Sure to Shine

It was the day that Adam had been dreading. He stood on the grassy area beside the school on the first day back, along with the rest of the student body and the faculty. No one here had been looking forward to the first day back, but every single person, student or staff, had shown up. There would be a memorial service, and they had a memorial plaque that had been placed on the wall. They were working on something larger when funding would allow it, but they knew they needed something until that moment came.

Adam had been pleasantly surprised, however. The rest of he and Eric’s group had found him, and were treating him just the same as they ever had. Adam felt more comfortable now, and was no longer as scared of people having a go at him as he used to be.

Their principal, Mr. Moore, was on the makeshift stage in front of them. The choir usually used it for concerts, and two of the victims had been members. Mr. Moore still looked devastated, and Adam knew that he was. He loved all the kids in this school as though they were his own, and every single time something happened to one of them, he was heartbroken. Whether this was an accident that they recovered from, or a death, or even if a student had been bereaved, he would be devastated for them. Adam wondered just what this had done to him – fourteen of his pupils killed on one day, and dozens injured.

Adam spotted the young girl who had been in the library with him. Her arm was still in a sling, but she took Adam by surprise by beaming when she saw him. She crossed over to him, putting her good arm around him and hugging him tight.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "I was so scared; I didn’t know what to do. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t have kept a clear head."

"No problem," Adam told her, smiling warmly. "How’s your arm? It’ll be OK, right?"

"Yeah," she replied, looking down at the sling. "The bullet gave me a bad cut and it fractured the bone, but it should all be healed up in a couple more weeks, and it’ll be good as new. The doctors say there won’t even be a bad scar."

"That’s great," Adam said sincerely. "Thank God it’ll be OK."

There was a pause, and then she spoke up again, slightly nervously.

"How’s your friend?" she asked quietly. "I know he’s ... he’s not thinking right."

"He’s getting on as well as he can do," Adam told her. "And, if it means anything to you, he’s sorry for what he’s done. Sincerely sorry. I think it’s the first time I’ve ever seen him cry."

"It’s all right," the young girl smiled. "When you see him again, you can tell him that I forgive him. I don’t believe in holding grudges. I think he’ll remember me."

"You do?"

"Yeah. When I was getting out ... my brother came and found me, and we spotted him. He looked right at us but just told us to run. He could have killed us both, but he didn’t. He let us go. I don’t believe he’s a bad person."

Adam was touched by her words. For someone so young, she was so forgiving.

"He’s not," Adam told her. "Not the Eric I know, anyway."

"Well, tell him I wish him well, won’t you?" she asked, and Adam assured her he would. With another smile, she disappeared again, to find her group of friends. Adam didn’t really know what to make of it. He felt so touched that he was almost filling up.

He didn’t really expect to go through the entire service without crying, however. He knew that today would be the day where the fourteen victims would no longer be just a nameless number of tragic people. They would be given names, ages, histories, and wasted futures. The entire mass of people fell silent once Mr. Moore started speaking, and Adam could hear his voice cracking as he spoke.

"We’ve lost fourteen very special people," Mr. Moore told the silent audience. "Each and every one of them will be missed wholly, and dearly. Nothing here will ever be the same again without them. They were all special, beautiful, smart kids, who had the unfortunate luck to be in the wrong place at exactly the wrong time. I’m not sure how we’ll heal from this. It’s bad enough for something this tragic to happen once, but for it to happen here again, it makes it all the harder to recover from. I wasn’t principal when the first shooting occurred, but it still affected me just as this one did. I still remember the terror and heartache, and for this to happen again, it adds an extra dimension to the tragedy.

"Each and every child was special, and brought joy to many people’s lives. To go on without them seems like an impossible task, but I don’t want today to be all about mourning their passing. I believe strongly in celebrating life. I believe that healing becomes more bearable if you thank God for the time you had with them, rather than focus on the time you’ve lost. They touched lives in a special way before they had to go, and God only takes the best. We have to remember that. I just want to say something about every one of them. It will be brief, but I hope it will leave enough to think about. I would like to thank their friends for assisting with the lesser known facts.

"Ellis Daubney was fourteen years old. She was an optimistic young woman who loved animals and wished to qualify as a vet. However, her love and care didn’t just go towards animals, and she always had an ear to lend to friends and family alike.

"Donna Roberts was sixteen years old and a talented singer, both in her personal life and with the school choir. She loved being on the stage ever since she was a small child, and always hoped to continue that talent on into her adult life.

"Andrew Rodriquez was seventeen years old. He was a charitable young man, and every summer, he would return to his father’s native Mexico with church groups, to act as an interpreter as they helped communities who were not as fortunate as they were.

"William Evans was fourteen years old and very mature for his age. Already working in his father’s business, he hoped to become his father’s business partner when he graduated, and wished to carry on the business when his father retired. He was an excellent planner and organiser.

"Cheryl Nelson was also fourteen years old, and was an excellent artist. She brought the school to the front pages of the local newspapers when she won a national competition with her paintings and drawings. A generous young woman, she gave half of her prize money to the school’s art department. The rest, she would have spent on art school.

"Walter Cook was eighteen years old, and exceptionally intelligent. He had recently discovered he had been accepted into Harvard to study law, an incredibly prestigious offer for a student in an inner city school to receive. Walter will still be listed as a student at the university, with full honours.

"Victor Martinez was sixteen years old and had already come through so much. His family always described him as a fighter, due to the fact that, in his first eight years, he survived cancer twice. He was a prominent figure within the school, being involved in many extracurricular activities.

"Frances Jenkins was fifteen years old and a wonderful actress. She was always involved in the school’s productions and frequently stole the show with her brilliant personality and wonderful sense of humour. She also possessed a great talent for making up lines on the spot, and gave audiences many a laugh in the process.

"Phillip Ramirez was also fifteen years old, and had only been a student at the school since the beginning of the year. He showed such promise and it’s a tragedy that we won’t be able to see him reach the full potential all of his teachers knew that he had.

"Annie King was fourteen years old and wasn’t originally from this area. A Southern girl by birth, she was a brilliant cook and frequently would treat her class with recipes of her own invention. She had a way of putting her own spin on Southern foods, and her presence will be greatly missed, especially at school fairs.

"Frank Hughes was eighteen years old, and a prominent figure on the school’s basketball team. He won us many a game, and possessed not only amazing talent, but also brilliant sportsmanship. He was a perfect example to younger players everywhere.

"Diedre Goad was seventeen years old, and she prided herself in the fact that she had recovered from a severe bout of anorexia, which had tormented her for two years before she had shaken herself free of it. Once better, Diedre dedicated herself to always being there for fellow students in need, and hoped to be a therapist when she graduated university.

"Marylouise Schaffer was also seventeen years old, and was an incredibly bright young girl. Fluent in German, French and Spanish, she hoped to head to Europe one day and work as a translator in somewhere new and exciting.

"Aileen Hooper was fifteen years old, and came from a large family. She was always on hand to help her parents care for her many younger brothers and sisters, and her siblings described her as a 'second mom'. She loved children, and wanted to foster when she grew older.

"A few sentences are not enough to describe the joy they brought and the grief they left. For that reason, we, along with family and friends, have managed to compile more information about each and every one of them, which we have placed into a scrapbook and left in the main reception area. It will remain there, and students and staff may feel free to look through it and pay their respects whenever they feel the need to. However, although the many dead have left a scar on us, we can’t forget that each and every one of us are also survivors. Look out for one another. I’m not going to try and tell you that because you survived, you’ll be OK. There will be tough days. There will be breakdowns. You will find people crying. Stick together, and support one another. This school has seen its fair share of tragedy, but each and every one of you are brilliant and strong, and I trust whole heartedly that you will help one another through this."

Adam wasn’t self-conscious of his tears. He didn’t think that there was a dry eye out of all of them.

He knew it was going to be a long journey. But, somehow, he felt ready for it.