Chairs screeched as they were pulled back by the children in the classroom. The sound of happiness erupted the moment the teacher dismissed the class.
"Don't forget to show your parents the field trip paper!"
"We won't, Miss Wheeler!" the children replied uniformly while they packed their things, ready to leave the school with friends.
Miss Wheeler smiled at them before turning her head towards the quiet little girl still sitting in her seat.
"Eislyn, is everything alright?"
Eislyn raised her head from her desk to look at the teacher. Miss Wheeler was a beautiful young woman and was always the most patient teacher in the school. Everyone at school loved her—but she knew it was just a facade.
She could still remember when she overheard Miss Wheeler talking on the phone with someone in an annoyed tone.
"Jeez, the damn brats were at it again. What do you mean? They were fighting because one took the other's eraser without asking first. Just because of a goddamn eraser, they had to create trouble. At least do it in another teacher's class instead! Those little shits!"
Realising that she might have been too loud, she lowered her voice and quickly changed the topic. She looked disgusted back then, but now it was as though she couldn't show such an expression.
Eislyn had once truly liked this teacher of hers, just like the rest of the students, but Miss Wheeler had to end up being a bad teacher. It was one thing to say bad things about the children, but to her as well? That—she personally couldn't let it slide.
Eislyn shook her head and smiled. "Everything's just dandy, Miss Wheeler."
"That's great. Your friends are waiting for you; you should go now. Be careful, and don't run in the hallways."
"Yes, Miss Wheeler. Goodbye!" Eislyn waved her hand before leaving without glancing back.
She only slowed her pace when she caught up to her friends who had been waiting for her.
"You know, I listened to you and started writing my very own diary," someone said.
Diary. Eislyn remembered one of the girls mentioning it a couple of times before. No one wanted to do the same thing because they didn't think reading and writing were fun. They would rather go out and play.
"Wow. Really? Didn't you say it sounded boring? How is it?"
"It is really fun! I did think it would be boring, but you were right!"
The other girl chuckled and proudly said, "I told you so. The others should try it, too. It's amazing. You can write down anything you want about your own life, but you can't show it to anyone because it's a secret."
About my own life? Eislyn's eyes brightened at those words as a spark of interest formed within her.
"Okay! I'll try too, then!"
"Me too!"
"What about you, Eislyn?"
Eislyn snapped out of her thoughts and replied, "Hm... It does seem fun."
"Right, right?"
They chattered until they had to separate and bid goodbye to each other as their parents picked them up.
As for Eislyn, no one came for her. Her parents were at work, so they couldn't, but she didn't mind because they were working to earn money to have a comfortable life. Besides, her home was close to the school, so it wasn't a big deal.
"Let's see... I think it was in this drawer...." Eislyn mumbled to herself as she sat down on her knees to pull open the drawer on the lowest level after running to her room.
Inside revealed a few sheets of stickers and a thick empty book. The cover was beautifully carved in black leather with delicate patterns, and there was a huge white gemstone where the lock would usually be. The book was gifted to her by her parents. They had noticed how she couldn't stop staring at it. The fantasy-like book stood out and captivated her. The feeling it gave her was nostalgic, and she couldn't shake it off—it was like the book was calling for her.
She had thought it was a shame to use it, but at the same time, it was also a shame not to use it. Now, she had a good reason.
She had never thought of writing a diary, but nowadays, she felt stifled by everything and needed to let it out somewhere, and a diary seemed to be a good way to resolve it.
With her body being relatively small for her age, the book appeared much larger than it was. Eislyn grabbed the book and took a deep breath. Her hands clenched on it tightly, and she lifted the heavy object with all her might to move it out of the drawer. There was a loud sound when she let go of it to the floor.
"Phew! What a fat book you are!" she exclaimed, wiping her forehead with her sleeve.
Holding a pen taken from her desk in one of her hands, she opened the book with her other hand. The pages weren't white but had more of a creamy colour which gave off an antique feeling rather than modern.
Eislyn lay down on the floor and looked at the first page.
"Hmm... What should I write first?"
Should she go straight to the point and write whatever she had experienced?
"Oh, wait. The title, the title...."
Since she couldn't write her name on the cover due to the hard materials, it was better to do it on the first page.
"Eislyn's Diary. Short and simple." She nodded to herself proudly.
Flipping to the next page, she pressed the pen's tip on the paper but couldn't move her hand to write a word.
She stared at it blankly and then scratched her head in frustration. How could the other kids do this? She didn't have the slightest idea of how to start.
"Anything about my life; can't show anyone because it's a secret... Anything... My life... Friends... Me..." she muttered words to get some inspiration, and it seemed like she knew what to write as she began to move her hand swiftly.
[Diary Entry #1
Hi, my name is Eislyn, and I'm ten years old. I'm starting my own diary because I need something to write down all my feelings and thoughts. This idea came from a friend at school...]
"This should be okay, right?"
Since it was now a place for her to write anything, it would be fine if she went ahead without a limit. Something she had always wanted but was unable to voice out loud...
[...and speaking of friends, there is a wish I've always longed for. It's someone who can understand me the most, maybe even more than myself, and fill the void inside me.]
It could be anyone as long as they understood and knew her from the inside out. Someone like that was all she sought.
"Am I going too strong?" She looked at her writing in doubt. "Eh, whatever! I don't know or care anymore. It's better to be straightforward than long-winded."
[So whoever reads this, if there is someone, how about you be that someone? I'll take the silence as a yes, then. Good. I will call you... What should I call you? Ananas sounds great. My favourite fruit is pineapple. It smells and tastes sweet and sour, and I love it!
Anyways, Ananas, I'll write in this diary of mine daily from now on.
So today, Miss Wheeler, a teacher at my school, was pretending again like usual. See, I used to like her a lot, but then I found out that she was a big fat liar. I heard her talk about bad things about my classmates and even myself. She once said I was too much of a goody-two-shoes and tried to act pitiful whenever I could. That's not even close to the truth. I don't know what made her think like that. She hurt my feelings and lost my trust, so I am pettily staring at her secretly whenever I can. I hid her pen inside her bag the other day when she wasn't looking, and she had to search for it everywhere. I also broke the pen to let the ink leak and ruin her bag. She fainted and had to leave early. Quite dramatic, don't you think? You should've seen her funny face!
The other kids are fooled by her innocent act, but I will not be anymore. I learned about Miss Wheeler's true self, so they should be too. If not, that's too bad.
That's all I have to say today. I have an uninteresting life, okay. I'll see you tomorrow, Ananas.]
That was the end of her first diary entry. There wasn't much to tell, to begin with. It was awkward for her since it was her first time, but she was sure she would improve as she continued. Eislyn saw that there were a lot of empty spaces left; she furrowed her brows until sparkles appeared in her eyes upon getting a new idea. She added some small drawings around the writing: a pineapple, both Miss Wheeler's true and fake faces, and herself sticking out a tongue while showing a thumbs down.
"Yes. It's perfect." Eislyn crossed her arms over her chest and looked at her masterpiece with satisfaction.
She was looking forward to writing her second entry, especially to show Ananas what kind of life she lived and the people around her. But most importantly, her feelings about them all.
Even if she knew Ananas wasn't real and that it was simply someone she had created from her imagination, she would like to pretend it was all real.
She had to.
Because it was the only way for her to fulfil her biggest wish.
If she couldn't find someone, she could just make one. It was as simple as that.
Unexpectedly, little did she know that she didn't need to pretend because that someone actually existed...
Just in another world.
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