Lockdown

Chapter 1

"Ugh, when is the bell going to ring?!? I swear, this is the slowest freaking Friday ever!" My best friend exclaims. "Lace, it's Friday!!! Calm down, soon we will be able to get out of here and go somewhere!" I say. It was a normal Friday, everyone was going crazy and the teacher was sighing at his desk. He gave up on trying to quiet us down a long time ago. It was sixth period, social studies. It was probably the smallest classroom in the school, but then, sixth period wasn't a big class. It was me, Lace, James, Wes, my other friend Wendell, and then the other kids that I don't know but all know each other. It's kind o weird, but the class is pretty much split up. The kids I know which is 5 including me and the kids we don't know which is about 4. "Thirty minutes is too long to wait!" Lace whines. "Geez Lace, clam yourself" Wendell walks over. "Where are we going after school? Movies, park, where?" Wes walks up to us. "I don't know, let's ask James" Lace snorts, "he won't want to go anywhere. He never does" James isn't a close friend, but he is in a lot of mine and Lace's classes. So, why not?
"Ask him anyway" Wes says, "thank you" I say, pointing to Wes. "What ever, James is chill. But, not as chill as me, just to be clear." Wendell says and I roll my eyes at the same time with Lace. "Do you guys practice that or...?" Wes gives us a questioning look. "James!" Lace ignores Wes's question. James looks up from his work, even though we know he has been on his phone the whole time. He walks over, "so, we have an invitation for you." Lace says. "Yeah?" He asks. "Wanna hang with us after school?" Wes asks. "Me?" James asks. "No, Fredrick" Lace says. Fredrick is a kid who is in our class, but he is always a loner. For some reason Lace's sarcasm always has the word Fredrick in it. I think it's just a word now instead of a person. James looks at Fredrick across the room. "She was being sarcastic" Wendell says. "Oh," James says, "but why me?" "Cuz' you're hella chill bro" Wendall says. We roll our eyes again. "Plus we know you. So, wanna come?" Wes snorts. "Shut up, perv" Lace says, slapping him on the arm. "Sorry" Wes says, looking honestly sorry, but then he smiles again. "Ya sure, I'll come" Wes snorts this time, and we all glare at him. "But not as chill as me. Ok, guys, James is not as chill as me." "That boat has sailed dude" James says.
"So where are we going?" Wendall asks. "I don't know. You know I really want to see that new movie, what is it? Like Project Almanac or something?" I say, "yeah, me too" James says, "yeah. But you know what movie I really want to see? That one with..." But Lace is cut off by an announcement. Everyone in the room quiets down, what announcement would be on a Friday fifteen minutes until school ends?
"ATTENTION STUDENTS! LOCKDOWN, NOW. THIS IS NOT A DRILL, A VERY DANGEROUS MENTAL PATIENT HAS ESCAPED FROM THE HOSPITAL. TEACHERS LOCK YOUR DOORS AND STUDENTS GET OUT OF THE LIBE OF SOGHT FROM ANY WINDOWS. I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL." Everyone is silent and our teacher jumps up, fumbling with his keys. He closes and locks the door like many other teachers down the hall. The lights go out and the blinds are closed. It is really dark and it takes a minute for my eyes to adjust, but I feel a hand tugging me to the ground. It's James.
"How long to you think it will last?" Wes whispers. "I don't know." Lace says. "Better not be too long. It's Friday. That would not be chill" Wendall says, trying to lighten the situation. "Hey, what's his thing with being chill?" James leans in and whispers asks me. "It's like a different word every day. Just ignore it, it's good-natured" I say, looking at James. The people I know are huddled in the corner. Lace is on the corner itself in between Wendall and Wes. I'm next to Wendall and James. "Oh" he says. It's silent for a little while. Everyone seems to pack on closer to their friends when the lockdown passes the next thirty minute mark. School should have ended fifteen minutes, I guess they disabled the bell. "Hey" James leans in again and talks to me. "Hey" I say, I'm more scared than I'll admit. "I was thinking, the hospital is north of the school. So if the patient were to walk over to this school he would be entering from the north door. We are in the south part, more or less. He would probably attack the north, so the gym or like the art room." James says, looking at me. I nod, "ok" that calmed me down a tiny bit. "You just looked a little tense" he says. "Yeah, bro, I'm starting to cramp up" Wes says. He situated himself so that he is laying down, and a few other people in the room follow his lead. I do too, laying down next to James. Everyone is quiet for a little after that, most of the room moving to lie down.
I check my watch after a while of staring at the ceiling. It has been an hour and a half sense school should've ended. I feel myself getting tense again. Lace moves away from her seat in between Wendall and Wes and lays down next to me.
"I got a great idea" I whisper. "What is it?" "Ok, so you know that project we have to do? Like make something that means something. I'm changing my idea." I say. "Ok, what is it now?" She asks. "I'm going to do a documentary." She looks at me, "Sorry to break it to you, Callie, but you were going to do that anyway" I nod, "I know, Lace, I mean I'm going to do one right now. On the lockdown, it obviously means something, and I'll pull some meaning out of it after I done shooting. I'll do a voice over and narrate or something" I had it mostly planned out. "Ok, but what are you going to do for the report?" She asks. "Ugh, duh, talk about the greater meaning in life or something. Maybe tell the story or something, I don't know." "That's a pretty chill idea" Wendall cuts in. "It is" Wes agrees. "Yeah, it's cool. Do you have a camera though?" James asks. "You obviously don't know her." Lace scoffs. I silently cross the room, crawling of course, and retrieve my backpack. A few people watch me but some are on their phones with the brightness turned down. Our teacher is clueless, really.
I bring my backpack back and un-zip it. "And here we have, Rodney." I pull out my fine camera. It is not high-tech. It was my dad's and it records and takes pictures. "Rodney?" James asks. "My dad named it." I say. "The chilliest camera of all!" Wendall whisper-screams. "Shhh" our teacher shushes him. I turn it on and start recording. I slowly survey the room with my camera and then focus on my friends. They are still lying down. Hopefully I can get some interesting footage. Maybe some interviews afterwards with Rodney. "Do you bring your camera everywhere?" James asks. I nod, "is it recording sound?" He asks. "Yup" Lace says, "you should see some of the videos." She continues. Then it kind of quiets down, after a dirty look caught on camera from our teacher. So far, this footage isn't very good.