I looked down and, while the situation was far from being funny, I wanted to laugh. That, however, was not an option. It hurt too much to breathe; laughing was out of the question. Breathing was the only aspect of my situation that was painful which confused me. I mean, what did that mean? Was this serious or non lethal? Without a doctor nearby I had to make a wild guess about my predicament, and it wasn't good. If this wasn't frightening enough, it would become far more serious in a few minutes.
Shouldn't have tried to break them up, I thought. It was just a schoolyard fight; they've been happening before me and will continue to happen long after me. But I had been obligated to step in. I'm a teacher for God's sakes. While that doesn't mean I have to break up every little scuffle I see, it doesn't mean I can sit by and watch one happen right in front of my classroom either. When they started to fight, I hurried over to them, not thinking about what I was doing.
"
I hate you!" the shorter boy yelled.
"Stay away from her!" the bigger boy, who I presumed to be the attacker, snarled.
I remember thinking, All this over a girl? Yeah, that makes sense.
Then the small one surprised me. He was the attacker and proved it by pulling a knife, hidden by his shirt, from his jeans. I stepped in between the two boys, trying to defuse the tension, but the boy's hand was already in mid-motion. I felt the blade sink in, and then....
The "then" turned into now, and I was staring at a handle protruding from my abdomen. Blood was oozing down from my body and into a puddle, and at the same time I noticed a putrid smell. Then I felt the wetness in my pants. I hear people screaming and crying around me and I tried to look at them, but the light was getting blurry.
"Mr. Aklor, someone's coming. Hold on," a young girl whispered into my ear. I ignored her. I didn't need anyone to tell me how serious my wound was, I already knew. The darkness playing on the edge of my vision closed in.
