Something Ticking in the Hall

Gil worked at the school for eleven years. On exam mornings, he did the same things in the same order.

Gil bekerja di sekolah itu selama sebelas tahun. Pada pagi hari ujian, ia melakukan hal-hal yang sama dengan urutan yang sama.

He arrived at six. He opened the big maths room. He moved thirty desks into six straight rows.

Ia tiba pukul enam. Ia membuka ruang matematika yang besar. Ia memindahkan tiga puluh meja menjadi enam baris lurus.

He put a number on each desk. He counted the pencils in the cupboard. He cleaned the board until it shone.

Ia menaruh nomor di setiap meja. Ia menghitung pensil di lemari. Ia membersihkan papan tulis sampai mengilap.

Last, he walked along the lockers in the hall. There were thirteen of them, all painted green. He touched each door with one finger.

Terakhir, ia berjalan menyusuri deretan loker di lorong. Jumlahnya tiga belas, semuanya dicat hijau. Ia menyentuh setiap pintu dengan satu jari.

Locker thirteen was always the last one. Its door was bent, and its lock was broken. Nobody used it. Students joked about it. They said thirteen was a bad number.

Loker nomor tiga belas selalu yang terakhir. Pintunya bengkok, dan kuncinya rusak. Tidak ada yang memakainya. Para siswa bercanda tentangnya. Mereka bilang tiga belas adalah angka sial.

Gil pushed that door twice and walked away. It was his small habit. It made the morning feel safe.

Gil mendorong pintu itu dua kali dan berjalan pergi. Itu kebiasaan kecilnya. Itu membuat pagi terasa aman.

On this morning, the door did not move.

Pagi ini, pintu itu tidak bergerak.

Gil stopped. He pushed again. The door stayed shut. A new silver lock hung on it. It had four small wheels with numbers.

Gil berhenti. Ia mendorong lagi. Pintu itu tetap tertutup. Sebuah gembok perak baru menggantung di sana. Gembok itu punya empat roda kecil bernomor.

Then he heard a sound. Tick, tick, tick. It was soft and steady, like a small clock.

Lalu ia mendengar suara. Tik, tik, tik. Pelan dan teratur, seperti jam kecil.

"That is strange," he said to the empty hall.

"Aneh sekali," katanya kepada lorong yang kosong.

He bent down and put his ear to the door. The ticking was clear now. It came from inside the locker.

Ia membungkuk dan menempelkan telinganya ke pintu. Bunyi detak itu kini terdengar jelas. Suara itu berasal dari dalam loker.

He looked at his watch. It was six forty. The students arrived at eight. He did not know the number for the new lock.

Ia melihat jam tangannya. Pukul enam empat puluh. Para siswa tiba pukul delapan. Ia tidak tahu nomor untuk gembok baru itu.

Gil went to the office and looked in the key drawer. There was no key and no number. He came back and tried some numbers: his birthday, the school phone. Nothing happened.

Gil pergi ke kantor dan memeriksa laci kunci. Tidak ada kunci dan tidak ada nomor. Ia kembali dan mencoba beberapa nomor: tanggal lahirnya, nomor telepon sekolah. Tidak terjadi apa-apa.

He told himself to stay calm. It was only a locker. Maybe someone played a joke. People did silly things before exams.

Ia berkata pada dirinya sendiri untuk tetap tenang. Itu hanya sebuah loker. Mungkin seseorang bercanda. Orang suka melakukan hal konyol sebelum ujian.

At seven thirty, a woman came through the front door. She was about forty. She held a plastic folder. Her hands shook a little.

Pukul tujuh tiga puluh, seorang wanita masuk lewat pintu depan. Usianya sekitar empat puluh tahun. Ia memegang sebuah map plastik. Tangannya sedikit gemetar.

"Is this the maths exam?" she asked.

"Apakah ini ujian matematika?" tanyanya.

"Yes," said Gil. "You are early."

"Ya," kata Gil. "Anda datang lebih awal."

"I am always early when I am afraid," she said. "My name is Laila."

"Saya selalu datang lebih awal kalau saya takut," katanya. "Nama saya Laila."

She told him she studied in the evening course. She left school at sixteen. Now she wanted a better job at the bank. This was her third try at the exam.

Ia bercerita bahwa ia belajar di kelas malam. Ia putus sekolah pada usia enam belas tahun. Sekarang ia menginginkan pekerjaan yang lebih baik di bank. Ini percobaan ketiganya pada ujian itu.

"I hope this time is lucky," Gil said. Then he felt silly. It was not much to say.

"Semoga kali ini beruntung," kata Gil. Lalu ia merasa konyol. Itu bukan kata-kata yang berarti.

Laila smiled anyway. She took a paper from her folder. "A letter came yesterday," she said. "It tells me to put my bag in locker thirteen."

Laila tetap tersenyum. Ia mengambil selembar kertas dari mapnya. "Kemarin ada surat datang," katanya. "Isinya menyuruh saya menaruh tas di loker tiga belas."

Gil stared at her. "Locker thirteen is broken," he said. "The school did not send that letter."

Gil menatapnya. "Loker tiga belas rusak," katanya. "Sekolah tidak mengirim surat itu."

"It has a number on it," said Laila. "One, nine, four, two."

"Ada nomornya di situ," kata Laila. "Satu, sembilan, empat, dua."

They walked to the hall together. The ticking went on. Laila heard it too. Her eyes grew wide.

Mereka berjalan ke lorong bersama. Detak itu terus berlanjut. Laila mendengarnya juga. Matanya melebar.

"Is that normal?" she asked.

"Apakah ini normal?" tanyanya.

"No," said Gil. "Nothing about this morning is normal."

"Tidak," kata Gil. "Tidak ada yang normal dari pagi ini."

He turned the small silver wheels. One, nine, four, two. The lock opened with a click.

Ia memutar roda-roda perak kecil itu. Satu, sembilan, empat, dua. Gembok itu terbuka dengan bunyi klik.

Gil pulled the door. It opened easily, with no noise at all. That was the strangest part. For eleven years, that door always screamed.

Gil menarik pintunya. Pintu itu terbuka dengan mudah, tanpa suara sama sekali. Itu bagian yang paling aneh. Selama sebelas tahun, pintu itu selalu berdecit nyaring.

Inside stood an old brass clock. It sat on a folded blue cloth. Its hands showed seven forty. It ticked loudly in the small, dark space.

Di dalamnya berdiri sebuah jam kuningan tua. Jam itu terletak di atas kain biru yang terlipat. Jarumnya menunjukkan pukul tujuh empat puluh. Jam itu berdetak keras di ruang kecil yang gelap itu.

Nothing else was there. There was no note and no name.

Tidak ada benda lain di sana. Tidak ada catatan dan tidak ada nama.

"Who put this here?" Laila whispered.

"Siapa yang menaruhnya di sini?" bisik Laila.

"I do not know," said Gil. "But the letter is yours. So your bag goes in."

"Saya tidak tahu," kata Gil. "Tapi surat itu milik Anda. Jadi tas Anda masuk ke dalam."

Laila put her bag next to the clock. "It feels like a lucky charm," she said, with a weak laugh.

Laila menaruh tasnya di samping jam itu. "Rasanya seperti jimat keberuntungan," katanya dengan tawa lemah.

Gil did not answer. He closed the door. The lock stayed open in his hand. He put it in his pocket.

Gil tidak menjawab. Ia menutup pintu. Gembok itu tetap terbuka di tangannya. Ia memasukkannya ke saku.

At eight, the students came in. They sat at the numbered desks. Gil gave out the papers. He checked the big clock on the wall. The exam lasted two hours.

Pukul delapan, para siswa masuk. Mereka duduk di meja-meja bernomor. Gil membagikan kertas ujian. Ia memeriksa jam besar di dinding. Ujian berlangsung dua jam.

Laila sat in row three. For the first ten minutes, she did not write anything. She chewed her pen and looked at the page. Gil stood at the back and watched her.

Laila duduk di baris ketiga. Selama sepuluh menit pertama, ia tidak menulis apa pun. Ia menggigit penanya dan menatap kertas. Gil berdiri di belakang dan memperhatikannya.

Then something changed. She took a breath, bent her head, and began to write. Her pen moved slowly at first. Then it moved fast.

Lalu sesuatu berubah. Ia menarik napas, menundukkan kepala, dan mulai menulis. Penanya bergerak lambat pada mulanya. Lalu bergerak cepat.

Gil let his shoulders drop. He did not know why it mattered so much to him. He did not even know her.

Bahu Gil merosot lega. Ia tidak tahu mengapa hal itu begitu penting baginya. Ia bahkan tidak mengenal wanita itu.

At nine, a young man dropped his pencil. The sound was loud in the silent room. Everyone looked up for a second. Then they went back to work.

Pukul sembilan, seorang pemuda menjatuhkan pensilnya. Bunyinya keras di ruangan yang sunyi. Semua orang mendongak sejenak. Lalu mereka kembali bekerja.

At twenty to ten, Gil walked quietly into the hall. He needed to know if the ticking was still there. He stood by locker thirteen and listened.

Pukul sepuluh kurang dua puluh, Gil berjalan pelan ke lorong. Ia perlu tahu apakah detak itu masih ada. Ia berdiri di dekat loker tiga belas dan mendengarkan.

It was there. Tick, tick, tick. It sounded closer than before. It sounded almost like a heart.

Masih ada. Tik, tik, tik. Terdengar lebih dekat daripada tadi. Terdengar hampir seperti detak jantung.

He went back into the room and checked the wall clock. Twenty minutes left. He walked along the rows and said nothing.

Ia kembali ke ruangan dan memeriksa jam dinding. Tinggal dua puluh menit lagi. Ia berjalan menyusuri baris-baris meja tanpa berkata apa-apa.

At ten o'clock, he called, "Pens down, please."

Pukul sepuluh, ia berseru, "Pena diletakkan, silakan."

Papers moved. Chairs scraped. People stood up and stretched their arms. Some of them laughed in a tired way. Some of them walked out fast.

Kertas-kertas bergeser. Kursi-kursi berderit. Orang-orang berdiri dan meregangkan lengan. Beberapa dari mereka tertawa lelah. Beberapa berjalan keluar dengan cepat.

Laila gave him her paper. Her face looked calm.

Laila menyerahkan kertasnya kepada Gil. Wajahnya tampak tenang.

"I knew most of them," she said. "I really did."

"Saya tahu sebagian besar jawabannya," katanya. "Sungguh."

"Good," said Gil. "Come. Let us get your bag."

"Bagus," kata Gil. "Mari. Kita ambil tas Anda."

They went to the hall. The ticking was gone. The silence was so complete that both of them stopped walking.

Mereka pergi ke lorong. Detak itu telah hilang. Keheningannya begitu total sampai keduanya berhenti berjalan.

Gil opened the door. It was the old door again, loud and bent. It screamed as it always did.

Gil membuka pintu. Itu kembali menjadi pintu yang lama, nyaring dan bengkok. Pintu itu berdecit seperti biasa.

The brass clock sat on the blue cloth. Its hands showed ten o'clock. It did not tick at all.

Jam kuningan itu terletak di atas kain biru. Jarumnya menunjukkan pukul sepuluh. Jam itu sama sekali tidak berdetak.

Laila took her bag. She looked at the clock for a long time. "Thank you," she said, but she did not say to whom.

Laila mengambil tasnya. Ia lama memandangi jam itu. "Terima kasih," katanya, tetapi ia tidak menyebut kepada siapa.

She walked out of the school and into the bright morning. Gil watched her go.

Ia berjalan keluar dari sekolah ke pagi yang cerah. Gil memperhatikannya pergi.

Then he went back to the hall. He picked up the clock. It was warm, like a cup of coffee. He turned it over in his hands. He found no name on it.

Lalu ia kembali ke lorong. Ia mengambil jam itu. Jam itu hangat, seperti secangkir kopi. Ia membalik-baliknya di tangannya. Ia tidak menemukan nama di sana.

He put it back on the cloth. He closed the door, and it did not scream. He stood very still and listened.

Ia meletakkannya kembali di atas kain. Ia menutup pintu, dan pintu itu tidak berdecit. Ia berdiri diam dan mendengarkan.

Tick.

Tik.

It started again, though nobody touched it. Gil did not put the lock back on. He stood in the empty hall and listened a little longer.

Detak itu mulai lagi, padahal tak ada yang menyentuhnya. Gil tidak memasang gembok itu kembali. Ia berdiri di lorong yang kosong dan mendengarkan sedikit lebih lama.