8 So-What-Do-You-Expect-Me-To-Do-About-It
Being scrutinized by 31 pairs of eyes is unpleasant to say the least.
However, this was the natural reaction to outsiders suddenly bursting into your private space.
It was just that…
It wasn't really a 'natural' situation.
.
.
.
"Seb! Seb! I think we are screwed" Josh, who had by this point of time appointed himself as 'captain obvious' whispered loudly into Seb's ears.
"It seems so…"
"What should we do bro?"
"Will you shut up and let me think?"
While the two were having a match of who could whisper louder their spectators didn't even bat an eyelid.
Fortunately, before the situation could get even more awkward, the teacher intervened.
"The two of you are… Sebastian Alaister and Josh Gracias. Yes?"
"Yes, Sir!"
"Good. Both of you go and sit on the empty bench and table in that corner."
Mr. Li, who was both the economics and homeroom teacher of section B pointed towards an empty set at the very back of the classroom.
It was as if he had been waiting for them to come and had thus prepared a place to sit in advance.
Just
for
them
"Thank you…"
The two of them went and sat down at the very end of the classroom.
They had already started to ride the tiger, there was no getting off until the end.
Mission accomplished… kinda…
'Well, at least the teacher was pretty nice, he helped us out there'
After the two of them had seated down, everyone finally stopped staring at them and faced forward. Their backs as ramrod straight as ever.
"Ahem!"
Mr. Li cleared his throat before continuing.
"Now that the two newcomers have been settled down, let us continue with the lesson"
The rest of the class nodded their heads.
Not a single one of them had uttered a single syllable since the two had entered the classroom.
"As I was saying the fundamental difference between macro and micro studies is that…"
Mr. Li turned his back and started writing onto the blackboard, as he started explaining some concepts to the class.
.
.
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"Psst… Hey Seb~"
"What…"
"I just want to confirm whether I am hallucinating or not… but you can also hear the gunshots right?"
"Yes…"
*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*
As if to prove his point, three gunshots just rang out in the distance.
"So…"
"Go on…"
"Why the hell are we sitting here listening to an economics lecture?"
"I don't know Josh, why don't you try asking them"
"…"
"…"
"I get stage fright, why don't you try…"
"What a coincidence Josh, I get stage fright too."
"Bro… please"
"Didn't you say that you were my best friend who would always have my back? Please ask them for me"
"…"
"…"
"Fine... you win."
Having finally won against Josh in a verbal battle for the first time since he had come in here, Sebastian was filled with an indescribable sense of elation and contentment.
Seb secretly grinned to himself before bringing his attention back to hand.
Josh slowly raised his hand up in order to catch the teacher's attention.
"Yes, Mr Josh Gracias. How may I help you." For some reason, the teacher's polite response sent shivers down Josh's spine.
Josh stood up in his seat, but before he could say anything 30 heads twisted around to stare at him.
Unlike Seb, Josh was a bonafide 17-year-old high school student, and as a student having the entire class twist their necks behind to stare at you while you tried to speak up was bloody terrifying!
So, it must be noted that Josh was being extremely courageous and taking one for the team when he continued to speak amidst all that tension.
"Umm Sir, there is someone with a gun in the school"
"Yes?"
"And that person is currently shooting it"
*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*
"I know."
Josh was at an impasse.
Why was the teacher giving him the 'So-What-Do-You-Expect-Me-To-Do-About-That' look?
What do you mean, 'So what.'?
We are in the middle of a school shooting for God's sake.
We are all gonna die!!
Well maybe not all of us, but still!
Josh turned to look at Seb and the two proceeded to communicate with their eyes.
'BRO! WHAT THE F*CK DO I DO? I THINK THE TEACHER IS CRAZY!!!'
'YOU HAVE A BRAIN TOO! USE IT!'
'HELP ME!!!!!'
'FIGURE SOMETHING OUT ON YOUR OWN!'
'YOU TRAITOR!! I WILL REMEMBER THIS!'
Josh tearfully faced the teacher again,
"So, I am trying to say… shouldn't we be doing something about it?"
"So that's what this is about... Sit down."
Josh sat down in relief. It was as if he was going to be executed in ancient times and the emperor had personally decided to pardon him.
"There's nothing we can do about a shooter." Mr Li explained calmly.
"None of us have the combat abilities to do so."
He went on,
"The re-enforcements will arrive when they arrive, and they will escort us out."
"Now instead of wasting our time on a situation that we cannot solve, we can make the best use of this time and study."
Which crazy person had the idea to make this person a teacher!
"You are all in the final year of high school, you guys cannot afford to waste a single second. Every second gone towards studies is a second spent towards a brighter future"
*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*
"…" A this rate, none of us will have a future to brighten.
"Now if you are done wasting time let us get back to the lesson…"
That said, Mr Li went back to his lecture.
The piercing gazes of the students also retracted as they turned their heads back to the front.
Their backs were still as straight as ever.
And they still hadn't uttered a single word.
.
.
.
"Hey, Seb…"
"Yes…"
"I think we are screwed…"
"I know…"
"Like this is not even strict... it's like he doesn't feel any sense of threat from the shooter"
"It does seem that way..."
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*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*
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"Hey, Seb…"
"What..."
"Now that I am listening, this lecture is actually kinda interesting…"
"You don't say…"
"I am serious! I always thought that listening to commerce classes would be pure torture, but this is kinda fun, not gonna lie."
"Good for you…"
.
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*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*
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"Hey, Seb…"
"Go on…"
"I didn't think commerce students studied so damn hard."
"…"
"We are in the middle of a school shooting you know. People are probably getting killed as we speak!"
"Try not to think too hard about it…"
"But these guys have such dedication. I kinda feel ashamed. As science students we don't study this hard do we…"
"No, we don't… You should learn from them and stop playing so many games."
"This and that are different things. Don't mix things, Seb. God, you can be so silly at times…"
"…"
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*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*
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"Hey, Seb…"
"FINE! FINE! I GET IT! PLEASE SHUT UP NOW!"
Seb forced himself to stand up in his seat.
As if on cue, 30 pairs of eyes turned around to stare at him.
Their backs were straight as a pole and their necks were at awkward angles.
And they refused to utter a single word.
They just kept on staring.
Silently.
Unceasingly.
Persistently.
.
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*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*
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.
"MR. LI!"
Mr Li turned around and stared at Seb.
He sighed exaggeratedly and put down his marker on the table.
He removed his gold-framed glasses, wiped them with a cloth and put them back on his face.
.
*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*
.
The gunshots rang in the background, but in front of the atmosphere that Mr Li had created, they would forever be relegated to being just that-
Background noise.
Nothing but a minor inconvenience, akin to the loud construction noises from the nearby building.
"Mr. Sebastian Alaister. This is the third time the two of you have interrupted my class. What. Do. You. Want."
It was really commendable how righteous this person seemed while spewing out pure bullshit.
To be honest one of the biggest reasons that Seb had chosen to enter this class was that he knew for a FACT that these students were still alive in 'reality' and had survived whatever incident took place on this day.
He was sure because he knew that some of them had gone to the same college as him, and back then he wasn't having any sort of crazy hallucinations.
This is why, the situation in front of him was completely, utterly incomprehensible.
He thought that perhaps by burying his head in the sand and pretending not to notice he would be able to get away with it… but he just HAD to bring Josh along with him.
"Mr Li, I do apologize for disrupting your wonderful lecture. Even though it was for a little while, we have learnt a lot and have broadened our horizons."
"Go on…" Mr Li smiled in response, clearly not as standoffish as he had been a moment earlier.
Seeing his response Seb inwardly snorted, 'Flattery always works.'
*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*
"I really think that we should be taking some sort of action here, whether it is just evacuating the building, or closing the curtains and hiding under the desk."
Seb decided that no matter what he needed to talk some sense into this teacher.
"At the very least we should try locking the door."
"…"
"I can do that for you…"
"…'
"Mr Li, I think you are severely underestimating the severity of our situation."
"…"
"Have you ever held a gun, Mr Li? Do you know what it feels like to shoot someone dead? Do you know what it feels like to see someone die to a bullet right in front of you?"
'Because I have...'
Sebastian left the last part unsaid.
