When I was in third grade...or second grade..

I don't know what it was about me that made me want to go to school early even though my classes don't start until noon. I would be in school by 9 or something. During those hours I would just happily play with my "jack stones" or my "pick-up-stix". I was in my own little world just playing it over and over, perfecting the games.

On one of these mornings as I was sitting at the corner playing the "jack stones" I observed two girls (students) that were probably also early birds. They were having a conversation and from my recollection, one of them suggested they go inside the building in one of the rooms. I just ignored them and continued to play.

My next recollection was myself looking up from the game to see these two girls crying hysterically and was just saying something to the school guard who left his post to console them but they could not be comforted and I remember they walked away with him.

"Cry babies.", I thought to myself. :D

So when it was time for my classes to start I started hearing this rumour/story - about these two students who went inside one of the class rooms that morning.

This classroom , as I recall was located at the right wing of the building and I remember it being fairly new, like a new addition. I've always thought this room was odd because it was a good 2-3 feet higher than the regular classrooms. It's adjacent to the main building. It's like its own room. It's not even part of a hallway. To walk past it, you have to be walking outside the building.

They say that these two girls went inside the empty classroom and just started writing on the board. All the chairs were up on the desks with the legs sticking up. As the two girls were just goofing around writing on the board, some chairs started to vibrate on the desks. They witnessed it and then some of the chairs vibrated so hard they fell off the desk which brought them running and screaming for the school guard.

And I did not connect it until some time later - those girls that I saw who were crying hysterically, those were the girls they were talking about. I wish I was a bit more nosy and not so preoccupied with my stupid jack stones game.

Because there is another version of the story of what happened in that classroom. Two girl went inside the classroom to "play" when they saw a lady in white and they screamed and ran outside and called for the school guard.

Either way, I remember after hearing about the story, curiously walking past this classroom and trying to have the guts to enter but never could (I've always had the Ghost Hunter in me hehehe). My memory is fading but I recall having to walk past it with other girls from my class and one of them saying "This is the classroom..." . It was already quite dark which added to the ambiance. I remember walking past it as quickly as I could , pulling my school-bag-on-a-stroller with my right hand. Still as I walked past it, I couldn't help but sneak a look inside almost expecting to see something but didn't. But I remember just feeling that whatever is in there, is in there I just could not see it.

I would've just dismissed the rumour as something made-up by fellow 8-year-olds had I not witnessed the two girls headed towards the direction of the classroom and subsequently crying their eyes out and trying to say something to the bewildered school guard.

Work Ghost?

A few years ago when I was an assistant manager for a specialty clothing store, something happened that has still left me wondering to this day...

It was a bright sunny California day and myself and 1 other employee was working at that time.Being that it was a weekday, we hardly had any shoppers that morning. We were expecting shipment that day so when the delivery buzzed, I went to open the heavy metal door that leads to our back stockroom , the door's heaviness makes it close with a heavy latch. Walking a few more feet to another door , I then punched a code to open another heavy metal door that lead to the loading area.

I greeted the delivery person and we were expecting at least 20 boxes that day that I am to check in. He made me sign something electronically with a black keypad and said he will head to the trailer to unload the boxes. The trailer had an elevator which allows him to unload and load box without having to use a ladder to climb and go down. I watched him as the elevator lifted him up to the trailer.

I went inside the bathroom to wash my hands and made sure the door stopper was holding the bathroom door open so that I can see the stockroom behind me. As I was washing my hands, in the mirror reflection I can see the open door that leads to the docking area at the right side of the mirror and the shelves to the left of the mirror. I glanced away to look at reflection when a movement caught my eye at the left side of the mirror - which meant there was movement behind me.

I glanced to the left in time to see a tall, slender, light-skinned African American man wearing a red and gray windbreaker-type jacket and light-colored denim jeans walk behind me from my left to right and disappear from my view as my reflection blocked him. He was probably less than 5 feet behind me.

More puzzled than surprised, I quickly turned around ready to ask the gentleman to go back to the sales floor because this area is for employees only. There was no one in the stockroom but me. A few moments later, I quickly headed outside the docking area expecting to see the gentleman there but the docking area was deserted and I can see the delivery man still up in the trailer loading the boxes. Still puzzled as to where the gentleman could be, I went back inside the stockroom and opened the door that lead to the sales floor, peeked my head out and hollered out to the lone employee busy straightening the merchandise.

" Are there any customers in the store at all?"

"No, it's been very slow."

"What about within the last 2 minutes or so? Did anyone go inside the stockroom?", I asked.

"No."

Who was the gentleman I saw? If he entered the stockroom from the sales floor, that heavy metal door would've made such a loud noise but I never heard the door open.

He was known as George since then.