I Remember

I remember going to school and laughing as I joked with my friends.
I remember spending the first half of class gossiping and ignoring Mrs. Tole who was desperately trying to teach us Sophomore English.
I remember glancing at the television in time to see the clock become news and the planes hit the tower.
I remember how no one breathed in that room as we watched the news Mrs. Tole stopped teaching and we all had our eyes locked on that television set.
I remember the bell for class change came and none of us moved until we were forced to, then we ran to Mrs. Sansonetti's room.
I remember how I didn't like her at all and how she didn't like me, but when Megan mentioned wasn't my cousin in NYC she came over and hugged me just in case.
We didn't have social studies that day, we watched the news, when the announcement came that the district was blocking every single outside channel because the "Images were to disturbing" I wanted to scream.

I remember we all stared at the clocks on the tv willing the news to come back the rest of the day.
That was the ONLY lunch where everyone was silent. There was no joking, or laughing, or talking, or food flying, there weren't even any whispers.

None of us knew what was happening. I remember going home and finding out my cousin was safe. I cried.
I cried because she was fine, and because so many people weren't.

I will never forget what I was doing that day, I will never forget how in that instant I felt the bottom of my stomach drop and I wanted to be able to fight and get even. Or how the next second I wanted to curl up and cry and pretend it never happened.

I will always remember how everyone banded together after that, how we were a united country, all colors, religions, creeds, we were all together and ready to fight.