, which meant a lot of waiting around. A lot of staring at gross lime-scale infested tiles while I had to stand on them in my bare feet.
One of the out-of-order stalls had the curtains closed, but it kind of looked like someone was already inside it. I couldn’t see their feet, but I thought I saw a shadow moving behind the curtain. Or maybe it was just the bad lighting. It probably was. No one else seemed to notice.
After a few minutes I started feeling anxious. Stephanie and Rochelle weren’t far behind me. I could hear them snickering. The whole room could probably hear them. They were staring. I wouldn’t look around, I could just feel it. My throat was tight. The air felt way hotter than usual. The steam was suffocating.
I just couldn’t take it anymore. I needed to be anywhere else but there. I went straight back into the changing room and got dressed. I’d rather shower at home anyway.
Stephanie spent the rest of the day holding her nose whenever I walked past her and telling everyone I don’t shower. (frustrated) It’s like I can’t win! If I try to get a shower like everyone else, I’m apparently a pervert. If I don’t, I’m a pig. (defeated) And she’ll never let me forget it.
Scene 3
LAUREN
Monday March 12th
Dear diary,
Something weird happened in the shower room today.
The two showers still weren’t fixed so I knew there would be another long line. But I wasn’t going to give Stephanie and Rochelle the satisfaction of calling me a pig again. This time I decided to wait it out in the changing room. With a book, so no one would get the wrong idea. When Aliya came out of the shower she said there were only a few people left. She offered to wait for me, but I let her go on ahead to English class. It’s her favorite and she hates being tardy.
By the time I got my towel on, there was no line for the showers. I could hear water running in the other stalls. Only one was empty, right next to an out-of-order stall. That’s the one I used.
I knew I’d be late for class, so I figured I might as well take my time. I thought it’d be nice to use the shower when no one was around to stare or make snide comments about me. But it felt eerily quiet. There were still a few voices from the changing room, but they were muffled by the running water. It sounded like they were worlds away.
One by one, the other showers stopped. Wet footsteps plodded away as everyone gradually left. But despite being alone, free from all the nasty gossip and spiteful glares, the anxiety started to set in.
I was sure that everyone was gone by then. But I could still see shadows swaying under the shower curtain. Footsteps squelched along the wet floor. Paused. Then padded away. Maybe someone forgot their soap or something.
The shower head above me sputtered. Suddenly the water went freezing cold. I jerked back. Then I heard it. A deep gurgling sound overhead. Metal scraped and clanked and rumbled. But it was probably just the pipes. Just some crappy rusty pipes and bad maintenance.
It’s not the first time I felt like I was being watched in there. This time there couldn’t have been anyone around to watch me, but I couldn’t ignore it. A shadow crept across the ceiling. I could see it in the corner of my eye. But when I looked up, nothing was there. When I yanked back the shower curtain, I was expecting someone to jump out and laugh in my face.
(pause) But the shower room was empty.
All the shower curtains were pulled back, except for the two out-of-order stalls.
When I looked at the stall beside mine, I could see a shadow moving under the curtain. Someone was definitely in there. In hindsight, it was probably just someone hanging back to skip their next class. But at the time, I couldn’t think straight. I’d left the water running, but I wouldn’t go back into the stall to turn it off. I ran straight into the changing room.
Stephanie was still there. Some other girls were fawning over her hair, since she dyed it red. They all stared when I walked in. Stephanie said something, but I didn’t register what it was. I didn’t even dry my hair. I got dressed and left as fast as I could.
(sardonic) And of course I got into trouble for being late to English class. Technically it wasn’t my fault there was a line for the showers. But I didn’t argue. I was still thinking about the shower room. I’ve thought about it all day, and I still can’t explain the presence that I felt.
(pensive) It was as if the shadows stretched far beyond the shower stall. Like it might suck me in if I got too close.
It sounds so dumb now that I write it down. Maybe I was just too afraid to check the stall because, if someone was in there, then they’d really think I was some kind of pervert.
Scene 4
LAUREN
Thursday March 15th
Dear diary,
(low voice, secretive) I’m writing from Chemistry class right now. I’m supposed to be taking notes on osmosis but I just can’t concentrate. I can’t stop thinking about the shower room. Gym class ended about thirty minutes ago. This time, I didn’t want to wait around. There’s no way I was going to risk being alone in there again.
I went straight to the shower room. I didn’t even wait for Aliya. The stall I used last time was empty, but I wasn’t going back in there. I took the next one, away from the out-of-order stalls.
Everyone waiting to use the showers stood just outside, chatting like everything was normal. I thought I would feel better knowing I wasn’t alone. But the second I closed the shower curtain, I felt trapped. Like I had fallen down a deep dark pit, with hundreds of eyes staring down the abyss and judging me. I couldn’t even bring myself to take off my towel. I kept it on while I quickly washed my feet and underarms. It was better than nothing.
Being surrounded by classmates didn’t make it any easier. My nerves were even worse than the last time. The shower head began sputtering like something was blocking it.
(emphatic) The water went ice cold. I felt a draft from above. Then I heard clanking metal sounds from the pipes. And ragged, drawn out breaths.
But no one was looking over the stall. There was just a dirty cracked ceiling, crusty with black mold.
I could still hear the breathing. It grew louder than all the scuffling and squealing outside the shower. All the girls yelling across stalls about weekend plans and boyfriends and exes. It wasn’t coming from any of them. It wasn’t coming from outside my stall. I could feel it too, like a vacuum sucking the breath from my lungs.
Stepping out of that stall was a relief. But even when I looked back at the entrance to the shower room, I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling in my gut.
When Aliya came out of the shower I asked if she’d heard anything, but she had no idea what I was talking about. It made me second guess myself. But writing it all down now, I can’t explain away that sensation of someone breathing over me. It can’t have been anyone in class, so what was it?
At least Stephanie wasn’t around to say anything when we left the changing room. (cautious, curious) Come to think of it, she’s not here in Chemistry either.
Scene 5
LAUREN
Thursday March 15th
Dear diary,
It’s lunchtime now. I’m sitting in the bathroom. I needed space to think.
I tried to forget about the showers. Chat with Aliya and her sister to help take my mind off things. But Stephanie didn’t turn up to any other classes. That would be totally normal if any of her friends were also missing, but I overheard Rochelle in the cafeteria. She said she hadn’t seen Stephanie since gym class. Or she hadn’t noticed her leaving the shower room. I didn’t hear exactly. She caught me staring and called me out in front of the whole room.
“Why are you so interested in Stephanie? Why are you so obsessed with us?”
(frustrated) Ugh. I’m more annoyed that I didn’t say anything back. There’s so many great comebacks I can think of now! But honestly, she’s right. Why should I care? If Stephanie dropped out and left the country, I couldn’t care less.
(sigh) So why can’t I stop thinking about it? My mind keeps going back to the shower room last week, when I was in there alone. And today. And the breathing. And the shadow in the out-of-order stall.
Whatever. Aliya’s probably right. I’ve been really anxious lately. I’ve always hated gym class and everything that comes with it. This is probably just a culmination of that stress.
(unsure) Right?
Anyway, I don’t care. It’s none of my business.
Scene 6
LAUREN
Thursday March 15th
(frantic muttering) I shouldn’t have gone. I know I shouldn’t have gone back. But it was eating away at me. Every corner of my mind was consumed by it. Like the shadow from the shower room was still hanging over me.
So I went back. There was already a class in the gym. I could still hear them playing dodge ball from the changing room. Everything looked normal. Bags tucked under benches. Poorly folded clothes spread on top. The faint sound of running water.
No one should have been there. There was no reason for anyone to be there. Including me.
(pause, then a controlled gradual pace) But I kept walking. Something sucked me in and drew me closer to the shower room. A weight pressed down on my chest. My whole body was tense. I stopped just one step into the shower room. The atmosphere changed in an instant. It felt nothing like the ordinary changing room. Nothing like the rest of the boring old school. This was something else. Ominous. Oppressive. Like I might never leave. (pause)
My pulse throbbed in my ears, but I couldn’t ignore the running water. The stalls were empty. Curtains drawn right back so I could see inside. All but the two with the “out of order” signs.
I was looking at one when the curtain wafted, but there was no breeze. No windows were open. There was just musky, stagnant air.
I stepped forward. I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t leave without knowing what was in there.
Water pooled just below the curtain, spreading out onto the grubby chipped tiles. But I noticed it wasn’t clear water. It was murky, swirling brown and crimson. Maybe it was just the bad lighting. I hoped that was it.
That’s when I heard it. A deranged, ragged panting sound. Heavy breathing. Just like I heard earlier today. My body went numb. I couldn’t hear anything else beyond the stall. Just water splashing onto tiles. Gushing. Relentless. And the garbled grunts and pants of something.
(denial) I wasn’t going to look inside. I was afraid to get any closer. But the damn curtains never close all the way. I didn’t mean to look through the gap. I was about to turn back when my eyes just landed on it. On the lanky silhouette inside, with arms that trailed the floor. It was hunched over, staring down at the pool of dirty water. At the drain, clogged up with long strands of red hair.
I only looked for a second or two. But it must have sensed me. The figure stopped dead. Shadowy spines bristled along its lurching back. I barely had a chance to figure out what I was looking at before it turned.
(tense) All I saw were two bright yellow eyes. Like headlights on a car.
I would’ve screamed if I had the nerve. But my voice was gone. I ran. It wasn’t like running track and giving up halfway through. I ran until I physically couldn’t. Out of the changing room, out of the school and into the street. Even now, when I know I’m safe at home, I want to keep running.
I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now. Was I supposed to tell a teacher? Call the police? It didn’t even cross my mind at the time. Now I feel terrible that I just left without saying a thing and left it for someone else to find. But it’s probably long gone by now. Hiding in the corners of the empty showers. Waiting for someone else to wander too far into its shadow.
I wish I’d never gone in there. For all I know, Stephanie went home sick. But then I remember the hair in the drain... If I never found out what was really in there, how long until that creature would get me next? (pause)
Maybe I should be thankful that I found out. Now I know I’m better off never setting foot in the shower room again.
(ominous) But every time I close my eyes, I can still see it. Those glowing yellow eyes, watching me wherever I go.
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