Story Time

I don't believe in ghosts or monsters, and I'm not afraid of the dark. When I was younger, some of my friends told me about the boogeyman in their closets or under their beds and I remember thinking that it was stupid of them to be afraid of something they couldn't see. I do enjoy scary movies. But not because they scare me but because of the way they scare other people. It is quite interesting to me to see how some people can let themselves get so involved in something that is obviously fake that they jump and quiver whenever something scary comes on the screen.

I'm not very religious, though I do believe that our actions in life will have some consequences after we die. Some people say that I lack faith. I don't think that's it. I do have faith, but I don't have time to believe in things that go bump in the night. It just seems pointless and trivial. That's why I'm writing this down now, because recently I've seen something that has made me question my sanity. Let me explain.

I'm a college student and my school is a bastion of intelligence and rational thought. All things considered, I feel the school has done well by me. I'm a majoring in psychology and I'm looking to go into counseling as a profession. I think, and I've been told that I am fairly normal when compared to other students at my school. I enjoy hanging out with friends and partying, but I also know when to sit down and study. After three and a half years at my school, I've finally figured out the perfect balance of studying and partying. Of course, partying costs money so I have a student job on campus. In fact, I'm told it's one of the best student jobs available. I'm a building manager for the student center and the the main dining hall on campus.

It's a good job with good hours and pay. I like it because I can set up how many hours I want to work in a week so if I need money for something I can schedule a heavy work week or if I need to study I can take fewer shifts and not worry about my boss thinking I'm slacking off. One of the few drawbacks is that it requires me to work late. The closing shifts don't end until two in the morning and on a weeknight that can be difficult, especially with morning classes. I wish I could schedule so that I could get as many hours as I want without having to work closing shifts, but to make it fair to all building managers, we all have to take closing shifts. The issue with the closing shift is that after a certain hour the building empties out and hardly anyone comes in. I've always wondered why we need to keep the building open so late when hardly anyone is in it.

I'm digressing. My job makes me work late and the place gets empty. Now, a part of the building manager job is to walk around the building and make sure that everything is in its proper place. This basically means that if the various student groups use a room in the building we have to make sure they straighten up the room and leave it looking decent. We also have to walk around in the mechanical areas of the building to make sure that no one unauthorized has been or is back there. Normally, this only takes a few minutes because these areas are locked and only a few people have keys to them. Last night, when I was working a closing shift, something strange happened.