9/11 Readers� Theatre – Spring �15
�A day that will
live in infamy� that was then
this is now
it seems that
every generation has to suffer
through some
sort of tragedy that
inevitably leads
to the unification of a
nation
unify and
separate, all at the same time
They! Them! The
others!
Us! We! The
nation!
A group turns
into a nation
and a single
person is now made
the object of
hate.
I don�t know how
to tell the difference.
How do you tell
the difference?
Veronica
I was sitting at
my desk when the
first tower was
hit
My momma worked
as a teacher across the street
I was in
kindergarten. We all had TVs in
classrooms (no
cell phones yet)
It was on TV.
the flames, the plane, the people
screaming
even people
jumping, did they know it was concrete?
She brought me
to my momma�s classroom.
All students in
our district were dismissed to parents.
Class couldn�t
continue
Plane
2
screams
jump,
jump, jump. –crunch—
Bones
snap dissolve as they hit concrete
Dust fills the
screen. �Tower is collapsing!� fills the screen.
jump,
jump, jump. – crunch—
They
sound like my Rice Krispy cereal
--snap
– crackle – pop –
45 minutes, now
Tower 2 is gone
There were 32
students with Mom when I got
to her
room. Now 32 students and 13
teachers
and 32 sets of
parents all grabbed hands to pray.
�Dear
God��
Britney
I was in science
class when the intercom sounded
the principal
announced that a plane had crashed into
the World Trade
Center
one of the
buildings
I didn�t know
what the World Trade Center was
but I thought
what a terrible
accident
How could that
happen
then the
principal said a second plane hit another tower
and I was so
confused
How does this
happen
the intercom clicked
and I looked at my teacher
She had a smirk
on her face
I didn�t
understand
She said: They
sent us an email about an hour ago when
this
happened. I already knew about
this.
I�ll never know
why she said that or
Why she had that
smirk
Nothing made
sense
When I came home
I found my mom
in front of the
TV
She was standing
up
watching the
news
She must have
come home early
She�s never home
early and she never watches TV
She told me she
was in a meeting
when the first
plane hit
they turned on
the news to watch
then they
watched as the second plane crashed
live
I couldn�t
imagine, seeing it happen
then I turned to
the TV
it happened over
and over
Colleen
Chris just moved
back from Vegas
he got hurt at
work, lost his job, sold his house
had to move back
in with his parents
he was
recovering from major surgery
with his arm in
a sling, and a pocket full of pills
he nursed his
broken ego and a pint of watery beer
It�s hardly noon
and he�s the only one at the
pathetic bar
his cell phone
rings
Dad
His dad was
distant and always disappointed
a construction
worker could never live up to the
expectations of
a project manager at a
defense contract
company
Reluctantly,
Chris answers
What�s up, Pop?
Turn on the TV
I�m at a bar,
Dad
Turn it on
Ok � hey, could
you turn that on – Dad what channel?
It doesn�t
matter
Part of the
Pentagon was on fire.
Dad?
I�m ok. But I can�t talk. Tell your mom
I was on the
other side of the building.
Chris looked at
his phone
Call Ended
He stared at the
TV and ordered a stronger drink
He stayed at
that lonely bar all day
trying to
remember why he came in the first place
Why did he feel
sorry for himself
Why did he think
twice about answering his phone
He was ok. He was alive.
Colleen
Mommy and Daddy
got married in 1980.
They met at
Farmingdale College in New York.
(well,
technically, they met outside a bar near the college--
Mommy grew up in
the Italian ghetto of the Bronx.
Daddy was raised
spoiled in his Jewish neighborhood
out on Long
Island.)
They both wanted
to move west, so they spent
their two-week
honeymoon trekking
3,000 miles to
make their new home.
But you can�t
take the city out of a
New Yorker. They carried their own slice
of the big apple
with them wherever they were.
They settled
into the Golden State and raised two baby girls all on their
own. Taught them
right and wrong and told
them stories of
their home so far away.
I was in 8th
grade that morning. The morning
our slice of
apple was chopped to bits.
Mommy always
leaves for work early to beat
the traffic,
when she heard something on
the radio.
A news report.
Her home was
crumbling.
She called Daddy
in a panic, told him to
turn on the
television. My sister and I are
never allowed to
watch television
while we eat breakfast.
But then, we
could hardly eat as we
watched the
smoke billow, the flames
clawing, the
bodies flying free, hoping to be
caught by
angels.
I�d never seen
Daddy cry before.
Jessica
Time for school,
time for school
I woke up a
little easier
than normal
today
Never was a fan
of breakfast
but had my
things ready
before I go to
the bus stop
Mom turns on the
news.
She never
watches TV
in the morning.
She tells me to
run
upstairs
tell Dad.
Tell him?
Tell him the
world trade center
was hit, the
twin towers
are down.
I run up the
stairs
feel strong
I have an
important job.
Dad jumps out of
bed real fast
He runs
downstairs
he�s so serious
so frantic.
They can�t
believe it
I know it�s
important
it�s on the news
it doesn�t him
me
not right away.
What does this
mean
for me now?
should I be
scared�
How much has
everything changed?
The more I
understand, the sadder I get.
Alex
I�m getting my
lesson ready for my history class when
my phone rings.
It�s my wife.
Turn on your TV
quick she yells.
She�d been
crying.
I reach in my
desk drawer and
grab
the remote.
What am I
looking for I ask her.
Just
turn to the news, we�re being attacked
I flip the
channel and am greeted
with
the second plane crashing into
the
second tower.
Disbelief grips
me, terror rings
through
my body.
She is crying
now, telling me to come home.
I can�t leave my
class.
The
kids will be arriving any minute.
Do they know?
Do I tell them?
The
first student walks in.
I try to hide my
sobs by turning away.
I
tell my wife I have to go and hang up.
As the kids file
in one after the other,
so
do my tears.
Mr. Tripoli,
asked a student, What�s happening?
She�s
pointing at the TV, at the World Trade
Center,
smoking and flaming.
History, I tell
her.
Mike
6:15
a.m. I wake up. I sleepily make my
way to the
bathroom. I run the hot
water and turn
on the bathroom radio.
Live 105. The Woody Show.
Brushing
my teeth. I hear the radio
hosts chatter
away. Too much talking
and not enough
music today. I step in
the shower.
Bundled
in a towel, I return to my
room, flipping
the �on� button
on the radio on
the bookcase. I�m running
late for
Freshman Ed class. I quickly
dress. Are they really still not playing
music? As I rush to get ready I
hear words
– �the tower�New York�
attack.� My gut wrenches at their
serious tone,
but I become annoyed
that they think
such a tasteless joke
is funny.
Radio
off.
The
phone rings.
Dad
picks up. From upstairs I
hear him
speaking. �What channel?�
he asks.
I
make my way to the steps.
Dad looks for
the remote and Mom
tells me
Grandma�s on the phone.
Something�s
wrong.
I
walk down the first few steps,
sitting to see
my dad and the television.
Holding
the banister, I watch the
tower�s
collapse.
Karissa
My eyes cracked
open at the sounds of
my mommy and
sister being loud. I wiped
my eyes and climbed
from my
bunk bed. My tummy rumbled and ached
for breakfast.
My mommy always makes
me an egg
sandwich. Two sides of English
muffin and one
egg mostly cooked and one
slice of melty cheese.
Usually she comes
and wakes me up
and it�s already waiting
on the
table. I thought it was weird
that she didn�t
come into wake me like
she always does,
especially today. I made
my way to the
living room and the big
TV was on. It looked like one of Daddy�s
scary action
movies was on, things
crashing and
blowing up, all smoke and
fire and people
screaming. But then
the news people
with the red and
blue boxes with
words I couldn�t
make clear came
on. And then the
action movie
again. My sister usually
is scared of
Daddy�s movies and
doesn�t watch
but she sat on
the couch, in
the middle, staring, all ready
for school with
her backpack at
her feet. Mommy was crying
using the phone
calling
Grandma but no
one answered.
I was
confused. She was
crying so
hard. I was scared.
Daddy was
already at work
and my sister
didn�t seem to
know I was right
there. No
one did. I grabbed the remote
and turned off
the TV. And it
was like they
were awakened like
me. Finally. and both looked
at me. I said to Mommy �
�Why is everyone
so sad on
my birthday? I�m
6 now, today,
did you forget?�
I remember that
day every year
differently than
the rest of
the world. Sept.
11, 2001
Brooke
I remember that
day
looking up at
the TV
not really
understanding
what was going
on. I
saw the
buildings, the
smoke. The
constant
replays over and
over.
I remember the
phone
ringing,
questions pouring
into my mother�s
ear.
I didn�t want to
go to
school but my
mom
made me.
I remember the
boy
across from me
taped
an American flag
to his desk
he was younger
than me and
I question if he
even
truly
understood. I didn�t.
I remember
thinking
they were coming
to get me.
I cried,
pleaded, begged
my mother to let
me sleep
in her bed. She said I�d be
fine but I
cried.
I remember my
dad
lugging
something large
into my room.
He set up a cot
next to
my bed and told
me
no one would get
us now
and I
went to sleep
–
safe.
Gracie
Confusion.
Fear.
What�s going on?
Mom kept us home
from school.
The small TV on
the news
planes
fling, smoky buildings.
police
sirens and the cries of people.
�Get away from
there. Put on a movie.�
No answer as to
what we just saw.
Mom whispering
quickly into the phone
in the other
room, eyes wide.
young minds not
understanding
Are
we okay?
Where
did that happen?
Mom?
Mom? Mom?
small
voice pestering.
Marisela
(from her
mother�s perspective)
It was early,
the birds had just started singing
I
crawled out of bed
making
sure not to wake my daughter
who
slept next to me
I started the
coffee maker and
turned on the
radio as I always did
but today the
news wasn�t
about how the
weather or traffic
would be this
morning but how
the world was
changing due to
plane
crashes
Once I heard my
coffee cup
dropped
and fell to the
floor
into a million pieces
My daughter came
from the other
room as my eyes
filled up
with tears.
How was I going
to tell my
sweet baby girl
that this
world sometimes
isn�t so
sweet.
Kristen
I�m so hungry
Why
is everyone so confused
or
is it sad or is it angry
I don�t get it
Why
is Syid not at school today?
Now I won�t have
my smart
partner to help
me understand
history and math
rumble,
rumble
I don�t
understand why
why
are the television
pictures
so important.
It is TV
I
thought is was supposed to be fake
rawr, grrrr
oh
my tummy
I�m
so hungry
�I
pledge allegiance
to
the flag
of
the United States
of
America
for
which it stands
one
nation under
God
with
liberty and justice
for
all�
er�Did I say that right?
Sigh�what�s
this
a
moment of silence?
I guess I can
rest my eyes
for
a little
What really
happened in New York?
Why
are we crying?
Poor people
there dying or
they�re
dead
now
I�m sad
I�m hungry
Bekki
�Wake up! Check
this out,� my older brother
wakes me with a
kick to the bed. I growl,
It�s too
early. What the hell does he
want? I can hear my mom�s loud gasps and
Dad�s serious
voice, commenting about something
on TV in my
parents� bedroom. It couldn�t
be good if they
were both just sitting
there watching
the news instead of their regular
morning rush
filled with loud comments
and threats
about walking to school
if we aren�t out
in time. I knew it had to
be bad.
�
�I�m so sick of
watching this crap in every
class. I swear. People need to chill out.
It�s probably
going to blow over in a
week anyways.�
shouted out the loud
annoying red
head in drama class. Horrible
things had
happened and this damn barefoot
hippie was
worried and sitting in another
class listening
to what
had happened today. �Stupid hippie.�
Shirley
They don�t suspect
it.
I go past the
security checks easily, as our leaders have
told me would
happen.
The plane is
full.
Children.
Mothers.
Businessmen.
All
infidels.
She tells me to
take my seat. My seat is currently
occupied in the
cockpit.
I recite a verse
from the Holy Book
for the will of
the Great One.
The passengers
sleep.
I wake and walk.
The attendant is
not resistant.
nor the pilots.
The plane hovers
over New York City,
They toil for
their riches.
We shall toil
over their graves.
They revel in
their infidelity.
We revel in our
desire to save them.
They think they
are living in the wealthy condos.
We shall show
them living in the land of the free.
Five.
I turn the
steering down.
Four.
I hunch forward.
Three.
My body tenses.
Two.
I think about
the good I will serve.
One.
I think who�s
really being saved.
Zero.
I let them
think.
Aaron
I was at school
when it
happened.
Jaws dropped.
Watching from
such a distance.
Vacant stares
towards the in-class
TV where Mrs. Lezotte had turned
on the news.
Some cried.
The next day was
the same.
sitting in
disbelief.
questions flying
at the
teacher who had
no more
answers that
we. Next period the same.
Every class, the
same.
Repeating the
events.
instant replay.
freeze frame.
Everyone stopped
to watch.
There�s nothing
we could do from so
far away.
Everything
stopped.
Helpless.
Kiersten
It was just
before 8:00 o�clock that morning
and I will never
forget seeing or
hearing the
sheer panic in my dad�s
voice as he ran
through the house, up the
stairs to my
parents� room.
�Kath!! Get up!!
They are running
planes into the
World Trade Centers!�
I remember him
shouting.
I was only 7
years old, in the
third
grade. I saw my mom stumble out of
bed and quickly
run into the family
room. My sister and I quickly
followed. I didn�t have a full understanding
about what was
going on. I just knew
from the looks
on my parents� faces
and the smoke,
fire, and live footage
on TV. Something terrible had happened.
My mom still
drove us to school. Parents
were in the
drop-off lane getting out
of their cars
crying and hugging each
other. I had never seen all the grown ups so
upset.
Karley
�Fuck.�
I heard my
mother�s quiet voice from my bedroom.
My mother never
swore.
Well, once.
When my dad
first grew a ponytail.
�Cut that
fucking thing,�
she�d said.
But this curse
word,
this time,
was different.
It was quiet.
Soft.
Scared.
I peeked my head
out into the living room.
The four eyes of
my parents were on the TV.
I ventured my
whole body out.
Smoke.
Smoke and buildings.
Buildings that
we had been to,
weeks before.
Weeks before
they were smoking on TV.
My parents kept
watching,
didn�t look at
me;
They always
looked at me.
What were the
buildings called?
I looked at the
TV again.
World Trade
Center,
the TV said.
Smoke.
They kept
smoking
we kept
watching.
I woke up while
watching the smoke.
Things were
happening –
in my brain,
and on TV.
People were in
the building.
People.
Just –
regular people
who had gone to
work,
at 7 a.m.,
New York time
–
(in my future).
7 a.m. work
time,
people with
regular jobs,
like my parents.
Like my uncles
and aunts.
Just like any
regular people.
We kept
watching.
People jumped.
People were
scared enough to jump.
Out of a very
tall building.
Were they less
afraid of jumping than staying?
We kept
watching.
My mother cried.
My brain kept
thinking.
Then,
just a little
baby high school freshman, at 7 a.m.,
I did not think
of America,
or terrorism,
or freedom.
No.
I just kept
watching,
and thinking,
about people,
regular people.
Jumping,
Crying,
Dying.
Alana
I was told to
call my family
After much
commotion at the nose of the plane.
I was told we
only had moments left.
I wondered who
to call.
I had no one
waiting.
Everyone was
crying, screaming, leaving voicemails.
I sat alone.
I felt the plane
hit.
I felt the chill
of death.
I saw who to
call
but
It was too late.
Isaac
School was cut
short
We were all told
to leave
many of us got
excited
excited to not
work, excited to go home.
I knew something
was going on.
I knew something
big was happening.
All the adults
looked worried
All looked sad.
No one would say
what was going on.
No one could
speak.
I came home.
I heard.
I sat quietly.
I understood
everyone�s silence.
I too
could
not
speak.
Isaac
that morning,
like every
morning,
we watched the
news in the dark
in my parents�
bedroom
before school.
I saw the towers
and the planes and the smoke
on the screen.
My mom made
frantic phone calls
to her sister
who worked in
the city,
whose husband
had had a meeting
in the towers
the day before.
I played my gameboy color.
When I got to
school,
my fourth grade
teacher
tried to explain
what had
happened.
I remember I was
happy
because we got
to watch the footage
on TV
instead of doing
actual classwork.
I made myself
cry,
because I was a
good American
and it was a sad
day for freedom.
God bless the
USA
Afterwards,
there was such a
sense of
community
and camaraderie
among everyone
we knew.
People smiled
when you passed them
on the sidewalk.
Everyone started
putting
American flag
stickers
on their
notebooks,
front windows,
car bumpers.
We even got two
little flags for the car
that you rolled
up onto the window.
I accidentally
rolled down the window
that was holding
the flag up
and it fell out
into the street.
I thought you
weren�t supposed
to let the flag
touch the
ground.
I don�t think my
mom ever noticed
it was gone.
Kayla
A
thirteen-year-old boy arrives at
school, a junior
high school in Ojai Valley,
to a hushed and
pensive classroom.
He
doesn�t watch the news. He doesn�t
read the
paper. He just wakes up
fifteen minutes
before he must leave,
straps some
Chuck Taylors on his feet
below his Levi�s
511�s and throws on
a band shirt,
Iron Maiden. So, when
he hits his
first period and sees his social
studies teacher
wide-eyed and nervous,
he surmises that
something is wrong.
He
sits watching the plane strike the
tower. He listens to the silence of the
room and the
thump of his own
heartbeat. He thinks about the first
two World Wars,
and wonders if the
producers are making
the long-dreaded
sequel.
This
thought pervades most of
his waking hours
and he keeps it with
him for
years. As a high school senior,
he receives an
envelope in the
mail. It requires his signature. It
requires his
life. He signs the Selective
Service form
because he does not
have a choice,
he does not have a say.
He�s
a man now, and sometimes
men are
called�to die�in wars
they didn�t
start, in wars they don�t believe
in.
A
tear escapes every now and then before
it�s obliterated
by a sleeve. He�s not supposed to
cry.
He�s a man now.
Kendrick
I awoke that
morning to my mother shaking me.
I had an alarm
clock. My mother wasn�t supposed
to wake me. She said, �Get up. Something
happened.� I don�t know how, but next thing I knew
I was watching
television. One tower was
on fire. In the time it took for me to
use the
bathroom, the second plane hit.
I�ve never felt
an atmosphere like at school
that day, before
or since. A lot of people
asked, Why? More frightened people
asked, What next? There were
no answers.
Tristan
So I�m sitting
there reading my favorite book
to a class of
first graders when
Secret Service
comes and whispers in my ear that
the country is
under attack. Now I know I
should have got
right up and headed to the
West Wing, but
I�ll be damned if I don�t
finish The Cat in the Hat. Like I said it�s
my all time
favorite, that silly cat with all
his shenanigans
and what not. So I finish
the story and my
Secret Service rushes me
out of the
room. They tell me some
hooligans flew a
couple of planes into those
two really big
buildings in New York that look
just like each
other, I forget what they�re called,
but they also
tried to take out the Pentagon.
So I did what I
always do and got Cheney
on the phone to
find out the game plan. He
said to get my
butt back to the White House
asap.
On our drive back we passed by an
Outback
Steakhouse and my tummy was growling,
so I told the
Secret Service to pull over but
they said they
couldn�t. I said �I�m the president
dammit and I
want some surf-n-turf.� They said
they couldn�t,
Cheney�s orders. Boy I hate when
that
happens. But anyways, we get back
to
Casa del Blanco
and next thing I know I�m
landing on an
aircraft carrier declaring victory
in Iraq.
Kyle
I was getting ready
to go to school when the
phone rang
ring ring, ring ring
it was for Daddy
quickly the TV
turned on and there was red
orange and black
covering the screen
Mommy had to
take me to school that day
so Daddy could go
to work at the newspaper.
Mommy was quiet
on the way to
school so I
turned the radio up more.
Music stopped
and people kept talking, but
I wasn�t
listening.
I wonder what�s
for hot lunch?
At school there
weren�t a lot of kids and I
didn�t know
why. Mommy had tried to
explain it but
even she didn�t know too much.
Bing. Bing.
Bing.
Time for class.
Announcements
come on but they�re not the
same. We�re told to have a moment of
silence, but I
get distracted by Francisco
making faces.
The day goes on
but apparently time has seemed
to stand still
to all those over 3 ½ feet tall.
Maria
�Ram, wake up.�
My sister said as she opened the door to
my room. I glanced at my alarm clock. �What do you want?� I grumbled,
turning over in
my sheets. �I don�t have to be up
for an hour.�
�You
know the World Trade Center in New York?� she asked.
�No,�
I replied.
�Well,
someone just flew a plane into it, come watch the news with us.
She said as she
ran downstairs to join our sister and parents in
front of the
TV. I joined my family just in time
to see the
second plane
hit, and we watched in silent horror as
the buildings
fell.
Everyone
at school was on edge. �San Francisco�s next!�
people kept
repeating. We gathered at a special
assembly, the whole school
watching our
principal tearfully recount that one of the passengers on one
of the flights
was a former student of our middle school.
This brought
the tragedy
close to us. No longer was this
just something that happened on
the east coast,
but a ripple from this tragedy had now
officially
reached our shores.
Over
the next few weeks in an attempt to discourage racism, we
held an
impromptu cultural fair. The flag
of every nation lined our
quad and every
week students from different ethnicities had an
opportunity to
share something about their culture over the morning
announcements. Rather than become divided, our entire
school bonded together
to form a place
of welcoming and acceptance.
As
an eleven-year-old who only felt like I half understood
what was
happening, I felt grateful to live in an area where the
people were
accepting of others and to not have to live in fear of
anti-middle
eastern racism as I had seen elsewhere in the country.
Rameen
They made the
announcement over our middle school�s
intercoms.
A moment of
silence followed
Mrs. Smith, my
homeroom instructor, began to cry
I didn�t quite
understand the severity of the situation
until I got home
and saw it for myself on the news that day
I had been
confined to my little world in Southern California.
Before this day,
I wouldn�t have been able to tell
you where the
Twin Towers were even located.
in that moment,
I was 11 years-old watching a cloud of
debris develop
from the crashes, with my jaw to the floor.
I thought to
myself, �I�m never leaving home ever again.�
Sarah
I was eating Froot Loops
my brother still
asleep
my mom yelling
wake up
television
blaring
then
frantic voices
one tower then
two
fire
and small
figures floating in the air – people –
a plane
cereal stayed in
my mouth
until it was
soggy
swallow
Mom, Mom
MOM
she was behind
me, eyes wide
and all I could
see
were the little
figures
like leaves
weaving through the air.
Crystal
I never thought
about getting a cell phone
-- never thought
about it until after watching
hours of CNN
playing, replaying the events
of Sept. 11,
2001
In the days
following, I heard the cell phone
messages –
messages sent to loved ones,
messages saying,
�I�m on a plane, I�m going to die,
I love you,
Goodbye.�
I heard the
messages of those on the flight that
would
crash in a field in Pennsylvania
when passengers
knew they were heading East, not
West
messages that
spoke of their bravery in
a
couple words: �Let�s roll.�
I was haunted
for weeks, pondering what it was
like for the
passengers on the 3 flights
knowing they
were going to die
I never thought
about getting a cell phone
prior to Sept.
11, 2001
but after that
day, I knew I�d want a way
to call final
goodbyes to those I love
I�d want to
spend my last minutes of life
thanking those
who gave me life
Dr. Warner
The walls shook
as the plane hit into
the side of the
building.
Wasn�t
long before the people
came running
down the stairs. I saw one
woman open up
her window and drop out.
By the time I got
to the stairs they
were in full
use. I worked my way
down, down,
down. got to the fourth
floor when it
started coming down. The
wall collapsed
around me, surrounded by
steel and
concrete. Hours pass by as my
lower body
begins to fade. My legs don�t
work, I�m
trapped. Voices come calling out
through the
blackness, but I can�t call back.
Blood pools out
of my body as I slip
away. Then everything is light, I�m being
lifted carried
broken. The funny thing
is, when it
happened I didn�t even bother
asking why.
Nick
Mom was on the
phone asking a million questions at the speed of light
the TV was on
real loud, channel 2, like it was everyday
because she
never let me watch cartoons
before school
started. Mom had her finger in one
ear to
hear over the
TV. She was talking to Auntie Velinda about
what was going
on. I stared at the TV: Breaking
News in Bold
letters. There were buildings on
fire and I tried
to ask her why
the firefighters couldn�t just put them out. She
stopped talking
on the phone. �The fire
was too high up
for them to reach.� She said as she
continued.
She was talking
to Dad. Dad works in San
Francisco. He said PG &E
was sending him
home early because of what happened.
On the ride to school she told
me the fire
wasn�t an accident but caused by
terrorists. Terrorists. A word I never heard before. She got out
of the car and
hugged me. Told me to be careful and listen
to Miss Lin if
anything happened. Miss Lin
wouldn�t turn on the
TV or let us
discuss what happened. I asked
Spencer if
he knew what a
terrorist was. He said no. Miss Lin said school
would end early.
Mom and Dad picked me up. I asked
Mom and Dad when the radio will stop talking about this. They had no answer.
Abraham
The building
shook violently, like a gong struck by
a baseball
bat. Everyone in the IT department
startled as one,
standing up from our desks
in confusion,
staring at each other.
Alarms were
going off. Smoke was seeping up
from the
carpet. Our manager began to panic;
he had been
slowly ushering people into the stairwell
but now his eyes
had gone wild. He�s barely
able to speak
and soon quits trying and
simply
gesticulates.
Down the stairs
we go, but it isn�t long until
the last fire
I�ll ever see blocks our
way. Strangely, its beautiful in the choking
steam of the
atmosphere, and in the moment
of awe-struck
hesitation, I almost miss everyone
ducking into the
nearest office trying to get away
from the
smoke. But it�s useless. The fire comes.
I hear the groan
of twisting metal, and the
building spasms
under the weight of its trauma.
The fire is
right behind us now, devouring the carpet
at a terrifying
pace.
Steve, from
Human Resources, smashes a window with
an abandoned
chair. He looks me in the eyes
before
jumping; his
shirt was on fire� Somehow, mine wasn�t.
Maybe it was the
sweat. I�m covered in sweat.
But when I look
down, I see it�s blood and the
hair on my arms
is getting singed, curling into wisps
of ash.
I jump as a
reflex. Time slows down. I reach into
my pocket as I
cartwheel and make sure
my wallet is
still there. It is. I�m reassured.
I only hear the
wind. There�s no more fire, no more
glass or
fractured steel.
Beneath me a
flock of pigeons crashes into the
windows,
confused by the explosion and smoke.
Above
me, I see them
fall tumbling.
Tumbling like
me.
I
I shut my eyes.
Hopefully I
clear the wreckage.
I�m sorry.
Dan
Alarm went off
too early – up before the sun
walk the dog,
come home, get warm in a shower
I heard mom on
the phone – thought
you were one of
the kids� schools
calling to
cancel.
If school was
cancelled I wanted to know
I toweled off my
hair and went to find mom
TV was on (I
don�t ever remember it on in the AM before)
And before I
could ask
What�s up
I asked, what�s
that�
As the second
plane appeared
Hit
the second tower
By the time I�d
got to school
I had noticed
the
silence—
no airplanes
flew anywhere near us
We watched 1st
period in history
We watched 2nd
period in English
and all through
chorus, PE, and Aide periods
Teachers were
glued to their TVs,
even through
lunch they asked
us to stay in
class
watching at
lunch, at break, in homeroom
As if by
watching one more time
we could change
it, or understand it.
Coming home it
was on TV again,
still with no
answers to offer
And when they
announced
around 8 pm
maybe kids
shouldn�t be watching
such footage
over and over
again
I couldn�t help
but laugh
Emma