The squeak is every so often. A faint, high-pitched echo that follows me in the halls. I keep hiding in alcoves and doorways, only to have the noise stop. I leave and it starts again, immediately.
This happens five times before I finally realize it’s my own sneakers.
My legs shake and I slide down the wall. My breath is heavy and shaking, the soft pants only drowned out by my own pulse in my ears. Or is that just the blood rushing through my body? I feel like I read that on the internet somewhere.
What am I doing? I should be going to the nearest classroom. Hiding against the wall with the rest of whatever class I find. Not running down the hall with my squeaky sneakers announcing my every movement. But if Lucy doesn’t have her meds…
A new shiver rolls through my body. I have to check her locker. If she has them, I can follow protocol, wait for the police. Surely she has them, she had me bust the lock this morning. But I need to double-check. In and out. No big deal.
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I stick my head between my knees and take a long, deep breath. “In and out. No big deal.”
Gunfire echoes and I can’t tell if it’s near or far. Screams follow, then laughter. Shudders rack my body instantly and my breath comes out in thin little wisps. “In… and… out.” The words tremble on my lips. “No… big… deal.”
Another pop and another scream. I block my ears with my hands and keep trembling. I don’t know how long. Finally the gunfire stops, but I can’t stop shaking. Even as I sit up, my spine chilled by the cold glass, my whole body vibrates. Is the gunfire coming from the same direction as Lucy's locker? I am pretty sure it is the opposite but the way those pops echo and bounce off the painted brick… Slam!
A heavy, hollow thud interrupts my thoughts. My scream reverberates back to me, over and over. A tiny knock makes me shriek again before I realize the noise is behind me.
I whirl around to find Angela glaring at me through the small hallway window.
