Untitled Short Story#1(pt.2)

Charlie was feeling a little bit happier now that he had some time with Alex. Alex always knew how to cheer him up. Even though he wasn’t as down as he was when he first got to school he decided that he would skip class today, ‘like the good ol’ days’ he thought to himself. So, instead of heading off to his first class when the bell rang he waited until Alex was gone and then made his way outside.

Charlie went to the spot that he always used to go when he would skip classes, a big tree behind the school. He liked hiding behind this tree because it gave him a sense of security; much like Alex did now. In the summer it provided him with shade from the sun and heat. In the sinter it served as shelter from the snow since the thick branches kept the ground underneath dry.

Charlie would take his time at the tree to collect his thoughts or listen to music. As he sat down beside a large root that protruded from the base of the tree he pulled an mp3 player out of his pocket and put in the ear buds. Letting out a breathy sigh he turned on his music and rested against the large root.

Charlie lost track of time as he listened to his music and thought about the things that had happened that morning. He was very grateful to have Alex who was always there to support him. If he was ever having a bad day or going through rough times he would always go to Alex to console him. Alex was a big influence on Charlie’s improved grades also.

Charlie sat up fully alert as. He had heard a loud noise, even through his music, which was turned up quite high. He pulled out one of the ear phones to listen for any more noise. For a few moments there was complete silence. He though he must have been imagining things as he had started to doze off. All of a sudden he heard another shot coming from the school followed by a scream. His eyes opened wide as he realized what he was hearing.

Charlie grabbed his bags and jumped to his feet so that he could get to the front of the school. Shoving his mp3 player and earphones quickly into his pocket he began to run as fast as he could toward the school. As he got close, he saw students streaming out of the side exits of the school, panicked looks across all of their faces. He proceeded to the front of the school where the students and teachers were also running out of the doors.

He had to find Alex; he had to make sure that Alex was all right. Charlie started to push his way through the crowd of people that were filing out of the school, everyone too caught up in their terror to notice him running into the school.

As he neared the door one of the teachers that was amid the crowd grabbed him under their arm and started to pull him away from the building. Charlie struggled against the teacher.

“What are you doing? We had to get away from here, it’s not safe!” The teacher said to Charlie, still pulling him along with the escaping crowd.

“I… I have to make sure Alex is alright” He choked out as tears began to stream down his face.

“You can’t go in there now.” The teacher said looking down to Charlie who had now broken down in to tears “You could be killed.” Charlie was too caught up in emotion to keep struggling, he felt numb. He moved with the crowd now to a safe area well away from the school.



That night after his mother had picked him up, Charlie rushed to the phone to call Alex and see if he was all right. Charlie picked up the phone and dialed the number; his hands were shaking. Every dial tone seemed to last a century as he waited for an answer on the other line. Finally the dial tone stopped.

“Hello?…” Came a quiet woman’s voice from the other end.

“Hi, is Alex there?” Charlie asked quickly. There was silence for what seemed to last forever.

“He’s in the hospital..” The woman responded. Charlie felt as though someone had shot him, his heart fell through the floor. He dropped the receiver from his hands and collapsed. Charlie wept as tears flowed from his eyes, splattering on the ground.



Charlie reached his hand out to the metallic handle of the door. A yellow paper in a container that hung from the door read “Alex”. Twisting the handle Charlie slowly pushed the door open. As the door opened it revealed a rather tired looking Alex. He had bandaged that covered his left shoulder, and was sitting up in his hospital bed. Alex looked over to see who had entered the room, and was pleasantly surprised as he saw Charlie walk in.

“Charlie! I’m so happy to see you!” he said smiling. Charlie ran over to Alex’s side and kissed him lovingly, tears of relief and happiness warming his cheeks.

“Don’t cry, I’m alright” Alex said as he wiped Charlie’s tears away with his good hand.

“I was so worried about you” Charlie cried, feeling the comfort of Alex drying his tears again.

“I was worried about you too hun,” Alex responded looking into Charlie’s eyes “I love you.” He said as a tear rolled down his cheek too.