I sat in the detective's office awaiting my trail, which was soon to come, I hope... I know I shouldn't have done it, but I did. People did get hurt making my case worse than it actually is. But no one is listening to me, so it doesn't matter. I have heard rumors on what people think happened; no one has bothered to ask me. I keep going over what happened before they got hurt, every time I forget, I think of something, or nothing at all, and I'm reeled right back in.

            I remember screaming, people yelling 'GUN!' or maybe it was 'RUN!' To be honest I would have run too if two people were running through the halls with handguns. Johanna was leading the way her dirty blond hair flying back towards me, her hysterical laughter piercing the air. As one of the most popular and meanest girls in the school I don't blame people for streaming out of our way, she looked terrifying. She was wearing her combat boots and black t-shirt with 'I'm MAD as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore' written in red on it. She also had her short shorts on with red tulle sewn on to the back so it drapes out behind her like a cape, her makeup was done up like a scary doll from a horror movie. In comparison, I looked like her lame sidekick in my jeans and sneakers, in fairness though she had spiked up my hair and much to my embarrassment put eye liner on me and ripped my black shirt a bit near my neck, so you could see my collar bone.

"That's Right! Run! Run For Your Lives!" she had screamed followed by a laugh that hadn't sounded human, or at least belonged in the same horror movie, with the rest of her outfit. While she was cackling the loud speaker came on and announced the 'code red situation' and that we had guns. As if everyone didn't know already. Beside we weren't intruders we were students at this school. She took a right turn into the socials classroom we were supposed to be in, only for us to almost hit the closing door. Johanna twirled at the last second avoiding a collision, I was not as lucky as I ran all, 150lbs of me, hitting the door.

I had stumbled gracelessly into the class room only to find it empty. Johanna waltzed in behind me looked around and whined that these people were no fun. As I started to leave the room Johanna pulled me back in and closing the door with her foot all in one motion.

"I see you! Come on out losers!" I turned around and heard a gasp. Johanna walked over to where the gasp came from and pulled out two girls in our class by the hair. She dragged them over to me and threw the squealing girls at me I barely caught them as I realized who it was. Tessa, my long time crush, and her friend Valerie. Both girls looked at me with hatred in their eyes, but Tessa's held something else as well, I just couldn't put my finger on it at the time.

"Hello girls! I think we should play a game, it's called 'how long can we keep you in here till the cops come to get you.' I love this game it's so much fun. I really think you'll like it." Valerie made a face at Jo to which she responded.

"Honey, we've got guns and you two don't, so if I were you I'd humor me." Valerie looked like she was going to say something stupid till Tessa elbowed her in the stomach. After a silent facial expression exchange between the two people in question, Valerie nodded implying that she understood, Jo locked the doors.

            The door of the room I was locked in opened slightly, the first thing I saw was blond hair, underneath a black hat. I cursed out loud when she stepped fully into the light, of the room.

"Noah!" She almost sounded relieved for a second. Till her face turned hard and she scowled at me, I knew I was dead. She walked right up to me and hit the back of my head "Your big idiot! What were you thinking? I cannot believe you pleaded guilty, you are so stupid!" She began to pace.

"But it is my fault Valerie, I am guilty." She snorted at me, putting her hands on her hips.

"What were you thinking?" I put my head down in embarrassment.

"I was thinking about her."

"Oh course you weren't think... wait, what?"  Her face was one of pure shock and disbelief.

"Your heard me." She gave me a look like she was trying to say, no duh stupid.

"I did, I just didn't expect it." Slowly she sat in the seat across from me. It almost looked like she was going to reach across the table for me, and then thought better of it.

"Noah please go over your options again, Tessa..." She trailed off when I gave her the most deadly look I could muster. In her reflective grey eyes I could see my baby blue ones swirling in anger and despair. She whispered her apologies and we went into an awkward silence giving my head just enough time to send me back to the socials classroom.

            The hall way had been exceptionally quiet for about an hour. Valerie had moved herself closer to Tessa, I didn't mind, I thought she just wanted comfort from someone not with a gun. Jo however almost shot her in the face, without Tessa and me she would have been dead. She waved that gun around so it was the only thing Valerie could see. Anyway as Johanna's best friend I knew she had a red hot temper on her I'd seen what she did  to the boys cars she dated when they broke up. I remember that instead of screaming she whispered close to her face making it even more terrifying. I regret waiting so long to intervene, maybe if I had stopped Johanna's tantrum earlier nothing would have happened. After about 5 minutes of intense threats, curses, and up in your face terrifying words, Valerie had started to cry. I remember thinking that it was so pitiful that she was crying, I had felt bad for thinking that. Less than a minute later Tessa was trying to calm down Johanna, she asked nicely and calmly for her to stop. Jo slowly turned to face Tessa.

"Excuse me? Did you say something?" Tessa didn't even look fazed by the attention.

"If she gets any louder she'll attract attention to the room, and we'll be found." Jo had looked surprised by her answer then she looked mad and pointed the gun and Val, who stopped crying and begun to hiccup as she stared down the barrel of that gun. I stood up from the desk top I was sitting on. Johanna smiled a sinister smile as Tessa's calm exterior cracked for a second.

"Not so tough now are we Tessa?"

"Johanna, if you shoot us, the cops will find us immediately. My Uncle Rob is a police officer; once shots are fired they come in, shoot to kill. It's procedure."  Johanna's face turned serious and dropped her hand with the gun to her side standing up strait. "Your best option is to stay silent because I don't think you want to hurt anyone, you just want to be on top."

It was silent for a moment as Johanna stared down at Tessa and Valerie. I could not stop what came next; all I could do was watch as Valerie's head whipped to the right as Johanna hit her with the hand gun. Johanna wound up for a second one as  I jumped over one of the desks and pushed my friend away from the girls on the floor. Jo resisted and hissed out curse after curse at Tessa who was sitting on the ground next to Valerie. After Jo had calmed down a bit she went and sat in Mr. Davys desk. I had turned to see how the girls were doing. Tessa had been pulling her sweater off of her body; I could see the pain in Tessa's eyes as she carefully tried to help her friend. No matter what I was doing or why, I was still had a heart and soul. So I took one of the sweaters in the room and sat down next to Valerie and tied it too her head carefully. Tessa looked at me in confusion before whispering, "Why are you helping us? You're keeping us hostage and your friend over there," She all but spat out friend. "May have fatally injured my best friend, and you're helping us, so tell me why are you helping us?" I did not have an answer for her so as I looked straight into those green eyes of hers even I was surprised by the words that came out of my mouth next, "because maybe I've got secrets too."

            A large crash brought me out of my head and onto my butt with my arms handcuffed above me. "You sure as hell better be up now you dork." I groaned my arms pulsing in agony.

"What was that for?" She scoffed at me pulling me up to a standing position. ""You weren't answering me." "Thanks for the consideration, Valerie." I grumbled at her, she sat down again after picking my chair up for me. "So pushing out my chair from under me while I'm handcuffed to a table is the only way you could think of bringing m back? Remind me never to piss you off." She laughed before responding. "Who's to say you haven't already?" It was silent for a moment as I thought that over. "What was so important that you felt the need to do that?"  Her face turned down, and all at once I wasn't sure I wanted to know what was so important. "Johanna Dyer got her sentence a few minutes ago, once she's out of the hospital, it's 20 years to life, for first degree attempted, or succeeded depends on how... "She chokes on her words tears rushed down her face.She takes a deep breath wiping away a stray tear. "Anyway I've got to go. I, um, I have to defend your sorry butt in court." She stood up and left the room. I started to think about how I got here again, it was disconcerting that because I did a bad deed and tried to fix it, I was being punished severely for my actions, just like once I figured out Johannas plan in that class room I knew I had to get out.

            Tessa and I were concerned for Valerie's health, I had to do it silently because Johanna was mad at me for helping Tessa move her to some tables moved together and retying a new hoodie on her head about an hour ago. So whenever she looked away I would look at Tessa who would either give me a thumbs up, or down. A few minutes ago, she gave me a thumbs down. Valerie groaned again, Jo had been pacing at the front of the room nearest to the door with a very concentrated face for about ten minutes; she stopped moving and snapped at Tessa to shut Val up.

Tessa looked up her tone of voice was hard and focused on the job at hand. "Oh I'm sorry is her pain interrupting your evil master planning? Sorry let me just let me grab this doctor and, oh wait I can't because we are being held hostage."

"Is she going to be okay though?" I couldn't help but ask I was scared for her, for all of us really. Tessa looked down at Valerie and back at me a few times before she answered. "I don't know! I'm in grade 12, I don't want my best friends life in my hands!" "Her voice broke as she lowered her voice and whispered so only Valerie and I could hear, "I want to go home." She tried to calm herself down. "Sorry it's just I'm freaked out, "Johanna if you could just let us out so she could have the proper attention she needs..." Jo turned on us her usually perfect hair frizzy and some of her makeup smudged, and all but screamed so everyone would hear her. "No One Is Leaving!" The silence that had been surrounding the school had been interrupted. That was the exact moment that I had realized, Johanna had no intentions of keeping them alive, and that I was just as trapped as they were.

            I was still in the room handcuffed to the table when the door opened revealing Valerie again. Her hat was gone, probably forgotten in the court room, revealing the scar that was still visible after two months. I flinch seeing it out in the open, she notices my discomfort. She pulls her hat out of her back pocket and slowly puts it on. It only makes me feel more guilty, because she's accepted that it's there and the only reason she's putting on her hat is to make me feel better. "You don't have too..." She interrupts me, "But I am."

She resumes her spot across from me. "What's the word?" She stares at me pain evidently showing in her eyes. "Your trial will be held in 30 minutes, someone will come so you can be changed into something more presentable 10 minutes from when you are scheduled to arrive, would you like to speak to your lawyer before the court determines your sentence for your crimes?" She looks at me with hope in her eyes, I shake my head, she nods, her shoulders slump forward and she dares to hold my hand across the table. "I am so sorry Noah." I can tell she means it. "So am I Valerie for everything over the last 8 or so years, especially the last two months." She nods again and is about to say more when the door opens and she is forced to leave. I sit in silence for the last time and try to remember the rest of that night to plead my case in court one last time.

            Ten minutes later Tessa and I had come to the conclusion that Valerie needed help soon or we would lose her.  I had put my gun away a while ago whereas Jo was repeatedly checking the chamber of hers. I had come up with a somewhat plan to get us out alive but I knew I would regret it. I had already informed Tessa of it and she agreed it was our best plan of action. Five minutes later I walked over to Johanna's stiff form. "We need to get out Noah. But we can't leave them here, you understand right?" She looked at me a kind of crazy hope in her eyes. "Yeah totally." She nodded and led the way to her captives, dragging Tessa to her feet and against the wall. Tessa looked terrified as she stood in front of Johanna as she took out her gun. I stood above the unconscious Valerie with my gun in my pocket. "Noah, please." She whispered as a tear slid down her face. "I'm sorry." Then I mouthed 'duck' hoping she saw it through her tears and I aimed. She dropped like a rock.

  I stared at my best friend lying on the ground hopefully unconscious with a bullet in her shoulder. I head a gasp and  I spun back to Tessa to see her kneeling with a look of shock and fear plastered on her face. "You shot her." I looked back at Johanna on the ground, I felt disgusted at myself for what I'd done. "Are you okay Tessa?" She nodded. "Let's go." I walked to Valerie, keeping my eyes off Johanna on the ground. I picked her up bridal style and told Tessa to follow me. She did we both walked out of the room and towards the nearest exit. We stopped when we heard footsteps outside the door, Valerie was bleeding all over me and Tessa was walking aimlessly behind me. I took a deep breath and opened the door. I stepped out and was overrun by police officers and paramedics. I was apprehended when they found my gun. I was being led to the cruiser when I heard a series of gunshots, a maniacal laugh, and  a scream that sounded just like Tessa's, I watch helplessly as everyone rushed over to a second body, laying on the ground in their own blood, I saw Brown hair and green eyes stare at me as I was put in a police car and driven away from the scene.

            We were walking into the court room when I saw them. I froze in my tracks. I scanned the room hoping I was wrong and saw my sister, Lynn, my parents and Dylan immediately, Dylan is Valerie's older brother, he doesn't like me, probably hates me now. I saw some people from school as well. Among those people sitting in the crowd only two people matter to me at that moment, Tessa's twin 12 year old siblings, who sat next to each other staring me down anger evident in their eyes. In that moment I knew because they were here with me and not with her, who had become their legal guardian three months ago. Tessa was dead, and it was all my fault.

ALL RIGHT READERS THIS IS MY AUTHORS NOTE. THIS IS LITERALLY THE BOOK NOTHING ELSE WILL BE COMING. I WROTE THIS FOR A ENGLISH PROJECT. THERE IS NOTHING ELSE TO THIS STORY. I HOPE YOU ALL LIKED SHORT STORy.

All my love

Cameron Bilodeau