Let’s think about what you can do in 12.5 minutes
You can make a box of Mac ‘n’ Cheese
Drive from Norwood to Glencoe
Swim 1000 yards in swimming
Do a couple Math problems
Read a Chapter or two in your science book
You can do all of this in 12.5 minutes
But can you run for that long
Down the dark hallways scared out of your mind
Hearing terrified screams and gunshots echoing throughout the hallway
Trying to get out of the school you once thought was safe
You get into a classroom and see the crying faces of all your classmates
You don’t even realize you have tears streaming down your face
You start to think about what you will miss when you’re gone
So you send your parents a text saying “I love you”
They respond back saying “What’s wrong?”
You have to tell them you might not make it back home alive
You do what your taught and stay quiet but all you want to do is scream
You hear screaming and gunshots from outside the door
Shots are coming in and you realize the door has been broken into
You start to think that this could be the last breath you take
You see a bunch of your classmates falling to the ground
You let out a cry and nobody seems to hear it
You close your eyes hoping to wake up from a nightmare
The noise stops
You open your eyes
The shooter is gone
You know exactly who the shooter is
You think about all the things you could have done to prevent him from doing what he did
You could’ve sat by him at lunch
Befriended him
But it's far too late
You hear footsteps again but this time you feel relieved to see who it is
Its the police they came to escort you out of the building
You walk down the hallways and see your once lively classmates no longer breathing
You look over and see your best friend is no longer with you
You don’t realize what happened
You go numb but you have to find the energy to keep walking
You see the doors and think it’s almost over
But it’s only the beginning
You walk outside for what feels like forever
You see police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks
You see a van and you know just what it is
The shooter
Cops surrounding it
You feel relieved but also hatred
You look away not wanting to see him
You wonder why he did this
You know longer have a best friend
You see parents crying holding each other tightly
You look out and see your mom and dad
You run over and jump into their arms
Your friends parents come over to you and ask where their child is
You have to tell them that they will never see their child alive again
You watch them fall to the ground in tears
People are asking questions that you know the answer to
You try to talk but no words come out
You find yourself struggling to breathe
You feel safer in the arms of your parents
A week goes by and you are attending many funerals
Including your best friends
This impacted not just the school but the whole community
Weeks go by
Your scared to go back to school
You don’t want to go the place where your best friend took her last breath
You have nightmares every night
And flashbacks everyday
You go to counseling
But its not helping
They say it will take time
Much longer than 12.5 minutes
Because everything changed in 12.5 minutes