Fatality

        Do you ever wonder what death feels like? We all do at some point in time. We wish for it or hide from it, cause it or let it happen by itself. We don’t know what happens after or if heaven or hell exists. Although we all understand that it is inevitable. October twenty sixth is a day I will never forget…. Jonah Price was always the shy boy at the back of the classroom, but he changed everything that day and it was my fault.

        The school day was almost over and I sat in the center of what you might call “the popular crowd”.  How I got there was something I was ashamed of but never acknowledged. Jonah Price sat under the bleachers just out of sight so that no one could see him and make him sit with the rest of us. The only reason I could see him was because he was directly beneath me and we both were sitting near the exit doors. The principle rambled on without realizing that no one ever actually pays attention to the stupid pep assemblies. He schedules them every month but only the cheerleaders enjoy them. They get to break dress code and show everyone up because we can’t do back flips and hand stands and have flat stomachs and curvy bodies like them, who wouldn’t want to do that? I dare just one school to make their cheerleaders wear actual uniforms that don’t fly up when you do a handstand or a flip. Sorry to say it ladies but we don’t want to see your junk. Jonah was moving underneath the bleachers and for some reason he caught my attention. He was eating something, and a lot of it. It sorta looked like hard candies. I shrugged and went back to hating on the cheerleaders.

        “Denise,” One of my friends, Carry, whispered. “Your scowling again, I know you hate them but come on! You know you’re my bestie but, if you’re going to be a party pooper, then just go wait in the hall.” I leaned forward off of her knees, smiled, and left the gym. Carry was an ex-cheerleader, she had to quit when she broke her elbow. After meeting her a few years back I learned not all cheerleaders were bad. I walked into the girls’ bathroom just off the corner of the gym entrance and fixed my makeup. I cursed buying such cheap mascara and touched it up with just two flicks of the wrist. I walked out and struggled to zip up my handbag until I bumped into somebody and its contents spilled onto the floor.

        “Oh! I’m so sorry!” I dropped to my knees and started to shove things into my bag. “I can be such a klutz sometimes,” I looked up to see who I had bumped into. It was Jonah. He looked completely terrified, and not the kind of terrified that you are when you have done something embarrassing or your nervous. He looked almost… petrified. His face was both white and red at the same time and he clenched his teeth and stood rigidly in front of me. “Hey, it’s okay,” I started to speak until I noticed what he was holding. His hands shook uncontrollably and his knuckles were completely white at the tension of his robust grip. Pointed directly at me was a gun. Before I could react it went off. I was propelled backwards onto the floor. I could feel warmth encasing my body, I recognized it as blood. I watched through my hazy eyes events unfold in front of me. It felt like I was so far away; voices and people sounded dull like I was watching them through a bad TV connection. The gun going off attracted the attention of teachers and they rushed out of the gym only to be met with more gun fire. Jonah had gunned down almost three teachers and a few students mingled in the mix. Then all of a sudden he stopped. His body swayed and the SRO surged forward and seized the gun from him. Jonah whispered something right before he fell to the ground right next to my body. His body jerked uncontrollably and foam formed at his mouth and drizzled down the side of his face. A crowd formed around us and soon people were grabbing and pushing at our bodies. Slowly my vision faded until everything went black and the sounds of the emergency response team and the shouting of voices faded away.

When I woke up I was in a white room. Judging by the dripping IV tubes and the slow dull beep of a heart monitor I guessed I was in a hospital somewhere. I turned in a circle and took in my surroundings. A girl lied in a bed in the far side of the room. I approached her and vaguely I realized she looked a lot like me. As a matter of fact, I thought as I got closer, she was me. I stood frozen just feet in front of her, I mean my, bed. I watched myself just lie their without moving. People walked into the room and I turned to face them. My mother was following a doctor into the room.