As Aaron and I go to school we were both cramming for an English test first block. I was testing Aaron when the bell rang. We got to class and Mr. Applebom, our teacher, told us to take our seats quietly.
I was flying through the questions! It was one of the easiest tests ever. As I lifted my head to shake my hand out from writing I noticed that Aaron was having a difficult time. He looked at me and his eyes told me to help him, you know, cheat. I know it’s wrong but I had to do something, his mom would kill him if he failed. So I wrote answers down on a piece of ripped paper and throw it to him, but it doesn't make it. Mr. Applebom tells me to come to the front of the class where his desk was.
“Why are you cheating Niki?” he says to me “You are an A student. This isn't like you” Mr. Applebom says in disapproval. “I know” I say about to explain my story “but…” Someone came into the room. He was a man, tall, brown hair and dressed in black. I had never seen him before so I didn't pay much attention to him. He approached Mr. Applebom's desk. I assumed to talk to him, so I stepped away in order to give them privacy. Then the man pulls out a gun and shoots Mr. Applebom. My teacher is dead.
He was shot in the head. Blood was everywhere. He was dead. He was dead, I just kept saying it to myself but I couldn't grasp it. As I was standing there in shock I noticed that he used a muffler so I assumed other classes couldn't hear the shot. So many thoughts were running through my head. Should I surrender myself so I don’t get hurt? Should I run for safety? All I knew was that I didn't want to be the hero that dies.
I looked around to room. Some kids in my class had hidden under tables. Others were frozen with fear like me. The gunman turned to me pointing the gun at me. “You” he said “you go sit down, now!” he said it quietly but firm. I wasn't going to argue with him. As I was walking to the seat he turned around to the door. Closed it. And locked it. Now it was only me, a dead teacher, about 10 English students and gunman.
He started pacing back and forth at the front of the room. Almost like he was scared, I think he was crying too. But then he looked up and I realized he wasn't crying, but laughing. I was disgusted at this point. I wanted to stand up and punch him in the face. But I couldn't it go against my belief of no violence. I don’t hurt people I help them. I kept saying this over and over again until I had enough courage to talk. “Why are you doing this?” the entire class looked at me like I was crazy. But I wasn't crazy. I knew that if we were going to survive I had to get him talking. I knew if I was just given some time I could possible get him to stand down. There is sense in everyone. He slowly looked up at me. And stared, his eyes were squinting and glaring at me. “What did you say?” he asked me almost like even if I answered he didn't want to know. But I took a big breath and said it again “why are you doing this?”
It took all the strength in my body to talk to him. My heart was beating through my chest, my stomach felt like it just dropped through my entire body. It was that feeling that you get when give a big speech in front of a crowd but ten times worse. He looked at me again. “I’m not crazy you know. I have been thinking about this for a long time, I didn't just wake up and decided to do this” he said, in more of a calm voice this time. Almost as if he was trying to justify kill someone. “But why?” I ask I was so confused. I needed answers “why are you doing this?” I asked. He gazed out the window. “I went to this school you know” he said avoiding the question “I sat in these seats just like you, I was even smart. Top of my class” he said still gazing out the window. “I even had him as a teacher!” he said this as he quickly turned to Mr. Applebom pointing to him with the gun. “But why us?” I asked again “we don’t even know your name?” We heard a boy say from the back of the room. “My name is Jim” he said firmly, I could tell it hit a soft spot. “I went to this school, I was smart too, but only second in my class. A girl named Miranda was first” he was staring at me know. Like staring hard into my eyes. “She took everything from me I was runner up to everything. I suffered through four years of high school and she took my spot in college. No matter what I did I was always second. It made me feel like I was less than everything.” He was looking straight at me and his eyes and voice have gotten intense, and I knew exactly why.
It took me a few minutes to process but then it hit me. My mother’s name is Miranda, and she went to this school as well. That feeling that I had before, looked like paradise to me now. It felt like I had just swallowed pure concrete. I could now hear my heart beating in my ears. I had never felt this before and I hated it. He was still looking at when he said “And I am here to save anyone else from the pain I went through” he had a slight smile on his face and he had pure evil in his eyes. “Get up.” he said as he pointed the gun to me. I told myself to get up and in my mind I was standing, but my body was frozen with fear. He got aggravated with me and pointed to gun to a boy named Andy. He shot Andy in the head, he was now also dead. Then he pointed the gun back to me, “get up” he yelled. I was still frozen with fear I wanted to get up so bad but my brain couldn't send the signals to my legs. Aggravated again he pointed the gun at a girl named Cindy sitting in the front. He first shot her in the chest. She was on the ground still moving, then he shot her again, this time she was dead. Get up! I told myself get up before he shoots you! Why can’t I get up! What is wrong with me?! He pointed the gun back at me but instead of yelling at me he started to advance towards me. He was running actually. I looked at his with wide eyes and pushed myself back in my chair, thinking it would make a difference.
He pulled me too my feet. Thank god they actually work I thought to myself sarcastically. He put his arm around me, in a head lock. He started dragging me out the door. My feet were digging into the ground trying anything to slow him down. “Help!” I yelled “someone please help me!” I looked at Aaron as I was dragged out the door. “Aaron! Please! Don’t let him take me!” I couldn't yell anymore my throat was grasped too tight, and he was holding the gun to my head with his other hand. I looked at Aaron one more time with big eyes hoping he could read what I was thinking, before we were through the doorway.
He was dragging me down the hallway towards the front doors. At first I wonder why he didn't take the back steps, but then I thought to myself that he probably didn't care if anyone saw him. It was getting harder to breathe. I tried to break away from his head lock. I even tried biting him, but he was too strong, and my eyes were going black. We had reached the end of the hallways and we were almost out the front door, when suddenly I heard a voice, and it was Aaron. He was standing at the other end of the hallway and he looked furious. Jim stopped and stood up straight and loosened his grip a little bit. He didn't say anything he just looked at him like he was crazy. “let her go” he said to get the point across but not firm enough to upset him. He took the gun away from my head. I had a slight moment of relief because I thought he was going to let me go. But the head lock was still very tight. But my moment of relief was gone with the blink of an eye, because now the gun was pointed at Aaron.
Aaron, my best friend, my rock, the person that helped me through everything was now putting his life on the line for mine. Although it didn't seem to faze Aaron, he was still standing as tall as ever and he again repeated “let her go.” This time he was a little more firm, I could tell that Jim was getting irritated. “go away kid!” he said as he motioned the gun to the door. “You’re not a part of this” Jim was now dragging me out the door again walking away, but before we could get anywhere Aaron spoke again. “But I am a part of this!” he yelled trying to get his attention “I became a part of this the moment you dragged my best friend out of the class room” the gun was now pointed again at Aaron “I will kill you” Jim said this slowly and loud making sure Aaron understood exactly what he said. I looked over to Aaron shaking my head and looking into his eyes. I didn't say anything but I knew he knew I was telling him to go away. In the few moments that it took all of this to happen I had a thousand thoughts running through my head! Should I be happy that I might actually be saved, or should I be sad that his fate at this point is most likely a bad one? “Let her go.” He said once more, which was one more time than he should have said. Aaron had been shot.
“No!” I screamed on the top of my lungs. I was crying now but I didn't even realize it because of how furious I was. Again so many thoughts were running through my head, but I had to go check on Aaron! No matter what, I need to go see him right now. I followed my instincts and stomped on Jim’s foot, elbowed him in the stomach, and twisted his arm around so that he dropped the gun. He was so unstable so I put my leg behind his foot and pushed him backwards on the ground. I had now picked up the gun and was pointing it at him. In a flash of lighting I had gone from a captured, head locked, helpless girl to being the one pointing the gun! Everything was happening so fast and I needed to go help Aaron. So I shot Jim in the arm. I knew it wouldn't kill him but it would keep him on the ground. Pulling that trigger was like stabbing my soul one thousand times, I couldn't believe that I had just done that. I quickly ripped off the arm of my sweater and tied it around the wound. I then threw the gun over by the wall and started running down to Aaron. I kept running and running but it didn't seem like I was getting anywhere. It seemed like a never ending hallway, which didn't make any since because I walk down this hallway every day and it is relatively short. I finally reached Aaron as he lies on the ground. Oh God there is blood everywhere. But he was only shot in his shoulder. Oh my god he was just shot. What is happening! I got myself together for the sake of my best friend. I take off my sweater and start to put pressure onto the wound. It actually felt nice to just be wearing my tee shirt because I was sweating so much form the anxiety. “Don’t die on me!” I say to him while shaking him to keep him awake. “You are not allowed to die!”
I kept shaking him and it seemed to be working because his eyes were starting to widen and he was looking right at me. I knew that if he fell asleep he could die. I wanted to become a doctor so I knew what I had to do, but suddenly everything in my mind went blank. My eyes began to water and so did his. He slowly looked over to his shoulder and then looked back dissatisfied. “I don’t want to die” he whispered to me “I am only 17; I want to get married and have a life”. He said this slowly in a quiet tone taking short breaths in between his words. I started crying more now and my tears were dropping on his chest. He looked back into my watery eyes as I was still applying pressure to his shoulder. “I want to do all this with you” he said it in a whisper tone but it felt like he screamed it in my ear. I sat back on my heels and I was still crying. What was I to say to that? I looked back at his wound and it was still bleeding really badly. I saw a kid walking down the hallway. He stopped and just stared. I yelled at him “what the hell are you looking at? Call 911 kid!” he ran into one of the classrooms and I looked back to Aaron. “I love you Niki. I just wanted to tell you that before I died” he was gasping now and his eyes were growing weary. “You stop that right now!” I yell at him “You are not going to die! If you die I will never forgive you” my voice was getting higher and you could hear sadness in my voice. “I love you, Aaron, do you hear me? I love you.” I was screaming it at him. Anything to make him hang on a little longer. Thank goodness it started working and he was waking up again. I saw him look at me and a slight smile grew on his face. It was working we were going to get out of here alive and actually live a wonderful life together. I started to picture our life together in the future, now I started to smile. I looked down the hall only to find Jim standing a few feet away. I heard three shots. One of them was destined for my head.
Aaron never got this day out of his head. All of the day dreams, nightmares and overall thoughts were about this day. “It should have been me” he would say. He would go over the day in his head thinking of how he could have changed it. In the end he blamed himself for Niki’s death. He started that day trying to cheat and at the end of the day he did cheat. No, he didn't cheat on a test or exam, but something much bigger, he cheated death. And Aaron refused to be a cheater any longer.