Behind The Scenes

Okie Dokey! I wrote this passage a LONG time ago in like a 10 or 20 minute writing session. I was in my english class, and my teacher told us a writing exercise. You sit down at your desk you think of an idea, and you write somthing all in one sitting. Well, for some reason the idea of a school shooting was on my mind. I think it was because I dreamed of a girl shooting people at my school/church a few months before. (it really was one of the most terrifying nights of my life, especially because some of my dreams come true) Anyhoo, I got the urge to write, and when I finally sat down this is what happend. Well, close to this has been edited just a little bit, but still a really LONG time ago. I hope you enjoy it. It really feels close to my heart, and I have been told that the emotions feel quite real, so in the even that what I have been told is true. Strap yourself in! It's gonna be a bumpy ride.









Kim walked sluggishly down the hallway, bumping into people she had never met. Three years at this highschool, she should know most of them. They were people she walked past everyday. The same faces in the crowd, filled with worry about their grades or about trouble at home. Penelope had always been her crutch. She was the only friend she ever had since grade school. They had met in 4th grade. Kim had always been the outcast, but Penelope had been a shining light amongst the darkness. She was the only one who greeted Kim in their old school. She was the only one to take time out to care about her.
Those memories pierced Kim's heart like a double-edged sword. She fought back tears as she hurried to the girl's bathroom. The memory of screams flooded back into her mind. People were running, fighting for a way out. Kim slipped tossing her books across the floor as she fell to her knees, but it didn't stop those memories. The chaos in her mind began to increase with each passing second.
Kim reached for her neck. It wasn't there!
"NO!" whispered Kim.
She searched the floor frantically. Crawling and patting every square inch of the tile.
"The necklace, the necklace..." whispered Kim. "No, NO!"
Kim began to cry as she searched, "WHERE IS IT? no, no, no, no."
A boy came over to try to calm her down, but as soon as he touched her, the most horrible memory of all came flooding into her mind.
He had had a mask, but she would never forget that voice. He had grabbed her arm and flung her across the room knocking her head against the wall. She remembered the blood trickling down her face and the gun pointed at her. The thoughts of that day swirled inside her head, then she remembered the gunshot.
For a few seconds, her mind was a cold empty pit, but then Penelope's dead body flashed before her eyes. The intense emotion that flooded back was more than she could handle.
Kim snapped back into reality to the words of the boy, "It's ok. Calm down."
Kim's eyes were dull and cold, her face was pale. The boy reached for her arm again, but she moved and pushed herself against the wall.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!!!!" she screamed. "NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!"
Kim pulled herself into a tight ball as she tried to block out those horrible memories, but the images kept flashing before her eyes.
Teachers came running into the hallway trying to calm the frantic student.
Then a young man came running down the hallway. He pushed his way through the crowd that had formed. He grabbed her hand and pushed something into them.
Kim's scream caught in her throat. The feel of the cool metal in her hands brought back the tears, but it had stopped her screams. She opened her hands to find the necklace. The beautiful silver flashed in the sunlight. She clutched it next to her heart as the nurse gently coaxed her off the floor.
Before she walked off she turned and whispered, "Thank you, Rueben."
He nodded his head to her as she walked off.
Rueben had been down the hallway when he had heard her scream. Immediately he knew it was the necklace. It was the only thing she had that tied her back to reality. Without it the horrifying memories invaded, he had seen it happen twice before, but this time had been the worst.
The bell rang and all the teachers and students picked up their things and hurried off to their classes. Rueben swung his backpack over his shoulder and walked down the long hallway toward the nurses office. His only hope was that they would let Kim stay in school. "Only one more week," he thought. "One more week and it'll be summer."








I often times want to add to this and give it a more happier ending, but I realized not to long after writing it that the purpose of this passage isn't to give a wonderfully constructed story. It's purpose was to make the audience FEEL the pain and mental anguish. To realize that there's more than just the outside. There's more going on "Behind the Scenes". So, if you wish there was a happier or more fulfilling ending. You're not the only one! I wish it to, but I was in such a different place in my life when I wrote it that I honestly don't know how to even begin. Perhaps, one day I'll write a continuation of Kim's story, because I think she deserves her redemption. I guess you'll just have to wait and see. =]