Cracked Glass chapter 4

Chapter 4 is here and this one is going to be different. OK, every four chapters, we'll fast forward to Sarah in the present and see her experience after Chapter 1. Of course, the chapters will be in her POV.

It was two days after the shooting and I was one of the few hostages allowed to go back to Peach Creek Junior High by the Eds.

I hate the silence, the looks of pity I keep getting from the other kids and the teachers too. But the one thing I hated more than the silence and pity was the glares of hatred I got. Some people acted like I was with my brother, Double D and Eddy. They acted like I deserved to get hurt or worse.

But they were in the minority, thank god. Most people tried to comfort me or just acted awkward. Being here made me think back to the day, the Eds tossing Mr. Garedo's dead body out the window, being allowed to live, Kevin, Lee and Marie getting shot…

I mean, none of us liked the Kankers but what Eddy did to them was something I wouldn't even want him to go through. Being shot like Swiss cheese? Not a pleasant way to end somebody's life. Plus, the rest of us had survivior's guilt from the massacre. Could you blame us? Why did we get to live while innocent Kevin, Lee and Marie had to die? I remember the Eds had us put in pairs on the bus to the DA headquarters. I ended up with May Kanker and for almost the entire ride, she was weeping in the fetal position in her seat. I just sat next to her, feeling sad, guilty and uncomfortable.

So I ended up at school with Jimmy and Nazz. Jonny was asleep, Ryder had Rolf lead grunt training that day and everyone decided to keep May back with the Eds in the Cul-de-Sac. She wasn't in the condition to stand, let alone go through 7 hours at the place where her sisters died. The students and teachers figured that she was skipping school, mourning or both.

In English, I sat in one of the middle rows and stayed quiet. A dark-skinned girl with brown hair sat down next to me. She was 5 inches taller than me and she looked kinda like Nazz did.

I thought "She must be an 8th grader. That's weird. I've never seen her before unless she's new."

Mr. Lenkins said "Everyone, I'm sure that you know this by now but I'm going to say this for those who don't. There was a shooting on Tuesday in the school. The police have not found the shooters yet and sadly, 9 students and 2 teachers were killed in the shooting and countless others were fatally wounded or hurt. Let us have a moment of silence for those who died on Tuesday."

Complete silence filled the room after he said that. Even the loud talkers shut up for a good minute. It made me feel more uncomfortable, being reminded of that Tuesday afternoon in the classroom, the blood that must have covered the classroom wall after Eddy shot Kevin and the two Kankers. Despite my thoughts, I took a deep breath and looked around the room. The moment of silence looked like it was over since the other kids were talking, using their cell phone or writing notes in their notebook or binder.

My discomfort must have shown on my face because the girl next to me asked "Are you alright? You look like you're about to either puke or faint."

I answered "Y-Yeah, I'm OK. Just a little tired, that's all."

She nodded and replied "Just checking. I'm Ashley. Ashley Rainer. I just transferred from Cantaloupe Springs a couple days ago. I haven't seen you before. Are you new too?"

I said "No, I'm not. I'm a 7th grader but I've been out for a couple days. I'm Sarah Maclane."

The rest of the class was reading this short story Mr. Lenkins gave us so I started to read it too. I read a few sentences and then stopped.

I thought "Great. On the day I come back from surviving a shooting, I end up reading a short story about death. Someone up there has it in for me, I just know it."

I sighed before I continued to read the short story. It was a story by Edgar Allen Poe about this guy who goes to visit his friend, whose sister died. He thinks his friend's going crazy when suddenly, the sister shows up and it turns out that she was buried alive. She ends up dying right in front of the friend and then the friend suddenly dies. So the guy leaves the house fast. It sounds a little familiar.

I'm halfway through reading the story when I heard a voice in front of me. I put the short story down on the desk and looked at Mr. Lenkins.

Mr. Lenkins said hesitantly "Sarah, I know it's been a rough time for you and your brother but I want you to know if you want to talk to somebody, me and the rest of the staff are here for you."

I nodded and replied "Thank you for your concern, Mr. Lenkins."

As if the grief counselors weren't enough. I have to see them twice a week now for who knows how long. I'm going to hate it because I wasn't good at showing my feelings before the shooting happened and I'm definitely not good at showing them now.

Ashley looked at me and asked "Why was he saying that you could talk to anybody if you need to? Did something happen to you or your brother?"

I answered shakily "He said that because I was in the shooting. I was in one of the classrooms that got attacked and 3 of my classmates got killed by the shooters."

Ashley patted my arm and said sympathetically "That's horrible. I hope that you could recover from that. Maybe they'll find the people who did it."

The police won't find the people who did it because they don't know who they are. Plus, as much as I hate Eddy, I don't want Ed to land in jail or Double D who pistol whipped Kevin or even him who attacked a classroom full of kids and killed three of them plus a teacher.

I replied with a small, sad smile "Thanks."

That one word, to me, meant nothing by now. I've had to say it all day to people who tried to comfort and console me. After the bell rang, I headed out with all the other kids. Most of them headed for the cafeteria while others went outside into the schoolyard. I went upstairs and into an empty stairway. I knew that hardly anybody took this staircase before, during or after lunch.

I thought sadly "I have to stay strong. I can't just stand against the wall and give up. If you can't stand with your ally, at least stand near them."

I curled my legs up as I sat against a wall in the stairway and tears began to run down my face. I softly wept for Kevin, May, Marie, Lee, Nazz, Ed…..every soul affected by the DA.

So that would be chapter quattro! I might as well give a little bit of information involving the DA: grunts are basically trainees or newbies that go through a somewhat lengthy period of training.

Benny: Sounds like a military rank.

Maybe! So review and say your thoughts!