ROBERT

“Between you, me, and the wall, I don’t know what to do!” Elijah shouted, now yelling at the sky as he threw his hands up in the air. Panic seemed to be setting in for him by the second, and Robert wasn’t sure what to do.

“I swear, I SWEAR, that the wall has been talking to me for the past WEEK!” Elijah pointed to the plain-looking wall incriminatingly with a shaking finger.

“Alright, let’s just sit down,” Robert said as he gently guided his friend to sit down on the bed. Elijah’s whole body was trembling, but it hadn’t been noticeable to the eye.

“Tell me the story of what happened. I want to help you, but I’m confused about what’s going on here. I’m worried about what’s happening to you.” Elijah’s crying eyes looked at Robert as he moved his head to the right. He took a deep breath, and closed his eyes in an attempt to recoup some ounce of calmness. He exhaled with a deep sigh that was similar to the one before.

“Okay…”

ELIJAH – DAY 1

After a long day at work, Elijah was grateful to finally be home. He listened to Korn on the drive back from work, which was his favorite band. There were also some hot pockets waiting for him in his freezer to heat up in the microwave for dinner. As he got out of his car, the heavy winds made the house groan. The only light was from the street lamps, and the moon and stars. He took out his keys and unlocked the front door. Stepping into the house, he felt a wave of relief as an invisible weight lifted from his shoulders. Elijah went about his nighttime routine as usual, eating snacks, taking a shower, and playing video games. Whenever he played Xbox, he always told his online friends that ‘shifts until ten pm are not for the weak.’ Long shifts always made Elijah feel like he was going off the rails.

When he turned off the TV, and set his headset and controller on the coffee table, there was a strange sort of sound coming from the hallway. It was almost like a dog letting out a short, deep, and low howl. The noise was barely audible, but it sent a shiver down Elijah’s spine nonetheless. He wasn’t sure whether or not to go investigate, but he was going to have to enter the hallway to go to bed anyways. He worked up the courage to walk through the hallway, and peeked through into the bathroom and guest bedroom on the way by. There was nothing suspicious going on, at least not anything suspicious that was visible to the eye. *You’re just being dramatic,* he thought. He changed into sleepwear and prepared to climb into his comfy bed.

Suddenly, Elijah saw something out of the corner of his eye. He looked over to the wall, and froze like an icicle. It might have been something that resembled a face, but it was too unsettling to be anything human. The eyes poked out of the cream-colored wallpaper and the grey beads shimmered soullessly, which almost gave the appearance that the eyes had pupils. The nose–if one could even call it that–was two little dots that very well could have been specks of dirt. Then there was the mouth that looked as simple as a child’s drawing, but it hung slightly and loosely open as the uncomfortable eyes pierced their way into Elijah’s soul.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” The wall asked in a creaking voice. Elijah couldn’t believe his eyes, and he rubbed them trying to make the distorted vision disappearto no avail. The disturbing sight was still right in front of him.

“Alas, I thought you could hear me,” the wall said pensively.

“You’re not real,” Elijah replied.

“Not real? I’m very much real. I’ve been stuck in this wall since you bought this house; I’ve been trying to get your attention for eighteen-hundred days! It took you long enough to finally notice me.” There was an awkward silence after the wall spoke those words. It lasted for quite some time until Elijah spoke up.

“That’s impossible, walls don’t talk. I’m going to bed.” Elijah got into bed and put his back to the wall. He closed his eyes and did his best to block out the incessant ramblings of the wall.

“You know, you haven’t had a girlfriend the entire time you’ve been here.” The wall mockingly pointed out.

“Be quiet.”

“Now that I think about it, you rarely have *anyone* over.”

“Stop talking.”

“Why are you so lonely?”

“Leave me alone.” The back and forth went on for the whole night; Elijah was unable to get a single second of sleep.

ELIJAH – DAY 2

Elijah’s seven o’clock alarm began to beep, but he was already awake. He got up out of bed and grabbed his phone to turn off the alarm.

“I’ve always hated that alarm. You should pick a different one,” the wall complained.

“I don’t care if you hate it. It’s my alarm, not yours.”

“No need to get feisty.”

“Me, feisty? You’re the one who picked apart my life all last night!” Elijah stomped out of the room and slammed the door behind him. He was supposed to leave for work in an hour and a half, but he wouldn’t be able to function properly on zero hours of sleep. After ten minutes of internal debate, he decided he had to text his boss and let him know he wouldn’t be able to come in today. He’d keep it simple and say that he had an awful migraine. Once Elijah confirmed he wasn’t coming into work, he laid down on the couch and tried to rest. He was able to get about thirty minutes of sleep before the wall began calling his name. Elijah put some earbuds in, and played rain sounds from YouTube. It was his last attempt at getting some sleep in his own home. This tactic allowed him to get about an extra hour of sleep, but the rain sounds got too loud and caused him to wake up.
He got up from the couch and decided to make something to eat. There were two pieces of bread left in the kitchen so he made some cinnamon toast, and he sliced up a banana as a side. The repetitive rain sounds were switched out for Elijah’s favorite podcast instead. The wall’s yelling of insults and comments got louder and more annoying as the day went on.

“You’re useless!” Was the wall’s favorite phrase to repeat while Elijah ate his lunch. Eventually, he ended up playing video games until it was eleven-thirty pm. Despite Elijah’s best efforts to not seem phased by the wall’s comments, they were really starting to get to him. *Am I really a useless loser?* He thought to himself. *No, that wall is just putting messed up things into my head. Just because I’m introverted doesn’t mean I’m alone, or useless. I have plenty of online friends. Plus, Robert is my best bud!* Elijah shook off the negative feelings and remembered all the times he hung out with Robert in middle school and high school. *High school… which was seven years ago…* It then hit Elijah like a truck that he hadn’t spoken to Robert since they graduated. *Maybe it would do some good to give him a call.* Suddenly, the wall let out its loudest scream yet.

“AHHHH! ELIJAHHHH!” If others could’ve heard the sound it would have travelled through the whole neighborhood. Elijah ran into his bedroom.

“WHAT?!” He shouted.

“What have you been doing out there all day? Doing more nerd stuff?”

“And what if I was?”

“Then I’d say you’re a loser!” At this comment, Elijah had finally had enough with the insults.

“Well, at least I don’t look like a diseased frog! At least I don’t stalk people and observe and overanalyze their whole life! At least I don’t put others down to feel better about myself! At least I can go wherever I want and do whatever I want!” After he finished throwing out insults to the wall he left the room once again and went to sleep on the couch. It was a Friday night, so he turned off his work alarm.

ELIJAH – DAY 7

It was eleven o’clock on a Wednesday morning. Elijah had called Robert yesterday begging for help and apologizing for breaking contact for such a long time. Robert didn’t even seem mad, but Elijah still felt extremely guilty. Every night when he would try to go to bed, the screams and mockery from the wall drilled into his skull. On Sunday night, Elijah was able to get a motel room to sleep in. However, there were spiders and what seemed to be millions of mosquitos in the room. This caused Elijah to get even worse sleep than he had been at his own house. He hadn’t been into work in six days, and his boss was getting antsy. Elijah heard a car pull into the driveway.

ROBERT

Robert pulled into the driveway of his best friend’s house. His best friend who he hadn’t actually spoken to in seven years. Last night at about nine pm, Elijah called Robert. He was talking a million miles per hour, throwing out what sounded like random nonsense but spoken with genuine fear and stress. There was something about a wall and how Elijah felt like a loser. Whatever was going on with Elijah, Robert was determined to get to the bottom of it. He got out of the car and knocked on the door. A very sleep-deprived Elijah opened the door and beckoned Robert inside.

“What’s going on?” Robert inquired.

“Let me just try and show you. I know it’s going to seem insane, but you *have* to believe me.”

“Okay.” Robert nodded after a slight hesitation. Robert had never been inside Elijah’s house before. He wondered how similar Elijah was to his high school self. He noticed the couch in the living room had a messy blanket on it, and was surrounded by junk food as well as an Xbox controller and headset. *I guess he hasn’t changed too much,* he thought. The two passed through a hallway and into what was seemingly Elijah’s bedroom. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary for a usual bedroom. Elijah’s face was flinching as if gusts of air were blowing onto him.

“Do you see anything strange on this wall?” Elijah asked as he gestured to the wall of the bedroom. Robert stared and stared at the wall for what felt like an eternity; he looked for anything that could have been out of the ordinary so he could give an answer to his friend. Despite his best efforts, Robert was unable to notice a single peculiar detail about the wall. He shook his head no.

“I don’t care if he can’t see you!” Elijah suddenly yelled at the blank wall. Tears were forming in his eyes as his face turned red.

“Who are you talking to?” Robert questioned with a slight tilt of the head. Elijah let out an exasperated sigh.

“The wall…”

“The wall?”

“Yes! The wall!” Elijah snapped at Robert. Both boys were immediately taken aback. Robert by the sudden bitterness, and Elijah by what he just did to his friend.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that between you, me, and the wall, I don’t know what to do!” Elijah shouted, now yelling at the sky as he threw his hands up in the air. Panic seemed to be setting in for him by the second, and Robert wasn’t sure what to do.

“I swear, I SWEAR, that that wall has been talking to me for the past WEEK!” Elijah pointed to the plain-looking wall incriminatingly with a shaking finger.

“Alright, let’s just sit down,” Robert said as he gently guided his friend to sit down on the bed. Elijah’s whole body was trembling, but it hadn’t been noticeable to the eye.

“Tell me the story of what happened. I want to help you, but I’m confused about what’s going on here. I’m worried about what’s happening to you.” Elijah’s crying eyes looked at Robert as he moved his head to the right. He took a deep breath, and closed his eyes in an attempt to recoup some ounce of calmness. He exhaled with a deep sigh that was similar to the one before.

“Okay…” Elijah went through and explained the whole story, and recounted each day in as much detail as he could. Explaining the middle-school-level bullying he was subjected to, and how he had barely gotten any sleep.

“I’m so sorry for not talking to you after graduation. I shouldn’t have done that. I guess I felt like college was my next big step and that I had to put high school behind me. I’ve been a pretty awful friend haven’t I?” If Robert was a cartoon character, his jaw would’ve practically dropped all the way to the floor. However, in all reality it mostly just hung open like a codfish. Hearing what Elijah had been going through for the past week made him feel sick to his stomach.

“I understand how you feel. Plus, I didn’t bother to reach out to you either after we graduated. That means if you’re an awful friend, that makes two of us,” Robert replied.

“I guess you’re right,” Elijah said with a laugh. He wiped away the tears that were on his face. Elijah looked back over to the wall and gasped.

“What?” Robert asked concerned.

“The-The face in the wall! It’s gone!” Elijah stood up and threw his arms up in the air. He grabbed Robert’s shoulders and shook him around.

“It’s gone! It’s gone!” Robert smiled as he observed the Elijah that he had always known.