Loose Change~ Montgomery De La Cruz / Zach Dempsey/Scott Reed

Part 4 Chapter 8b

tw: dark themes, mentions of school shooting, mentions of death, mentions of sexual assault

a/n: so sorry for how long this chapter took. im hoping next chapter will be out much quicker. next chapter will also be first chapter without ophelia present

"Come on, guys! You know the drill! Away from the doors and windows!"

Kerba shouted out instructions. His voice clearly uneasy.

The boys groaned as they came in from PE. They had just began the football unit. It was the only class these athletic boys actually enjoyed.

"Why can't we do this bullshit when I have English?" Luke complained.

"Let's be quick, alright?" Scott said to them, stepping in. "Justin, make sure everyone's inside, then lock the doors." He handed him the locker room key. "You know the protocol."

Justin frowned. He took the key, staring at him. "This is just a drill, right?"

Scott hesitated. Justin saw the anxiousness on the man's face. "They didn't tell me about it. They might've told coach." Scott turned back to the boys rushing in. "Hey, towards the back of the showers, guys! Away from the doors!"

Yes, Justin could tell definitely that Scott was anxious. It was all in his voice.

"Everyone please stay low," Kerba told them.

It worried Scott that he looked worried.

Justin locked the doors quickly. As he did so, a million people flashed in his mind. Everyone at the school.

His stomach dropped.

Ophelia...

Ophelia was in study hall. She would be with Marisa, Tony, Alex, Charlie. They'd keep her safe.

As the boys were moved towards the showers, Diego and Luke both grabbed baseball bats that leaned against the lockers.

An underclassmen boy went to the corner of the shower, falling quickly, pulling his knees to his chest. He started breathing heavily.

Diego noticed. He walked over, worried. "Hey, man. You okay?" He kneeled in front of him.

The kid was scared. He was shaking. "Code Red...Code Red means it's real, right?"

A silence ran through the locker room.

Diego hesitated. "Don't matter. Check it." He gestured around the room. "No windows. Cement walls. If someone ends up getting in here, we...we handle it. No one's getting hurt today."

Scott caught sigh of the boy too. His heart dropped.

He wondered, was Ophelia this scared?

Ophelia was also so worried, also so jumpy. God, she must feel so much worse now.

Justin waited until Diego was done to say, "Let's stay quiet, alright? No talking."

Diego scoffed, standing up. "Why so concerned? Your boy Clay bring someone bigger than a knife this time?"

Justin narrowed his eyes at his teammate. "Just stay quiet."

"You know, I've got a right to know," Diego said, angrily. "I'm definitely on his list."

Justin shook his head. "Not even funny."

"Not shit it's not. So why don't you-"

"Hey!" Scott yelled at them, loudly. "Both of you need to sit down and shut the fuck up! No fucking talking!"