Young Writers Society

 "Hurry up! I actually want to get to class, thank you!"

 Hayley was taking me to Music, a subject I loathed because I lacked the skill and interest to play a musical instrument. I was trailing behind, as we'd just climbed another set of concrete stairs, which was causing my legs to feel stiff and heavy. Being told to hurry up annoyed me. I'm in physical pain, could you please slow down?

 "Today would be lovely!" the flame-headed girl sang as she skipped ahead of me, twirling through the students that filled the drab corridor. "We wouldn't want to be late now!"

 "Ugh," I sighed as arms bumped into mine, making me feel like I was swimming against a strong tide. The noise that surrounded me consisted mainly of giggles from girls and shouts from guys who were calling to each other from different ends of the hallway, and I had to resist the urge to put my hands over my ears. The noise reminded me of back at my old school, where swear words were exchanged loudly between everyone and people cackled maliciously. It's not exactly the same, but the slight similarity made my shoulders hunch up protectively and my spine shiver.

 "Hey! Over here!" I heard Hayley call from ahead. Through the gaps between the bodies I could just see her, jumping up and down and waving her arm around in the hopes of catching my attention. She must have thought that I'd got lost or something.

 As I pushed through the crowd, hugging my notebook ever so tightly, I started to feel a sense of panic. I guess it could have been due to my fear of small spaces, or maybe my fear of large crowds. I started to breathe heavily through my nose, with sweat forming on my forehead and in the palms of my hands. Don't panic, my mind was telling me, but my pulse quickened all the same.

 I shut my eyes and kept walking. I didn't know where I was heading now, but I didn't care. I just wanted everything and everyone to go away. I wanted these feelings to go away. The scars. The memories. The pain. The trauma. I wanted it all to just disappear. I wanted to disappear. To not exist. To be something else. To be someone else. I just wanted it all to-

 "Hey! Are you okay?"

 My eyes snapped open when Hayley grabbed my arm. Looking around me frantically, I saw that the hallway had cleared, apart from the few students who were putting off entering class for as long as possible. How had I not noticed the crowd dissipate around me?

 "Jay, you're shaking!" Hayley said in a worried tone. I looked down at myself and saw that my legs and arms were shaking like mad. I hadn't even felt them starting to shake. Was I really that traumatized from my past experiences?

 "Do you need to go and see the nurse?" I heard her say softly. Yes, I wanted to say. Tell them that I'm sick so that I can be sent home. Please. I don't want to be here anymore. I'm scared.

 But the only thing I could say was, "No, I'm fine,"

 Hayley frowned at me, concerned. She obviously didn't agree with my answer, but she decided to leave it at that. I would probably do the same - no point in arguing about it.

 Once I regulated my breathing I gave her a slight nod, a sign that we could go into class. Yeah, I wasn't completely fine - my legs were still shaking slightly and the grip I had on my notebook hadn't loosened - but I wanted to seem like I was okay. I wanted to believe I was okay, even if it meant lying to others and lying to myself.

 Sometimes hiding the truth was always best.

 After going through the glossy green door to the classroom, I walked straight to an empty seat at the back. I didn't really feel like sitting next to loud and bubbly Hayley, who decided to take a seat two tables to my left. After what had just happened in the hallway, I'd rather sit on my own.

 To stop my mind thinking negative thoughts, I checked out the classes' interior. It was exactly the same as Creative Writing, only there were battered acoustic guitars hung up on the wall to my right and behind me. A navy blue door next to the blackboard looked as though it led to another room - perhaps one with computers and keyboards? I couldn't really tell, as all I could see through the small glass pane in the door was darkness. There wasn't any cobwebs outside the windows, at least. Watching spiders crawl all over the windows during my last class had crept me out too much.

 "Alright class!" a rather large man with a bald head and a black, well kept beard strode into the classroom, slamming the door shut behind him. It made me jump slightly. "Pencils out please! We're doing theory today!"

 Half of the class groaned as they picked up their bags to find something to write with. I never used a bag anymore, as my previous school satchel was ripped to pieces due to someone putting it in a wood shredder at my old school. Now, I just carried anything I needed in my coat pockets or in my hands. I actually found it easier than lugging a bag around, anyways.

 As I pulled the pencil that I had used in my last class out of my khaki parka pocket, I heard the boy to my right whisper "shit". Looking over at him, I saw he was rummaging around in his dark skinny jean pockets, his face showing frustration at not being able to find what he was looking for. "Come on, come on," he muttered, annoyed, before giving up and slouching in his chair.

 He appeared to be a cross between Hayley and Gerard, in terms of appearance. He had an all black outfit, with skinny jeans and a Ramones t-shirt adorning his body, and messy, black hair that reminded me of a birds' nest. His eyes were rimmed with thick, black eyeliner, making what would be a pair of dull green eyes appear brighter and more vivid. Black and white canvas shoes that looked like mine were loosely tied on his feet, with dirt and scuff marks covering the edges of them. I guess he was more punk than "emo", I think. I couldn't feel or see anything bad about this person, so I guess there was no harm in lending him my spare pencil.

 "Psst," I hissed, trying to get his attention. I succeeded, as he looked over with a puzzled look on his face. I then reached into the same pocket I had got my pencil from and withdrew another one, which I had sharpened just this morning. Extending it out towards him, I then whispered, "Would you like to borrow my pencil?"

 He grabbed the pencil without hesitation, then opened his notepad and started writing in it. He paused briefly to look at me, as though he were saying "thank you" with his eyes, then went back to what he was doing. He must have not been much of a talker, then.

 "Right!" the teacher clasped his huge hands together over his giant stomach. "Today, we'll be learning how to write music!" He then turned to the blackboard and wrote "songwriting" in block white letters. I quickly flipped open my butterfly patterned notebook and wrote the word down as a title at the top of the first blank page I could find. I may not be interested in this subject, but I should at least make an effort.

 The teacher babbled on about how every song starts with something, whether it be a lyric or a chord progression. He started to go more into it, but I couldn't really tune in. I ended up looking out of the window and observing the grey sky.

 Hold on, the sky was blue before, wasn't it? I'm pretty sure it was. That's why I decided to wear a light jacket today instead of my heavy yellow duffel coat. That's also why I put on my light blue bootcut jeans and my favourite tank top, which was red and had a cute grey tabby cat on the front. It may sound like a childish thing to wear, but I had got it for my birthday the year before from my big sister, who was the fashion guru of the family. When I wore this top, it made me feel like I actually looked good.

 Not only had the sky turned grey, but the clouds looked threatening and dark. Only an hour ago were they white and fluffy, almost like candy floss. The smiling sun was no longer visible, as it was hidden behind the dark brooding curtain that now floated in the sky.

 "Take note, everyone," the teachers' booming voice was distant to me, as I was too caught up in figuring this out. Where had all these clouds come from? My mum had even said that there would be no rain today, which backs up what Gerard said back in Creative Writing when I asked if there would be a storm. There wasn't one in the weather forecast, he had said.

 But you never know.

 "Excuse me, young lady!" the teacher shouted, his voice loud enough to snap me out of my thoughts. I looked towards him, and realised he was addressing me.

 "Sorry, sir," I mumbled quietly.

 "Apologising will not make up for wasting my time! I will see you after class Miss..." he trailed off, as he didn't know my name. "Whatever your name is,"

 Crap. Because of my stupid wandering mind, I got into trouble from the teacher... and on my first day as well!

 "Great," I muttered to myself.

 "Now, as I was saying," the teacher had started talking again, and already I had zoned out. My hand aimlessly dragged my pencil in circles around the lined page of my notebook, leaving behind a ghost-like trail. I was bored, needless to say.

 My boredom vanished, however, when my feet had started to feel tingly. Hold on, not tingly... like something beneath them was vibrating, and causing them to feel strange. I looked down at my black canvas clad feet, and didn't see anything beneath them that could be causing the strange feeling that I felt.

 So, what was causing it?

 I lifted one of my feet off of the floor, to see if I was just imagining things. Maybe I zoned out so much that parts of my body were falling asleep? Maybe they were getting pins and needles from the strain that I'd put legs through earlier?

 The answer to these were no... and I wasn't imagining things.

 The floor beneath the firmly planted foot was vibrating.

 My eyes widened, and I quickly looked around to see if anyone else had noticed it. To my disappointment, no one was reacting the way that I was, which made me think that all of this was in my head. Vibrating floors? Does such a thing even happen?

 It did. The floors' vibrations had increased greatly, making my desk shake slightly and causing it to make a buzzing noise. I hugged my knees to my chest out of instinct, scared and confused at what was happening. The chair that I was sitting on had started to vibrate too.

 What the hell was going on?

 "Sir!" I looked towards the front of the class, where a girl in square glasses and small pigtails had raised her hand. "Why are the desks shaking?"

 So I wasn't the only one who'd noticed? So I wasn't crazy?

 "Ignore it!" the teacher shouted at the whole class, who had started to whisper to each other about what could be happening.

 "An earthquake?"

 "No way! Maybe the government are drilling for oil under the school?"

 "That's stupid! It's probably the drama class downstairs."

 "We don't even have a drama class at this school!"

 My table was shaking more violently now, causing my pencil and my notebook to fall to the floor, making no sound as they hit the blue carpet. The chair I was sitting on was doing the same, and I hugged myself tighter, scared at what was happening. Was it actually an earthquake? Or am I just dreaming about this and this is all happening because of my fears of starting a new school?

 What if it's actually a storm?

 "Get under your desks!" I heard the teacher roar as he fled the classroom, and everyone in the class obeyed... except for me, who was paralyzed with fear at what could possibly be happening. What if I died today, just from coming to school? I didn't want to die. I'd went through so much crap in my life, and now this? I thought things were going to get better, but now I was going to die away from my family, and they wouldn't even know that I was dead... and they would never see me again... and I would never see them again.

 "Jay! Get under your desk!" I heard Hayley scream to my left, but I couldn't move. My arms squeezed my legs tighter to my chest, and I let my head instinctively bury itself in the small gap that was left between my collarbone and my knees. In that moment, I just let the tears fall, making a constellation of water marks on my top.

 I could hear people screaming now. They're just as scared as I am. They probably don't want to die either.

 Then a thought comes into my head... What if this is just nothing? Maybe it's just a drill the school practices for when an earthquake happens? No, that's stupid. A school wouldn't be able to afford to put a huge machine under the school just to practice earthquake drills, and the students wouldn't be screaming so terrifyingly loud if it was just a drill.

 "Oh my God, what's happening out there?!" I heard someone screech. When I lifted my head up and looked out of the window, I could see pieces of gravel and dirt scratching at the window, some even managing to cause cracks in the glass panes. I wanted to figure out what was happening, but everyone's panicked screams kept invading my head. I couldn't think straight anymore, especially after seeing what was happening.

 The whole room was shaking now, and it was taking a lot of effort just to stay on my chair. I wanted to go under the table, in case anything started to break off of the ceiling, but I couldn't. My limbs wouldn't move, even when I begged them to.

 A skinny man in a suit appeared in the classroom doorway, with debris and dust covering him from head to toe. He had a look of panic and urgency on his face. "You kids need to get out of here!" he shouted at us all. "Get out of the school now!"

 That's when the windows shattered.

 Everything just happened so quickly, that I didn't have enough time to even process it. Wind blew in through the gaping holes where the windows used to be, causing the broken shards to spin and fly throughout the whole room. I heard people scream in pain as they were cut and scratched by them. I was cut too, but not as bad as those near the windows. Those who were cut badly had their blood tugged and pulled out of their bodies by the wind, which decorated the walls in strings of dark red.

 The girl in the pigtails at the front of the class went flying out of the window, cracking her skull on the way out. I would have cringed at the crunch that her skull made if it weren't for the fact that the roar of the fierce breeze was filling my ears, and filling my head.

 The man who had came to warn us had fled after the windows broke, leaving us all here to fend for ourselves. I could see the boy who I lent the pencil to crawling out from under his desk and towards the classroom door. Was it a free for all? Was this now a case of stay and die, or flee and hope to survive?

 Others seemed to get the same idea as the boy, and tried to crawl to the door as well. I wanted to try and flee as well, but I was scared of having the same fate as the pigtail girl. I didn't want a gruesome death like that.

 The wall where the windows were supposed to be was ripped out of the building, making everyone scream and clutch on to the carpet for dear life. The sudden event made me fall backwards off of my seat. "Argh" I gasped as my head made contact with the hard floor. It felt like where I had bumped my head was pulsing, and it felt strange, yet familiar.

 Don't remember, I thought. There's a time and place for that, but not now!

 "Help!" I heard a few students scream.

 "No!"

 "Please!"

 "I don't want to die!"

 I still couldn't move, and it made me cry even more. This was it, wasn't it? Everyone here, including me, was going to die... and there was nothing we could do to stop it.

 The students that had attempted to follow the boy's lead were forcefully pulled out through the hole in the wall, all of them crying and screaming as they went, desperately trying to grab anything that could save them. It seemed that the boy had escaped, as there was no longer any sign of him. Either that or he was out there, among the blood and the glass and all of the broken brick and concrete.

 My table, as well as others, were pulled out next, along with the chairs. There was nothing left in the classroom apart from me, Hayley, and the other remaining students. I couldn't see Hayley, but I could sense her presence not too far from me.

 "Jay!" I could hear her scream, but it sounded muffled and dulled under all of the noise. "Don't move!"

 I felt like I was in control of my body again. I don't know how, or why, but I had came out of my shock paralysis. Maybe it's because I realised that my life was going to end? I don't know. One thing I did know was that Hayley maybe hurt and in trouble. If I can't live through this, I want her to.

 Her life was worth more than mine, anyway.

 I forced myself to sit up, and was met with a strong gust of air that hit the side of my face, causing my hair to whip wildly around me. A pungent and heavy smell crept into my nostrils, the likely source of it being from the red webbed walls that surrounded me. I didn't dare look, for fear of throwing up.

 The screams weren't as loud now. Only three of us remained, and none of us wanted to move. A boy was grabbing on to a leg of the teachers' desk, which was bolted firmly in place. That was a good decision on his part, as without the grip on that desk he would have joined the other unfortunates that were being thrown about outside. Hayley was holding on to a pipe that had become exposed when the wall was ripped out of the building. Her body was suspended in the air as she hung on for dear life.

 I could feel the strong gust pushing me towards the outside chaos, but I had to save Hayley. If I failed and died, or succeeded and died, then at least I died trying.

 Breathing as steadily as I could, I pushed myself forward into a crawling position. It hurt to put pressure on my legs, but I gritted my teeth and began to move towards Hayley. If I could just get her back into the classroom then that would be great. I'd probably be dead, but at least she'd be somewhat safe.

 "Jay!" Hayley had noticed me moving towards her, and she shrieked in protest against my actions. "Stay where you are!"

 I wanted to answer her. No, I'm coming to save you! But my mouth wouldn't open. I just kept pushing against the forceful wind that was trying to prevent me from getting to her.

 "No!" she shouted at me, frustrated, but I ignored her. I want to save her, despite the fact I barely know her and I fear death itself. I want her to see me as brave before I die, not as a coward who just lay on the floor and didn't do anything.

 Her grip on the pole was loosening, I could see that. She was likely getting weak from holding on for so long, and it didn't help that she was being pulled at an unbelievable force. Her face expressed fear, but her eyes showed that she wasn't afraid of the inevitable. Fearless is what I'd describe her as, if it weren't for the fact that we were in this situation.

 I was almost there. I just had to push myself further, just close enough that I could grab her hand and save her... but when I saw what was behind her, I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

 We were inside a tornado.

 "Jay, please stop!" Hayley pleaded with me, seeing that I had finally noticed the danger that we were in. "We'll both end up dead if you even attempt to save me!"

 "But I want to help!" I cried, tears pouring out of my eyes and down my cheeks.

 "There's no point-" she had began to say, but was stopped short as she was sucked into the swirling cyclone that raged outside. I screamed her name, before I lost sight of her.

 I crawled closer to the edge, trying to catch sight of her, to see if she was okay, but that was a mistake on my part. Being pulled into the twister felt surreal, like it wasn't even happening. I was flying one second, and then the next I was spinning uncontrollably. I couldn't tell whether I was upside down or not.

 My mouth was filled with dirt particles as I screamed in terror. Why was this happening? What had caused this?

 The last I thing I saw was a red, wooden desk soaring towards me, and then I blacked out.