A Ghost of A Smile

Chapter 12: 9/11/01

That morning had started normally. I woke up at five thirty, got to school by six thirty. But when I got there, the place looked deserted. A sign in the office window told students and staff to go directly to the cafeteria. My footsteps echoed off of the silent halls as I walked towards the wooden double doors. They opened with a huge creak, but nobody turned. Every single persons eyes were focused on the big screen at the head of the room. It was turned to the news. From here I could only see two words on that screen.

New York.

Jason.

I sprinted to the huge crowd of kids sitting, standing, and huddled in little groups at tables. Lori saw me and grabbed my arm, pulling me to her spot where she had a clear view of the screen.

"What's going on?" I whispered. Her face was a look of horror, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Terrorists, they just hit the world trade center in New York." My heart stopped beating.

"Have you heard from...?" I couldn't finish the sentence.

"No." Travis appeared and put his arm around Lori, "We haven't." I dropped my bag and pulled out my phone. It rang, and it rang, and it rang.

"Hey it's Jason. I can't get to my phone right now so leave a message." I groaned in frustration and redialed. This time it went straight to voicemail.

"No, no, no." I screeched. Still, nobody turned. My head fell into my hands. My eyes were wet. A hand rubbed circles on my back.

"His plane was probably delayed. He's probably hiding out at the airport, safe." Lori whispered in my ear. I shook my head.

"I don't know." Redial. Every two minutes, I redialed. Nothing. Eventually, I stopped.

We all sat there for hours, eyes glued to the television as each plane connected with a building. Only one got steered off course and landed in a field somewhere where nobody but plane passengers were harmed. It was awful. There were daycares in those buildings, people with jobs and families and people who loved them. Those planes held people from all over the country, all over the world. All dead. I closed my eyes.

Another hour went by. A buzz in my bag caught my attention. I reached down and retrieved my phone. It was a late voicemail that had been sent hours ago.

"It's from Jason!" I whispered in excitement to Lori. She smiled at me, then turned back to the TV. I stood up and walked a few feet away from everyone to listen.

"Hey Trin!" He said joyfully. I didn't care that his voice sounded far-off and robotic, it was his voice, "I'm so sorry but my family decided to stay for a few more days to see this show opening up in Broadway." I stopped breathing, "I'm coming home this Saturday. I'm so sorry I'm gonna miss our anniversary. Please forgive me, I hope we can celebrate when I get home." Oh god... oh god oh god oh god, "Anyways, we're doing a little sight-seeing today. We're headed towards the Empire State Building. Hope I don't fall off." He joked. I almost laughed, but I couldn't.

"Oh god, no." I whispered. Nope, he was fine. He was hiding right now.

"We're walking past the World Trade..." My heart stopped, and my blood froze, "What the hell...?!"

A crash. Screaming. An explosion.

Jason screamed. He screamed my name. And then there was a sick crunch. And then the line went dead.

I screamed. I screamed bloody murder. I screamed so loudly that every head in there turned to look at me. I threw my phone across the floor where it skidded to a stop under a table. My knees felt weak, I felt sick. Tears sprung up and I started crying hysterically. Hands grabbed for me as I fell to the floor and curled up in the fetal position, still screaming.

"Trinity!" Lori yelled in my ear. I turned my face to where she crouched next to me.

"He was right there. He was right there!" I cried. She held me tightly.

"What happened?" She asked, eyes intent on my face.

"He was there!" I repeated, "He was there when they hit the trade centers. They blew him up!" Lori turned white, and a lot of people gasped, "I heard it." I cried. Tears flooded my mouth.

"What?" Lori breathed.

"I heard him scream." I whispered to her, "I heard him when he died!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. Lori pressed my head to her chest, holding me close. She hummed a melody, but it didn't calm me. Nothing did.

I had listened as the love of my life was murdered. The last thing he had said was my name.

Jason was dead.