LOCKDOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, so we're in my favorite class ever, Theatre Arts, and we're doing a skit when the PA comes on....
~Flashback~
"After the shootings last week, I have to ask, do students feel safe at this school?" My English teacher asked.
The whole class responded with a yes.
"I think that unlike a lot of people who don't think it could happen at their school, we fully believe that it COULD happen here, but just think that it WON'T" I responded.
~End Flashback~
Were we ever wrong...
The PA announcement said we were under a code red lockdown, effective immediately. That means that there is a threat to the students and staff, a mysterious or suspicious person or even a student with a weapon.
Theatre arts is held in the Forum of our school, a depression of the concrete center of our building called the Mall ( Our school was originally several separate buildings, which they eventually built a roof over to enclose it and provide more inside space. This is the Mall). Basically, about 85-90% of the entrances to the school lead to the mall, which is doughnut shaped, with the theatre and the Gym in the middle.
We were the easiest targets for said person, who most likely had a gun. Immediately Ms. Affolter, the teacher grabbed her keys, told us to quietly follow her, and took off at a run towards the theatre doors. By the time we arrived, she had the doors open, and quickly sent us inside.
There we sat, in a room with perfect acoustics, like 8 doors, and no PA system for what felt like FOREVER... All I could do was curl up in a ball and cry, thinking I was going to live my greatest fear (BIGGER THAN STORMS) if that I will die in something like a shooting, and my family won't be able to get to me. The whole time I was thinking that the last things I said to my mom this morning were words of anger.
Finally we were told that the threat was prowling OUTSIDE the school, that we were safe, and being moved to the Randle room, which is like the ISS room not far from the theatre, but smaller and more secure.
So we were there in lockdown the rest of the day, even after the building was "secure" to only leave in emergencies, to be escorted to lunch and the bathroom in small groups.
What really pisses me off is that even before it was secure, during those tense moments in the theatre, when Ms. Affolter had her ear pressed to the door, trying to hear ANYTHING, that there were kids screwing around and laughing onstage, making more attention-drawing noise. Then when we were on lockdown there were kids messing around, being rowdy, yelling at the teacher like the whole situation was HER fault, making threats... the whole thing was bullshit. WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE! SOMEONE COULD HAVE DIED! (No one did, but you never know in that sort of situation) How can anyone be that stupid. It makes our little joking seem like the most mild of things.
I feel sorry for Ms. Affolter, who looked like she wanted to cry.
The story behind it all:
Supposedly this weekend there was some gang-related activity that was apparently centered around two individuals. One of them set out for East today with a gun to harm the other individual and anyone else in the vicinity. A parental figure who feared for their own safety too much to stop the child called the school and spent ten minutes getting through to a real person to warn them, instead of calling the police first. By the time the student was in the area, the school was locked down and cops were arriving. They had to find the kid and question everyone to figure out if there was more than one threat...
This is by no means a laughing matter, but when you're secure but still being held in an uncomfortable, windowless, aqua colored room with fluorescent lighting for FOUR HOURS you start to relax and joke, since you are in supposedly no danger.
Some rather funny quotes came out of it, some of them rather tasteless, but funny nonetheless. I guess when you're in a scary situation, you joke to try and make yourself feel better...
So at the risk of making this a LONGER journal than it already is, and offending people with our horrible quotes, I'll post them here.
(Each 1 line break indicates a different set of quotes. Quotes with no line breaks are groups, and lines with ** are sung)
"The walk back to the lunchroom won't kill us..."
"Actually, in this situation, it might."
"If we were in band right now, Dr. Eckel (band teacher) would be making puns right now, like 'Well, he took a shot at it...' and stuff."
"This is my last chance at love.... let's make a child!"
"Let's make a musical about this!"
"YEAH! LOCKDOWN: The Musical"
*There's a gunman outside the school*
"Oh no! Whatever shall we do?"
*Hit him with a shoe?*
*Throw him in the zoo?*
*Attack with a kazoo?*
"You've gone to the bathroom three times already. You have to go again?
"Before it was just my stomach and uterus... now it's just my bladder."
"The numbers on my credit card aren't black anymore..."
"Just like Michael Jackson!"
"You have to enunciate what you're doing clearly...."
"I'M READING THIS QUOTE NOW: "JUST LIKE MICHAEL JACKSON!"
"PAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
So yeah... that's insanely long, but I appreciate you reading it (if you did) I'm a very articulate person especially in stories like this...
(And on one last note... West High, the school across town, had a bunch of kids shoot the side of the school building with a BB gun, and drive away, and they were on lockdown, but not for as long... and their incident, which unlike ours did not require dozens of cop cars, theirs was on the news first tonight... someones priorities are messed up.)
I don't want to go to school tomorrow.
~Flashback~
"After the shootings last week, I have to ask, do students feel safe at this school?" My English teacher asked.
The whole class responded with a yes.
"I think that unlike a lot of people who don't think it could happen at their school, we fully believe that it COULD happen here, but just think that it WON'T" I responded.
~End Flashback~
Were we ever wrong...
The PA announcement said we were under a code red lockdown, effective immediately. That means that there is a threat to the students and staff, a mysterious or suspicious person or even a student with a weapon.
Theatre arts is held in the Forum of our school, a depression of the concrete center of our building called the Mall ( Our school was originally several separate buildings, which they eventually built a roof over to enclose it and provide more inside space. This is the Mall). Basically, about 85-90% of the entrances to the school lead to the mall, which is doughnut shaped, with the theatre and the Gym in the middle.
We were the easiest targets for said person, who most likely had a gun. Immediately Ms. Affolter, the teacher grabbed her keys, told us to quietly follow her, and took off at a run towards the theatre doors. By the time we arrived, she had the doors open, and quickly sent us inside.
There we sat, in a room with perfect acoustics, like 8 doors, and no PA system for what felt like FOREVER... All I could do was curl up in a ball and cry, thinking I was going to live my greatest fear (BIGGER THAN STORMS) if that I will die in something like a shooting, and my family won't be able to get to me. The whole time I was thinking that the last things I said to my mom this morning were words of anger.
Finally we were told that the threat was prowling OUTSIDE the school, that we were safe, and being moved to the Randle room, which is like the ISS room not far from the theatre, but smaller and more secure.
So we were there in lockdown the rest of the day, even after the building was "secure" to only leave in emergencies, to be escorted to lunch and the bathroom in small groups.
What really pisses me off is that even before it was secure, during those tense moments in the theatre, when Ms. Affolter had her ear pressed to the door, trying to hear ANYTHING, that there were kids screwing around and laughing onstage, making more attention-drawing noise. Then when we were on lockdown there were kids messing around, being rowdy, yelling at the teacher like the whole situation was HER fault, making threats... the whole thing was bullshit. WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE! SOMEONE COULD HAVE DIED! (No one did, but you never know in that sort of situation) How can anyone be that stupid. It makes our little joking seem like the most mild of things.
I feel sorry for Ms. Affolter, who looked like she wanted to cry.
The story behind it all:
Supposedly this weekend there was some gang-related activity that was apparently centered around two individuals. One of them set out for East today with a gun to harm the other individual and anyone else in the vicinity. A parental figure who feared for their own safety too much to stop the child called the school and spent ten minutes getting through to a real person to warn them, instead of calling the police first. By the time the student was in the area, the school was locked down and cops were arriving. They had to find the kid and question everyone to figure out if there was more than one threat...
This is by no means a laughing matter, but when you're secure but still being held in an uncomfortable, windowless, aqua colored room with fluorescent lighting for FOUR HOURS you start to relax and joke, since you are in supposedly no danger.
Some rather funny quotes came out of it, some of them rather tasteless, but funny nonetheless. I guess when you're in a scary situation, you joke to try and make yourself feel better...
So at the risk of making this a LONGER journal than it already is, and offending people with our horrible quotes, I'll post them here.
(Each 1 line break indicates a different set of quotes. Quotes with no line breaks are groups, and lines with ** are sung)
"The walk back to the lunchroom won't kill us..."
"Actually, in this situation, it might."
"If we were in band right now, Dr. Eckel (band teacher) would be making puns right now, like 'Well, he took a shot at it...' and stuff."
"This is my last chance at love.... let's make a child!"
"Let's make a musical about this!"
"YEAH! LOCKDOWN: The Musical"
*There's a gunman outside the school*
"Oh no! Whatever shall we do?"
*Hit him with a shoe?*
*Throw him in the zoo?*
*Attack with a kazoo?*
"You've gone to the bathroom three times already. You have to go again?
"Before it was just my stomach and uterus... now it's just my bladder."
"The numbers on my credit card aren't black anymore..."
"Just like Michael Jackson!"
"You have to enunciate what you're doing clearly...."
"I'M READING THIS QUOTE NOW: "JUST LIKE MICHAEL JACKSON!"
"PAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
So yeah... that's insanely long, but I appreciate you reading it (if you did) I'm a very articulate person especially in stories like this...
(And on one last note... West High, the school across town, had a bunch of kids shoot the side of the school building with a BB gun, and drive away, and they were on lockdown, but not for as long... and their incident, which unlike ours did not require dozens of cop cars, theirs was on the news first tonight... someones priorities are messed up.)
I don't want to go to school tomorrow.