ON STARTLEMENT

I now live in an empty 204-bedroom building. Students are gone for the present, staff only works so late at night, leaving just me. It's wonderfully quiet, and I haven't had any frightening moments...until last night.

Now, I've lived here over Winter Breaks, Spring Breaks, summer breaks, etc., and it has never bothered me. I may have been bragging about this at lunch, as one of the other RD's said that they didn't like living alone (or at least living THIS alone).

Cut to last night. I pulled my car into its parking spot, looking up at all the dark windows. Smiling inwardly at my own bravery, my fearlessness of living in a big abandoned building. I had my keys in one hand and used that hand to brace myself as I picked up belongings from the passenger seat and then -

KATHUMP!

I froze, waiting.

KATHUMP!

For a very brief instant, all of the terrible possibilities of what could be happening raced through my mind - and it's amazing how fast the human mind can process these things. Killers, vampires, werewolves - all were equally likely to be attacking me at that precise moment.

They did not.

I had accidentally pressed the "release trunk" button on my remote, and the opening of the trunk was what had startled me so deeply. Even though there was no one around, I still felt a little sheepish as I shut the trunk and headed inside. Stupid empty building.