PROLOGUE

   It all started as if it were yesterday 

   The fluffy cotton balls live amongst the peaceful skies. The artificial blue hues give a sense of normalcy dawning every afternoon with hope. I look out to see ants walk the streets and enter colorful cars as they go about their lives. A hesitant line of graphite touched the paper, contemplating what to write. To make matters worse, the sun began to spill its golden light to invade my thoughts. Its warmth against my pure blonde hair was comforting but distracting.

 Ashes of graphite smudged my indecisiveness across the lines now holding neat but questionable lettering. I take great pride in my schoolwork and gladly give it my all! 

beep, Beep, BEEP!

“Time’s up, students!” Ms. Tesura says while turning off the timer. Her sense of style was always bizarre to me. She manages to find uniqueness in the subtlety of things. Her grey cardigan screams “your average” English teacher, but her black plaid bell-bottoms provided contradiction. With a wave of her hand,  pencils quickly fall back onto desks. The classroom that once exuded writing now fell into absolute silence. Chalk flowed like an out-of-control driver. Her handwriting was truly terrible for a teacher’s standards. It’s a shame this was the last time I saw her. 

Ms. Tesura was going over the curriculum as usual. The atmosphere was full of classmates raising their hands high above their heads, answering questions, and waiting for praise. 

Ms. Tesura never hesitated to respond to anything. One time, she came to school late, drenched from the rain, with a few bandages on her arms. She said that she got caught up trying to save a cat from a tree. Her disheveled brunette hair told the truth. Regardless of appearance, she always wore a bright smile that made students feel happy.

My hand rested against my head, bored out of my mind, with multiple written packets of schoolwork completed before the others, relishing this opportunity to look outside again. This time, the natural colors became darker than the ocean waters. An indigo blue, fit for stargazing, reflected an eerie time of day.

I instinctively raised my hand, not realizing that Ms.Tesura wanted a response from me.

“Yes, Toby? What is it?” She softly gazed at me while my classmates waited patiently for what felt like forever.

 Just silence remained. “What’s happening?” I pointed.

 Ms.Tesura looked out the window. Colorful beams of light rained from the sky, resembling the shape of shooting stars. Wonder crept into the eyes of my classmates, moving them closer to watch the cosmic performance.

“Woah!”

“How Pretty”

“Quick, everyone make a wish! It’s a rare moment, so make it a good one!” Ms. Tesura gleefully says. I closed my eyes and concentrated. 

*What would I wish for… Good health? Money? Food? Hah, too easy to obtain… What about an actual social life?*

“ I wish-”

 BOOM!!

  The ground began to shake like a vicious earthquake, shattering our peace. 

Items caught panic attacks, shaking from the unknown threat. 

“Are we going to be okay?”

  Ms.Tesura looked worriedly at the sky, then took a deep breath and looked back at her students. ”Everyone, get underneath the desks. Everything will be okay.” 

  Soon, a big explosion erupted, and some of the pencils scattered across the floor. The building was collapsing, and the room with school memories crumbled before our very eyes. Ms. Tesura climbed underneath the desks and shielded us from the blast. Everything went blurry.

  With the last smile she had ever worn, she reassured us during her moment of passing. 

  All I could remember was the faint sounds of police cars and fire trucks in the distance, trying to save us all.

— INFIRMARY —

   “Bbbzzzzttt!”

 My head throbbed as I woke, flashbanged by fluorescent lights. Pain everywhere. 

“Oh thank goodness, you’re awake!”

  That voice felt familiar. My vision no longer blurry, revealed an older woman with dark circles under her eyes. Her hair was similar to mine, but riddled with impurities of brown. A relieved smile plastered her face.

 “Mom? Where is everyone?” I suddenly asked, rushing to get up from the medical bed. 

   Drops of water travelled down her face as she hugged me tightly. “I’m not sure, but the school is damaged. The police and firefighters are handling the situation.” 

 “ Where’s Ms.Tesura?” My mother gently held my arm, hoping I would take it easy. I tried not to freak out. Could you blame me, though? It’s not every day you wake up in a hospital.

“She’s in a better place now. If you don’t believe me, you could look outside”

The view from my bed was much lower than the one in the classroom. I didn’t see the curious ants driving in their colorful cars. The streets below seemed to beckon with sorrow. Packs of children gather together with their parents, holding anything from flowers to teddy bears and gift cards.

“My homeroom teacher isn’t coming back”

 I honestly don’t have words for this! I mean, she was there, and then next, she’s gone! I didn’t even get to say goodbye. All I could think about was her warm smile when greeting us. I used to joke around about her ridiculous outfits, but now I won’t ever get to see her wear another one. The colorful classroom she constructed compared to the other uniformed teachers always struck me as odd. But now, I realize that I like her because she was different. Special and authentic. Something that you can’t find in adults these days.

I couldn’t keep looking out this window. It’s sickening! 

“Why of all people did it have to be HER”

The world doesn’t care

Mother Nature doesn’t care 

But I care!

And if no one, not even the news, can tell me what happened that day, then..

I will get to the bottom of this!