Page 5 of The Gargoyle in the College

Laura

Maybe it is silly to feel sorry for a statue, but I do.

I stared as it... survived through the torture.

It was a tradition for every freshman to pose and take a photo with the gargoyle statue, but... Putting cream on its face is a bit mean. Not to mention, what if they break the statue? It may have stood for decades, but... It feels wrong to do that to a historical thing.

I get out of bed and head to the window. From my window, I can barely see the statue. It is far away, but not too far.

No one is around the statue. It is already late. I have lessons tomorrow, so I should be sleeping, but I keep thinking about the statue. The cream and the gross moss are still on it, which no one cares about.

Maybe it has to wait until the rain is here again for the cream to be gone. Before that, ants may be there chewing on it.

In the tradition of messing with the statue, there’s no session of picking up the mess. The statue is just expected to survive it.

I rub my temple. It’s just dumb. A statue won’t feel anything. Why do I have to care about it?

Gargoyle is ugly anyway.

Well... It has wings and pointy ears like a bat, then... those eyes are scary. It is set there because people believe that it can fend out evil stuff. For me, it may as well scare me away from the campus.

My cheek warms up when I remember the cringe-worthy photo I took with the statue. Why did I think that’s a good idea?

But the poor statue...

It keeps lingering in my mind, refusing to let go of me as if it has something to tell me.

But that’s impossible. It’s a statue, dammit.

The streetlight near the statue flickers. It must be bored standing there on its own.

The sky is clear, and it seems like it won’t rain. Maybe I can clean the gargoyle.

Well... Who on earth comes up with such a dumb idea? It’s still hot this time of the year, I could be sleeping.

But there seems to be an echo in my chest. It may as well be the gargoyle asking for help. But it’s more likely just my thoughts, not a whisper from a statue, which is essentially a big carved stone.

I check the time, it’s getting late. I should know the better thing to do compared to running outside trying to clean a statue.

My lesson the next day is early, making it even easier to make up my mind.

I leave the window, closing the blind. I should sleep. The party and the people tired me out, even though all I did was sit in the corner and try not to make eye contact with anyone. I should have just refused to join the party, but I didn’t want to make myself look like a bigger nerd than I already am.

I should stop at my bed to get back onto it. Instead, I head to the door, opening it to check the corridors.

It is dim out there, which is fitting when it is late in the night. Only a few lights are still on. There’s no rule saying that I can’tbe outside. I just have to make sure I bring my student card and keys with me.

The statue isn’t too far away. I can go with a bucket of water and clean the gargoyle within half an hour. There’s no rule saying that I can’t clean the statue anyway. I’ll just use water, it won’t be bad for the gargoyle.

I gather what I need and peek out the door again. It is still dim outside. No one is going to know that I snuck out of my room.

No, I’m not sneaking out of my room. I live here and have every right to leave and go back to my room as I wish.

I take the bucket, making sure I bring my keys and everything I need.

This is going to be a stupid idea, but I’m going ahead with it, regardless.

It is cooler outside when it is deep into the night.

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