A School Shooting

Brad's POV

I sat in English class and sighed. What was I going to do? Yesterday, we took a test and I failed it. I got a 54% on it and I knew Mom and Dad were going to kill me and ground me once they found out. They wanted us to get good grades (at least Cs if not B's) but they weren't the kind that demanded A's every day. Still, they wanted us to do good in school.

"Brad, I want you to have your parents sign this and bring it back. I expect that you'll take a retest on Friday after school," Mrs. Stein looked at me.

I looked at her with a nod. "Why? I have soccer practice!"

"School comes before soccer."

I groaned and looked at Randy who shrugged at me. It was weird having my little brother in the same class that I was, but he was advanced in all subjects. It also helped me stop people from bullying him. I was known as a jock in school while Randy was known as a journalist and being kind of wimpy. Randy wasn't into the kind of stuff that Dad and I were. He was more into the stuff that Mom and Hannah were but Hannah liked sports too.

I heard a gun go off in the hallway and I heard people yelling and screaming, running down the hallway.

"We need to get out and we need to get out now!" Mrs. Stein looked at us and had a scared look.

Randy looked at me. "Brad, he's right there! What do we do?" He looked white in the face and I had never seen him so petrified. He and I exchanged a glance and I knew what both of us wanted. We wanted our mom and dad.

"I want you guys to follow the escape route that we used when we practiced this in our drill," Mrs. Stein told and I looked at Randy. She turned off the lights and locked the door.

We started running towards the doors and Randy was looking at me with tears blurring his vision. I felt bad for him and I wanted to give him a hug which I usually don't want to do. Usually, Randy's calm and collected but I didn't blame him for being terrified.

"You could run faster, you know," Jeremy pushed Randy who was shaking.

His asthma would kick in soon. Whenever something scared him or we overexerted him, he would start to pant and have an asthma attack. Everyone in the family (and Al and Wilson) knew what to do in case he or Hannah got an asthma attack. I felt for him.

"Leave him alone!" I pushed Jeremy. "Don't touch my brother."

Mrs. Stein separated us and we ran downstairs. I really felt for Randy right now. She dialed 911 from her landline phone.

"Brad, what if the shooter gets us?" Randy looked at me in tears. "I don't want to die at only sixteen years old."

I looked at him with a comforting look. "Randy, we're going to be alright. Remember when Mom and Dad talked to us about this at home and had us practice a drill? Remember what they said. Don't let fear cloud your judgement. Follow your instincts. Now, is the shooter gone?"

Randy nodded with tears in his eyes. "Yes."

We sprinted down the stairs and I felt my heart pounding in my chest. My eyes were swimming with tears and I was terrified. Everyone had left their belongings but I knew that Randy would need his inhaler, so I had put it in my pocket just in case. Running down, we ran down and Randy was starting to pant, breathing fast. I knew that he needed his inhaler and I knew that once Mom or Dad were here that he'd run to them. Like Randy, I wanted Mom and Dad to run to us and tell us that everything was okay.

I heard another gunshot and Randy's breathing grew faster. I knew that I needed to do something. I grabbed his hand and we ran down together. I knew that people would laugh, but my brother was petrified. He didn't know what to do and I wanted to make sure he was safe.

"Are Mom and Dad safe?" Randy looked at me.

I nodded and looked at him. "As far as we know, Mom, Hannah, Dad and Mark are all safe."

Randy nodded. "If they're safe and we are, that's all I'm worried about."

Running with him, we ran with our class and sprinted out the door to where everybody else was. It relieved me that we were safe but I was a little concerned about Randy. I put the inhaler in his mouth and put a puff in his mouth and then another one. He started relaxing and I was relieved. He was going to be okay and since that was true then I was relaxed.

"Randy, calm down. We're uninjured and Mom and Dad are fine. There were only ten people that died and you and I are safe. The police are coming and they'll call Mom and Dad soon," I reassured him.

Randy relaxed gently. "Are you sure?"

I pointed to everyone. "Look around. We're outside and I've got your inhaler on me."

Randy nodded and I handed him his inhaler. Ever since he was five, he needed his inhaler.

"Randy, raise your arms in the air so that the police know we're unarmed and aren't the shooters," I told him.

Randy obeyed and the police went over to us to check us out.

Jill's POV

I sat in my chair, waiting for my kindergarten class to come back from recess and I felt that something was wrong. My mother instincts were blaring an alarm that said, "Go to Brad and Randy's school right now. Something's wrong and they're in danger". I worked on correcting their papers but I couldn't focus. My instincts were going wild. Why were they saying that Randy and Brad were in danger? It made me worry about Hannah who was in second and Mark who was in seventh.

The phone rang and I sprinted to the phone. "Hello?"

"Yes, is this Jill Taylor, mother of Brad and Randy Taylor who attend Renaissance High School?" A police officer asked.

I nodded. "Yes, this is. Are they alright? What happened?"

The police officer sighed. "There was a shooting at the school and we're closing down schools for the day. Your two children are alright. You and your husband can come get them as soon as your done at your job."

I nodded in relief. "Thank you, sir, good bye."

I walked down to the cafeteria with my heart beating fast. There was a shooting at the boys' school! I was terrified that the shooter would find them. Once they were safely in my arms, I would be relieved again. I was known as a momma bear but I didn't care.

I walked out of the building and waited by the door for my kindergarten class but all I could think about was Brad and Randy. I called Tim about the shooting.

"Tim, Brad and Randy were at a shooting. I need you to go get Mark and head over to Brad and Randy's school. They're alright but I need to get my kindergarteners ready to go and I'll come over with Brad and Randy."

Tim nodded. "I love you. I'll be there as soon as I can."

I fetched my kindergarten class and brought them down to the classroom.

"I'm going to take a point from Addison. We need to walk down the hall without talking," I took a point away and Addison quieted down with a glare.

Walking them down, I walked them into the classroom and they sat down in their spots on the mat while I sat in the teacher's chair.

"Mrs. Taylor? Why are we going home so early? It's not Wednesday," Toby, a student in my class asked.

I looked at them sadly. "Well, something sad happened at the big kids' school today. A mean person walked in and did something that hurt lots of people. You're going home so your mommies and daddies know you're safe."

I gave the kids their folders and put them in their backpacks. I had the kids go with their parents and I walked down to Hannah's classroom with Mrs. Andrews.

I walked in with a knock and Hannah ran to me, hugging into me and crying. Tears gleamed in her eyes and I felt bad. She was attached to Brad and Randy and had been ever since she was a baby. They were best friends since she was born and I was proud of them. They took her under their wings and nurtured her, played with her and so much more.

"Mommy, I'm scared," Hannah started to cry. She only called me Mommy when she was scared. She put her backpack on me and hugged me.

I rubbed her back and scooped her up. Normally, we didn't hold her anymore, but we found that she feels safest if she's being held by one of us. She snuggled into me and I put her in the minivan and buckled her up. Rushing in, I rushed in and I drove towards Brad's and Randy's school.

"Momma, are Brad and Randy okay?"

I nodded. "Yes, sweetheart. Brad and Randy are just fine. Daddy and Mark are too."

I sped towards the school and it was quiet during the car ride. Hannah hugged her stuffed animal.

I arrived at the high school and saw tons of other parents waiting for their children and I heard several inhalers. One of them had to be Randy's! In times like this, his asthma would act up.

I got out and helped Hannah out. "Randy! Brad!"

I yelled for them and ran to them.

"Jill? Hannah?" I heard Tim call out and he was behind me.

I hugged him. "Oh, Tim. We need to find Brad and Randy!"

The four of us walked through the crowd and I searched for Brad and Randy or listened for them.

"Mom?" I heard Randy and Brad call out.

I ran to them and saw that they were perfectly fine. They had a few scrapes and bruises but all in all they seemed healthy and fine. Tears gleamed in Randy's eyes and I hugged them close. My babies were okay and that's all I was concerned about.

We went home happy and safe.

((I made this to make awareness of school shootings. I know people know about them but the person you least expect to have a gun could have one. Be kind to everyone you meet. You don't know their whole story))