Lockdown | Teen Ink

Lockdown

January 21, 2016
By Anonymous

I don’t usually feel the need to write stuff down in my diary, but today I thought I had to. It is currently 7:35pm, and school started at 9:00am.
     
     As I opened the doors to my school, the aroma of the building felt uneasy. I thought nothing of it and brushed it off. School proceeded normally, and before I knew it, third period had begun. Mr.Cook, my science teacher, had just left the class to go to the restroom. In my seat, I read the board quietly to myself, “force equals mass times acceleration, force equals mass ti-” Just when I was finishing I heard a panicked voice over the intercom “LOCKDOWN. I REPEAT, LOCKDOWN.”
    
     I looked around the room. There they were... chickens with their heads cut off. People ran. People threw their things. Others even grabbed their phones to reassure their parents of their safety. But I wasn’t the only person realizing this. Malloren Hood, student council president, walked around the room, calming people down. “I’m sure this is just a drill. There’s no need to call parents here, ok.” Students decided to listen to her words of wisdom and they had gently tucked their phones under their jeans. “Just for safety purposes, I’ll keep all phones in a bin. As student council president, you should be able to trust me with your belongings.”
    
     Ten minutes had passed since the announcement over the Intercom, but still, no reply. My classmates were clueless without their devices, and Malloren had hidden herself in the classroom closet.
    
“WHOOSH” a loud wave of wind rode across the classroom as the closet door flew open, revealing Malloren behind it. She wore an angry face, nothing like the ones I had seen before, and held an unusual looking thing in her hand. From far away in the classroom, I couldn't see what it was. Looking hard, I noticed some parts.. Focusing hard on the unclassified object, I noticed a gun. Instantly I knew what was going to happen. “Please don’t come near me. I don’t want to harm any of you. But if you come close, I will.”
    
         Before she could do anything about it, I ran to the door, unlocked it, and swung it open. I sprinted through the halls for what seemed like years and stopped when I felt it was safe. “HELP! HELP! HELP!” My voice echoed, bouncing through the vacant halls. In about two seconds police officers arrived and I directed them towards the room. Malloren was still gripping the gun in her hand, while holding everyone hostage. Her eyes had met the officers and she dropped to the floor crying.

        At 11:50am, Malloren Hood, student council president, got arrested for an attempt to shoot up a school, all thanks to me. 
       

        Rumors started to creep through the school and some say Malloren was mentally sick. Others say her parents pushed her to the edge. I think it was stress; stress due to school,extra curricular activities, as well as being the Student Council President.


       I’ve come to realize that my adrenaline and fear were put to good use on this day. I did the right thing, and reported the incident to the police. If I let fear swallow me, I might not have been able to save my life, along with everyone else’s in my school.



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