Within several minutes, the commons of Elk Grove was filled to its maximum - being all of the students gathered in said spot. Lacey didn’t bother touching her plate, and was instead intrigued by an online argument about the correct way to pronounce “bagel.” All around her were chatty students. Some were talking loudly and carelessly, whilst others were gently speaking to others. Lacey quietly groaned as she readjusted her seated position, then abruptly stopping. Quickly, the girl whipped her head around to gaze at the cooks’ area. She sniffed once, then again, and stood up hastily. The air was beginning to smell like charcoal and burning, and it was slowly filling the entire room. Lacey, who’s heart was steadily picking up a paranoid beat, clumsily grabbed her backpack, clutching her phone in her hand. Quite a few kids stared at her in confusion, unsure why she was in such a hurry. But when the stench began reaching them, they halted their conversations, and slowly began panicking. Everybody began grabbing their things and nervously glancing around. As the uproar began, Lacey uttered, “What the fu...” before being cut of by the piercing ring of the fire alarm. Students began yelling and hurrying to the doors, bursting them open and sprinting down the halls. Lacey faltered behind, being careful to avoid getting trampled.
As she wavered before the open doors of the commons, she glanced behind her shoulder, seeing that an incredible cluster of flames began dancing and filling up the kitchen. The cooks fled from the scene, even pushing past Lacey and screaming at her to hurry up. Lacey’s heart had picked up to a somewhat terrified state as she felt the heat creep into her face, a wave of it filling up the room. Lacey stumbled back before turning around once more and sprinting down the hallway, hands tightly gripping her phone and bag as she dashed. Every student and teacher were cramming themselves together many yards away from the building. Lacey hustled to join them, glancing around at the terrified expressions on the faces of students. Some were crying, and some were miraculously smiling. Lacey scrunched her nose at them. How evil can you get? she wondered. Looking back at the school, she nearly fell backwards at the sight. Flames engulfed about a quarter of the building, and were spreading quickly. A group of fire trucks had skidded to a halt near the school, and firemen and women began flooding the lawn with hoses and extinguishers.
To make a long story short - 37 minutes of a story, to be exact - the firefighters were extremely unlucky, and barely made a dent in the catastrophe before them. Within those various minutes, the school was left as a blackened, hollow shell. Kids began crying even more, definitely panicking. Lacey felt her eyes sting. She sniffed, and rubbed her eyes as she dazedly watched the flames finally die down with the last few sprays of water. Everybody fell silent, staring at the few walls that were barely standing up. Lacey, through blurry vision, glanced back as teachers began quickly forming a huddle that was quite far away from all of the children. She squinted at them, seeing their distressed features carved into their faces. Lacey felt a pang of guilt, seeing as she’d wished this day to end almost as soon as it started. “Not this way...” she inwardly sniffled. Throughout their discussion, phone calls could be viewed left and right.
The teacher meeting lasted even longer than the fire did, as they shouted and negotiated at each other. Students began sitting down or kneeling, unsure what to do. Nobody dared to leave, as panic was still rippling through the entire crowd. When 53 minutes crept on the last-second conference between the teachers, the principal warily walked over to stand before the students. “Now... there isn’t any easy way to say any of this,” he began. “Elk Grove will not be returning for quite a few years. It’s clear to see that. But... that doesn’t mean that you children shouldn’t have an education. The workers of Elk Grove and I have come to agreements with... the workers and principal of Outridge.” Kids began murmuring, already reacting pretty negatively. The principal carried on. “We are aware of the tension between our schools, but as of now, that’s the last thing we should be thinking about. Elk Grove has no other option but to... how do you say it... merge with Outridge.” Shouts in the crowd began to grow as Lacey nervously looked around at the faces of her peers. The principal, his name being Mr. Claddin, immediately put his hand up in an attempt to silence the crowd. “School will begin once more tomorrow at Outridge. The students there are currently being explained to about the situation at hand, and will be given the rest of the day off as we figure this out. Books will be provided for you, as they have extras.” The crowd fell hushed, tension thick between everybody. Mr. Claddin sighed, rubbing his eyes under his glasses. “I’m incredibly sorry you students have to go through this. You’ll still see most of us at Outridge, but... we are aware that adjusting to it will be difficult. You’re all dismissed.”
Students took their sweet time to begin leaving the school. Lacey angrily squeezed her backpack strap as she stood still, staring at the ground. A news station van had already rolled up to the school, and immediately began pressing the staff and many students with questions. Lacey flinched as a microphone was shoved into her face, and a cameraman stood a few feet away from her. The reporter holding the mic gazed at her, interrogation flickering in her somewhat old eyes. Lacey hesitantly answered the questions, uncertain about the whole issue still. It all seemed unreal to her as she finished saying goodbye to the reporter. Shakily, Lacey checked her phone. 3:14. The students at Outridge had previously been dismissed early, and the remaining students before the burnt Elk Grove began dispersing and leaving. Lacey simply stood for several minutes before turning around slowly, and walking home.
“This isn’t happening,” Lacey mumbled as she shut her bedroom door behind her. She had thrown her backpack aside, and had just collapsed on her bed. The girl checked her phone once more, seeing the hundreds of notifications that flooded the screen. She had gotten multiple texts, and was being tagged in posts. Lacey furrowed her eyebrows and turned off her phone, clinging onto her pillow. The teen buried her face in the soft matter, sighing as she anxiously awaited the day to end.