8:26

The cacophony of the first period bell rings and everyone rushes out of our classroom to make it to their second period.

All around me kids are spread around, opening lockers, kissing their lovers, dropping their books. Nobody wants to go to class but me. My second period is my favorite place to be in the whole world. Dance.

The feeling of spinning on my toes and leaping in the air makes my heart flutter. Not only do I get to do my passion for an hour everyday, but I get to be with my favorite people in the world. All of my best friends are in that class; Autumn, the most beautiful and talented person in the word who also happens to be sweet as pie. Despite her popularity and my nerdiness, she has always been the one to pick me up when I am down.

Then there is Fia, Corey's girlfriend. Fia is one of those girls who does whatever she wants whenever she wants and if you get in her way you end up with a bloody nose. She is the one who if I ever ran off on some crazy adventure, I would take her with me. I love everything about her: her puffy brown afro, her dark eyes, her craziness.

Corey. Autumn's boyfriend. Now I know that I said that Fia was dating Corey but the truth is, nobody really knows who is dating who. Corey is in love with Autumn but Autumn and Fia are inseparable. I think that Fia fell in love with Corey and that Autumn was actually ok with it. The best way I can describe their relationship is "the trinity." On dates they have three seats instead of two. Anyways back to Corey. He is just as nice as his girlfriend and the most loving football player in the whole school. When I was thrown in the dumpster behind the cafeteria, Corey pulled me out.

And finally there is Barret, or as I call him for short, Barry. He is the perfect friend. His dark brown hair complements his hazel eyes plastered on his porcelain face. In his tall, strong stature, Barry is the epitome of perfection. I would totally be in love with him, but we have so much in common. One thing being that we both like guys.

But I am totally fine with being his best friend though, if it means I get a totally plutonic cuddle sessions on movie nights. Tonight is one of those nights; it's my birthday.

Now I'm not one of those people who think everything is always rainbows and unicorns, but today I am just in a good mood. I speed up my stride in order to get to class early. The stomp of my feet echo even in the crowded hallway. I reach for the door handle if my second period and walk in, leaving the door open behind me.

The moment I walk in I see Corey. He waves his hand at me and I wave back. I scan the room for Barry and am disappointed when I don't see him.

He's probably doing his hair, I say to myself.

That is when it happened. The first shot rang out. The sound is deafening. After the shot came a scream. I turn around towards the open door that leads to the hallway.

BAM! BAM!

Two more shots. Now Corey is in front of me, hauling me away from the door. He then closes it and moves a bookshelf in front of it with help.

Mrs. Green, our dance instructor, turns out the lights and tells everyone to be quiet. We all duck behind desks, chairs, and dance props. More screams are coming from outside and more shots ring out. I jump in my seat on the floor. I feel tears burn my eyes and terror builds in my chest.

"Oh god," says Corey. "Autumn and Fia."

"Oh god," I say my voice shuddering with hyperventilation. "B-Barry."