I walk into school and immediately notice something is different. There is less… noise. Kids are still talking, and joking with their friends but there is a hushed feeling surrounding the school, like an oppressive heat. I quickly forget about my observation, as a reach my friends.
“What up?” I ask to no one in particular.
“The sky.” Is the only reply I get. I look at the comatose highschoolers surrounding me. We automatically arranged ourselves in  a half circle so we can all face each other as we talk, except no one is talking. An uneasy silence hangs in the air.
“Sooo…” I start, my inept way of breaking the stillness. This time my only response is the slurping noise from Claire as she drinks her coffee. I look up as another person quietly joins the group. Richard steps closer to me and rests his head on my shoulder. As he picks up his head I notice him quickly wipe his eyes. “Hey” I ask him softly, “What?” He moves so he is positioned between me and the rest of the group, effectively blocking off our conversation.
“You didn’t hear? It’s all over Instagram.” Rick replies.
“Hear what, my phone was taken, remember?” I ask letting out a nervous laugh.
“He’s gone” a tear escapes Rick’s eye and travels slowly down his cheek. I look at him inquisitively. I feel sorry, obviously Rick’s in pain, but still don’t fully understand.
“Alex, he- he’s dead.” I inhale, slowly piecing together the bits of puzzle from this morning. The schools hushed silence wasn’t due to sleep deprivation, but was somber.
“When-how?” My brain spins frantically, but I say nothing. Instead I place my hand on his shoulder and pull him toward me, in a friendly hug. Ricks arms wrap around my backpack and he clings to me for dear life. I feel his body wrack as a sob escapes. We stand like this until the bell rings and a little while after. He pulls away and smiles sadly at me, wiping his eyes again.
“We should probably get to class.” He says, trying to restore a sense of normalcy. We walk shoulder to shoulder up to our first hour. The noise level in class is quieter than usual, and everyone sits down when the bell rings. A buzz indicates the intercom has turned on.
“I have some sad news this morning,” Our principle begins, “We lost one of our students this past weekend…” I tune out turning in my desk to spot Rick. His eyes are red again, as he’s holding back tears. I want to tell him it’s okay to cry, but he’s too far away to hear me. Instead I make a clasping motion with my hands when he looks my way, indicating strength. He nods and looks away, staring off into space.