"Dwayne, you're right and wrong. First, you're right in that I had Mrs. Baker transcribe the book for me, I think she probably had her students do it. But there's no need for taunting Tony, and both of you, watch the fucks, okay?"
"No problem, man. From now on, I give zero fucks," Tony replied, earning a laugh. I had to admit, the kid knew how to play with meanings, and it was a decent joke. I let it drop. I’d learned to let a little slide with this group. If not, nothing would ever get done.
"Well, in that case, Tony, take a look at the overhead if you don't mind," I continued. "I took the liberty of formatting the text and scanning the comic you were assigned to read. But, I took out the text itself, so now we've only got pictures. All right, everyone, we're going to go together through the book, each of us being the voices of the various characters. Dwayne, since you apparently read the assignment, I'm giving you the biggest . . .”
My instructions were interrupted as the school's alarm went off, followed immediately by the three beeps that sent chills down my spine. The three beep alarm was implemented the year before and meant one thing. School shooter.
"Everyone down, under the desks!" I called, going to the door. I threw the lock and shoved the bookshelf in front of it. Frankly, it sucked as an effective barrier, but it was better than nothing. "We've got a gunman on campus."
"How the fuck do you know that? I ain’t heard no shots!” someone behind me called, and I didn't have a chance to answer when we heard a few pops, sounding ridiculously quiet and innocent considering the deadly intent, rattled off somewhere in the school. "Never mind."
It was perhaps the one blessing of having the students I did for that period. Fifteen boys, ten of them known gang members, and almost all of the students coming from backgrounds where gunfire was unfortunately all too common. There was none of the panic I could’ve expected from my fifth period class, an Honors English group that was mostly girls from the 'good families' in town.
Instead, when I glanced back, I saw every student crouched down, their eyes on the narrow window that gave us some view of the hallway. They were quiet, tense and ready to move as soon as they thought it was safe. If we hadn't been on the second floor of the building they probably would have already been out the window that gave us a decent view of the outside. I reached next to the door and flipped the switch on the intercom, connecting me to the office as we'd drilled.
Unfortunately, the office was in a lot more uproar than my class. There were screams and yelling, while we could hear as reports from other classes filtered through second hand. Someone was crying, and I could only hope there was someone in the office who was still in control of their senses. "Swagger here. Room secure."
Another couple shots shattered the air, and I heard a few of the students whimper in fear. This wasn't the uncontrolled shooting they'd maybe heard in a gang fight or the single spurt of someone messing around near an arroyo showing off or even practicing. It was controlled, disciplined, and repeated. I knew what it was.
"Shit," I muttered under my breath. While I couldn't know for sure, there was a chance that I'd drawn Victor Pinzetti to me, the man pushed over the edge by my use of Albertine on him. If I caused this, I don’t know if I’d ever be able to forgive myself. If it wasn't him, then things were still bad, and I couldn't stay in the room any longer. "Dwayne, Tony."
"Yeah?" both answered, looking up at me nervously. I noticed that Tony had flipped his desk over, putting the desktop between him and the door. A good idea, though pretty useless overall.
"Keep everyone in here. Lock the door behind me."
Tony didn't move, but Dwayne came up next to me, helping me move the bookshelf out of the way while still staying crouched. "You sure about this?"
I nodded. "Don't worry. After all, if I get shot, who's going to bust your ass over your homework?"
"Shit man, you're the only teacher who gives me homework that I might actually do once in a while," Dwayne whispered back.
I clapped him on the shoulder, unlocking the door. It was quiet outside, and I opened the door quickly to look out. The hallways were clear, but there was still a lot of screaming coming from what sounded like to my left, maybe on the first floor. "Here I go."
I ran out into the hallway, pausing only to listen as Dwayne closed the door and threw the deadbolt behind me. I was alone in the halls, in a surreal setting where everything looked peaceful, but only just around the corner death could be waiting for me. Saying a quick prayer to whatever deities were listening, I headed off in that direction.
Chapter 29
Cam