Suddenly, we heard the devil words,”Code blue,” cackle through the P.A. system. My best friend Dylan and I were talking and doing our math work in Mrs. Miller’s room. It was late in the day, only two more classes left in the hazy, October day of 2006. We all made a wild dash towards the chalk board located on the side opposite side of the room. We sat down nervously, like we were trained to do since kindergarten. Some people started crying hysterically like Dylan, who was grasping my arm and wouldn’t let go for anything.

The bell for fourth period sounded. We all sort of started to jump up but, Mrs. Miller told us to remain seated, which we did do, eventually. The room was dark, very dark. Fear filled the room. We didn’t have a clue what was going out. We thought we were going to die, so we wrote our wills.

We were in lockdown for approximately an hour. Mr. Doneghy came on the loud speaker and told the teachers to check their email. Mrs. Miller did, and told us exactly what it had said, which was simply, “We are safe.” Dylan and I exchanged looks that clearly said, “ Is it just us, or has everyone around hear just lost their mind?!” Mrs. Miller tried her best to console us, but I could sense that she was afraid.


After a long time of sitting still, we were achy and stiff. Mrs. Miller made us continue with our work. A lot of kids groaned and didn’t do it. I tried to, but I couldn’t concentrate. Mr. Doneghy came back on the P.A. system and told us that a guy, who lost his job, went crazy in a bar and shot the ceiling multiple times and there was a stand of with the SWAT team, police and German shepherd canine officers(I have a German shepherd!)

Not long after, we filed over to Sun Valley’s enormous gym. There were cops and teachers everywhere. The gym was rumbling with talking. We had to sit with our homerooms, so Dylan and I were separated because I was in Miss Key’s homeroom and Dylan was in Mrs. Miller’s.

After an hour and a half in the gym, we were itching to get home! We were restless and snappy because no one, not even the teachers want to be at school at five o’clock in the evening! We were finally able to go home! They called us by homeroom, and of course, the sixth graders were last. We followed the mess of kids trying to navigate their way from Sun Valley’s gym to the lobby. Outside, it was worse! There was a tangle of cars and trucks and SUVs and a lot of people yelling and talking.

Somehow, I found my way to my bus. We just sat there for about fifteen minutes, while the mess we call transportation made it’s way out of Sun Valley’s circular drive way. Finally, we hit the road. There was a lot of traffic, since it was rush hour. About twenty minutes later, the bus rumbled to a stop at my bus stop. My mom met me there, all worried and interviewing me. It still happens, even to this day.


I don’t think I’ll ever forget the lockdown. It’s like it’s been added to my experience list in a bright , bold permanent marker. I didn’t go to school the next day because I was all shaken up, and I felt sick. I’ll honestly believe I’ll never forget it even when I have my own kids or ever.

Important to the reader: Dylan McHale is one of my many best friends, so it would be a mandatory detail in order to understand the story. And Mrs. Miller was my math teacher last year, on the blue team. Also, the reason why I was so happy about the German shepherd thing was, because I have my own German shepherd named Mack also known as Mack Attack, his registered name.