Eyes by Alexa Hulmes

The cursor blinked at him from the blank page. Blink, blink, blink. He couldn’t focus. His fist supported his head as he stared and a yawn forced its way into the world. His hand instinctively met his mouth to cover it. Back to the topic at hand, “The Effect of Electric Toothbrushes Compared to Manuals,” there, a title, now just 12 more pages. He sighed and hovered his fingers over the keyboard ready for inspiration to strike. As his words started to fill the page, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
Eyes. He felt a pair of eyes on him. He straightened up and cautiously looked around. Nobody of interest. It must have been his imagination he tried to convince himself. 

He faced his screen and started to chew the nail of his thumb. His could feel his heart rate increasing by the second. All of a sudden he became incredibly aware of every little sound. The clocks ticks became deafening. A roar of mouse clicks and keyboard clacks washed over him. And through the noise… a whisper. 

It seemed faint but he heard it loud and clear. They were talking about him. He whipped around in his seat looking for the source of the muttered words. Everyone looked right at him. Their eyes bore holes into him as they started.
A girl to his left pointed a perfectly polished nail at him and laughed. Others joined in. Pointing and laughing. Pointing and laughing. He felt like a cockroach about to be squashed beneath a shoe as they towered over him. 

His head fell into his hands as his leg started bouncing unconsciously. Sweat dripped down his brow. He was surprised that his heart had not burst through his chest. The laughter grew louder  and closer as dozens of people crowded around, threatening to suffocate him. He squeezed his eyes shut as a silent tear rolled down his cheek. 

“Stop. Please stop,” he whispered desperately. 

Abruptly the guffaws stopped as a hand was placed on his shoulder. The librarian looked at him, her eyes filled with worry. He scanned the room. No one was out of place, didn’t even look as though anyone had moved. They all sat at computers unaware of him. He took a deep breath to try and slow his breathing down. 

Wiping sweat from his forehead, he looked back at the computer screen where the cursor was still blinking. Blink, blink, blink.