Jessica 

Sun blinded her as she opened her eyes. 

“Jessica come downstairs NOW”

Jessica didnt answer, still not knowing yet if she was dreaming or not. She rubbed her eyes and picked up her phone. One message from Emily saying good morning. 

“Jessica dont make me say it again!”

So she wasn't dreaming. She put her phone down without answering, got dressed and went downstairs to the terrifying sight of her mother giving her the stare.

“What did I do this time?”

“Look for yourself”

Jessica rolled her eyes without letting her mom see. She looked at the paper her mom was shoving in her face. It had her grades on it.

“A D in english are you kidding me?”

“Im sorry mom”

“No you aren't, you just don't care do you?”

“I need to go get ready mom”

“Fine, run away from all your problems, your just like your father”

I froze at the words coming from my mother. Tears welled in my eyes, I turned around and stared at her.

“Are you serious right now?”

I ran upstairs and decided it would be better to just skip breakfast today, the last person I wanted to see right now was my mom. I got ready for school and walked downstairs, I didn't want to be late again. I walked downstairs as fast as I could, trying to avoid contact with a certain someone. My mom looked up at me from her book, I kept walking without looking at her.

“Sweetie, I’m sorry, do you want to stay home with me today?”

I acted like she didn't exist and continued to walk out the door and to school. 

“Hey, you never answered my text, is everything okay?” 

It was Sam, Sam is my best friend. We have known each other from before we were born, or so my mom likes to say. 

“Yeah, sorry, my mom and I got into an argument”

“That's okay, is everything okay between you two?”

“Not really”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not at all”

She smiled at me and walked into the classroom, I followed. I sat down at my desk and opened my text book then looked up. Mr. Kirk was staring at me again, but this time I was done ignoring it. It was inappropriate and unprofessional for him to do and I’m finally fed up. I got up from my desk and walked straight over to him, he looked at me with the most perverted face anyone could possibly make and between that and what my mom said I lost it. 

“What is wrong with you? You think you can just go around looking at my butt and my chest and think it's okay? Because it's not and I’m done pretending it is so have fun looking for a new job”

I walked out of the room and headed towards the principal's office, but somehow I ended up in the bathroom. I could feel how red my face was and tears stung my face. I heard the loudspeaker make the beeping sound that it makes before there is an announcement.

“Jessica Hollingsworth please come to the office now”

I contemplated it for a second and decided I should probably get up, but I couldn't make myself. About thirty minutes had passed and four announcements had gone off asking for me in the office, but the school was too lazy to actually look for me. Another beep came from the loudspeaker and I stood up to walk out the door deciding they would call my name again and I was ready to be found now. But when I listened for my name I heard the woman in the front office that's always on the loudspeaker, but she sounded different, she was crying

“We are in a lockdown, I repeat stay in your classroom we are in immediate lockd---BAM”

And then there was silence. My chest rapidly rose up and down and I could feel my heartbeat pounding in my head. I decided the bathroom wasn't safe and made up a plan.

“Ok, all you need to do is get halfway down the hallway and into the janitors closet, hopefully it will be unlocked. No, don't think like that, it will be unlocked”

I brushed the hair from my face and only then did I realize she was crying, but not the sobbing kind of crying, the kind of crying where you don't realize your crying because the tears just run down silently because you're too terrified to sob or make any noise. I got up from where I was sitting on the floor and headed over to open the door when I heard someone singing. I recognised the song, it was a nursery song from when I was a baby but I couldn't put my finger on the name. The singing got closer and closer until I could hear footsteps right outside the bathroom door, I froze. The person knocked on the door and I dove into a stall and pushed  myself as far into between the wall and toilet as I could, the floor was disgusting and it smelled but I didn't care, I just wanted out of there.

“Is anybody in there?”

The voice sounded like it was coming from a man. My breathing got fast and I covered my mouth just to make sure he couldn't hear me.

“Alright then you won't mind if I come in”

I closed my eyes and felt tears stream down my face and fall from my chin. I pushed myself further into the corner even though it squeezed my ribs and made my breathing even more labored. The door swung open so hard it hit the wall with a loud hollow bang, I whimpered louder than I wanted to.

“Who’s there…? I heard you whimper now who’s there!”

I pulled myself out of my corner as quietly as I could and peeked out the stall to see the door to the bathroom wide open, I turned my head and saw the man. But it wasn't a man at all, it was just a boy, a kid from my biology class, he was holding a gun in his hand pointing it at a stall he was about to open. I never talked to him before but I remember hearing that he was a year older than me. He was supposed to be a senior but he got held back for missing too much school. I looked at the door then looked back at him, his  back was turned to me and I saw my opening. I bolted out of the stall and down the hall to where the janitors closet was and tried to open it… It was locked. I didn't stop though I kept pulling. I couldn't die, not here not now. I never apologized to my mom, she's all I have left. It was just an argument, I ignored her and that was it, I still love her, she needs me. I need her.

“No, NO PLEASE I CAN'T DIE”

I was sobbing now, I heard the kid come around the corner but I didn't look. I just kept pulling at the door.

“Hey! Stop yelling!”

I turned and looked him in the eyes, he was crying too. His gun was pointed at my head and he was walking closer to me slowly, inch by inch.

“I'm sorry Jessica, just hold still and you wont feel anything”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Do you know my name Jessica?”

I shook my head no.

“Exactly” 

I watched his finger move to the trigger. Just at that moment a classroom door opened on the other side of the hall, I turned my head to see Emily running towards me.

“EMILY NO”

She ran in front of me right as he pulled the trigger.

“BANG”

“EMILY”

The boy just stood there frozen.

“Emily, I need you to stay with me please”

But she was already gone, I hit her in the heart. I sobbed harder than I ever had before. I felt something touch the side of my head, I looked up and saw the kid now pointing the gun at my head again.

“I’m sorry Jessica but there can't be any witnesses”

I was angry now.

“You won't, you don't have the guts, your just the quiet kid”

His face changed from scared to angry.

“Go ahead, I’m not scared of you”

“You should be”

I closed my eyes and thought about all the happy moments with Emily, tears streaked my face.

“I’m sorry Jessica...BANG”