Original
Piece of Historical Fiction (Short Story)
I
looked up to the blackboard as my teacher wrote the date in chalk. Tuesday
September 11th, 2001. I copied the date onto the top right corner of
my white lined paper. Mrs. Hogan proceeded to talk about Pearl Harbor for the
next forty-five minutes, our current topic in social studies. I tried my best
to pay attention to her but to be honest I really wasn’t that interested in
history. What’s in the past is in the
past, right?
About
halfway through the lesson there was an announcement over the intercom calling
almost nine kids down to the office for early dismissal. That’s weird. I wish I was going home early. My teacher continued
to talk and I continued to stay uninterested. By the end of the lesson, it
seemed like more than fifteen kids had gotten called down to the office for
early dismissal. I could tell that even my teacher thought that it was getting
to be a bit strange. The next announcement came with a very unexpected message.
“Will
Kayla Newall, Hannah Williams, and Breanna Miller please report to the office
for early dismissal.” The voice announced over the intercom. As Hannah, who was
in my class, began to shuffle around her desk and pack up her belongings, we
could hear that the intercom was still on even though the announcement was
over. That’s when we heard it.
“Two
planes have crashed into the twin towers in New York. The first plane hit the
North tower around 8:46 am and the second hit the South tower around 9:03 am.
We don’t know much more about the situation at this point. There is no telling
how many lives have already been lost, let alone injur…” The intercom shut off
abruptly and the radio broadcast suddenly stopped. I could tell from the look
on my teacher’s face that we were not meant to hear what we had just heard. I
could also tell that she was in pure shock from what the radio had just
“accidently” announced.
I
looked around my class to see if everyone else knew what was going on and I saw
many faces of confusion. Some of the kids were even crying. Suddenly I felt
tears start to swell up in the back of my eyelids. The twin towers? Isn’t that where my Aunt Jenna works? Was she there?
Is she okay? I have to call my mom. I need to get home. So many thoughts
raced through my head.
My
teacher walked around consoling the crying children and many teachers began to
stop in the doorway of our classroom. Mrs. Hogan approached the front of the
classroom and I could see the reluctance in her eye. She seemed extremely
hesitant to speak, partially because I don’t think she knew what to say.
“
Ladies and gentlemen, I know you all may be a bit confused about what is going
on here. Some of you may also be upset because you have family in New York and
so do I. I want to tell you that it’s all going to be okay but I honestly don’t
know exactly what is going on at this point. The twin towers, also known as the
World Trade Center are a work place to thousands of people. All I can tell you
now is that we should all be safe here. I am here and we are all going to get
through this together. Anyone who wants to try and contact their mom or dad are
welcome to come up to the front of the classroom to use my cell phone.”
I
could see the nervousness in Mrs. Hogan’s face. I was nervous too. I needed to
call my mom. I wanted to know if my Aunt Jenna was at work today. How could anyone do something like this?
What kind of people hijack a plane and crash it on purpose?
I heard the adults talking about
“terrorism” and I wasn’t completely sure what that meant. I got in line at the
front of the classroom with the rest of the kids who wanted to use Mrs. Hogan’s
cell phone. This was going to be a long day. And to think that I didn’t care about history before? Today I can call
myself a part of it.
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