OOC/ I wish that you all could see how excited I get when I get reviews. Not even kidding. It's like Christmas. Except better, because I'm Jewish :)
Brace Yourself:
Triumph Over Tragedy
Chapter 12:
Rooftop
Crouched down on a rooftop
In my mother's high-heeled shoes
I'm wondering if I will drop
Fly away with you
I can smell the rain coming
But I won't leave until it falls
I'm gonna soak in its downpour
Til I hear my mother's calls
Cause I am playing God
I am raising hell as far as I can tell
I am all alone
Alone in this world
Alone, with you
I carry spring rain in my hair
Weighted sorrow in perfect clouds
Bursting in the air
Wash away and drown
The roof slips beneath my feet
As the branches back away from me
The softest grass turns to concrete
But I will fly
I will fly
You will see…
--
The autumn leaves swirled around the Canadian city, causing a storm. It was nearing the end of November; the air was becoming bitter and the sky was turning to a dark shade of slate gray.
It didn't take Mia long to return to school in good health. When the rest of her seventh grade class heard about her panic attack they, just like her mother, had assumed a miscarriage. Mia, ready to squash the rumors, took it upon herself to publicly explain that she was still pregnant and also alive.
She was shivering. She was always cold these days, and it didn't help that the school was trying to save money by not using central heating. Twenty weeks. Almost twenty-one. She didn't like to think about what was to come at the end of the long road to labor. She knew it was going to be hard and nothing like how they fantasize it in movies or on television. This was real life; this was her life. And she was close to having a nervous breakdown.
Her bedroom was completely reorganized. The desk near her window was replaced with her own bed so her old baby crib could fit and be away from direct sunlight. Next to it, instead of her stereo, was a small chest of drawers that her mother had filled with the most neutral colored baby clothes she still had from Mia's own baby days. They still didn't know what sex of the baby was, although Mia swore she had a mother's intuition that it was a boy.
Names still weren't happening for her. She had decided against Amber after thinking about it more- she didn't want her child named after a color or a flower. Benjamin was still on the table, as well as Jacob, Bryan, and Joshua. As for girl names, she liked Brianna and Isabella equally. Both had a nice feminine ring and sounded good with her neutral last name. As Emma had said, neither were so generic that they would probably grow up to hate their name, but they weren't so unique that people would be constantly mispronouncing or misspelling it.
The school day was dragging on longer than Mia could remember it ever doing before. Much to her dismay, by the time she reached thirty weeks her mother was making her begin what would be her maternity leave. She would have to continue her studies at home just in case she went into preterm labor.
Preterm labor. Just thinking about it made Mia shiver involuntarily.
"Mia? Mia Jones? The answer to problem sixteen?"
She looked up from her immense thoughts. History class. Right. She took a glance down at her worksheet.
"The answer to question sixteen is the French." She knew she was correct; she had completed the assignment with Emma the previous eve at her house.
"Right." Her burly teacher, Mr. Goldsteen, turned away from her. "From what we know about the French, they came to Canada to…" The rest of his words just floated into oblivion.
"Nice save, Mommy." She looked back up and saw that Nic was turned from his seat and was facing her. She rolled her eyes, not in the mood to take crap from anyone anymore these days.
"Whatever."
"Ouch, do you talk to all attractive men like that?" He smirked and put a hand down on her desk. She was half temped to just slap it away, but if she got another suspension, she could be definitely be voted off the island.
"Not attractive men. Just you." Her fingers began to twist her pencil around in an attempt to keep from doing anything to Nic that she would regret.
"Ouch, burn.
The day was ticking by slow. Thankfully, they were in their second to last period of the day, which was Canadian History. Next was math. Then- home. Home. The word tasted sweet in Mia's mouth. Her eyes, desperate for distraction from both Nic and the class, wandered to the clock. 1:30. Half an hour until the end of the lesson. Hour and a half until the school day was over.
Before she could drift out of her trance, a ringing came over the intercom. Snapping out of the transfixion, she looked up along with the entirety of the class.
"Attention Lakehurst Junior High students and faculty. This is your principal speaking. Please evacuate the building immediately. Do not stop at your locker. Do not stop to socialize. Do not ask questions. Please just leave the building. You will be informed as to what is happening as soon as we have more details. Please leave now."
Mia's heart began to race. What was going on? The rest of her class, obviously not as concerned as she was, jumped from their seats and sprinted to the door and out of the school. She quickly followed suit, passing her teacher and continuing down the hall. The closest door was jam packed with students of all ages, along with teachers. Positioned at the entrances were members of the faculty, leading students out and shouting instructions.
Someone grabbed her arm. She looked up and was surprised to see a girl from her grade, Anya MacPherson, holding onto her. "There aren't as many people at the south exit. We've got to hurry."
She was shocked by Anya's kindness. She barely knew her, and yet she was helping her out of the school like she was a top priority.
She didn't know what else to say. Her entire mind was blank. She had no idea what was going on. It was like she was drifting through in a dream.
After a few more moments of pushing and shoving, Anya and Mia made their way out of Lakehurst. The grounds were swarmed with people, parents, and newscasters. The November air nipped at her ears and she began to search for her mother. Looking around, Anya was gone. She didn't recognize anyone. Students from grades eight and six desperately propelled their way through her and she grasped her stomach as though protecting her unborn child from the dangers of the world. All of the sevens had gone out of the north and west exits.
She kept on walking toward the way home. She saw Jackie. She saw Jane. She saw Lucas. But she kept walking. She couldn't stop. This was a mistake. She shouldn't have gone back to school. She should've stayed at home. Something was wrong. Something was desperately wrong. She couldn't pinpoint what it was, but there was something wrong.
Time was standing still.
-x-
The news blared from every television in the city, broadcasting the same story. A shooting at Degrassi Community School. One student dead, another in critical condition. Three students held at gun point. No names, no ages. No clues to who was involved in the tragedy.
Mia sat on her couch, her eyes glued to the broadcast before her. Sitting beside her was Lori, also watching the story with interest.
"Mom, do you think its Emma?"
"What's Emma, baby?"
"Do you think it was Emma who was held at gunpoint, or hurt?" She couldn't seem to grasp the situation. "Or… dead?"
"Don't think about that, Mia. Just focus on something else. I'll try to get a hold of Emma's mother when I feel it's the appropriate time." Even Lori was having a hard time masking her fear.
"There is going to be a memorial held at the school tonight in hopes that the injured student will pull through. I'm Melinda Larson with Midtown News." The screen switched to a commercial for Jeremiah's Used Cars. Mia's mind turned green. Go.
"Mom, I'll be right back." The sky was beginning to turn navy for the night. "I need to go to Degrassi."
"Mia, no. It's late and you have school tomorrow."
"We don't know that. Who knows when Lakehurst will open again? Everyone's terrified." She recalled the scene from prior in the day. It had taken her twenty minutes to even locate her mother, let alone get the news out of her. There had been a shooting at Degrassi. Someone was dead. Others were injured.
She could see Lori pondering. There was no time. She pulled her jacket off of the hook and hurried from the house. Her feet carried her toward the community school. It wasn't far; her house was on the border of the Lakehurst and Degrassi districts. In the distance she saw a throng of people. Candle light lit up the sky, and she felt like she could feel the tears of strangers pouring down her pale cheeks, She continued to walk, her feet protesting against the abuse. They were swollen and tired, but she couldn't stop. Not now. Not yet. She needed to place her eyes onto her friend, sister, and mentor. She couldn't give into the pain.
Images flashed before her eyes as she trudged. What if Emma had gotten hurt? Would she even be at the memorial? She tried to blink away the thought of the blonde sophomore lying on a hospital bed, tubes connected to her heart. Keeping her alive. Even worse, what if she had been the victim? What if she was… dead?
Mia bit her lip to keep from outright sobbing as she approached the scene. Her eyes registered students from her own school, as well as others. They were all united under the tragedy that had somehow struck everyone.
She looked anxiously around for someone, anyone she could talk to. People were holding flowers, praying, singing. Others were bawling, crumpled onto the ground. A face stared from the memorial sight. She didn't recognize the African American boy looking back at her, but her heart froze and her mind caved in. This boy, whoever he was, was hurt. A sickening feeling churned in her stomach and her mouth became thick with acid. Or dead.
She felt lost. She needed to leave. She didn't belong here. Turning around, she tried to make her way out of the crowd, but her feet couldn't move. She felt trapped in the scene.
Then she saw her. Standing alone and staring at the memorial was Emma. Her eyes were blood shot. Her hands were wringing into her shirt. Paint covered her clothes. She was shaking.
"Emma." Mia didn't know what else to do. She edged her way toward her friend, and felt life return to her lungs when they caught eyes. To her horror, Emma began to cry harder, doubling over to catch her breath. Mia took her hand and let her fall into her chest, awkwardly holding her against her baby bump.
"Mia, oh my god." Her words were raspy, clinging onto some sort of desperation. "Mia, he had me at gunpoint. He pointed the gun at me. Mia, I could've died. Jimmy could die. Rick is dead. And Sean! Sean saved my life." Her words were sputtered, chopped into fragments. Mia could barely catch what she was saying. She closed her eyes and just let herself relax into her friend's figure. Mia didn't know who Jimmy and Rick were, but she recognized Sean's name. Sean had been Emma's boyfriend. She had been in love with him.
"It's going to be okay, Emma." Mia rubbed the older girl's back, feeling the tension ebb away. "You're going to get through this. I promise."
"You can't promise anything anymore." Emma finally straightened up, wiping the hair away from her face and looking toward the sky. "We're all so alone. Alone in this world."
"You can be alone with me."
Mia took her hand and looked up as well. From deep inside of her, a small kick attempted to prod her back to reality but just for that night, she forgot about everything that had happened to her in the past few months and just focused on the deep night sky.
OOC/ My deepest apologies! Since the publication of my previous chapter, I went to choir camp and had to help my mom clean the entire house because we have a foreign exchange student staying with us for the year. I have also been planning a going away party for my best friend who is spending her junior year of high school in Spain. Phew!
This chapter means a lot to me. It was short and maybe not my best work, but it has a lot of significance. If some of you, dear readers, read my one shot entitled 'Youth Of The Nation,' one of my favorite episodes is Time Stands Still, parts one and two. Two years ago at my high school, we had a very serious gun and bomb threat that left everyone in a complete panic and paranoia. We didn't know whom we could trust. Everyone was very alone. Every day was a nightmare until the prospective shooting date, where everyone stayed home. Some people thought it was a joke. Others didn't know what to make of it. I was completely terrified, but afraid to show it. Eventually, the student was caught and placed in juvenile hall, but we are all still affected by the after math. Many copycat threats have been made. New rules, restrictions. It was a wake-up call to what could have been a devastating tragedy.
I am currently writing a thesis about students and violence. My research has taken me from Columbine to Virginia Tech, to the Amish schoolhouse violence and even to Degrassi, plus everywhere in between.
The song, Rooftop by Melissa McClelland, was featured in the Degrassi episode 'Time Stands Still' (part two, 408). It is a beautiful song and if you haven't yet heard it, make sure to check it out on YouTube or iTunes.
Thanks for all the reviews from the past chapters. I would love, love, LOVE a good number of reviews for this one, because it means so much to me, and because I am unsure about the actual writing content. Please submit something to me. It will be highly regarded.
Until next time! And I promise it won't be so long! –Elphie, the Researcher
