All was quiet. Still. Gone were the bustling crowds that once filled these wide corridors. Gone were the talkative teens, all hormones and blissful peace. It had only been fifteen years, yet it had changed so much. I barely recognized the drab, beige building I had spent my high school years in anymore.

Stepping lightly past the entrance door, my dirt-stained tennis shoes creating a monotonous "tap-tap" on the long-since polished floors, I let my eyes wander about the large Commons. Dull, cracked benches lined the open room where many a lunch had once been consumed. The stage had been remodeled several years ago as it was slightly larger than it used to be, and the deep indigo curtains were drawn to reveal a myriad of pulleys and lights, now cracked and worn, once used backstage to create masterpieces. I paused briefly to run a hand along the smooth hardwood of the stage, remembering the plays and concerts once held there.

Slowly, I paced the hall leading towards the band room. A slightly amusing memory of a young freshman band member performing cartwheels down this very pathway pushed its way to the front of my mind, and I smiled. I probably looked silly, a 30-year-old woman dressed in sweat pants and an ISU shirt with a sea-foam green veterinary cloak wrapped about my frame, walking about a deserted school, a wistful grin on my face. Yes, definitely insane.

Deserted. It was hard to think of Taylor High School as being deserted. Ever since the world had been thrown into a third world war, schools had been gradually shutting down. It disappointed me, that Mankind could fall this low.

Gently, I pushed the chipped and heavy door open to reveal a row of practice rooms and lockers. Dust covered the surface of everything in a thick blanket of white. As I entered the main hall, a wave of emotions, some I would have preferred to leave buried, welled up inside me bringing a torrent of confusion, pain, and joy; of relief and suspense, of passion and loneliness. Here was where my life had revolved. It had become a haven, a brilliant beacon that pulled me from my inner thoughts. I was free in this room – free to express myself in whatever way I felt. I took a deep breath, remembering, always remembering the music that had flowed through here like silk. Yes, there were memories here, both good and bad.

At that thought, I turned and exited the room striding swiftly down the main hall once again. Too much emotion there. It was suffocating. It all returned to me now in a maddening rush of colours, swirling about my mind. Gone. All of it was gone.

My destination was unknown even to my muddled self. I simply allowed my feet to take me where they wished. Gradually, my frantic pace slowed and then halted altogether. It was then that my eyes were open to the real world. The building was not entirely deserted. No, the gyms, their dented, polished floors grinning up at me, mocking me, were a hub of people. People running to and fro; others lifting weights, others stretching. All were dressed in the same dull grey, the same white carpenter shoes. I had taken only a single step into this hectic place, but I had had enough. No memories would be found here. No dreams of actually making the rifle line of the high school colour guard. Only the cacophony of a collective mind reigned here. I was not welcome.

I closed the gates, seemingly flipping a switch as the school was thrown back into silence. I stood there for a long time, though I did not know how long. Even time seemed to have become confused and shocked. Minutes became hours. Hours became seconds. I leaned heavily on the crumbling off-white walls as I attempted to create some semblance of order once again in my mind.

The world slowly stopped spinning as my tornado of thoughts settled down. In a daze, I looked about, realizing that I had yet again been thrown back into reality. The halls were empty no longer. But childhood innocence had been replaced by the drilling of armies and high confidences. Everything was wrong. I knew only one thing now. I could not stay here. My bubble of what was, what used to be ordinary had been effectively popped. The world as it was crashed down about me.

This was not my place anymore.