Have You Seen Paula?

A short story by Odelia Yulita

Paula’s thinking of several reasons she could use to skip school today. She doesn’t feel

like going especially when there’s a Math test she isn’t prepared for. Saying she’s sick is off the

table; Paula’s mom’s sharper than a doctor to tell the difference between being sick and lazy.

“Oh, I fell off the bed and can’t walk” reason, which was used last week, only revealed her as a

big fat liar to her mom who regularly checked the CCTV. She spends too much time thinking

until it’s time to get inside the car. She concludes it’s her bad destiny to go to school today. Oh, I

wish I were much older so I don’t have to do all this.

Aside from the Math test today, Paula can’t fit in with her classmates. Every time she

sees a group laughing together, seemingly having a good time, she wants to join them, but she

doesn’t know how. Once she cracked a joke in response to others’ conversation, but then the

group fell silent, as if shocked by what they’d just heard. More or less, it went like this.

Bella: “Look, there's a rainbow. I wish I could play there.”

Brian: “Go fly with your wings if you have any.”

Paula: “You can fly with a plane to the US. There are many rainbows there.”

Either they didn’t understand it or they found it offensive, Paula concludes she just can’t

connect with her peers and the subjects at school. All she cares about is playing games on her

tablet which she can’t do during school hours for she’s constantly monitored by the curious eyes

of her teachers and the CCTV. Other students? They just don’t care about her existence.

She always takes pleasure in morning devotion. Not because she likes to listen to the

words of God, but because it’s the only time she can close her eyes and fall asleep for 30

minutes. After that, she can’t even blink or else the teacher will yell at her, “Paula, why aren’t

you paying attention?”

After the morning devotion with their homeroom teacher, all P4 students go to the Art

class. One consolation for Paula today; she is free to express herself through drawing. She

draws a little girl, lying all by herself on her stomach in a garden full of blooming flowers; her in

the game scene. The Art teacher compliments Paula’s drawing in front of the class. Vivid

drawing with such sensitivity to reality. To such acknowledgment, Paula blushes.

The bell rings. Paula can’t believe it has been one hour. Time flies fast with Art class.

Next is Math. The test. Her heart flutters. She feels sick. She thinks she’s going to throw up. She

hastens her pace to the restroom.

***

Ms. Hazel, the P4 homeroom teacher, gets a text from Mr. Lewis, the Math teacher that

Paula’s not there with him. As soon as she learns that, she sighs, oh, not again. This is not the

first time Paula goes missing from classes. Once she was found in the clinic’s bed claiming to

be sick. Once in the canteen eating donuts saying with an innocent face that she was starving

when caught red-handed being a truant.

Ms. Hazel does a procedural search. She sends a message to a group of all teachers

that Paula goes missing from her Math class and must be sent back to where she belongs if

anyone finds her. The petite homeroom teacher then walks around the building in her high

heels, checking all classes, clinic, canteen, library, labs, gym, hall, field, and restrooms. She’s

sure that she’s checked every corner of the building, but Paula’s nowhere to be seen. After one

hour of frustration, she files an official request to the principal to check the CCTV.

The man in charge of the CCTV looks annoyed every time he hears Ms. Hazel’s heels

approaching his room. Oh, not again. Ms. Hazel hands the request form signed by the principal

to him. He groans and checks the details on the form. Ms. Hazel pats his back, “Trust me, I’m as

annoyed as you, maybe even more. I have a class in a minute. Just let me know once you get

it.” Ms. Hazel leaves immediately without expecting the grumpy man to respond to her.

Ms. Hazel prepared a quiz for the book she had assigned the students to read last week.

But her plan seems to lose its significance when Bella suddenly says, “Miss, where’s Paula?

She’s in Art, but not in Math and here.”

“Don’t you worry about her. She will be back soon.”

“But, Miss, she didn’t have to suffer the Math test as we did. It’s not fair.” Brian jumps in.

“She must do harder questions. By skipping Math earlier, she has more time to study

and she can ask one of us the questions.”

“Katy, let’s not think that far. Now just focus on our lesson.”

“What lesson, Miss? We all must go searching for Paula. Anyone who can find her will

get an extra score in Math.”

“Calm down, please. Don’t say it like I haven’t done anything about it. I’ve been

searching all around the building, even to every corner.”

“Miss, maybe when you move from one corner to the other, Paula also moves. That’s

why you can never find her.”

“Yeah, it’s like in the movies, Miss. We must all search in separate directions.”

“She may escape from one Ms. Hazel, but she can’t escape from 20 of us.”

“19, Bella. P4 is 20 students minus 1 student, Paula.”

“20 with Ms. Hazel, Brian. You dumb.”

“Settle down, Students!” Ms. Hazel taps her right palm on the table. “Nobody is going

around the school during school hours to look for Paula. The CCTV’s being checked right now.

And Bella, don’t call your friend dumb.”

“He’s not my friend, Miss.”

“Bella!”

***

During break time, almost all P4 students go around the school asking other grades,

“Have you seen Paula?” They feel this time Paula’s disappearance is something special.

Usually Ms. Hazel can find Paula before one period ends, but now they think they must step in.

The girls search around the confined space such as restrooms, the library, the art as well as the

music studio, and the science labs while the boys go around the open space like the canteen,

the field, and the parking lot. Until the break is over, Paula is still nowhere to be found.

***

Ms. Hazel sees red. She’s now looking at the screen where Jaden, a Secondary student,

spread his chewed gum all over the CCTV camera near the restroom, the area Paula was last

seen to be around. The screen has been black since that foolish and childish act. Ms. Hazel

directly reports this to the Primary principal who reports it to the head of school. The head of

school informs this matter to the Secondary principal who then asks Jaden to see them right at

that moment for an interrogation.

Jaden, knowing what it’s all about, doesn’t dare to look them all in the eye. He almost

bursts into tears, but then holds back telling himself he’s a man. A man doesn’t cry. Jaden says

he’s sorry that a Primary student went missing and hasn’t been found yet. Guilty as charged, he

did that for fun, without a slight intention of harm. He doesn’t know or even care about Paula

since he doesn’t play with children.

“Maybe Paula already went home.” Jaden proposes.

Ms. Hazel hasn’t informed Paula’s mom about her daughter’s disappearance. At first,

she thought she got this, but now she’s at her wit’s end. Paula can’t leave the school building

because for her to pass the security gate, she needs a permission slip from her homeroom

teacher. But she’s nowhere to be seen at school, the CCTV is useless, so where might she be

right now?

The Secondary principal phones Jaden’s parents to inform them about their son’s

mischief and its damage right in front of Jaden whose body begins to tremble. Then, the

principal adds the word “detention” and other words “one week”. Jaden can’t help it anymore.

He runs as quickly as he can to avoid those bullies seeing him bursting into tears. They’re so

old and boring, can’t even take a joke. Inside the restroom stall, Jaden cries like a baby.

He lets out all the tears he has been holding back since he was in Secondary. All the

peer pressure, parents’ high expectations, and everyone’s comparison to his younger brother.

What will become of his relationship with a girl he’s close to date with if he has to stay at home

for a week? He’ll only be scolded 24x7 by his parents.

He gets startled. He thinks he hears a movement next door. He didn’t see anyone when

he entered the restroom and didn’t hear any footsteps coming in. Maybe because I’ve been

crying too hard. He wipes out his tears, then out of the stall, he washes his hands. He sees all

the stalls are empty.

He then goes inside the stall again. He opens up the toilet’s tank and lifts a plastic with a

vape inside. Knowing he’ll be off school for a week, he needs to move his hidden treasure

somewhere safe and close to his proximity. Feeling all stressed out, he savors it. He always

enjoys his sneaky moment in the restroom. He’s constipated, that’s what everyone knows. At

home, it’ll be harder to do this.

Usually, he won’t let his vapor out. As soon as he breathes out, he’ll breathe in again,

sucking all the vapor inside, burying that dirty secret with him. But now, he’s alone and he just

needs to let loose. So, he breathes in the vape heavily and breathes out slowly. Fruity vapor is

now all around him. Then, he hears a cough. Again and again. His body stays still, and his ears

listen carefully.

He stands at the closed toilet and sees through the stalls. Nobody but him. He quickly

returns his vape to the plastic bag and puts it inside his shoes. He carefully closes the tank

again. He washes his hands again. He walks away from the restroom. To his surprise, his

homeroom teacher’s walking towards him, “There you are!”

Looking as pale as ever, Jaden thinks he’s in much deeper trouble. “Your parents are

here. Reflect on your action today and come back next week with more maturity.” He feels

relieved when he hears that. He nods and is about to walk when his teacher calls him again,

“Before you leave the school, make sure the CCTV is clean.”

Jaden raises his hand to the CCTV, takes out his gum, and chews it again with a grin at

his homeroom teacher whose face’s filled with disgust.

***

The bell rings with hurray exclamation from the students. It’s time to go home. Ms. Hazel’s meeting with Paula’s mom to discuss the incident today. The mom weeps, recalling how

hard she’s been on her daughter. She thinks of all the worst scenarios that may have happened

to her daughter. Paula’s father goes all crazy, yelling at the principal and head of school,

threatening to call the police if his beloved daughter’s not found today.

A cleaner, seeing the heated argument in the meeting room, decides to come back in

another hour. He can use some time to rest after the long day today preparing the venue for the

upcoming school event. He’s thinking of enjoying his chocolate and glazed donuts in his lair. His

lair is the storage room which loads cleaning equipment in the male restroom. He opens the

door and sees an astonishing thing: a girl sleeping next to an empty plate with crumbs of

chocolate sprinkles and sugar icing around her mouth. Feeling a sudden breeze from the open

window makes her awake. She stands up and reaches for some money from her pocket.

“Sorry, I ate your donuts. I couldn’t help it. Oh ya, the fruity scent you sprayed earlier was

killing me. It’s time to go home, eh? Thanks for coming, otherwise I’ll be here until tomorrow.

What a nice room you have here.”

The cleaner’s speechless. His eyes are fixed on the money he is now holding. It’s worth

more than those two donuts. He takes his broom and mop. Now he can already clean the

meeting room.

Author: Odelia Yulita

Follow her IG account @yulitaodelia