Sixth period was endless. Literally. The clock wasn’t ticking, the people weren’t moving, and a pencil that had rolled off my desk was hanging in the air. It was… disconcerting to say the least. But it was also kind of cool. After all, how many people thought about what they would do if they could stop time?
The problem was, I didn’t stop it, at least I didn’t think I did. And even if I did, I had no idea how I did it. But if someone else had frozen time, then how come I could still move? I raised my hand from my desk just to confirm that I could. It worked of course, but it was surprisingly difficult, as if it had weights tied to it.
Maybe because the air is frozen too?  I wondered about how that would work, but soon decided not to question it. I got up, moving sluggishly, and picked my pencil out of the air and placed it on my desk. I wonder how long this is going to last? I didn’t want to be caught somewhere I shouldn’t be, or somewhere dangerous, when time went back to normal.
Guess I’ll stay in the classroom, I thought as I looked around. It was small, as sizes go, with only about a dozen students in it. Everyone left their backpacks at the base of their desks so that it was easier to get anything they might need. I began rooting through them, curious about what the others brought to class.
In the first backpack I checked,which belonged to Treg (the resident nerd), I found the usual nerd stuff. Calculators, rulers, notebooks, and a bottle of water. Nothing interesting, so I moved over to Iona’s backpack. She was your typically average girl, most notably in her looks. In her backpack I found only her class stuff… and her cellphone!
I could have fun with this, but as I pulled her phone out she started to move. I quickly released it and rushed back to my desk. But when I looked around, everyone was still frozen. Except that Iona had moved a few inches. Weird. Maybe moving her phone moved allowed her to move herself? I decided to test it, but when I stood I felt something fall on my shoulder.
I turned and jumped backwards in surprise. Standing there was a figure covered in a grey cloak, their face hidden within the shadows. They c***ed their head to the side, as if studying me.
I swallowed as the hair on the back of my neck stood up. “Wh… who are you?” My voice broke as I took a step back. The figure c***ed it’s head in the other direction, contemplating my words maybe?
When it spoke, it came out as a rasp. “You can move. Why?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I just noticed that everyone else was frozen.”
The figure grunted in dissatisfaction. “You're moving. Why?”
I stared at it. “I just told you I don’t know!”
I could feel it’s irritation at my answer. “You are an anomaly. One that should not be. That is the only explanation. Therefore, you must be purged.”
My eyes widened as I took another step and bumped into my desk. “Pu...pu...purged?!” I stammered out. “What does that mean?”
“Deleted.” The thing took another step towards me as it spoke and raised its hands. A black smoke poured out of them as I turned to run. I felt it as it enveloped me, slowing me, blinding me. I hit a wall and bounced back. Now I couldn’t feel anything and my thoughts were slow, like I had stayed up two nights in a row.
As my thoughts slowed further, I heard the thing speak once more. “Those who can escape time’s flow are dangerous. Too dangerous to stay. They must be removed, lest the flow of time becomes undone…”