The
Lockdown: 11:33 AM
All the students who hadn’t
been directly involved in the shooting were shut up in classrooms and not told anything. Seriously, I didn’t
even know there had been a shooting until my mom told me. They just needed to get us out of the way; get us to stop asking
questions; and prevent panic – so they locked us in. It was torture, not knowing.
Paige Michaelchuck, 11th
I
was in English class when Mr. Armstrong came running in. Around 11:30, I think. He whispered something in Mrs. Kwan’s ear; she gasped and
told us to follow Mr. Armstrong to his classroom and – she put special emphasis on this – to not ask any questions.
We were ordered to shut up, not stop in the bathroom and in our lockers or anything, and to do whatever Mr. Armstrong
told us.
Ashley Kerwin, 11th
It
was hard not to be curious though, everyone was acting so strange. We didn’t even take the normal route to Mr. Armstrong’s
classroom. He led us halfway round the school, twisting and turning and making us go the long way. It was weird at the time;
but now I realize why he did that. On our little trip, we skipped Jimmy, Abby, Emma – and all the bloodstains they left
behind.
Ellie Nash, 11th
We weren’t
freaking, not at first. Only because we didn’t know anything, though. It’s like how no one on the Titanic panicked
when they were first told to put on their lifjackets. No one knew how serious the situation was; that their lives were on
the line. So they dawdled; they didn’t follow directions; they made jokes. But then the ship sank… They weren’t
laughing anymore.
Hazel Aden, 11th
I was in Mrs.
Hatzilakos’s room during the lock-down. I was actually grateful – I hadn’t done my chemistry homework, but
the many hours of being held hostage gave me the time to finish all of it. Jimmy had been shot; Sean fought off a kid with
a gun; and I was doing homework. Homework. How sick is that?
Marco Del Rossi, 11th
Man, that
godamn lockdown was torture. I spent the entire time freaking out. I didn’t know if I was in trouble or not; what had
happened to cause the lockdown. All I knew was something bad had occured and I was in the middle of it.
Spinner Mason, 11th
After the
EMTs took Jimmy away, I was ordered into Mr. Simpson’s classroom. I was put in there because everyone in that room knew
about the shooting; JT had brought an injured Abby in there earlier. Mr. Raditch and everyone didn’t want me with the
kids who didn’t know – I think they wanted to contain the incident for as long as possible. They were doing their
best to prevent panic.
Craig Manning, 11th
All the people
who were clueless throughout the entire ordeal kept going on and on about how bad it was; how it was torture not knowing;
nonsense like that. How can they even say that? It was so much worse it was to know what was going on and not be able
to do anything. I was in Mr. Simpson’s class – I watched Abby’s arm spurt blood; saw Craig’s horrified,
paralyzed expression after he found Jimmy. Nothing compares. I don’t care what idiots like Paige and Hazel say. To not
know is far better than to know and be helpless.
Liberty Van Zandt, 10th
Craig didn’t
speak when he came into our classroom. He didn’t move. He just sat in front of a computer, staring blankly at the screen.
I sat down next to him, but didn’t say anything – anything I had to say would certainly be no help. It wouldn’t
erase what he had just seen. Nothing could.
Manny Santos, 10th
I was still
in a state of shock once I got to Mr. Simpson’s room. Nothing had sunk in; not yet. I was sort of in denial, too. I
didn’t want to believe what I had just seen; didn’t want to have to deal with what I knew was coming. I didn’t
want Jimmy to be crippled; Abby to be in the hospital; everyone else to be scared out of their minds. I just – just
– pushed it to the back of my mind, you know? I tried not to think about it. It had already messed me up enough.
Craig Manning, 11th
By around
one, rumors had started to spread of a shooting. Kids heard from parents who heard from the witnesses who had been released.
No one believed it, not at first. How could we? It was hard to believe something so scary, so big, had gone on while we were
sitting in class, going over the themes in Hamlet. I didn’t understand; I still don’t understand how something
so monumental could happen without half the school even knowing.
Ellie Nash, 11th
I found out
from my mom, who called me after she got a call from the school. My stepbrother, Toby, was a witness – but that was
all she knew. She called me in a panic, desperate for more information. I had didn’t know what to tell her. I didn’t
know that Toby had been involved, let alone injured. What was I supposed to say? Sorry, mom, I don’t know
what happened to my stepbrother; he could be dead for all they’ve told me.
Ashley Kerwin, 11th
The shooting
idea really did make sense, much as we all hated to admit it. Why else would the teachers randomly lock us up in classrooms?
Refuse to tell us anything? Desperately try to hide the tears that were falling?
Paige Michealchuck, 11th
The one thing
that was even worse than not knowing there was a shooting? Not knowing who had been hit in the shooting. I didn’t
even want to guess… Because what if I was right? What if it had been Jimmy – or Marco – or someone else
I cared about? What if I had spent my morning filing my nails and asking questions while someone I loved was getting shot?
Hazel Aden, 11th
They took
Hazel away about a half hour before we were let out. Our guidance counseler just called her out of the room, and they disappeared.
We knew that could only mean one thing. Jimmy – her boyfriend – had been hurt.
Ashley Kerwin, 11th
They let us
out around one-thirty, I think. They didn’t even really tell us what had happened – just an announcement over
the loudspeaker about how a tragic event had taken place and that we could leave. It was quiet as we all left, with whispers
and snippets of conversation. Gossip was spreading like wildfire, and not all of true. I heard from four different people
that Toby Issacs had done it; two girls were convinced that Heather Sinclaire was dead. I didn’t know what to believe.
It wasn’t until later that I heard the real stats on the news – one student dead, two injured. That was
hard to believe. How could that have happened while I was doing chemistry?
Marco Del Rossi, 11th
