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Never in a million years did Seojin imagine a zombie apocalypse would happen, assuming it was something that only appeared in movies or video games, or purely fictional and classic horror movie tropes used way too many times by filmmakers.
Though when she raked her eyes over the terrified faces around her, hearing the pained groans and shrieks outside the classroom, she knew that she couldn't fool herself anymore. No matter how hard she tried pinching herself, this was not a dream she could simply wake up from.
This was real life.
"We have to call 911," Suhyeok's deep voice broke the eerie silence, scurrying to stand up as he began searching through the students' desks and drawers. Everybody quickly followed suit, going through each table and flipping through the piles of books to look for a phone.
It was their school's policy to collect all the mobile phones of students every morning before class, claiming that it would prevent unwanted distractions and enhance their academic performances. Seojin called it a bunch of bullshit, which is why she always kept a hidden phone in her desk.
"Wait—guys, my phone is at my desk," she blurted out while running towards her seat, frantically trying to fish out her phone from the mountain of messy worksheets and textbooks she had yet to tidy up.
The rest promptly gathered around her, eagerly waiting for her to find the device that could potentially save their lives. "Got it," Seojin exclaimed excitedly, her hand slightly shaking from the overwhelming joy she had felt. She never thought she would be so glad to see her bust-up, cracked phone.
Once they called for help, someone will rescue them and they will all be safe, right?
"Hurry up and call the cops!" Nayeon cried nervously, her bony fingers wrapped around her pink sweater as her petite body shivered in fear. Seojin pushed down the urge to roll her eyes at the infuriating girl, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves before dialing the 3 digits.
"911, what's your emergency?" A male voice was heard on the other end of the line, and everyone in the classroom perked up in anticipation while they watched Seojin make the call.
"Hello? We're here at Hyosan High School. Something just happened, all of the students here are turning into zombies. Please send help." she blurted out, her voice wavering from the immense shock and trepidation.
Onjo knew that she had spoken too late when she voiced out to Seojin, "You can't say zombie!" Nobody would believe them if they reported a zombie attack, the idea of it sounded way too absurd and ridiculous.
Seojin's eyes widened when she realized her mistake, zombie was definitely a terrible choice of word. "Uh—they're not exactly zombies, but they're something similar, I guess," the girl began rambling, attempting to salvage the situation.
"Alright then, a zombie attack at Hyosan High. You are aware that there's a fine for making false reports, right?" The policeman spoke on the phone, his tone harsh and unbelieving as if he was mocking the girl for her misery.
"This isn't a damn prank!" A flash of irritation and annoyance shot through Seojin when she snapped angrily at the police officer, the 17-year-old girl was so fed up with adults not taking her seriously.
She swallowed down the urge to argue with him, knowing that getting help and getting rescued was their top priority at the moment. "Please, just come here as fast as possible. Save us, please," Seojin desperately pleaded, her previous snarky tone disappearing as she begged for help.
Despite her effort in convincing the policeman that a zombie attack was indeed happening, the man on the phone remained unmoved while he took his sweet time to register Seojin's full name and phone number.
It irked her more than anything that the adults never believe them, assuming everything teenagers do or say were merely pathetic jokes or immature pranks. No amount of words could even begin to explain how much she wished this was a prank—but it wasn't.
"Shit," Seojin couldn't help but cursed in frustration when the call had ended, fully aware that they were probably not sending help any time soon. The rest of the class watched silently as she lowered her phone, a grim look evident on all of their faces.
A figure walked up to Seojin, glaring at her before shoving her shoulders forcefully. "You fucking idiot! Why would you say it was a zombie attack?" Nayeon scowled furiously, her face painted with resentment at the other girl's mistake while she raised her arm to give her another shove.
Suhyeok didn't hesitate to rush between the two girls, stretching out his arm to shield Seojin from the furious attacks of Nayeon. "Come on, you can't blame her for that. What was she supposed to say?" the boy's expression hardened while he defended her, refusing to let Nayeon pin the blame on her.
Seojin decided to remain unspoken as she simply didn't have the energy to argue. "Look, I'm sorry," she heaved out an apologetic sigh. "No, this isn't your fault," Suhyeok spoke softly, yet his words did little to ease the guilt weighing heavily on her shoulders.
"Call again. Tell them to come quick!" screamed Nayeon, her blood simmering with anger as she lashed out at her classmates for the second time. Jimin, who was standing beside her, was fed up with her nasty attitude as she reprimanded, "Stop yelling! What if the zombies come back?"
Nayeon finally became quiet, huffing out breaths of disdain before she took a seat in the corner. "Bunch of idiots." Everybody in the room could hear the resentful murmurings of the girl in the pink sweater, but they settled on staying quiet to avoid any further conflicts.
"Hey, let me try calling the fire department." Onjo offered, receiving a nod from Seojin while she handed her the phone. She dialed in the number her firefighter dad had taught her to memorize for the past years and lifted the phone to her ear, praying in her heart that this would work.
The call went through seconds later, and Onjo quickly began, "Hello, do you know captain Nam Soju from rescue team one? He's my father, could you please tell him to hurry over to my school?"
However, the phone operator at the fire department was quick to interject. "You should call his station if you want to reach him, we're not able to contact him for you." Sensing that her plan wasn't exactly working, she hurriedly made up a lie. "There's a fire!"
"A Fire?" "Yes, there's a fire at Hyosan High!"
At the mention of a fire, the phone operator finally took Onjo seriously and told them that firetrucks and first-responders would be dispatched to their school promptly. "Please hurry, thank you." With that, Onjo ended the call with a sigh and returned the phone to Seojin.
Everybody exhaled a relieved sigh upon hearing the good news that someone was finally coming to rescue them, the atmosphere in the room improving ever so slightly.
Glancing down at the screen of her phone, Seojin grimaced with worry at the sight of the low battery percentage, 6%. She mentally scolded herself for being so forgetful and not charging it the night before.
While she looked out the window of her classroom to stare at the school's entrance in the distance, she prayed that her phone could last until help arrived, that help would actually arrive, and that they weren't waiting for nothing.
