Book of Stories Long and Short

Comfort

Warning! This chapter contains mentions of police officers and weaponry.

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They were in math class when it happened. The bullet shot through the window, causing students to start screaming. They frantically ran towards their designated lockdown hiding spot as the teacher ran towards the door, locking it, then running to lower the blinds on the window.

Though everyone was in a panic, one particular student had it the worst. Samantha's parents never got along and constantly argued. Some fights involved verbal abuse, many contained weapons of some sort. The past incidents resulted in her extreme fear of firearms and loud noises.

Samantha had survived the first few minutes of the lockdown. She managed to calm herself down enough to convince herself that the gunshot had fired by mistake.

However, the shouting from police officers outside fueled her worst nightmares. Samantha's heart started to race.

Her breathing got rigid, and her hands began to shake uncontrollably.

Samantha's behavior did not go unnoticed as some of the other students in the classroom slowly huddled closer to her. She recognized one of them as her best friend, Linda.

"Sammy, hey.. Everything's ok. You're safe." Linda consoled her.

Another student, Walter, pulled a bottle of water from the teacher's stash behind the cabinets they were hiding near and placed the bottle on Samantha's forehead in an attempt to cool her.

Samantha eventually calmed down enough to exchange a few words with Emily, the school's mini therapist. She informed Emily of her troubles at home, and Emily pulled her into a soothing embrace.

Around fifteen minutes later, the officers had caught the shooter and arrested them.

The lockdown ended, and everyone went home.

Before Samantha left, she embraced Emily, Walter, and Linda while thanking them for what they did for her. "Thank you, guys.. Really. You're all amazing." Then she sniffled and walked home.

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Word count: 317

Author: Norris James