Anything can happen anywhere. My mom would always remind me of how scary the world can be, despite how much I reassure her of my safety. But my life is too boring for things to happen. All my life, I’ve been described as the sweet and kind girl who would offer you food at the cafeteria if you didn’t have any. I was just your average American student. I never had a defining moment in my life. No tragedies, no awards, no famous family members, no big moves, nothing. I was invisible but I was happy in my own bubble. 

Living in this small town, I have friends who are basically my siblings. Avaline is my best friend, and she’s also the vice president of the student council club. For the past decade, we have done everything together. She’s my ride or die, but sometimes, she’s also my rival. 

It’s Wednesday, the middle of the week, and I don’t feel like going to school. Everyday feels the same, endless assignments, impossible tests, and crazy rumors. What’s new? As I walk down the hallway, Avaline calls out to me and asks, “Did you hear about a new kid coming to town?” 

A new student? In the middle of the semester? Our school is known for its competitive lacrosse team and high honors students, so it’s no surprise that parents would want to send their kids here. But why now? Why so sudden? Danny Choi -- that was his name, our teacher announced. He was in the same pre-calculus class as me, and coincidentally my new neighbor. Danny was the eldest son in the family, and his dark chocolate colored hair with waves easily swooned most of the girls in school. The first day I saw him, I felt like I already knew him. Maybe it’s an intuition, or a silly feeling, but I knew we were going to be close. 

The problem was that Danny was distant. Too distant. He never spoke up, never turned in his homework, and always seemed distracted. He was glued to his phone or computer typing away, avoiding talking with me or anyone else. 

The bell rings, and it’s time for me to rush to the cafeteria in starvation for lunch. I was still waiting for Avaline to come after her class, and I saw a dreadfully long line ahead of me for pizza. One kid butts in front of me, rudely, skipping the line and grabbing his slice. Finally, it’s my turn and I grab one for Avaline too and choose the table we always sit at. I take my airpods and blast my music on full volume -- the perfect way to avoid listening to people’s voices bouncing off the wall. But suddenly, everyone’s getting up in a hurry and running outside, leaving all their food behind. Seats are pushed around, people are shoving each other, and some are covering their ears and shutting their eyes tight. I take out my airpods and --  

Bang! Bang! Bang! 

My body reacts in fear and I start shutting down. I collapse to the ground, and cover my ears that won’t stop ringing. As the chilling sound of gunshots echo across the building, I finally see Avaline. Thank goodness, she’s here, she’s finally here. But as she runs down the hallway, shrieking in terror and shock, the guy behind her extends his arm out and --

Bang! 

I stared as the bullet left the tip of the gun and flew through the air. I reached my hand out grasping for the bullet. Stop, fall, go away. Not her. The little piece of metal from a black gun punctured through the skin and into the kindest heart. She landed on me. I was wearing a white cardigan that is now blood red. As she died in my arms, I felt a life taken away from me. That little piece of metal took a daughter away from her loving parents and a best friend forever, and replaced her with never ending pain. 

Although this story is fictional, stories like this are increasing every year. School shootings are happening all over America and affecting students of all ages. From elementary school students at Sandy Hook to the school shooting incident at Virginia Tech, these tragedies spread fear and students are risking their lives when they go to school to learn. Day in and day out, we see news articles of school shootings happening all around the country. 

So why should students fear going to school? How did a place for education and learning quickly become a murder scene? About 1.53 billion results come up within 0.4 seconds of a google search. School shootings used to be a once in a blue moon incident, but now it feels like a daily recurrence. As we read through thousands of social media posts and articles on mass shootings, we roll our eyes and become too desensitized to these violent tragedies. This is the world we are living in. Guns are everywhere. Instead of being used as weapons of defense, guns are now the murder weapons of people’s worst nightmare. Today, we are living through this nightmare.