The men were standing next to one another and the length of the double doors that separated the hall from the cafeteria. They were all dressed in black. Black hats. Black jackets. Black pants. And black shoes. Their faces were shown, and the man in the middle took a step forward.

"Hey!" he said loudly, his voice echoing throughout the place.

All the students immediately paused what they were doing, whether they were eating or talking, and turned their heads to the three guys. I gulped when I noticed that each of them had a gun and hugged Dejah. The lights from the ceiling reflected off the guns.

The man in front raised his gun and said, "Every person who is in this room will not be allowed to leave until I say so!" He pulled the trigger, and a shot was fired, causing a bullet to go through the ceiling. There was now a bullet hole. "Got it?"

My classmates's bodies shuddered, and some of their teeth chattered. I knew that they were fearing for their lives. So was I. I also knew that there were no adults in the room and would have facepalmed if I was not afraid.

The teachers are always late for lunch!

"I am the boss around here," the man continued. "If any of you idiots mess with me or my buddies or try something that you should not, then..." He chuckled darkly and wiped his gun with the sleeve of his jacket. "...well...somebody will die today."

I tried my best to not whimper and remained as calm as I could be. Dejah broke free from my hug and quickly hid under the table. I felt so sorry for her. In fact, I felt bad for whoever was being held captive in this room, including me. Nobody deserved this. Not even the bullies.

The man whom I was assuming was the leader strolled around and was grinning at each kid that he passed. "What we are here for and to do is plain and simple. My boys and I promise you that we will not kill you or your friends. That is, if you cooperate." He motioned the other two guys to head to the other end and walked over...

...to my and Dejah's table.

"Maybe I should kill one of you right now. Put a bullet through you." He reached under our table and pulled out Dejah. He was holding onto her wrist.

A tear ran down her cheek. "P-please..." she pleaded in a timid voice. "...l-let me go...please..."

"Sorry. No, wait. I am not sorry. You will pay for what your kind has done."

What her kind has done? What did he mean by that? I am sorry to say this, but I had a certain feeling that he was being racist. Why would he be threatening her directly and not the others?

Racism really needs to stop.

There was a small stage at the other end of the cafeteria, and the two men climbed onto the stage. One of them pointed a finger to the floor of the stage, while the other ordered, "All of you! Get on the stage and line up so that you are the length of this stinkin' stage!"

"But..." a boy piped up. "...there are too many of us. Not all of us can be up on that stage."

"Shut up!" the leader exclaimed angrily. He pointed his gun at the boy and pulled the trigger. I let out a terrified gasp and almost passed out. Thankfully, the bullet missed him by only an inch. "Did I tell you to talk? No! Now do what we say! Or I will put a bullet in all of you! Possibly more!"

That threat scared the crub out of us, and the students hurried to the stage and climbed up.

I was about to do the same, when the leader grabbed my arm. He still had a tight grip on my friend's wrist, and I guessed that his gun was somewhere deep in the pocket of his pants.

"Who are you?" he demanded. "Why did you sit with Dejah?"

How did he know Dejah's name? And why did he suddenly have interest in me? 'Cause of Dejah? What did he even want with her? To...kill her?

"She is a nobody!" Dejah protested. "She was sitting with me to annoy me!"

I knew that she did not mean that. She was only saying that to protect me.

The man glanced at her, shushed her, and turned his attention back to me. "Tell me your name."

I quickly played back some of my favorite Bible verses to get me to relax and answered him clearly. "Eleanor."

"Last name."

"Pier. Eleanor Pier."

"You know...you are a very attractive girl."

I gulped again and hoped that this guy would not make a move. He was right about me being attractive though. I had long, brown hair and was wearing a purple dress with red flowers and low heels that were white. Both my nails and studs were red.

"I will certainly let you see another day," the leader told me. "Just do what I say and get with those friends of yours." He let go of my arm, pulled his gun out of his pocket, and motioned with the gun in his hand for me to stand on the stage with my "friends."

My classmates were never my friends. They have always been my enemies.

Not having any other choice, I went to the stage and climbed up. I got on my feet and went to stand with the rest of the students.

The two men who were standing on the stage scrambled off and stood in front of it, smiling evilly at us. The leader put an arm around Dejah and dragged her to where his boys were.

The leader snorted. "Now...watch as I shoot and kill your fellow classmate named Dejah."

Oh, no!