After the Shooting

Chapter 7

The next day, news reporters and cameras are all around our school. I'm walking with Kayleigh today because I can't be around Scarlett much longer. That's when we get interviewed.
"Excuse me?" Asks Savannah Sullivan from the local news channel.
She's the woman who dad watches every day. Savannah has long, shiny, thick brown hair, clear pale skin, light brown eyes and the typical body for someone you commonly see in the media. By that, I mean thin and tall. Kayleigh turns around. It's harder for her to do now, however, because of the crutches.
"Yes?" She asks.
"Would you mind if I asked you girls some questions?" Asks Savannah.
      "Sure." Kayleigh and I agree.
      "What are your names?" She asks.
      Kayleigh and I state our names.
      "How do you feel about having a week off of school after the shooting? Was it too much time? Too little time? Just right?" Savannah asks.
      "Too much time." Kayleigh and I say in unison.
      "Was it weird coming back and seeing some of your classmates gone?" She asks.
      "Oh, definitely. It was so sad to sit there and know they were never coming back. Everyone's desks were left the same but they were just empty." Kayleigh says.
      "Yeah, I agree. Any kind of loss is hard to go through but especially having to pass away like that and at such a young age for some of these people, it's even worse." I explain.
      "Did you two lose anyone close to you?" She asks.
      "I lost all of my best friends. My boyfriends life was taken from me. My boyfriend was also Naomi's twin brother." Kayleigh's voice cracks.
      I then realize she's starting to cry.
     "That's so tough, I can't even imagine. Do you two see a need for something to change?" Asks Savannah.
      "Yes, definitely. We can't just sit here and watch the lives of innocent people get taken away." Kayleigh cries.
      "So, will you two be participating in the walkout?" Asks Savannah.
      "Yes." Kayleigh and I say.
      "Why?" Asks Savannah.
      "I can't sit here and watch more people get taken away. It's really, really unbearable." Says Kayleigh.
      "We can't just sit here in silence,' I say,' we need to stand up to the law. We need to change things. Like Kayleigh said, more and more people are dying from guns. We need to put an end to this."
Eventually the cameras stop rolling.
"Nice job, ladies." Smiles Savannah, before heading off.
When Kayleigh and I are alone, I ask her something.
"Are you really walking out?" I ask.
"Yeah,' she nods,' are you?"
     "Without a doubt." I say.
     Kayleigh reaches her first period class soon and decides to go in. Alone, I look down at my phone. I have a new text from Georgia. I haven't talked to her since the march.
       Georgie ❤️: just watched the news! So proud of you! Xoxo!   
    Me: thanks so much! How are you doing?
    Georgie ❤️: better. Watching you say that also helped!
    I'm about to text her back when someone startles me.
"What are you doing?" Ethan asks, looking over my shoulder.
I punch him on his shoulder.
"You scared me!" I gasp.
"And you hurt me!" He exclaims.
We laugh a little longer and then look into each other's eyes. Scarlett clears her throat. We back away slowly.
"We watched that news anchor talk to you." Says Scarlett.
"Oh yeah, she just asked Kayleigh and I a few questions, that's all." I shrug.
"I thought you hated Kayleigh." Says Ethan.
Right, before the shooting, I couldn't stand Kayleigh. Actually, no one in Washington Heights could. She was the annoying, perky cheerleader who wouldn't shut up about boys or anything, actually. She was also super loud and never shut up. I swear, that girl didn't have a mute button. I was surprised when Nat began dating her.
"Hate is a strong word, Ethan,' I sigh,' besides, she's not so bad anymore. She's actually kind of nice."
"Kayleigh was fine before the situation." Says Scarlett.
I feel Minda's eyes get big and glare up at Scarlett. I feel Ethan's do the same thing.
"Situation? What situation?" I ask.
"Oh, it happened a while ago,' shrugs Scarlett,' you wouldn't know."
"Why wouldn't I know but Minda and Ethan would?" I ask.
"It's nothing, trust me." She says.
"Tell me." I demand.
"Can I just tell you when we're not in front of our friends?" She asks.
      This is the reason I didn't want to be with them. Ethan heads to his first period class immediately. Minda also heads away from us once in the gym.
      Later that night, Georgia calls me. She went back to school a few days ago. She's studying law at Princeton.
      "So, how's school been?" She asks.
      "Uh, hard." I respond.
      "Because of the shooting?" She asks.
      "That and because of Scarlett." I sigh.
      "What happened?" She asks.
      I proceed to tell her everything that's been happening with Scarlett lately.
      "I never liked her." Scowls Georgia.
     "That's just her personality." I shrug.
     "Is it really? How is she with Ethan and Minda?" Asks Georgia.
     Shit. She's right.
     "I'm waiting." Georgia sighs.   
     "I hate to admit this, Georgia, but for once in our life, you might be right." I sigh.
     "Alright, it's been fun but I have to go study." She says.
     "Bye." I say.
For whatever reason, Kayleigh is over my house. It's kind of late and we're working on our science lab. Actually, I don't really know what we're doing.
       Ding! Simultaneously, our phones go off.
We both look at each other and then proceed to open it. It's an email from the Washington Heights superintendent. It's an e-mail about the walkout.
"What?!" We exclaim simultaneously.
I wake up and gasp. I check my phone. It's 2:00 in the morning and the walkouts in two days. I sigh of relief when I see no e-mail. However, I'm a little on edge.