Four Walls (Book One) ✔️

Chapter Sixty-One

I hear the gunshot as I open my locker.

Around me, my classmates panic. Craig Jones screams. Janelle Brooks starts to cry. Even Evan Miller looks like he's about to wet himself.

Principal Schutrick's voice sounds from above, warning everyone to relocate to a designated lockdown area.

I stand there, paralyzed, until someone grabs my arm and drags me down the hall.

"Layla, come on. Someone's got a gun. We have to move," Jose tells me.

I know that someone has a gun. I know that this is an active shooter situation, and that what I do in the next five minutes will save or end my life, but my limbs feel like puddy. My legs won't move fast enough. All I can think about is how I didn't shut my locker. I didn't shut my locker. I didn't shut my—

Jose lifts me off the ground and quite literally tosses me into an empty classroom. Several other students follow us. I watch, still frozen, as Jose locks the door and turns off the lights.

"Everyone, stay down. Keep away from the door and the windows," he commands.

"You know a lot about this," Shenae Cassidy, a girl from my AP English class, comments.

Jose shrugs his shoulders. "My dad was in the army. My sister and I have been prepared for this since we were in diapers."

I, however, am not prepared for this. I lean against the wall and close my eyes.

I dig my phone out of my pocket to send Damian a text, only to find that the device is dead. I forgot to charge it last night.

Last night. When Damian and I almost kissed.

The memory is enough to snap me back to reality. I look around the dark room and take in the six faces that surround me. Along with Jose and Shenae, I recognize Wesley Ward, Cordelia Carpenter, Rob Blanchard, and Elowen McCurdy. With the obvious exception of Jose, I barely know them. Cordelia is rich and popular. Rob is on the football team. Wesley is a mathlete. The only reason I remember Shenae and Elowen is because the three of us have English together.

Our graduating class only has sixty students. How do I know so little about these people?

I have a sinking feeling that this experience is about to bring us closer together.

The seven of us sit in silence. Jose has his fists balled, like he's ready to jump into battle. Shenae tucks her knees to her chest. Wesley taps his fingers against the floor. Rob clutches his cell phone so tightly I fear it's going to turn to dust in his hand. Cordelia has her arms wrapped around her torso, a fearful expression on her face. Elowen shoves her hands into the muff pocket of her sweatshirt and closes her eyes.

"My mom must be in a panic," Wesley says, shattering the tense quiet. "We live right down the street. I'm sure she saw the cop cars."

"Will the school call our parents?" Shenae asks.