"Thanks you too!" I say to the lady in the drive thru as I roll up my window and drive away. I set the bag of food on the passenger seat as I turn onto the main road and back towards the school. "Beautiful thing about being a custodian," I mutter to myself, "I can take my break driving to pick up food and surprise my best friend for lunch." I smile as I reach into the bag to steal a fry, "Even if she may not have any fries left by the time she gets her lunch." I chuckle to myself as I turn onto the school's road.

The smile quickly fades as I see several police cars surrounding the school. I pull my truck off the road and throw it in park as I rush out, abandoning the bag of food. As I rush toward the school's gates, a police officer yells at me, "Hey, hey, hey! Where do you think you're going?"

I hold up my work ID as I say, "I work here. What's going on?"

The officer takes my ID and examines it before handing it back to me, "There is a shooter on campus." My eyes widen as I immediately start to run in. The officer blocks me as he says, "Woah, you can't go in. The shooter hasn't been found and could very well still be wondering the school."

"My best friend is in there," I shout, my throat already clenching as fear seeps into my voice. "I have to find her and make sure she's okay. Search me, I don't have any weapons on me. I just need to go see if she's okay."

"I believe you ma'am," the officer says, "but I simply can't let you in there. We can't afford any more potential casualties and anyone injured will be taken care of as soon as it's safe."

"Any more casualties?" I yell. The officer's voice fades away but I manage to pick up that there had been at least twenty gunshots since he had gotten there. Without thinking, I run down away from the officers and scale the fence, running into the school armed with only my keys.

"She has to be alive," I mutter to myself as I race toward fourth grade hall, "she has to be alive." As I approach Avi's door, I reach for my keys only to find the door partially cracked open. Shakily, I reach for the door and open it. I step into the classroom, scanning the room. My eyes land on a figure lying on the floor and my heart leaps into my throat. Avi. I feel like I'm moving in slow motion as I approach her; noticing the gaping hole in her chest and the pool of blood that she's laying in. And as I stand over her, I notice her empty green eyes staring absently at nothing. My knees give way and I fall to the floor, not even noticing the tears already cascading down my face. "This isn't happening…this isn't happening," I whisper as I place my fingers on her neck despite knowing the answer. Her cold skin confirms it before a lack of pulse does. "No…no…NO!" I scream as I begin pounding on her chest. In the back of my head I know it's useless but I can't bring myself to stop. I just begin to scream, "Come back! I need you, Avi! Come back!"

My eyes shoot open as I shoot up straight in my bed. My heart is pounding out of my chest as I gasp for air. I feel something trickle down my face and realize that I'm crying. I take the back of my hand and wipe the tears away as I turn around and notice the sleeping form beside me. Avi. I watch the consistent rise and fall of her chest as she sleeps and a quiet sob escapes. She's alive. It was just a nightmare. As I feel a new set of tears fall down my face, I pull my knees to my chest and grip them tight as I start to tremor in relief and terror.