Well this part is the sad part…
As we hurried towards the main building we already seen the crowd mobilizing in the main entrance.
"It is an odd time for the opening ceremony, don't you think?"
Jasmine was the one answering Ela's comment.
" I heard they postponed the ceremony for security reasons. Originally it was supposed to be held at noon sharp."
"What security reasons?"
I asked. Jasmine only shrugged. Were we in a spy movie or something? It was just a normal opening ceremony. Or was the school actually a cult. Hehe, my mind never disappoints in terms of stupidity. (at that time, I didn't know there could be even more wild things).
“C’mon, we should find empty seats.”
We let James guide while passing through schools of people, struggling like fish, to reach their unknown doom. Thinking about it now, it’s sad. Some poets would call it tragic even, or maybe this would be a comedy. After all, we were so eager and lively that is was laughable.
James found four empty seats for our luck (now thinking about it, we weren’t lucky to begin with).
The whispers of students were filling the hall.
“You know what’s this about?”
“No.”
“I heard there was a criminal on the loose.”
“What?!”
“Is he nearby?”
“Don’t joke around, they would tell us.”
“Maybe it’s a celebrity.”
“You are watching too much drama, dude.”
“Hey it’s my sister watching them okay?”
“I think it’s sweet that someone actually cares about their sibling, right Khalid?
“Hey stop pinching me! I get it already!”
.
.
.
Students continued on chattering. Usually the ceremony would start by now. But for some reason there weren’t any department heads to be seen.
Gabriela was looking around to see somebody.
“Who are looking for Ela?”
“Oh, my younger brother is starting this year.”
“What?! He got in? Ela, you should’ve told us. We should throw a party or something.”
“Well, I was going to but I guess he wanted to surprise everyone. Ah I see him.”
“The one on the front line, right?”
“Wow, He got taller.”
She chuckled a little.
“Are you afraid that he’ll outgrow you.”
“Whaaaatt? No way that little rascal could outgrow me.”
We laughed. In our group, none of us were very rich so we met during in an interview for scholarship. Ela was the only one among us smart enough to get a full scholarship but she always refused that notion. She would say, I’m just more motivated. Her older brother had left a gambling debt before her parents kicked his sorry ass out of house. As now oldest sibling in the house, she wanted to give her younger brother a better chance by lifting the financial pressure of college. With her full scholarship, her brother was able to apply and study here with only half scholarship. Wow, they were smart.
I guess I was the only one amongst them who had a relatively stable house environment. James had ran away to his aunts’ home after insisting on studying art. I didn’t know to what extend his father reacted, but it had to be pretty extreme for him to run away.
Jasmine’s parents were divorced and her gold digger mother would occasionally show up, asking for money. She said her mother framed her father and because of her now newly wedded husband was the judge, nobody could do anything. This was the prime reason why she wanted to be a journalist so badly.
Somehow, because of my poorly portrayed background, I was the luckiest among them.
But they didn’t let setbacks stop them. They fought for their future and only for theirs. Now all of us were in our dream school waiting to write our own destiny. That is why, it was so tragic.
Suddenly all the light went down. The hall was quiet as a graveyard with pitch black darkness swallowing us. This was the first time I realized something was wrong.
Where was the Principle?
Were we under danger?
“Don’t joke around, they would tell us.”
They would tell us…
Why weren’t anybody saying anything…
Ela, James, Jasmine?
Why can’t I see you?
Ah…
It was because of the little read count down.
I was staring at it, hypnotized like everyone else, petrified to be able to anything.
If I could look, maybe I would be able to see James ‘s and Jasmine’s hands intertwined as if their life depended on it.
Did they finally confess?
I wouldn’t know…
Only think I remember was Ela’s scream for someone…
She was the only one to make a move.
She decided to make the move towards the front line…
Front, was where the bomb exploded.
Hey mom… Don’t be sad please.
Ah, I must be crying. I can’t tell, I don’t feel anything but heat.
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