RTC: Oh my God, I nearly forgot what today was AGAIN. Sorry this isn't that great, but it was rushed together to commemorate what today is. For those of you who don't know, today, December 6, marks the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre. More on that at the bottom of the fic. It is also known as National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada. So without further adieu, disclaimer please!
Max: Ray-Tiger-Cat does not own Beyblade, got it?
"You're sure about this now, right Emily?" Max asks as he watched his girlfriend pack up her things. "You wouldn't rather stay here?"
Emily smiled back at her boyfriend. "Maxie," she said patiently, "You know this has always been my dream. Besides, you'll be away for university too, so what would the point be of me staying here?"
She gave Max the biggest grin. "I want to wear that iron ring and proudly say that I'm an engineer one day!"
"Yeah and when that day comes, I'll be there, watching your graduation and saying proudly that I'm the boyfriend of an engineer!" Max said.
So he took her to the airport and watched her leave on a flight, not knowing when they'd next get a chance to be together.
He took her to the airport, not knowing he would never see her again.
The call came from his mother, during the middle of the night.
"Hello?" Max muttered groggily into the phone, wondering who would be disturbing his sleep so late.
"Max," the voice on the other end of the line was hoarse and strained, "It's about Emily."
Max could feel his heartbeat double in intensity. Whatever had his mother so worked up, it could not be good. "What is it, Mom, what's wrong?"
"You know about the Montréal Massacre, right?"
By this point, Max's brain had gone from sleepy to running a million thoughts through his head at one time. "Oh God, no. What's happened?!"
"Apparently there was a similar incident at Emily's school. Her mom called me a few minutes ago, trying to reach you. I'm so sorry, son. She's gone."
"NO! This is the twenty first century! These things don't happen anymore!" Max wailed into the phone. "She was supposed to go on! She was supposed to get that iron ring!" Max broke into heavy sobs, as he looked at the box on his nightstand, with a ring of a different kind. A Christmas present for a girl that was no longer his.
RTC: So, to clear up a few notes, for those that don't know, when you graduate with an engineering degree, you get an iron ring, (I think it's from a broken bridge or something) to remind you to build stuff properly so it doesn't break. And on this day in 1989, a man went on a shooting rampage in the engineering school in Montreal, and he killed 14 women, as their male peers and profs and everyone walked out. May those 14 women rest in peace and their memories shall never be forgotten. I myself am a woman in engineering now (who should be cramming for her exams...) and I very nearly missed this sad occasion. So once again sorry for the sloppiness, I wrote this in under half an hour. The only reason it's up now instead of waiting for tomorrow is that I promised myself I'd write something for this day a year ago when I realized I'd forgotten the occasion. So stand up for the prevention of violence against women!