(A/n: I didn't check spelling on this chapter, 'cause it's 1:26 am, and I'm too tired to care, so yeah...)

The next day as I walked into school, Ms. Phantom called out to me.

"(Y/n), there you are! I need you in place for the assembly!" she smiled.

Oh, right, this thing, right...

"Pedal to the metal, come on now." she said, ushering me into place on the stage, then walking off to place some of the other students.

"I'm kind of looking forward to this." Catalina commented.

"Did you have a brain tumor for breakfast?" Kiera said.

"Sorry, Heather." Catalina frowned, looking at the ground. (A/n: Haha, that rhymed...)

"Hello, Westerburg!" I heard Ms. Phantom say. I turned my head to see her standing in the middle of the stage, addressing the other students, "Welcome to this very special assembly. I want you to ignore the television cameras and the news crews, they're just here to document this significant moment. Whether to kill yourself or not is one of the most important decisions a teenager can make. So, you know what I'm going to do right now?"

"Kill yourself on stage?" one boy shouted out.

"That's not productive, Dwayne. Now, my senior thesis at Darkingdom was on the subject of pediatric psycho-therapeutic musicology. It was terrifically well regarded, so I speak with some authority when I tell you that the way to eliminate suicide is by first eliminating fear. By creating a safe zone in which we all are equal."

Ms. Phantom then began to sing a song that she had written that we were preforming as part of the assembly.

Deep inside of everyone,there's a hot ball of shame," she sang, "Guilt, regret, anxiety, fears we dare not name. But if we show the ugly parts,that we hide away,they turn out to be beautiful by the light of day! Why not,"

We all joined in by this part, singing the main part, while Ms. Phantom sang her own part.

"Shine, shine, shine a light,"

"On your deepest fears!" Ms. Phantom sang out.

"Let in sunlight now,"

"And your pain will disappear!"

"Shine, shine, shine,"

"And your scars and your flaws,"

"Will look lovely because you shine!" we all sang together.

"You shine a light!" Ms. Phantom sang.

"Shine, shine, shine a light. Shine, shine, shine a light."

"Everyday's a battlefield, when pride's on the line." this girl, Calliope, sang.

"I attack your weaknesses," Dwayne sang. (A/n: That rhymed kinda XD)

"And pray you don't see mine." they sang together.

"But if I share my ugly parts," Dwayne sang.

"And you show me yours." Calliope, Dwayne, and Ms. Phantom sang.

"Our love can knock our walls down," Dwayne and Ms. Phantom sang together.

"And unlock all our doors!" Ms. Phantom sang, "Go on and,"

"Shine, shine, shine a light," we joined back in.

"On your deepest fears."

"Let it sunlight now,"

"And your pain will disappear!" Ms. Phantom sang, "Who wants to share what's in their heart?
No volunteers? Fine, I'll start,
My name's Tesser, I live at home.
Not many friends, sometimes I feel alone.
In thought kindness was free.
That did not work out well for me.
The revolution came and went,
Tried to change the world, barely made a dent.
I have struggled with despair,
I've searched just about everywhere.
I'm trying not to be so 'blue',
And searching for friends that are true!"
"That feels fan-freaking-tastic! 1, 2, take me home, kids!"
(A/n: At the beginning stages of writing this I had a better substitute for this part, but I forgot it and I'm sleepy because it's 12:09 and I've had a long day...)

"Shine, shine, shine a light," we joined back in.

"And your pain will disappear!"

"Shine, shine, shine,"

"And your scars and your flaws,"

"Will look lovely because you shine," we sang with Ms. Phantom.

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,"

"You shine, you shine a light!"

"Shine, shine, shine a light. Shine, shine, shine a light. Shine, shine, shine a light. Shine, shine, shine a light. Shine, shine, shine a light. Shine, shine, shine a light. Shine, shine, shine a light. Shine a light! Yeah!" we all finished singing.

"Okay kids, come on out," Ms. Phantom said, as the music continued in the background, "I want you to work with me, I want you to share your pain. I want you to drag it into the light so we all can see we're not alone!"

"I've thought about killing myself." I heard from beside me. I turned my head to Catalina.

"What on earth are you doing?" Kiera snapped at her.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, keep talking Catalina, you're in a safe place. It's just you and me and the classmates who love you. Share. It's gonna be okay." Ms. Phantom said. Catalina took a step forward, timidly.

"Catalina, get back in line." Kiera growled.

"Zip it." Ms. Phantom said to her, then motioned for Catalina to step forward more. She did so, and then began to speak, just loud enough to understand.

"The last guy I was with killed himself alongside his linebacker." she said, "And my best friend seemed to have it all together but now she's gone too. And now my stomach hurts worse and worse, and every morning on the bus I feel my heart beating louder and faster and I'm like 'Jesus, I'm on the freaking bus again because all my rides to school are dead'."

There was a silence, then she continued.

(A/n: I hate to break the moment, but since there's more than one song in this chapter, and I can't put more than one video at the top, here's where Lifeboat starts. I'll put a link to the video in a comment on this paragraph, if anyone cares.)

"I float in a boat, in a raging, black ocean, low in the water, and nowhere to go. The tiniest lifeboat, with people I know. Cold, clammy, and crowded. The people smell desperate. We'll sink any minute, so someone must go. The tiniest lifeboat, with people I know." she looked up suddenly, crying, "Everyone's pushing! Everyone's fighting! Storms are approaching, there's nowhere to hide! If I say the wrong thing, or I wear the wrong outfit, they'll throw me right over the side!" she stopped, breathing heavily, then looked back down at her shoes, "I'm hugging my knees, and the captain is pointing. Well, who made her captain?" she growled the last part. I figured she meant Kiera, "Still, the weakest must go. The tiniest lifeboat, full of people I know. The tiniest lifeboat, full of people I know...." she finished, not looking up. I can't believe she felt like that, and I didn't even know...

There was a silence in the room, but it was cut short by Kiera.

"What's your damage, Catalina? Are you saying Westerburg is not a nice place?"

"Kiera!" Ms. Phantom gasped.

"Where's your school spirit? You don't deserve to wear our school colors."

"Let's not be mean spirited-" Ms. Phantom said, trying to keep Kiera away from Catalina as she stalked towards the girl.

"Why don't you hop in your little lifeboat and catch a gnarly wave over to Saison?"

"Alright, alright, calm it down..." Ms. Phantom frowned.

"Aw, Catalina's going to cry." Kiera smirked. Catalina ran off crying.

"Young lady, you are suspended!" Ms. Phantom glared at Kiera, then turned to the cameramen,  "Turn the cameras off. Turn them off, dagnabit."

"Is that all you care about? TV cameras?" I huffed.

"I care about saving lives! Kiera Duke ruined a valuable teaching moment!" Ms. Phantom rebutted.

"Valuable? None of us want this spectacle, to be experimented on like guinea pigs and patronized like bunny rabbits!"

"I don't patronize bunny rabbits!" the teacher said.

"This is their big secret Veronica," Stalyan said in my head, "The adults are powerless." 

"Catalina trusted you. You said that you would protect her." I said to Ms. Phantom.

"They can't help us. Nobody can help us." Stalyan continued.

"You're useless!" I spat out.

"We're alone in the ocean."

"And all of you are idiots!" I said, looking around.

"You should sit down now." VD said, softly.

"No!" I said. It was all becoming way too much for me, "Stalyan was a monster, just like Lance and Eugene, and they didn't kill themselves, I killed them!" I yelled, then covered my mouth when I realized what I had said. There was a pause, then I added, "So what do you all think of that?"

The entire auditorium burst out laughing. They laughed right in my face.

"Some people will say anything if they think it'll make them popular." I heard Kiera say.

"(Y/n)!" I heard Varian call to as I ran out.