Locked in the School Bathroom

Date: 5/2/2023

I was somewhere between grades 5-7. I was locked in a stall in a bathroom at my school. A teacher had forcefully thrown me in here as punishment for something. I had recently been released from another confinement (or some other lengthy form of discipline had just recently ended (unclear)), gone to my homeroom, and been almost immediately yelled at and dragged here. It felt unjust; I wasn't sure what I had done to "earn" punishment either of these times. But here I was, locked in this stupid bathroom stall in the unused bathroom. I managed to escape from the stall by clawing the lock loose enough to crack the door open about an inch, and painfully squeezing my way through the small opening at the bottom corner. However, I was still not free; the bathroom door itself had been locked and bolted shut. There were 2 other empty stalls, with nothing inside but the dirty white tile and a toilet. Nothing that would help me. Noticing a fire alarm hidden on the wall, I figured that if I pulled it, the teacher who put me here (or another teacher, or my friend, or someone!) would have to come let me out. So, I pulled it; but nobody came for me. I could hear people vacating the building and gathering at their muster points outside. The quieter it got, the more desperate and rejected I felt. This bathroom was in the centre of the building, so nowhere near a window; it was utterly pointless to try to scream for help now. I had truly been left to die. Somehow, I knew that my sole friend and literally only this one other kid - some really scrawny, meek Indian boy from my one grade below - cared about me and my whereabouts. My friend stayed silent, but the boy asked a passing adult if someone should get me. He was immediately snapped at to shut up. No clue how, but I managed to force the bathroom door open. With my newfound freedom, I ran out of the room and down the corridors, turning right thrice and exiting the building into enemy territory. I ran straight to the boy and gave him a big hug, commenting softly how he was the only person who cared. My friend overheard and protested, "Hey, I reported you missing too!" But she hadn't thought to come check on me. She knew exactly where I was, but the most she had done was to tell the teacher - the one who put me here! - that I was the reason her headcount was one person short.