Red Headed Woman

I stare at her every day, and she never notices. Maybe I should just go talk to her already. I shook my head and shut my locker. The halls are packed with students getting ready for their next class. Thankfully, my next class is at the end of my section of lockers. And it's with her. I walk into English and head to my seat in the back of the classroom. She sits in the front of the class because she likes learning. Our teacher is giving a lecture on proper sentences and paragraph layout. As I take notes I glance over every so often to take in her beauty.

Dut-Dut-Dut... One Mississippi. Two Mississippi. Three Mississippi. Dut-Dut-Dut... Three Mississippis were all it took for me to realize what was happening. Others Ran to barricade the door as the rest of us hid, I purposefully sat as close as possible to Her. We could hear screaming coming from other classrooms throughout the school. Our class was mostly silent except for the quiet sniffle here and there.

After what felt like an eternity, it got really quiet. We heard footsteps coming towards us. Something is not right. If it were the cops you would think they would be louder or announce- I was stopped mid-thought when I saw a small gap in the barricade, just in time to notice the gun smashing the window. No one moved at first like they were frozen in time. Dut-Dut-Dut... I jumped without thinking.

She smelled of sweet vanilla and sandalwood, her long red curls dancing around her face. Her eyes were green like the forest. Our eyes meet but we don't dare move in case the gunman is still here. Finally, we hear footsteps walking away and I now notice the pain in my back. My vision starts to get blurry and I whisper, "I'm glad you're safe, Sophie" before letting the dark encompass me.