It was a Sunday evening when all went blank, and before I took my last breath, Annabel Rose was the last face I saw that glanced me with a look of pain and reality.

What would you do if you had 24 hours to make it all better, to be happy, to live and to breath? What would be the first thing you take or hold tight if you knew you were not going to make it to tomorrow? Who would be your last hug, kiss or talk? Mine was Annabel Rose my best friend, sister and whole world. It was Friday night, I was as high as the clouds could ever get, and the music was so loud that no one could lie to you and everyone at Cambridge high was actually happy, well it was prom who wouldn't be happy. This was the only night where my whole school could be in one hall and no one would try to kill the other or pretend to like the other really and I for one it brought me a lot of peace, we all knew this was our last prom as Cambridge High seniors, after this year we would all be going to different colleges and universities to follow our dreams, so we made sure that night was one to remember and if you ask me it was. Before we all knew it, we were partying till dawn, the sun was closing in on us and we all felt like reckless, free teens for once that were not bounded by books or silly homework's

Well that morning, my big sister Kami picked me up and I remember her putting me into bed as if I was still a baby, I could feel her hands pushing my hair and her glance. All the lights went out that morning, but the sun was sure to shine into my bedroom window and wake me up, I woke up with the worst hangover and the worst migraine on earth if you ask me it felt like someone was shooting my insides, if that can describe my pain enough. I got ready and headed over to the school hall to join the cleaning campaign and by my surprise no one was there, the streets where empty and quite as if a massacre took place, I called Annabel to find out what was going on and that's when she informed me that all the people from the prom party were getting sick one by one and everyone is probably at the hospital, I panicked, I was scared, I could feel my breath escaping and I was gasping for air, and that's when Annabel asked me over the phone, 'Are you not sick then Iris?', 'Well I don't know, I feel fine' I replied , ' you should probably get home then, you might start feeling the effects soon enough' she says, ' and you? Are you sick too?' I ask, 'I am, but not as worse yet, go home Iris' she says. I quickly ran home, I was scared to fall ill in the middle of the town and not be able to get home soon enough, I ran like I was running to catch the oxygen and as soon as I reached home, I felt it, the pain, it was all over my body, it felt like I was burning from inside out, I could not even reach for the door knob, before I passed out I yelled for my mom, 'Mom !' I said while passing out. When I woke up I was in the hospital, I could hear the doctors say it was food poisoning, and that we are all in critical condition, my eyes were tired, I was awake but my eyes refused to open, the hospital was full of commotion, parents, siblings and friends, everyone was there making sure their kid was still breathing.

The day was coming to an end and my whole school was in the hospital, each learner fighting for their life, fighting to live one more time and all I could think was 'WHO WOULD WANT TO KILL KIDS?', we were all kids one night having dreams and happy lives and the next day we were all lying on death beds, stuck between heaven and earth and all you could wonder was, which side needed you more? Heaven? Or maybe earth? 'Iris are you awake' my mom says, 'Mom, I don't want to die' I replied, 'You won't die sweetheart, the doctors are trying their best, okay?' she said in a doubtful tone , My mom was never a good liar though, I knew she was lying and she knew too, but what would you as a parent do, if your dying child asked you if she was dying?. I traced my mom's footsteps as she left my room, and I felt for her, what would she do if I go? What would Kami do or even Annabel, would they be better? Would they move past it all? I don't think so. The doctors were our God in this case, they all made sure we survived the night, but they warned all our parents that passing through the weekend would be difficult.

If I knew that would be my last dance then I would have danced my energy out, if I knew I was going to consume poisoned food I would never have gone, and if I knew my life would be taken from me by a stranger then I would have never left my room. I was in pain, I needed it all to stop, I needed someone to take the pain away, I felt it consume my whole body and my body was frozen, I could not make any movements, I was a prisoner in my own body, I was stuck in this dark place and I wanted it all to stop, I cried for it all to stop and whoever poisoned us I wish hell upon them, 700 learners where going through the same pain as me or maybe even worse, we were all going to die and for what? Nothing. I had the doctor in my room telling the nurse to Inject me with a sleeping pill, and that's when my eyes closely shut again, and in those moments I was scared to die in my sleep, I was scared I wouldn't wake up to see my mom or the morning sun ever. Was I good enough? Did I deserve to live? And if I was going to die, did heaven even hold a place for me? Would God look me in the eyes and let me into his home or will he judge me for the mistakes and the roads I chose?

*700 learners from Cambridge high die early Saturday morning at 8:00 am due to anonymous food poisoning*

Police officers are still investigating the case and trying to get to the bottom of this mysterious food poisoning, who is so cruel to kill young teens? Family ,friends and siblings are still in disbelief and in mourning of their loved lost once, Cambridge high will never be the same again and the headmaster along with the teachers are trying their best to pick themselves up and move on with their life and the school legacy.

And this is what the Saturday newspaper would read after we all die, Phoenix will go silent, parents will be scared, kids will be petrified everyone will go on mute , and as for the one that killed us, Only the man above knows what the hell he would be doing at that time. The nigh was long, it's as if the sun wanted us all to die that night, and prove the doctors claims correct, but when it finally raised, I was relieved , I was breathing, I was awake, I was alive, and maybe the others too. When I opened my eyes, Kami was lying beside me, she looked at peace, she looked beautiful and that's when I said ' How are you sister?' , she woke up and said ' ohm Iris, you are awake, let me go get the doctor', before she could stand I held her by the hand and said ' don't, Kami, I love that you never lie to me, I love that you are always real with me no matter how big the situation, that's why I need you to tell me now , am I dying', ' don't talk like that Iris, you are just a little bit sick, you will be better ,you will recover and come back home okay?' she said while placing her left hand on my forehead, ' okay then, where are they keeping Annabel?' I asked, 'The next room from yours' she says, ' help me get up so I can go see her' I said to her, ' no, you are too weak Iris, get some rest please' she refused, ' fine, go get some food now, I will be okay by my own sister' I told her, ' okay I will be back in a minute' she replied. The second Kim turned a blank eye to me, I gathered the energy to sit on my bed, then I pulled the water tube that was helping supply water, I pulled the blood transfusion tube as well and took my oxygen mask off, those were the first three mistakes I made that almost caused me my life that day, I walked up to the door with the support of the objects beside me, and then I walked till Annabel's room, I picked through the room glass and she was sleeping, she looked like she was in more pain than any of us, she had all this machines surrounding her, before I could open the door , I fall on my knees, the pain in my stomach worsened, my feet were too weak to stand and go back to my room, my hands felt numb, I needed oxygen, I needed air, I needed to breath, 10 second, it only took 10 second for me to pass out again.

'Hurry and put the oxygen mask on, get the injection quickly' the doctor yelled, ' stabilize her' he demanded again, those were the words I heard while fighting to live, ' is she going to be okay' Kami cried, ' nurse take the lady outside please' he requested, the doctors words and kami's words were the only things I could hear, I needed my mom, I needed kami by my side if I was going to die, but the doctor chased them out while he tried to make sure I lived.

WE ARE LOSING HER

WE ARE LOSING HER DOCTOR

WE ARE LOSING HER

SHE IS FADING DOCTOR

DO SOMETHING

GET THE DEFIBRILLATOR

SHE IS HAVING A CARDIC ARREST

GET IT QUICKLY

CLEAR, AGAIN, CLEAR

Those were the words that surrounded my room, in school they taught us about cardiac arrest and how it kills as fast as wind, so if I was going to make it out of this, it would be by the grace of the man above, but then I asked myself, does he love me enough to give me one more chance to life? Or would he simply take it from me? 'she is clear, Inject her' says the doctor, rather I was just lucky or maybe someone out there was favoring me, I lived that day, well so maybe I thought, I was so close, so close, I saw heaven and hell offering me shelter, I saw all the dark places and the good things I need, I was dying, I was fading from the face of the universe but I was saved. This night was different from the rest though, it was calmer and I could not feel anyone by my side that night, my room was cold and the moon shined by the window and I did not sleep at all that night, I glanced at the light reflected by the moon and wondered if I'd walk out of this room by my feet or in a casket. I wondered if Annabel was getting any rest or if she was okay, I wondered if my other classmates were okay and fine. I had flashbacks of when I fell on my knees and when I was about to die today, and then a smile came on my face, all I could do was smile, maybe if I make it out alive, I can tell my kids of how I almost died or even write it when I apply for Sorbonne University in France or maybe even write a book, I could do so much all I had to do was recover, survive and live, which was a battle in my case.

Sunday morning, and I was still alive and many other, I was grateful , the weekend was almost over, and maybe we could survive and prove the doctors wrong, we could all make it to Monday and go to school and laugh about all this, well that's what I thought at least. 'You look better than me' says Annabel, 'What are you doing here? Are you okay?' I ask, ' my mom walked me here, she is waiting outside and I am better at least' she replies , ' glad' I said , ' what were you thinking when you came to my room yesterday though Iris, you could have died really' she says, ' I just wanted to see if you were okay' I reply, ' you could have asked for guidance, you can't be that reckless' she says, ' I'm sorry, it won't happened again' I respond, 'Your sister was scared for you Iris, this is not one of those days where we play fake dying really, you could die, be more careful please' she replies, ' I understand' I say, ' no you don't, if you did then you would have never gone out without guidance' she added, ' Annabel I get it, what's wrong with you, I'm sorry okay, what's wrong with you' I ask, ' we won't make it, we will all die here Iris' she says while crying, ' look I know you are scared but we will all recover just have faith' I reply, ' no we won't, cause Emma put Botulinum toxins in the punch and all the food at prom, the is no chance any of us will to make it Iris, we are all lucky we even made at this far, but the next 24 hours it will be difficult to make it' she says, ' what do you mean, Emma? Why , and you, why did you not warn any of us Annabel' I reply, ' It was supposed to be a prank, she said she would Exchange the poisoned food and punch with good once before the party but it seems she did not' she says, ' What' I reply. Before Annabel could continue to explain my mom walked in, 'You two look better, how are you feeling Iris' she says, how am I feeling? I actually had faith that maybe I would make it, but now this, all I did was look at Annabel and cry, ' dear why are you crying, you will be okay' my mom says, 'I'm tired, I want to sleep mom, please leave and take Annabel too' I said, ' sure darling' my mom says.

(Sunday = 14:30)

My mom is good, she is a damn good person, she does not deserve to lose me at all, we were all going to die because Emma and Annabel played a stupid prank and chances are very slim that any of us make it to tomorrow, I wanted to scream, cry and just run and never look back at all the mess that will be left after we all die. Kami then walked in , ' I'm sorry I left, I'm sorry I didn't listen sister' I said, ' don't it's okay, you are fine now, I'm glad you are fine' she says, ' you know what Iris, I was 17 once too, I wanted the whole world , I had dreams , I had so much love to give to this world and I was reckless just like you, but the most important thing is, I lived every moment this life could offer me, I would do anything to take your place by this bed right now, I wish I could take away all the pain, but if this is really our last ride together, then I want you to know that you are amazing, kind and I know that heaven has a place for you Iris' she added, I cried, my sister told me the truth that was white and no lies were included, ' Thank you Kami, I will fight this, for you, I will live one more day just for you, okay?' I said, then my sister hugged me. She set there, Kami set there watching me, she watched me till I fell asleep and even when I was fast asleep I could feel her presence in the room.

(Sunday = 17:56 pm)

I was dying, that was a fact, but one more fact stood, I was dying by the hands of my best friend and my classmate, that cost us all our lives in expense to their stupid prank, but I blame our science teacher, he taught us the chemicals and forgot to teach us not to feed them to each other even if it was a prank. A stupid prank played by two and 700 will have to die for it to stand, was that even fair? No, it was not, but nothing is fair anymore right. I wanted to love, get hurt, argue with my mom over some boy, talk to my sister about my first kiss, get drunk on Friday nights, grow to raise an angel, have the best job, but it was a Sunday afternoon and none of my dreams and wishes were valid anymore, none of them held room in my life anymore, because after I go they will fade with me.

Our literature teacher Mrs. Lee once taught us about the art of death through the book Knocking on Heavens door : The path to a better way of death by Katy Butler , where she explained to us of how we will all see the purpose of life only when we are about to take the last breath of life, back then we were just stupid teenagers thinking she was teaching to get paid, but now that I think about it, maybe she was right, it is only now that I am realizing how precious it is to live, Mrs. Lee put it into simple words for us once. Literature was never my favorite class, but now that I see my death in front of me, I wish I'd go back and ask more questions like, is death painful? Will I feel myself fade? But I was about to find out right, During this day in literature class Tommy said a stupid thing that I think makes sense now, he yelled ' what's the use if we all die though Madame Lee' while she was teaching, Mrs. Lee never really gave an answer to him, maybe there was never a proper answer, but if I knew more than I did that day than I would have said ' We all die, but we'll all live too right' maybe I would have said this, but I was too busy on my phone scrolling through social media that day, letting my life pass me by and now I am here dying, trying to claim all those small little moments back, BUT ITS TOO LATE.

(Sunday 20:22)

24 hours, it's all we had, to make some difference, to rethink our lives and even if we did, the result would be the same, we would all die. Time was only ever a word to me until today, when I knew I did not have enough of it and it cannot be borrowed either, the clock on my wall was ticking every hour, and I knew I was going to die the minute midnight hit, Monday was not fortunate enough to see me , the morning sun would shine on my dead body in the morning, my sister Kami would still be fast asleep when my heart rate drops on the EKG ( Holter monitor) and the first nurse who will come check up on me, will be the one to wake her up and tell her she is sorry but I did not make it, and then my mom will come, to watch and wish it was all a bad dream. And then all 700 of us will die, the hospital will turn into a funeral home, of kids that died to an anonymous poison, no, to kids that died because of a stupid prank instead.

As the minutes past I felt more and more weak, the doctors moved Annabel to my room and placed her to the bed beside me as per her request and we looked at each other for almost 2 minutes. 'I'm sorry Iris, it was all my fault, I should have checked first' she says, 'it's okay, we are dying anyways, your words won't heal anyone Annabel' I reply. ' We were going to separate at college anyways, you would go to France and me to England' she says, 'Yeah, ha ha , maybe after death we will both go to heaven' I reply , ' yeah, but we don't deserve to die do we?' she says, 'No one laying in this hospital deserve to, not even Emma , but we all are, just few more hours' I say, 'Yeah, if it was a normal Sunday today, then we would be at your house talking about how Jack Dobby does not like you ha ha' she says, 'Wow you still going to bully me for that even if I am about to die? Classic Annabel' I reply. ' Are we just going to pretend that this is any other normal Sunday Iris, that we are not going to die?' she asks, 'yes' I briefly said while reaching for her hand and her reaching for mine, ' you mean the most to me Annabel, and if death is not too cruel then maybe we will meet again old friend' I added. Annabel and I spent the next 3 hours talking about life and all we could have done and at that very moment, I was scared, I did not want to die and as for Annabel she held no fear of death in her eyes or in any of the words she said, she talked as if she knew what death held in store for us, she talked as if she knew her dream life would be waiting for her on the other side of death.

(Sunday = 23: 02)

Annabel is my best friend, we met at Cambridge she offered me a donut once in the cafeteria and she poured juice all over my books, and after that day she became my best friend, not because she made be have the worst day, no but because she stood right next to me after all the scolding from the teachers and she even had detention with me that day and here she is even today when I am dying she is 1 meter away from me waiting for me to say "let's go bestie' and I love her for that. We only had one hour and in that hour we were both silent, no last words, no goodbyes because we knew this was not our last ride together, but I needed my mom, I needed her to hold my hand as I die, I need her to say 'hush baby girl' when I gasp for air, and when I finally fade, I need her to hold my hand and say 'I am proud of the person you were baby.'

'The kids are dying, what's happening, nurse get backup and inject all the patience, hurry'. These where the words that echoed from the lobby to our room, Annabel and I looked at each other and held each other's hands and the fear I failed to see in her eyes before I could see now, 'We were good and we lived' I said, 'I would die by your side any day Iris Smith, any day' she says'. Two nurses walked into our room and injected us, and that's when one said to the other 'The injections have no effect call doctor Andrew quickly', our immune systems were as weak as ever, our classmates where fading and we knew we were next and I needed my mom by my side so badly and that's when Kami walked in , ' Iris, they are all dying, stay here okay, breath for me, live for me okay' she says while crying , ' hey, hey, Kami who cares if one more light goes out ? Who cares when my time runs out? U care right? I know you do, but my moment is up, just like you said , I have lived by your side have I not' I reply, 'but Iris, you, I need you sister' she replies, ' and heaven need me too, I can't stay Kami, take care of mom, be her light for me please' I reply, ' no please' she says while crying, ' go Kami, go outside go find mom, bring her here before I go' I reply, then she stands and runs out of the room,

(Sunday = 23:54)

I never cared about how the sun would shine tomorrow or what I would lose tomorrow or what tomorrow would bring forth, but now tomorrow was bringing nothing and I was not even going to see it but I was more than at peace. 6 minutes, it's all we had, in those six minutes I wanted my mom to sit by me , in those six minutes I wanted to have my last laugh with Annabel but instead I was in pain, the worst pain, and Annabel felt it too, she looked at me and smiled with tears flowing from her eyes, and that's when I lost grip of her hand, I was too weak , I was losing all the energy I had left, and I was losing my breath faster than expected.

(Sunday = 23: 47)

'MOM' I yelled, 'I'm in pain, mom' I yelled, I needed her but she was not there, that's when the lines on my monitor dropped one by one and everything slowly turned black, I looked over to Annabel and she was slowly closing her eyes as well, my eyes shut, I was dead, I was really dead and this time no amount of prayers could save me.

MY BABY

SAVE MY DAUGHTER

NOOOO

IRIS WAKE UP

IRIS PLEASE

Those where my mother's words, words I heard when I saw my dead body lying over at that bed, cold, alone and lonely. We looked so peaceful, how can someone be at peace while leaving the rest in complete agony? Well that's death then I guess. No one ever told me dying could look so peaceful, that the body could maybe find some peace after all the pain. My mom cried, she cried for her daughter to come back, but she knew none of her tears could bring me back, but she still cried, the nurses came, and put Annabel and I's bodies in body bags like animals, Monday was supposed to be school but it never came, and we never wanted it to come either, CAMBRIDGE HIGH STUDENTS KILLED BY A STUPID PRANK.

(Sunday = 23: 59 )

I was here

I lived

I loved.