Rayne took out his cracked iPhone 6 to look at the message.
#EMERGENCY ALERT#
*Effective immediately in the state of Georgia, please follow emergency protocols in your respective buildings, all public facilities will be closed until further notice when determined that this is no longer required for the safety of all residents. If at home, remain inside, and if outside, find a safe place to take shelter in. Please refrain from panicking and act in an orderly manner.*
Rayne took a deep breath in and then looked to see the other students' reactions. Most of them seemed like they didn't care all that much and some were even joking around. Only a few seemed truly worried.
Rayne continued to walk toward Navia, but then the vice principal asked everyone to find a seat, before making an announcement.
"Good afternoon everyone! Due to district orders, you cannot leave the main school building until further notice. We are going to have to evacuate to the main and side gyms at around eight. Please refrain from panicking as this is a state-issued order! Any questions?"
A lot of students raised their hands.
"You in the grey hoodie," the vice-principal stated.
"When are we gonna be able to go home? I have stuff to do."
The principal looked slightly constipated as he tried to force out the words.
"We...uh...are not sure. We were told to prevent you from going out for your own safety, but they didn't give us a time frame. Only until further notice."
"I am going to be honest with you all. We are not sure exactly what's going on, but please believe in our ability to shelter you from harm. The day before, we just got a new shipment of food and it should last us about 2 weeks. More than enough to wait this thing out."
The vice-principal then picked out another student.
"Okay then, you, the girl in blue," he said as he pointed.
"Where are we going to sleep?", she asked tentatively.
"For now, you all will go to your remaining classes as usual and stay there to eight, then boys will head to the side gym and girls to the main gym. We will try to roll out some mats to make you guys more comfortable."
"What about brushing out teeth and showers?", another student yelled out.
"Quiet! We will have a sign-up schedule for the school showers and we will try to obtain all necessary supplies from what we have in school," said the vice-principal in a weary tone. The wrinkles on his face seemed too deepen.
"You guys can't make me stay here! I'm leaving!" a student cried out.
Soon more voices of opposition joined in, demanding to be released and some started heading towards the doors. Rayne was also very worried about his mom and wanted to see her.
Her job as a cleaning lady doesn't end till 9:00 pm. She is probably stuck at her client's house now.
"Calm down! This is for your own safety! The school is already sending an email to your parents right now! If you are uncomfortable with staying then please call your parents. If they agree with you leaving, bring the phone to us and let us talk to them. If they still want you to leave, then so be it! But I don't want to see any of you exit this build until we've spoken to your parents!", the vice principal roared.
The students seemed shocked by the yelling and started to calm down.
"Thank you. The day will now continue as normal until the end of classes, and you must remain in the building even after that, but you are free to walk around or such afterward until 9:00," spoke the vice principal.
Then he walked out the cafeteria doors sluggishly, seeming a bit smaller and more tired than before.
Students and teachers alike started to take out their phones to make calls, and Rayne did too.
There were only a few numbers on his phone and his mom was the top one. He noticed that there have been five missed calls on his phone, all from his mom.
Unfortunately, his phone was on silent so he didn't notice at the time. He directly called her back and the line immediately connected.
"Mom, are you ok? Are you stuck at your client's place? Can you leave?"
"I'm fine, honey. But I am stuck. I won't be able to leave for the time being, luckily my client is a nice old lady, I should be fine. What about you? Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm good. It's just that the school said that we shouldn't leave. They said that if the parents agree, they can make some exceptions. What do you think I should do?"
"I'm not comfortable with leaving on your own. I'll come and pick you up when they give us the ok."
Rayne hesitated, but said, "Be careful. I saw some things on the internet. Make sure to not leave unless you have to."
"Yeah, yeah, alright. You be careful too. I'm going to hang up now."
"Alright, bye."
"Bye."
The line cut and Rayne sagged into his seat. He saw others around him do the same when their calls ended. It seems like most parents wanted them to stay at school, though a few did get their backpacks and head to the front office.
Rayne got up and got his lunch eventually, but he wasn't in the mood to eat anymore. He just sat there, picked at his food, and scrolled through threads on his phone.
The bell rang at 12:45 pm and he headed to his fourth period with his head down, and eyes glued to his phone.
Halfway there he bumped into a person. It was a girl with pale skin, deep sea blue eyes, and black hair. She was pretty, but she looked like one of those goth types you would see in the hallways sometimes.
"My bad," Rayne said.
"It's cool", she nodded.
They both continued walking and Rayne entered his physics class.