pin drop.
Prologue.
“…The importance
of online safety cannot be stressed enough in this day and age;
we want…” I tuned out the sweaty man on stage as his
voice echoed throughout the crowded auditorium. I pulled my phone
out of my uniform pocket and turned the brightness down so none
of the teachers would notice; not that they really cared. This
was assembly was just as dull and boring as the last. No one paid
attention at these things, they were such a waste of time-- I
mean, I’m not complaining. I don’t mind getting out
of class, but this is almost worse. Every time we have an
assembly in here, it gets so hot. I swear the custodian secretly
turns the heat up just to make us miserable.
My thoughts were interrupted when I saw the person next to me
tense up. I assumed there was a teacher looking around, so I slid
my phone in between the seat and my leg before scanning the
auditorium to see whom it was. None of the teachers were paying
any attention to me though; they were looking at something at the
back of the room, probably just some idiot getting into trouble.
I was about to take my phone back out when it occurred to me that
the man on stage had stopped speaking; it was too early for the
assembly to be over already, wasn’t it? I shifted my gaze
up to the podium.
The man was still standing there but he looked like a deer in
headlights, and now he was sweating more than ever. His eyes were
locked on the back of the room. I glanced around the huge space
one more time, going more slowly. The people around me seemed to
be making the same realization as me. My palms were getting
sweaty, what the hell was going on. No one was talking anymore;
they could probably feel the tension in the room as much as I
could. It was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.
I wanted to know what was happening, and I could if I were just
to turn around. But I didn’t, because I think I was scared
of what I might see. It was almost like my brain was telling me
that if I didn’t know what it was then it couldn’t be
real.
I sat there tense, trying to convince myself to turn around, even
just for a second, for what seemed like hours. It was probably
only seconds, but it seemed like hours. Just like
whatever was behind me was probably no big deal, even though it
seemed like something bad. With that, I took a breath and slowly
turned around in my seat.
The second I saw what it was I let out a little gasp- of relief.
I had broken the silence and that caused a few heads to snap in
my direction, but it didn’t matter. I looked at the guy in
the doorway and started to smile, it was only Lucas, and he was
just a little late for the assembly. I don’t see what the
big deal was.
And then I saw it. My face went slack; any sign of a smile gone.
My eyes had drifted to Lucas’ arms. They were stiffly
pointed out in front of him. In one of his hands, he held a
solid, black gun.
story? yes or no?