930 Left

936 students, 51 teachers, and 1 active shooter. Everyone sent their last text, then everything went dark. Separated from my friends, I sat crouched on a cold toilet of an empty bathroom. 1, 2, 3, and on I counted until officers pulled out 46 teachers, 933 students, and 1 active shooter. I found my friends Clara, Tyler, and Eddie before going home. The loud echoes of the bullets ricocheting off the stone walls played over and over. They played as I slept, ate, and as I stepped onto campus a few days later. I talked with Clara, Tyler, and Eddie at lunch. Clara complained about a pounding pain in her head, Tyler’s ribs were bruised from practice, and Eddie’s stomach bothered him so much he left early. People stared and whispered as we spoke, but they were overpowered by my friends’ complaints. Complaints and cries and then the obituary. It had been 4 days since we lost 5 teachers and 6 students. “ Wait, 6 students? We lost 3, not 6.” I said out loud to 3 empty chairs in front of me. A girl a table down saw the paper in my hand. “Told you she’d figure it out.”