Wednesday

Jack was one of the jocks at Worcester High School. He played football, basketball, baseball, and ran track. He was a very gifted athlete and was good at anything he tried. It didn't matter what he did, he was a stud. All the girls in the school drooled over him and wished that he didn't have a girlfriend. He was just like any other seventeen-year old boy, just trying to get through school with the least amount of effort. He was good about showing up to class, but he didn't pay attention. He only had a couple worries in his almost perfect life, and something in his gut was telling him that his worst nightmare was about to come true.

Emma was known as the class brain; she was always studying and doing homework. Her junior year had been the worst so far. All the teachers were drowning her with homework everyday. It didn't matter how much the teachers gave her, she always seemed to have it done the next day. Emma was working really hard to get into a good college; not only did she want to get into a good school, she hoped for scholarships. Her family wasn't the wealthiest in Worcester, and everyone knew it. As the school workaholic, Emma was very lucky to have scored the perfect boyfriend, Jack. They had been dating for almost a year and a half, still going strong. People realized from their relationship that opposites really do attract. They kept each other in line. Emma helped Jack with his school work, and he helped her live a little. They were perfect for each other. Little did they know, things weren't going to be perfect forever.

High School is full of cliques; everywhere you look you see a different one. Acting different, dressing different, talking different, or not talking at all. Ted belonged to the group that didn't talk very much. They all kept to themselves. Their clique consisted of about six guys, depending on the day. These boys didn't feel the need to come to school, so they didn't. Ted was different though, he came to school mostly every day. Granted he didn't want to be there, he still came. Ted and his group had the emo look mastered. They dyed their hair jet black, pierced their ears, painted their fingernails, and wore black clothes. A lot of the other kids were somewhat scarred of them. Ted didn't care what anyone thought about him, he had other things on his mind. Ted's father had recently committed suicide due to depression. Ted's mother was worried that Ted was headed down the same path based on his behavior lately. She knew something was wrong, but she had no idea.

The week was going by very slow. It was only Wednesday, but it felt like it should be Friday. Everyone was tired and didn't want to be at school, just because of the fact that it was school. No one knew that this was going to be the worst Wednesday of their lives.

The bell for the end of first period had finally rung. Everyone scattered out of the classrooms and into the halls, getting ready for second period. Jack and Emma had second period together, chemistry. They met at Emma's locker and walked to class together everyday. Today Jack was later than usual and this worried Emma a slight bit. When Jack finally showed up the worry was gone.

Just as the tardy bell was about to ring, a girl screamed so loudly the whole school could hear her. No one knew what she was screaming about until they heard a sound that no one ever wanted to hear in their school, a gunshot. The teachers started yelling at the kids to get under the desks and away from the doors to give them better protection. This wasn't going to protect anyone for long, as the gunshots kept going off and more and more people kept screaming at the top of their lungs. Just as quickly as Emma's worry had disappeared, it immediately returned.

Jack, now holding Emma's hand very tightly, pulled out his cell phone and dialed 9-1-1. The receptionist asked what the emergency was, and Jack replied as calmly as possible that there was someone shooting in the school. The receptionist was now very shaky and asked him who the gunman was shooting. Again, as calmly as possible Jack said, "Everyone," and hung up. The lady who had answered the phone sent out a Code Red to all the police officers. Code Red was the highest code that someone could call. It meant that all police officers were suppose to stop what they were doing immediately and listen for directions.

The receptionist said over the intercom, "There is a school shooting going on at Worcester High School, and all available units must report to the scene." When she got done with that one, she got on the telephone and made another call. This time it was to the hospital. She said, "We're going to need ambulances at the high school and beds ready, there's been a school shooting."

The chaos was still going on with the gunman shooting, getting closer with each shot. Students were still screaming and trying to make a break for the door to escape.

"What do we do??" a boy shouted.

"Run!" Another kid said.

Some made it, others didn't. The police sirens were getting louder now and this brought some hope to the students that were still hiding behind desks. "We're not going to make it out of here if we stay any longer," Jack told Emma. The gunman was right next door. They were going to take a chance and run to get help. Emma was in tears. She was so scarred. Jack knelt down beside her and said, "Time is running out and you need to trust me now more than ever."

"I do," she sobbingly replied.

Emma made a break for the door with Jack. They were running as fast as they could, hearing more gunshots as they ran to the nearest stairs. Not looking back, they ran down the stairs looking for help. By this time mostly everyone on the first floor had exited the school. A few were still on their way out the door. Right when Jack and Emma were a couple feet from reaching the door a cop came through it.

He was screaming, "Where is he?" over and over to everyone that walked by him. Most kids were in shock and just kept running for safety. When the policeman reached Jack and Emma he shouted again, "Where is he?"

Jack stopped in his dead sprint stopping Emma with him, and said, "He's upstairs, he's shooting everyone."

The police officer pushed the two out the door and said, "You're safe now."

A different policeman, who was trying to direct chaos outside, told Jack and Emma to get away from the doors they had just come out. They listened to what he said, and now all they could do was wait. Wait until the policeman came out with the shooter or with no one at all.

Officer Dan, the one that had run into Jack and Emma, was now sprinting up the stairs. His own gun was drawn and he was looking for the shooter. Looking for him was very difficult because there was homework flying everywhere, and smoke at a standstill. Dan was going to have to listen for the shooter's gunshot to be able to find him. He was now up the steps and could see all the horrors already. There were bodies lying on the floor in every direction they looked. Dan was going to have to look past all of this so he could prevent added bodies.

All of a sudden the shooting stopped, and Dan heard a boy yell at the top of his lungs. Immediately, he ran as fast as he could in search of this scream. When he found who the scream had belonged to the boy was curled up in a ball beside the lockers. When Dan has reached the boy he asked him, "Where have you been shot?" The boy sat there for a few seconds, unresponsive. Dan asked the boy again, "Where have you been shot?" This time the boy sat up and lifted up the left side of his jacket. There was the gun that had been shooting everyone is sight for the last twelve minutes. Dan stood up as fast as he could and yelled at the boy, "Put down the gun, now!" The boy did as he was told and Dan and put him into handcuffs. The next thing Dan did was spoke into his walky talky, "I've got the shooter, and I'm bringing him out now. Everyone else get inside the school to help the victims that have been shot."

As Dan stood the boy up he only said one thing, "They deserved it."

The door to the school had opened. Dan led the boy to his police car. As they were walking all the kids outside stood in shock. They realized the shooter was Ted.

"I knew the kid was a freak," one of the boys had said.

"How could you such a thing?" a mother yelled at him.

After a couple of hours after Dan had taken Ted away, the chaos had slowed. The police were counting how many had been killed and how many had been wounded. When they finally got done counting there had been eleven killed and seventeen wounded. Families were now changed because of Ted, and some had fewer members than when they woke up that Wednesday. Others were thankful that the worst hadn't come to them. This was the one day that kids were going to remember for the rest of their lives.