The announcement came on quick and short, with hardly any information. Potention threat. Lockdown. You know the speel. Most kids thought this was one of the many drills that American schools now implement, but there was a different feeling. A tension in the air.
My teacher, Mr.Kin, told all of us to be quiet and turn off our phones. Of course, nobody listened. Once people realized that this wasn’t a drill, they were frantic to send messages to their friend/family/lover/job about their current situation. I, on the other hand, turned mine off. If there was a threat in the building, I certainly didn’t want to put myself in harms way with the constant noises of a cell phone.
Did nobody else think this way?
Anyways, me and a few other kids, who we will call Kaya and Jayce for the sense of privacy, helped Mr. Kin stack desks and chairs up against the wall to prevent the threat from coming in. This took around 20 minutes, and in the meantime there were lots of kids crying and talking on the phone, even though there had been no signs of a threat, nor any noises whatsoever. No gunshots. No screams.
Since we had barricaded the door, I decided it was okay to sit down for a minute. I thought about my mom. My cat. was there really an issue? I couldn’t help but to wonder if this was some new extreme drill that the school was implementing just now to see how we’d react. And if it was, I (and many others) would be very pissed.
Until the PA system clicked on once more.
“Attention all students and staff, this is not a drill. There has been a threat made to the school itself by an unknown source. It seems that the authorities are unreachable at this time. Please stay calm and await further instruction.” Then it clicked off.
Shit. So it wasn’t a drill. Okay, now I was scared. A few girls on the other side of my classroom burst into more tears. One even peed herself.
But there still wasn’t any noises. No sign of a threat. Hell, Mr. Kin had fallen asleep. Apparently, keeping kids safe in an active shooter situation wasn’t within his pay grade.
To keep myself calm, I decided to sit next to Kaya and Jayce. They were a thing for almost two years, and most of the time are insufferable, but they did give good company. “Hello there. Kinda scary. Huh?” I tried my best to smile as I nodded towards Kaya. “You alright?”
Kaya sniffled. “No. I’m scared shitless and my mom won’t pick up her phone. Nobody will.”
Huh.
“Do they usually answer?” I was genuinely confused. There had been multiple kids speaking to people on the phone for quite a while now. There were multiple still doing so.
“Well..yes. My Mom especially..” I wasn’t sure what to say to her to make her feel better. I couldn’t feel too great at the moment either, but I could tell she was more upset than I was.
”..but thats not all I’m upset about.” She sniffed once more before wiping her nose on her sleeve. “Everyone here is calling the same number. I looked at three people’s phones and its always the same..”
Wait, what?
“Are you sure it’s not the police? I mean, it’s normal to call authorities during situations like this..”
“NO. I’m sure. Remember, the announcement said the authorities were unreachable? And plus, the number isn’t the one for our police station.”
“Well, then whose is it? I mean..” but I never got to finish that sentence. Because just then, my phone rang.
Kaya’s eyes widened. “That’s the number! The one everyone is calling.” She scooted away from me, horror in her eyes. “Don’t pick it up. I don’t know what the fuck that is, but don’t.”
“Kaya, it’s a phone number. Calm down.” I rolled my eyes and picked it up just as it was about to go to voice-mail. I wasn’t ready for what was on the other end.
“Uh, hello?”
“Hello. Up for a game?”
(Part two will be released soon. Sorry if it doesn’t make sense yet. ♡)