Awoken: COMPLETED

Chapter Four: The Earthquake

There are some moments that change your life forever. In the days after, you wonder what could have done to change the outcome. Maybe if you had just made a tiny different decision, your world could have been as it always was. If I had skipped my Algebra class on the second last Friday before Christmas Break, I could have avoided many of the terrible things that followed.

I knew something was wrong soon after I stepped through the door. I put my bag on the floor next to my desk, and took out my copy of Pride and Prejudice – I was one of the first students here It was just me and a red-headed guy named Chris I remembered from my middle school. I read, lost in another world, as the classroom filled up with students. The classroom was filled with noise. I could hear Amanda chattering to the girl beside her about someone's Instagram post.

"I can't believe she's in Rome for three months in the middle of school year. Did you see her sunset picture? It was amazing!"
The class was completely full of students, but Mr. Davidson was nowhere to be seen. That's strange. He's usually the first one here. I wonder where he is? A few seconds later, my unspoken question was answered. Mr. Davidson walked into the room, followed by a petite girl with jet black hair. She seemed familiar, but it took my brain a few seconds to make the connection. It was probably because of Friday fatigue.

"That's the girl I tripped yesterday, the one I saw this morning," I thought.

"Smooth," James snorted.

I jumped – I hadn't realized I'd spoken out loud. "It's not like you're the epitome of gracefulness," I quipped back.

James sighed. "For the millionth time, that was not my fault. And no charges were filled so... Just shut up!"
I laughed – the whole freshman year had seen the incident at the start of the year pep rally. It was never brought up now, though. Somethings were best never, ever spoken of. Surprisingly, James grinned too.

Mr. Davidson walked to the front of the class, the girl lagging slightly behind him. He spoke to the class. "Listen up. Today will be a quiet work period on the question booklet you received last class, with a brief lesson about halfway through the period. Serena, a girl from my morning senior class, will be taking a test here, so be as quiet as is humanly possible."

I glanced at the girl – Serena. Somehow, I thought the name didn't suit her. I shook my head. So now I'm a judge of what names suit a person? What is wrong with me? For the first twenty minutes of class, I worked at a slightly slower pace than usual, but not just because of the girl. I couldn't shake the feeling that something very terrible was about to happen.

I tried to reason with myself. What kind of bad thing could happen to me in the middle of math class? I just probably have read too many dystopian books lately. Feeling reassured, I directed my attention to the front as the teacher began his lesson. I was taking notes about negative reciprocals when I heard a thud. And then another one, louder this time. The entire ground seemed to vibrate, the way it did in the earthquake we had in the city when I was little – I remember falling off my chair. My water bottle fell off the desk, bouncing off my backpack and landing on the ground without breaking.

Is this an earthquake? It was the only explanation that made sense to me. I looked around. The rest of the class seemed just as confused as I felt. The only one who didn't seem confused was Serena the senior. She seemed tense as a bowstring. I spent a few seconds trying to read her expression. The emotion I thought I saw in her eyes wasn't exactly fear, it was more like anxiety. What was she anxious about, though?
The third thud sounded more like an explosion. The glass of the classroom window shattered, hitting a few kids near the left, who shrieked as the glass hit their skin. The ground shook, and the door slammed shut with such force that my hair stood up. Panic coursed through my veins. I glanced at Mr. Davidson. My mother had always drilled into us kids that we should trust authority figures in a crisis. Actually, the person I'd trust the most was her, but a teacher was pretty much the next best thing.