*DISCLAIMER* - some people may find some scenes in this chapter distressing, so please feel free to skip past it if you can't read it x
Monday.
Everyone dreads Mondays.
It's just the day you want to curl up and stay in bed, and honestly I was tempted to do that. Staying in bed with James sounds like a much better idea then going into work.
I get up anyways because I don't wanna let my students down by having a day off for no reason.
I am the type of teacher that is away if I am actually sick, or something has happened that is very important.
I can spend all night with James, so it's no issue. Besides, we spent all weekend together.
James didn't play yesterday and he didn't even go to the game, he couldn't be bothered and I don't blame him. He was supposed to go but he just told Sam Mitchell that he wasn't feeling to well and will just watch the game from home.
I would've forced him to go if I didn't know how he was feeling about the whole thing of getting dropped. He is so hard on himself that I have to remind him about how good he is, how good he can be. Sometimes he doesn't realise it, but if he puts in the effort, it'll pay off and right now, for whatever reason he isn't putting in the effort. So I'm hoping I can somehow motivate him to get back into form and cement himself a spot in the team. But it'll probably take some time.
I wake James up before I leave, saying goodbye to him before walking into the garage and making the dreaded Monday drive to school.
Well, if I knew what was gonna happen, maybe I never would've stepped foot into work at all...
I get to school in no time, parking my car in the carpark before making my way to my office where I begin to plan my lessons for the day.
I have a full day today, 3 classes to teach, so it's gonna be a bit hectic, but at least my day will go fast.
Just as I finish writing up the plans for my lessons, the bell goes for the start of period one, so I quickly print off any worksheets I will be giving the kids, before heading out of the office and to the classroom for periods one and two...
"Morning everyone." I greet my students as I walk into the classroom to the class all sitting in their usual seats and I chuckle.
"Who exactly let you guys in?"
"Oh, the door was open and since it is absolutely freezing outside we decided to let ourselves in."
"Right..." I say. "Well considering it's cold I won't give you guys a lecture about how you're not supposed to be in a classroom unsupervised, but you guys are year 12's, so I trust you'd do the right thing unsupervised." I add as I place my things down on the table before grabbing my phone out to mark the role.
"Please tell me we're doing something interesting today." Damien asks and I laugh.
"Damien, when is my class not interesting?"
"I guess." He says which makes the class laugh.
I grab a whiteboard marker and walk to the board, standing in front of it and facing the students, beginning to explain what today's double period will look like.
"Okay, so I do have an exit slip I need you guys to do, so I'll give you an option, you can do it now before we get started, or at the end." I say, not even being able to finish my sentence as the class yells out their answers.
"Now it is then." I say, walking back over to the table where I grab out the worksheets, and hand them out to each of the students.
"Miss." Madison says and I stop and look at her.
"What's up?" I say looking at her with a smile, and she smiles.
"We know you have a boyfriend."
"Oh that's nonsense." I say trying to brush it off and she raises her eyebrows, along with her friends Emily, and Mia.
"You can't lie to us Miss, and whoever he is we will find out."
"But we have a pretty good idea on who it is." She says with a wink and I laugh.
"You girls have no idea what you're talking about." I say jokingly before continuing to hand out the exit slip.
"If you guys need help just yell out and I'll try to help you. Remember, don't use your notes."
Not long later the class is finally done, and we begin with the lesson.
"Alright, today we're gonna learn about the Memory Structure of the Brain." I say as I turn to the white board and write up the heading up the top.
"Do we need to take these notes down?"
"Of course! It'll be on your sac." I say and the class nods, before getting their things out and writing down the heading. I walk around and hand out a small piece of paper that has the brain on it, with four important structures when it comes to memory.
"Alright, so, you can do this however you like, whether you write next to the diagram like a mind map or write subheadings underneath it, just make sure it's written down.
"So, the Hippocampus, is located in the mid-brain of the brain. Its function is the formation or consolidation of declarative memories." I say, before I write it on the board.
"It also converts Short-term memory to Long-term memory, but keep this in mind, it is crucial that the Hippocampus does not store memories, it only forms and consolidates them." I say writing that underneath what I just wrote.
I continue writing things on the board when some alarm randomly goes off and I turn around to face the students, who look just as confused as I am.
"That's the lockdown drill siren right?"
"Yes, yes it is. I'm sure it's just practise. Come on, go into the little room and hide, whilst I lock the door." I say and the students get up, walking into the middle room whilst I walk to the door, opening it. I quickly put my key in the lock, locking it before shutting the door. I make sure to turn the lights off and grab my phone. before joining the kids in the room.
I make sure the door to the little room is secure just in case this isn't a drill. I turn my phone on silent, just in case it goes off as we need to be quiet.
"This is a drill right miss?"
"Yeah yeah, it is." I say trying to keep them calm as they seem pretty worried.
I open the messages on the teachers group chat and try not to panic when I read a message saying that it isn't a drill, and that there is a guy in the school with a suspected knife.
The message is not to let the kids know that it is a real, otherwise they will panic, and that's the last thing we need.
They're doing a very good job at keeping quiet, which is the main thing. I doubt the intruder would find us here as we're all keeping low and are quiet. A few occasional whispers here and there.
"Miss." One of the girls named Tia says and I look at her.
"What's the matter?"
"I feel like I can't breathe." She says and I can tell she's having an anxiety attack and I grab her, pulling her into a hug and telling her to take deep breaths.
"Be honest Miss, is this a real drill?" Damien says. "If it wasn't you wouldn't look this worried." He adds and I sigh.
"I'm not supposed to tell you guys but yes it's real, there's someone in the school. Please don't panic, I will make sure I do everything in my power to protect you guys, no matter what it takes okay? We will all walk out of here alive." I say. "If you want to text your parents, you can do so but I assume the cops have been called already, so it's probably on the news as the intruder is wandering the school." I add just as we hear some glass shatter which startles us.
I look at my class and put my pointer finger to my mouth to tell them to be quiet. Tia has calmed down a bit but I know she is on edge. I understand what she is going through right now as I used to get these attacks a lot as a kid.
I tell her to keep drinking water which is what she does, and she slowly calms down. We hear some more glass shatter and footsteps in the room next to us, and that's when I start to panic.
I have no weapon to defend myself, and there is no way we can escape, we're locked in this room. Thankfully, the doors have posters on them so he can't see through the window, to see if we're there, but it's only a matter of time before he starts to bash the door down.
I look around the room for something to use to be able to defend myself in case he attacks us. I find some scissors which Damien passes to me.
"Miss, please don't risk your life for us." He whispers and I nod.
"I'll try not to but if it comes to it, I will to everything I can for you guys okay?" I whisper, placing a hand on his arm before sitting in the position I was in before.
I'm about to look out the window above us when we hear a thud at the door.
My heart starts beating in my chest, but I know I need to protect these students. I would rather die, then live knowing that some of my students were killed.
I begin to stand up, just as he breaks down the door, knife in hand and some of the girls scream as he walks closer to us.
"Alright." He says. "You guys have one option here. You do as I say or I will kill all of you." The man says and I nod.
"Whatever it is you want me to do I will do it, just don't get these kids involved, and please don't hurt anyone." I beg.
"Drop the scissors." He says and I shake my head.
"Only if you drop the knife." I say and he nods, before dropping the knife onto the table next to us, so I drop my scissors. Not that they would've done anything anyway, but even with a pair of scissors I somewhat felt safer.
The guy is tall, and he is wearing a black face mask, so you can't distinguish who he is. He is a pretty buff man, and could strangle me in a second if he really wants too. I take a deep breath before calmly saying.
"So what is it that you want?"
"Money." He says and I nod.
"Okay." I say going to step forward. "I have my wallet at the table just there if you'd let me go to it." I say but he doesn't move.
"No, you're not moving from here, I'll get it myself." He yells and I gulp as he backs away, his eyes still on me before walking over to my bag and taking my purse out, taking all then notes and coins I have in there. I thank the lord that I left my credit card in my office in my other wallet.
"Where's your card?"
"Oh. I must've left it at home, is it not there?" I say letting out a little chuckle and he walks over to me, grabbing my arm and squeezing it.
"Don't you fucking laugh at me you whore." He says and that's when I start hyperventilating.
"Please sir, what do you want? Just don't hurt her." Damien says walking up to us and I look at him.
"Damien, go back over there... now." I say and he shakes his head.
"No, you should not treat her like this." He says and I sigh.
"Damien." I say glaring at him and he shakes his head.
"No, I'm not going back." He says just as the guy uses his free hand to wack Damien across the face, which sends him flying back into the room.
This only makes him angrier so he squeezes my arm even harder.
"Please, ow, please stop." I cry out as I feel as though my arm is gonna snap in half with how hard he is holding it.
"No. You should feel the pain that I have gone through every single day of my life." He yells in my face and I try everything in me not to cry, not to break down into tears in front of these scared kids.
"Why come to a high school if you want money? Go to a bank, you would be able to get how much you want." I say and he shakes his head.
"No, I want people to feel MY pain." He says just as he grabs me and pushes me into a table, and I wince as I feel my back hit it.
"Although, I could have another suggestion." He smirks and my heart quickens....
James' POV:
I plonk myself down on the couch and decide to turn the Tv on, not wanting to move as I just got back from training, and let me say, it was a tough one.
I decide to put it on the news as I haven't listened to it all morning, and I don't mind knowing what's going on in the world.
"And we have breaking news. Kew High school is in a lockdown at the moment as a man with a weapon has been seen entering the premises with a knife." The lady on the news says and my heart drops as I listen to the story unfold.
"Tahls." I say, picking my phone up and texting her, wondering if she's okay.
"Police are trying their best to surround the offender, but it's suspected he is already in a classroom. No news on whether anyone has been injured. We'll bring you more live updates when it comes."
I turn the Tv off, dialling Bont's number as I pace up and down the house.
"Bont." I say.
"Hey Worps, what's the matter? You sound a bit worried."
"Haven't you listened to the news recently."
"What no? Why?"
"The school Tahls works at is in lockdown."
"What." He says and I nod, even though I know he can't see me.
"Yep, I just heard it on the news and I am worried that somethings happened to Tahls."
"Shit yeah. Let's head over to the school and see if we can get any info." Bont suggests and I nod, grabbing my keys and walking out the door.
"I'll meet you there." I say before hanging up.
I get into my car before speeding my way down to the school...
Bont, Em and I get there in record time, as we meet up with Baz and Naughts who also heard the news and decided to come as well.
The five of us run over to where the school has been blocked off with tape so we can't go in.
"What are you guys doing here? You know this school is in a lockdown right?" A cop says to us and we nod.
"Yes we know, my sister is a teacher and we just want to know if she's alright." Bont says and the Cop shrugs.
"So far we haven't heard any gun shots, so it means the intruder doesn't have a gun, but as for if anyone is injured, we don't know." He says and we all sigh.
"What's her name so in case I get any information through I can let you know." The cop says and Bont answers.
"Tahlia Bontempelli." He says and the cop nods.
"It's basically just a waiting game now."
"Surely there's something you guys can do." Em says and the officer shrugs.
"There's only so much we can do in these situations as we don't want to aggravate the intruder further to the point they hurt people." He says and we all nod again.
"We just got news that he's holding a teacher and a class hostage, my colleagues think it's a year 12 class." The officer says and my heart drops as I look at Bont who looks at me.
"That's got to be Tahlia's class." Bont says and the cop shrugs.
"We have no way in knowing which class it is, but it's getting pretty serious."
"Well you have to do something, she could get killed." I say and the cop nods.
"I understand but we have a procedure to follow."
"Fuck your procedure, my girlfriend's life is at risk right now, surely there is something you can do." I press, urgency packed into my words as I feel tears forming in my eyes.
Em comes to my side and pulls me into a hug and I sob in her arms.
"I just want her safe." I say and Em nods.
"I know, and I'm sure they'll do something now." She says reassuringly as I continue to sob.
I couldn't imagine what Tahlia is feeling right now. Being held hostage, trying to be brave for those poor kids, it would be so tough. I know her better than anyone, and I know she would not let anything happen to those kids. She is so selfless that she would put her life before theirs, and that hurts because I know that she would rather die then know some of her students have been killed in her duty of care.
I try to calm myself down but its hard as I feel like I can't breathe. My heart is beating in my chest, like as if I've run a marathon yet I've been standing here, the whole time. My body starts to shake uncontrollably, and my hands are sweaty. My mouth is dry, very dry, to the point I don't think water would be able to take away the dryness of my mouth.
Em notices me hyperventilating and pulls me aside, away from everyone, away from all the commotion as parents of the kids have started rocking up.
We turn around the corner and stop. She places her hands on either one of my arms and looks me in the eye.
"James." She says. "Look at me." She adds and I look at her, straight in the eye.
"Take some deep breaths." She says and that's what I do. I breathe in, then breathe out, breathe in, then breathe out. One. Two. Three. Four. Breathe. One. Two. Three. But my chest is pounding. The fear is building significantly. I can't concentrate on my breathing. The one thing I can concentrate on is Tahls. Is she really being held hostage? Am I ever going to be able to see her again?
"You're okay James." Em reassures me and I shake my head.
"No I'm not."
"Yes, yes you are." She says rubbing my back.
"I'm not Em. Something bad is going to happen, I can feel it."
"Don't think like that James." She says. "We know Tahls, she will do everything to make sure everyone, including herself are safe. Just try and focusing on your breathing please." She says and I sigh, taking a couple more deep breaths until the tightness in my chest is gone.
Once I've calmed down, we head back to the scene where Bont informs us that some officers are going to try and intervene as it's getting serious.
Please God make Tahls okay....
Tahlia's POV:
"Please, don't hurt me, we can figure out a way." I say as I am held knife point.
Things kind of escalated in the past 5 minutes. The kids said some things to try and help me but it just agrivated the man even more, to the point that I am fearing my life. If he moves the knife one inch closer, he will stab me.
"Please." I say. "What do you want, I'll do anything, give you anything, just please don't hurt me or anyone else." I beg, tears falling down my cheeks.
"Come on man, no one's done anything to hurt you, we just want to get back on with our school day, and that's it." Damien says, trying to reason him and the guy lifts the knife.
"You say one more word and you won't have a teacher anymore." The man says and I let out a gasp, that this could really be my last day on earth. If the police or some type of authority don't come soon, I doubt that I will live very much longer.
I try to calm myself down but the tears keep falling, and it's hard for me to breathe. I feel myself starting to shake as I sob.
I know I have good luck when the door is kicked open and police officers come in, guns blazing, pointing it at him.
"Sir, you have 30 seconds to drop the knife and step away from her." The cop yells, and the guy turns around, releasing me and I make a run for it, which was probably a bad decision as he launches at me, knife in hand. It's like everything is in slow motion, it seems as if he's falling in slow-motion, but I still brace for the impact of the knife hitting me, but just in time a gun shot goes off. He's been shot in the leg as the knife falls from his hand. At first I think it's going to miss me, but I am in the perfect spot. The knife hits me in the stomach and I wince in pain. .
I hunch over in pain, falling to the ground in slow motion as I look at my kids who have just witnessed me being stabbed. I am more worried about how they're going to have to live with this, then the fact I could bleed out. They look horrified. I watch as some of the boys run over to my side as the paramedics walk into the room, as well as more police to escort the kids out of the room.
"Go." I say to the kids. "I'll be fine." I say and they shake their heads.
"We can't leave you here miss." Damien says and I sigh.
"Damien, please go, your parents would be petrified, they need to know you're safe. It's still too dangerous to be here." I say and he nods before getting up and exiting the room with some officers escorting him.
The paramedics immediately pick me up and take me to their van, telling me to stay with them and put pressure on the wound.
I didn't even realise James was here until I hear him screaming my name as I'm put into the back of the ambulance and am sped off to hospital.
And yep, that's what I meant when I said I never should have gone into work today....
****
Well, that was an emotional chapter.
Poor Tahls should've stayed at home, but how was she to know 🥺
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter as painful as it was!
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