One Sided

Kas

He’ll never see me like how I see him. It’s always me texting him first, me asking him how his day was first, me knowing everything about him when he doesn’t even know what my favorite color is. Can I help falling in love with him? No. No matter how hard I’ve tried, no matter how many guys I’ve dated, my heart burns with jealousy whenever he goes out with other girls. But it’ll forever be one sided.

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I parked my car, glancing in the rearview mirror to check my reflection. Acne cleared? Sure. Bangs tucked in front? Yup. Chapstick slathered on? Regretfully yes. I grabbed my backpack, light gray with a tiny heart keychain that was resting on the passenger seat. I stepped out, making sure not to hit the minivan next to me, and locked my car. I loved my car. I got my Mini Cooper over the summer, second-hand but you couldn’t even tell. It was in the most delicious shade of ocean green and the creamiest beige interior. I locked the car, and it made the most cheerful chirping noise. As I started to journey across the parking lot to school,, a white Honda Civic slid into the parking spot next to me. I would recognize that car from anywhere. Stepping out of the car, he raised a hand to push back his bangs. Ethan Zhang, the boy I had known since sixth grade. Tall, handsome, his black hair that had suspiciously turned light brown, and dark brown eyes. He spotted me and flared his nose.

“Bro,” he groaned.

“Ethan,” I rolled my eyes. Although we had been friends for six years, he still found me enduringly annoying and hopefully adorably so.

Ethan sighed, and took out his phone. He stepped closer to me, towering over my tiny 5’5 frame and snapped a hideous photo of my forehead. “Happy last day of school,” he smirked.

“Eww, could you not?” I rolled my eyes.

“I think I have to remind you that you still have lingering acne,” he informed me.

“No dip, Sherlock,” I groaned. “I’ve been trying to perfect my skincare routine and it’s just not working.”

“I don’t think it’ll ever work, Kas. Anyway, I gotta go meet Meg. I’ll see you around,” Ethan smirked again, slipped his phone into his pocket and practically sauntered across the parking lot.

Annoyed, I followed him, straying a few strides behind. A few cars zoomed by because seniors were…well, seniors. I didn’t drive that fast though. When I finally crossed towards the back entrance, my heart dropped a little when I saw Ethan talking to Megan. They had been dating for six months, known each other since third grade and their relationship was long overdue. Was I jealous? No, certainly not. How could I not be happy for them? Megan Lee was one of my good friends, stunningly pretty with her straight long black hair and her petite figure. Ethan was handsome and one of the smartest guys in school. Picture perfect couple. Of course I was happy for them. Although my heart ached, I was still happy- fine. I was jealous. I simply had been jealous for years. I had liked Ethan for ages, since I was twelve. TWELVE. Now, a senior graduating from high school with honors? Yeah, I still liked him. Suddenly, a blur of black hair hurled right at me, and I squealed. Someone picked me up and twirled me around. Jayden Yao. My best friend.

“Oh thank God, last day of high school, last day of thirteen years of education-” Jayden rambled, shaking hair out of his eyes and adjusting his glasses.

“There’s still college, Jayden,” I rolled my eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll just go to Kennesaw anyway,” Jayden shrugged. “It won’t make much of a difference anyway.”

“Jayden, we’ve talked about this,” I sighed. “UGA. At least. You got in. Come on, that’s fantastic.”

“Yeah, but all the other Asians got into MIT or Harvard,” Jayden muttered.

I sighed and looked up at him. Of course all the guys had to be towering over me. “Jayden, you’re not dumb. UGA is ranked twentieth for law schools in the US. Come on, it’s the last day of school, don’t you want to celebrate? Go around and think fondly of all the happy memories?”

Jayden chuckled. “Yeah right, your so-called 'happy' memories. Remember that bush?” Jayden pointed to a scraggly looking bush. “You pushed me into that and tore my best sweatshirt.”

“Okay, in my defense, you wore that sweatshirt practically every day. It was ugly too,” I laughed. Jayden rolled his eyes and then he caught sight of his latest crush- Ayden Chung.

“Go talk to him,” I raised my eyebrows.

“He’s not gay,” Jayden muttered.

I rolled my eyes. “AYDEN!” I shouted, getting attention from the nerdy looking Asian boy who looked at me and started shuffling away.

“You scared him away,” Jayden whined.

“My bad. Shall we get to class? Yearbook signing?” I raised my eyebrows.

“After you, m’lady.”

“Shut up.”

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Ethan

I loved Kas, but she could be so annoying sometimes. She was like my little sister that just happened to be two weeks older than me. I went inside the building, holding hands with Megan, my beautiful girlfriend. She had a tower of books to return, and I was holding pretty much all of them. My little bookworm. We nearly had a thing in sixth grade, but Kas had told the both of us that we liked each other, and Megan got scared off. Of course it was Kas Kwak. Megan’s big brown eyes looked up to mine, smiling at me. She was short. Barely 5 feet tall, but her height made it easier for me to kiss her when she wasn’t noticing.

“Coffee?” Megan asked, pointing to the coffee shop inside the main entrance.

“You go ahead,” I shrugged. She skipped over to the line, dragging me behind. Last day of school. Last day of waiting in line for coffee that was half bad.

“So, Georgia Tech, huh?” Megan asked, her eyes losing some of its sparkle.

“Megan, we talked about this,” I groaned.

“What?” Megan asked innocently.

I took one hand and cupped her face. “UGA is not a bad school. We’ll still see each other, I swear.”

“You promise?” Megan raised her eyebrows.

I kissed her cheek. “Promise. Then, I’ll go to MIT while you finish getting your degree and then we’ll see what happens then.”

Megan wrapped her arms around me. I hugged her back awkwardly, struggling to balance her books.

“I love you,” Megan whispered. My heart soared a bit. It was the first time she said those words. Right there, in the crowded queue for the shitty coffee, I never felt happier.

“I love you too.”

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Kas

8:14. Jayden and I were strolling through the hallways, giggling and our hearts beating excitedly. We ran into our other friends in the hall. Julian, the red-headed guy that I had known for a while, wrapped me into a hug. Weird? Maybe. He never hugged me before.

“We’re nearly free!” He shouted.

“Calm down, Jules,” Callen rolled her eyes. I loved Callen. Tall and brunette, I would have totally dated her a long time ago if I was gay. But I sadly wasn’t.

“Hey, I’m just excited, man. UGA, let’s go!” Julian smirked.

“Yellow jacket here,” I shrugged.

“Your football team sucks,” Julian scoffed.

“Okay, and?” I raised my eyebrows.

“Alright, we’re all going to good schools, how’s that?” Andrew cut in. “Coffee, anyone?” he asked.

“Please,” I sighed appreciatively.

“Don’t drink too much,” Jayden warned me.

“Okay, Dad,” I rolled my eyes. We began to walk towards the coffee shop, laughing at the stupidest things.

8:16. That’s when it happened. We were near the front entrance, near the closest stairs, about to get in the long ass line for coffee. A bang silenced the busy crowd at the front entrance.

“What was that-” Jayden began. Someone screamed. The crowd began to swarm and disperse. I looked around, trying to see where the sound came from.

“GUN!” Someone shrieked. The student body dispersed, stampeding for the nearest exits. Callen screamed. Julian disappeared into the crowd. Jayden started to run, holding my hand. Panic. Confusion. I slipped on something. Jayden got lost in the crowd. I struggled to get up, panic engulfing my lungs. I looked down and crimson blood stained my hands, my legs. My eyes blurred as I looked to the side. A scream died in my throat. A kid, looking no older than a freshman, laying on the floor, his eyes glassy and staring at the ceiling like searching for something. He wasn’t breathing. Something moved behind me. I whirled around to see someone wearing a mask, dressed in black, and holding a gun right at me. I screamed. The shooter pulled the trigger. Pain exploded at my stomach as I screamed, my eyes moving frantically for someone familiar, for something to ease the pain. I clutched at my stomach, trying to stop the flow of blood. There was too much. Too much blood. My fingers stained red. My blood spilled onto the floor, joining the puddle I was sitting in. People ran by, screaming, some falling, some slipping on the sticky tiles that were tainted with red. Alarms were going off. My eyes rolled to the back of my head. Then everything was black.

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Ethan

8:16. My world exploded. Megan and I were in line for coffee, three people in front of us. Something loud went off. I looked out of the window to see what happened to look like a hundred students running. Someone screamed. Then my instincts kicked in. School shooter. Coffee was forgotten. Everyone in line scurried away, shouting. Megan looked at me, screaming in fear. I grabbed her hand, dropping her books, joining the crowd outside of the door. My heart was beating like crazy. Megan followed, clutching onto my arm as we ran.

“Get out, get out, get out,” I muttered. I stumbled on something laying on the floor. I looked down to see the body of someone with a pool of blood. My heart rate increased. Megan was crying, covering her eyes. I scanned for the nearest exit. Alarms were blaring. Shots kept going off. People still ran and screamed. I saw people fall, blood exploding from them. Through the sea of fearful faces, they parted, leaving a clear view of a horrific scene that I was unprepared for. I stopped running, Megan kept going. I heard my name being screamed. Kas. Lying on the floor with blood staining her clothes. She wasn’t moving. Kas, my older and little sister at the same time. Kas, the girl that was annoying but still one of my best friends. I screamed, a sound so animalistic that I didn’t recognize it. My feet moved on their accord, sprinting towards her. The world was mute. I didn’t think about the shooter. I didn’t think about Megan. I reached Kas, screaming for her to wake up. My eyes got blurry from tears.

“No. No, no, no, no, no.” I repeated. Tears fell. They joined her blood. I couldn’t think of anything else. I picked her up, her blood staining my clothes. I ran, her body in my arms. I prayed for a breath from Kas. I struggled to find the exit, joining the sea of people that were trying to shove each other to get through. I pushed my way through, stamping on feet, kicking shins. Then, I was through, into the open air. My feet took me to the parking lot. People were still running, away from the building, across the road. My arms trembled from the weight of Kas.

“I need help,” I croaked out. “SOMEONE HELP!” I screamed, my voice deafening. I collapsed to the ground, Kas tumbling on the pavement. The blood still poured out. Suddenly, someone crouched beside me. Callen Davis. Her eyes were wide from shock. Her hands quickly touched Kas, her hands soon tainted with crimson.

“Oh God, please God no,” she begged. Tears began to fall quickly.

“Callen, please. I’m begging you, please,” I begged. Tears rolled down my cheeks. Callen tried to pull herself together.

“The blood, the blood. You have to stop the blood. Compress it or she’s going to bleed out,” Callen muttered. She checked Kas’ pulse.

“Is she-?” the question died in my throat.

“She’s still there. Faint. But keep compressing,” Callen looked at me with wide eyes. Suddenly, sirens wailed. A dozen police cars arrived. Ambulances ensued.

“Go get them. Go get someone,” Callen ordered. I shakily stood up. Shots fired, a steady ra-tat-tat-tat-tata. Then they stopped. It was quiet other than the screaming.

“HURRY!” Callen screamed. I began to move, my legs pumping, towards the building. First responders piled out of the ambulances. Some stood at the building in shock. I approached a first responder who was quickly unloading supplies.

“Please. My friend. Please. You have to-” Before I knew it, I was leading her through the cars, to where Kas was. The first responder assessed Kas, her hands moving quickly. A few other first responders joined us. Callen and I stood to the side, watching in shock.

“We lost her,” one of the responders reported.

“CPR, stat,” another one said. Electricity crackled, jolting Kas.

“Again.”

Kas’ body jolted again.

“Again,” one of the first responder’s voice cracked. I stood, watching, life leaving me. Callen started to cry on my shoulder. The electricity stopped. The machine was switched off. Kas was still motionless. One of the first responders stood up, tears in her eyes.

“I’m so sorry.”

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Thank you for reading this. As a high school student, stories of school shootings have forced my school to increase security measures, threats have came forth and students have been scared. Stories like Uvalde and Apalachee have been spread across the US, and many school shootings are still happening. I wrote this piece in hopes of raising awareness for this issue, and that it needs to stop. I apologize for some of the graphic content, but it is the brutal reality from the school shootings.

Thank you.