Kate arrived at the nearly empty elementary school with a trunk full of boxes and supplies. There were only a few days left until the new school year officially started, and she had mixed emotions about it. She was a relatively new teacher, and she had been moved from the first grade to the second. It wasn’t a huge change, and she felt lucky not to have made a big jump like a couple of the other teachers, but still, she was a little nervous as she made her way down the hall.

Kate was also excited and relieved to get back to work. Almost instantly, Kate would cease to exist and she would become Ms. Walker. As she unpacked boxes and hung her classroom decorations, she could already hear the little voices calling out, “Ms. Walker, Ms. Walker,” as they waved their tiny hands frantically. Hearing their names being called constantly drove some of the other teachers crazy, but for Kate it would replace the pleas that haunted her at night. “Kate, help me. Please, Kate. Kate… Kate…”

She had been reliving the first week of summer for almost two months now. Kate’s family had gathered at the lake for a barbeque. Everyone was getting along and having a good time — everyone except her brother, Cole. He was sulking, angry about some unknown offense, and full of negative energy as usual. Kate, tired of looking at the permanent frown on his face, went down to the dock to be alone for a few minutes.

It wasn’t long before Cole followed her. He started off like he always did, saying that he needed a listening an ear — just needed to get some things off his chest. As always, the conversation turned into Cole blaming Kate for everything that went wrong in his life. It was the same routine since their teenage years, and she was sick of it. This time was different though, there was hate in his eyes. He was getting louder and moving closer to her, and she felt something she hadn’t felt around him in a long time — fear.

Before he could come any closer, Kate lunged at him, catching him off guard and pushing him into the lake. Cole went under immediately, and Kate held her breath, waiting for him to resurface. After a few moments, she took her shoes off and jumped in after him. Cole couldn’t swim.

It felt like hours went by before Cole appeared. He was just a few feet away from her, but Kate froze. He was flailing about, and calling her name, “Kate, help me! Please, Kate!” Finally, she swam towards him, but it was too late. He went under again.

The rest of the night went by in haze. Kate running back to her family, screaming for them to call 911. Boats and divers searching for Cole. Kate lying to the police about how Cole fell off the dock. Watching her parents’ faces as they realized that not only was Cole gone, they wouldn’t even be able to bury him.

Kate shook her head and went back to decorating her new classroom. Just a few more days, and she could put the summer behind her. Ms. Walker didn’t have nightmares, or hear haunting voices. Ms. Walker was consumed with lesson plans, assemblies, and deadlines. She just had to hold on until the students arrived, and she would be okay. Just a few short days.

Written By: S.M. Grady

© 2020 S.M. Grady

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This story first appeared on Medium: https://link.medium.com/yEAaN9vxy5