Line Up
As soon as I walked into the door the bell rang. The last day of school was coming to an end and I was the most excited for today to finish. I went casual like I do every day of the year. I was wearing basketball shorts with a dri-fit t-shirt with nike socks and shoes. Yes, I know, it’s pretty generic but that’s how I like myself. I don’t like to stand out in the crowd wearing fancy clothing and what not. I go with the majority. I looked around and I can smell the beautiful sweet scent of pastries. I was so caught up in the moment that I didn’t catch myself starting to drool. I immediately wiped my mouth and I could still feel my mouth watering inside. Pizza, cake, donuts, you name it. I’ve always heard from friends that spanish class had the best end of the year food parties. I got to my seat and put my backpack under my desk.
“50 more minutes until school is finally over!” he started, “I will call you guys up group by group to get your food. Do not take seconds unless I say you can.”
Our teacher called us up group by group to get our food.
“This is awesome. Back in the city I used to live in, we took a test on the last day of school. This is like living the last day of my life!” The guy next to me said.
“Yeah, I heard the end of the year parties in 8th grade are always the best.”
Our group finally got called up. The first thing I took was the pizza. The pizza is always the best part of a party. The thick crust with the round pepperonis made my mouth water again. I took it back to my seat and immediately began to dive into my food. All the chatter died down when we heard the loudspeaker sound.
“There is a school shoot-”
The woman cut off. I was very clueless. I did not know what the lady was trying to say. Was there a photo shoot going on for the 6th graders? As soon as I regained my train of thought my heart raced faster than a race car at the Indy 500. I felt my heart pumping so fast. There was a school shooter on campus. I looked around and I can see the great fear in my peers’ eyes. Even the teacher.
“Everyone get in the closet in the classroom and in the lab. Go! There is a school shooter on campus!” The teacher exclaimed with a touch of fear.
We all ran around like wild animals screaming at the top of our lungs. I couldn’t control myself. I was mentally lost. I stood there. No movements. I was the only one visible in the room now, while everyone else were in the closets hiding. Even the teacher. The students knew they had to keep quiet and they probably won’t notice me. As soon as I regained control of my consciousness I look around and I find the air vent attached to the wall. I quickly unscrew the bolts and I get in the opening. Just as I closed the air vent door I started to hear voices outside of our class. I couldn’t see anything because the teacher had closed the blinds. Then I stopped hearing the voices. I tried so hard not to move a muscle but this is a very tight space and I am very uncomfortable. A minute has gone by and my eyes were still wide open in complete shock and fear. I can’t comprehend this at all. This just happened way too fast. Am I dreaming? This has to be all a dream. I am in my bed right now, probably squirming around under the blanket. THUD! I heard a few screams coming from the closets too. The school shooters are trying to get into the class. THUD THUD THUD! They keep hitting the door with something. Is it thor’s hammer? Is it an axe? I sit there and pray to god. Please tell me this is a dream. I decide to pinch myself. No luck at all. I take a peek and as soon as I do I see an axe go through the door. The people in the closets are screaming now. Then I see a hand go through the hole made with the axe and feel it’s way around on the door until it hits the handle. The man cautiously unlocks the door and pulls down the handle. The door opens and 3 men walk into the room. The seem abnormally fat. One man takes off his jacket and I see it. I see a c4 on his chest. Oh god I am going to die right here and now. Why out of all days this had to be on the last day of school. Why do this to me god. The men are speaking in a different language. Is it arabian? Fortunately, the kids did not scream at this point in time. The biggest guy pointed in the direction where the closet was and said something in their language. The 2 other men c***ed their guns and slowly creeped their way to the closet. I knew what was going to happen. The 2 guys were going to open the closet and unleash all death upon the kids. I couldn’t do anything to save them, I have to watch this all happen right before my eyes. What I predicted to happen did not happen, thank god. One guy opened the closet and the other guy pointed his gun at their heads and ordered them to get up. The kids were screaming and yelling and kicking and crying too. The man pointed the gun even closer to their heads.
“Follow my orders and today you won’t die. You two, get up and follow me.”
The man pointed at the teacher and the teacher’s aid. They slowly got up, hands behind their head. They were both shaking in fear. I can see the tears rolling down their eyes. Two by two they ordered people to get up and follow them. For every second that goes by, my heart rate goes faster and faster. Will they come for me? Do they know I am even here? I thought to myself. This is the worst last of school in history. I looked out again and saw that everyone was up on their feet. They were trembling with fear. I looked a little to the left and saw that the teacher was kicking, trying to break free, but the school shooters were tough. I can tell they work out. One of the men quickly shot the teacher in the leg. The teacher was yelling in pain, and like a waterfall blood was flowing down his legs giving his pants a reddish color.
“Sweep the class once more and let’s head to the next class” The boss ordered.
They swept the class one more time and at that moment I realized they didn’t notice I wasn’t here. None of the kids knew I was gone either, which I am relieved because otherwise they’d mess up and tell the men that I am missing. Now this is where it really hit me. Should I save these kids? Should I wait until these shooters leave and make a run for it? This is the perfect opportunity to save these kids, I tell myself. Before I knew it the shooters left the class. I waited a few minutes before I knew I was in the clear and I took off the air vent door and got out. I looked around and I noticed on the ground was a pistol. Wow, the shooters must be stupid to leave behind their gun. I picked it up and saw that it was already loaded. God is telling me to save these kids with this pistol. I check the barrel. One bullet left! I have one bullet to save these kids. I don’t know if I should or not, these kids don’t mean the world to me. But these kids have a life to live, they are my peers, I can’t let them die like this. If I die I will die a hero, but I am only an ordinary kid and I’d like to stay that way. Death as a hero? Or surviving but having the guilt for the rest of my life. I can’t decide. I pull up the blinds and look out the window, I see the 3 men all in a line taking these kids somewhere. Where are they taking the kids? I took a closer look outside, then looked at my pistol that I clutched in my hand and I heard a dinging sound within my head. If I can shoot right at the last guy’s chest, I can pierce through all 3 of them and kill them. But if I miss, not only will I look so stupid, but I will also die and so will the kids. This is the hardest decision of my life and I can’t take this. This is the only chance I have and if I don’t take it I will be guilty for the rest of my life. I contemplated with myself for another few minutes and I came to a conclusion. I slowly opened the door and walked outside, and I still saw these men in a line. They made the kids sit on the floor. Unfortunately the men weren’t lined up, I had to wait for the right moment. I looked at myself and noticed my whole body was shaking, I was completely pale and tears were rolling down my eyes. I took a peek around the corner and saw the men ordering the kids to get up. This is it Nolt, you can do it Nolt. I slowly held the gun up trying to urge myself to stop shaking so violently. The 3 men lined up, this was my last and final chance. This is so perfect I told myself. I put my finger on the trigger and I slowly, very slowly pulled on the trigger. A huge booming sound came, my ears were ringing and I closed my eyes. When I opened them I saw the 3 men clutching their hearts and falling to the ground. The kids shrieked thinking someone was shot. When they looked up and around they saw the 3 men, then they saw me. Those frowns, those faces full of fear turned into happiness and cries of joy. Me? I was full of emotions. My hands were shaking even more violently than before and I fully regained my thoughts I had realized I saved everyone’s lives. My cries of fear turned into cries of joy and happiness. I walked towards the group of kids who were also still shaking but I can tell they were happy to be alive. The first thing I did when I walked there was go up to the 3 men and look at them. They were covered in blood and and black clothing. I slowly unmasked all 3 of them. I carefully looked at these faces. I saw the face of my dead father.