Just Seeing Things

                                    

                                          

"Hey Randy, can I borrow your notebook?" One of my classmates asks me as they approach my seat.
"Huh? Yeah." I reply by handing it to them.
I had been lost in thought since early this morning. Last night I had to stay up for a good couple hours to finish the homework I had delayed for reading that strange book. I really should've just done my homework, I wouldn't be this sleepless right now.
"Oi, Randy!" Hamish makes his way to me as he greets me with his arm over my shoulder.
I would've already snapped if I wasn't feeling like a living dead creature already.
"What."
"May I borrow it too?" 
"No."
"But- why not?" 
I was not lending him anything. Plus, he could've at least asked for it sooner, the teach is probably making her way back to the classroom. 
He huffed as he got no reply from me and went to ask someone else. 
Really, was it that hard to just do that from the beginning? 
"Take here man, thanks," my classmate replied as they brought back my notebook just in time, since Miss McPherson made her appearance that very instant.
Rummaging stopped and quieted as she spoke her good mornings and began asking for our homework to revise first thing. 
As Miss McPherson drones on about our homework, my mind drifts. I glance out the window, seeking a distraction. Spring is felt outside with a chilly air and the green emerging branches of the trees. Magnolias are blooming everywhere. 
My eyes were so lost in the upper part of the scenery, but I noticed a different shade. Black over green. Right under the trees, a girl dressed entirely in black was standing in the school's backyard. Her dark attire contrasting sharply against the scenery. Her short hair waving with the chill breeze outside in sync with the tree's leaves. 
But it wasn't her outfit that sent a shiver down my spine; it was the way she stood perfectly still, fixated on our classroom window. Her gaze felt piercing, like she was staring right through the window. It was creepy as hell.
I wondered who it was. Have I seen her before? Or is she another one of my illusions? I couldn't tell. I gulp hard and blink. It must probably be a trick of my tired mind. 
Yet, when I opened my eyes again, she was still there, unchanged. I rubbed my eyes and looked again, but she was gone. 
A lingering sense of unease settled in my gut, refusing to dissipate even as Miss McPherson continued with the lesson. The same questions buzzing in my mind even louder.
Who was she? What was she doing there? Why did she seem so... otherworldly?
I rubbed my temples, focusing my sight back on the board and pretending to listen to the lecture, even though my focus was completely gone for the rest of the hour. 
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Lunchtime arrives, and an inexplicable urgency surges within me. As if I had seen a ghost, I wanted to confirm the place on my own. Ignoring the cafeteria's inviting aroma, I dash towards the school's backyard. My heart races, as if trying to break free from my chest. Paranoia gnaws at my mind. What if she isn't real?
Exiting the classroom, the corridors buzz with chatter, but my thoughts weigh heavier.
Determined, I bypass the lunch queue and head straight for the exit. Stepping outside, the spring air carries the scent of budding flowers and the sun's gentle warmth, the same spot where the mysterious girl stood moments ago.