I was in math class when it happened. My math teacher was in the middle of explaining some math thing. I believe I was trying not to fall asleep. Then there was the announcement saying the World Trade Center had gone down. Anyone who was worried about their family had permission to try and call. After the announcement there was a pause and then my teacher went back to her explanation as if nothing had happened. At the time it was almost ten o’ clock.

Lunch was next, and after a “Do you know anyone there? No? Good.”, conversation turned to ordinary items such as a club my friends and I were trying to start. It wasn’t until lunch was almost over that we saw people crying in the halls and the disaster was the topic on everyone’s lips. Many people had cell phones and were calling home.

In gym, the original plan had been to run around the track, but instead we walked a quarter mile and then went in, I am not sure why. One of the gym teachers said that our lives and the lives of our children would be forever changed. Then art, and the disaster is all that was talked about. One person, Ricky, said we should bomb the Russians. He was mocked, because almost everyone knows that the Cold War is over. Our teacher says we need facts before we bomb anybody. I worked out some of my tension kneading and wedging the clay.

Last that day was English. My teacher took all of us down to the library where we spent the whole class online seeing news reports and trying to get an idea of what had happened. It was then that I first saw the name Osama bin Laden. At the time I was thinking that any name they came up with that fast was probably not the true instigator.

When I got home, I found several e-mails from people in my online book club. People from England and Ireland were sending their prayers for all of us and saying they hoped none of us had been directly affected. For me at least, those prayers succeeded. At this time I do not personally know anyone who lost someone in the disaster.

by JW age 14