I don't know why it bugged me, but it did. I had no idea what was going on, and that bugged me; I always like to know what is going on. And now I was in the dark along with everyone else, with no idea or thought of what might be happening.
The tension in the room was unbearable; every teacher had a hardened expression on their face, every student was quiet in their seat. It was something that I had never seen before. I almost wanted someone to jump up from the crowd, with a grin spread across their face, and scream "GOTCHA!" But even as hard as I wished, it didn't happen.
The room remained silent for several minutes and I became uncomfortable again, so I decided to try and figure out what might have happened. Searching my mind, I first thought that a death was the reason. Thinking it over more, I realized that that would have nothing to do with most of the people in the school, if anyone at all. I kept searching for another theory, and eventually the thought of a bad storm crossed my mind. It made sense because, in the past, the school had been closed early due to a forecast for a bad snow storm. It never came. But maybe that was the case this time. I hoped so, anyway; I had always loved snow, the way it makes everything feel so calm and carefree. I would do anything to make it snow in this room, to calm the tension.
Thoughts and theories of monsters and aliens rushed in and out of my head before I broke away from my thoughts, just long enough to notice that a figure began walking across the room. I glanced up and saw that it was the principal. Finally, Ithought. But then I stopped. I could see by the expression on his face that it was something terrible, that something was bothering him, that something was eating him up inside.
What could it be though? What had happened that had warranted a school wide emergency assembly? I tried not to think of it anymore, I tried to just twiddle my thumbs and wait for the news, but I couldn't help it. I had to know. My head turned from side to side, backward and forward, hoping to be able to see if anyone else felt the same as I did. Sadly, it looked as if nobody even cared.
I ignored the student's dull faces and turned my attention to the teacher's. Maybe they had more of an idea. Maybe they could fill me in.
I found my chance when I noticed a teacher leaning against a wall close-by. I recognized her to be my favorite teacher. Surely she could help.
I stood up and started to walk toward the wall where she stood. I passed by several students before I called out her name.
"Mrs.-" I started, but was stopped.
She raised her hand parallel to the floor, then swiftly waved it back down. I looked up at her face, and she looked angry. But not because I had gotten up when I shouldn't have. Maybe she knew what was happening too. Maybe it angered her and saddened the principal. Either way, I wouldnt know. I would have to wait until the principal told us.
I sluggishly made my way back to my seat. The fabric scraped loudly as I slouched into it. The girl next to me twisted her head over her shoulder and looked at me, then scoffed. She quickly turned back to her friends, chattering about stupid things like hot guys and shoes. Shut up, I mouthed at her back.
As I sat back, I sighed. I couldn't wait any longer.
And then I realized that something was missing. I couldn't put my finger on it for a few moments, but then it suddenly hit me; silence. The silence was gone and chatter and talking reigned. Nobody was quiet any longer, and nobody was paying any attention to the principal. Maybe nobody else could wait anymore either. Maybe nobody still cared.
I rolled my eyes at their ignorance. If someone would have seen his expression, seen the depression in his face, maybe they would have cared. But I guessed that no one had.
Several minutes passed before we saw the principal again. His face was colorless, flushed completely of any color. He walked up the stairs to the large stage that held school plays and assemblies. In his right hand he held a small piece of paper, with illegible writing on one side. His left hand gripped a black microphone. This is it, I thought. He's gonna tell us.
I sat forward on the edge of my seat, ready to finally hear the news. It had been nearly thirty minutes since we were first called down, and it was about time we were informed of what was going to happen.
He slowly progressed forward, obviously unaware that everyone had focused their attention on him. Even the talkative sophomore girls to my left were quiet. I couldn't blame them for talking, though; if I had gotten a seat with my friends, I'd be talking as well.
The principal's feet eventually took him to the center of the stage. As he raised the mike to his mouth, I could feel my pulse growing, I could hear the rushing blood in my ears. I was so anxious, so happy, yet, so nervous. The whole time I could see him, it was evident that something bad had happened, and that made me nervous.
But I was done with guessing. I still didn't know what was going on, and my theories had gotten me nowhere.
"Good morning, Osfield High School," he said, then tried to smile. It looked more like a grimace. "I'm sure everyone wants to know what I know," he added. I expected him to go on, but he stopped.
By using his pause as a small break, I checked the faces around me. None of the teacher's expressions had changed. Their hard faces dotted the room, as if they were caging us; maybe they knew the news would get a rise out of us.
The principal started again, and I knew this was the big finale to my suffering. "There... was an attack," he said bluntly.
No, NO! I take it back, I didn't wanna know that! What the hell did he mean, anyway?
So I was right to be nervous. The news was bad - really bad. My heart dropped underneath my stomach, and butterflies were dancing around inside of me.
Turning to see the faces of those around me, I could see that most others seemed to feel as I did. Shocked. Confused. I turned back to the stage and saw that the principal was about to speak again.
"Here's what we know," he started, his hand trembling as he began to speak again. He raised the small paper in his right hand to eye level and read. "Greene County in Ohio is under an emergency. Residents should stay indoors until further instructions are given."
My stomach flipped back on top of my heart, and my pulse rose higher. Oh my God, why is this happening?
"The attack happened at 7:12 a.m. this morning."
I glanced at the nearest clock. It was just over seven hours ago that it happened.
"What do you mean, an attack? And where?" someone asked.
I tried to find the voice, and as my eyes passed over each face, I could see that my fellow classmates were asking the same question in their minds.
"It happened at the air-force base," he said, and a large gasp swept through the auditorium. "As for what kind of attack, that we don't know."
"So was it terrorists? Only terrorists would have done that," he stated.
I cringed at the word... Terrorists. Such an ugly word, a word heard about too much these days. And why did he have to bring that up? Was he trying to upset everyone? Did he want the entirety of the school to be angry? Or sad?
Showing emotions was always a problem of mine. I couldn't show them when I wanted, and couldn't hold them back when they finally flared up. And now was one of those times when I couldn't control them. I could feel angry tears building up at the edges of my eyes, ready to stream downward. I hated it that I couldn't stop.
"Are you alright?" I suddenly heard, from behind.
I quickly spun and my eyes met with the same woman that had earlier told me to sit down. She looked genuinely worried about me. Finally, someone who seemed to be affected by this.
A simple nod answered her question. As she walked away, she rubbed my right shoulder to comfort me, thoughI had told her I was alright. And that was the last straw. The built up tears rolled down my cheeks, and I rolled my eyes at the same time. Of course I'm not okay, I'm fucking crying!
So when I did cry, though I was ashamed to show it, I knew I wasn't alone. Sobs flooded my ears, and it brought my attention back to the principal.
He looked on the verge of tears as well. I dried my cheeks with my sleeve and listened.
"Though we are all supposed to stay indoors, we can't keep you here," he said. "The buses have arrived. You are dismissed."
Nobody stood. My fellow students and I remained. For the first time, I didn't want to leave the school. I looked around myself and saw that everyone was too shocked to do anything. Maybe they felt the same as I did; they didn't want to be the first to stand and leave, for fear of being thought as the one who cared about the current situation the least. I didn't want the title either.
Throwing a glance back up to the stage, I could see that the principal was gone.I immediately scrambled around in my seat to see where he had gone. I caught a quick glance of him walking to the doorway, where he stood for a long moment. He then, somewhat angrily, pushed the door open until it clicked and stayed open. He turned back and glanced around the room. He was definitely ready to cry. "Go on, GET OUT!" he roared, then abruptly left the room.