The Switch

Part 2

The school day had gone by normally, with only the occasional phone call being made to the teachers. It was more frequent than usual though, and every time it was answered the teachers became a little paler. Mr. Farrington, Nathan's math teacher, even responded with "Already? Are you sure this is necessary?" and then "Alright...I-I'm okay then."

Nathan opened the door to his first related arts class, Chorus. Beverly, Joe, Ryan, Adam, and Giovani were in Chorus as well. Nathan always arrived earlier than most people, due to his previous class being so close. He grabbed his folder, nodded in greeting to Mr. Preiser, and sat in his assigned seat.

Soon the chorus students filed in, chatting happily. Some took seats, others hung out in groups along the wall. Nathan got up when Joe and Shawn, whom he wasn't excessively fond of, were talking behind a table. Beverly joined them soon, and Adam and Ryan were on the other side of the room.

They had about two minutes until they were dismissed for lunch when a faint buzzing came from somewhere in the room. Mr. Preiser's eyes widened and he clamped a hand over his mouth. Nathan was about to question the noise when the light above them aggressively flashed, a few sparks coming off of it. He screamed, startled, as a few other people did.

Nathan was always called a possum because of his instinct to drop on the ground when he was scared, but he fought the urge, his hands at the ready position though. Beverly almost laughed, somehow not affected by how sudden it was. Shawn screeched high pitched and Joe jumped nearly a foot in the air.

Mr. Preiser cleared his voice, trying to suppress the noises and spooked conversations.

"Everyone settle down, it just flickered," He stuttered nervously. "Doctor Shuran told me the internet was going out so it's probably that."

"What would that have to do with the lights?" Beverly muttered in confusion. They shrugged. Mr. Preiser continued to make excuses that only half made sense. Then a loud buzz sounded again, this time the intercom. It blasted above them, that speaker had always been way too loud.

"We pardon the issues, teachers. We are currently having trouble with the generator, air conditioner, and WiFi...if you could continue the normal schedule please." It was Mr. Ramona, one of the guys in the office.

Mr. Preiser told us to head to lunch, so someone opened the door and we all hesitantly started shuffling out. We stopped though when we saw what was going on.

Every single light was off...exept for one. At the very end of the hallway, by the entrance of the cafetorium, was a single flickering light. Doctor Shuran, their principle, stood under it. The light gave her a red glow, making them shiver.

Mr. Preiser looked, fear in his eyes. He swallowed the lump in his throat and looked around the hallway. No one. Usually, the whole seventh grade was outside, lined up and waiting for their lunch.

"Minnie? What's-" Mr. Preiser started, but was interrupted by her booming voice, which easily silenced him.

"Line up right here, sit down." She stated sternly. The students all looked at each other warily but followed their instructions. Nathan's eyes widened as he heard someone behind him mumble "It's the Thinning."

As they all sat down, Doctor Shuran disappeared into the open doors of the cafetorium. Mr. Preiser was back in the room, the door cracked slightly.

"This is just like the Thinning, have you ever seen that movie??" Nathan asked Beverly, who was to his right.

"Yeah!" She gasped. "Isn't that the one where they pick off the less smart students one by one and kill them because people were getting too overpopulated?"

"That's the one. I heard someone say it was like that and It's so true..." He shivered. Joe turned around, he was at Nathan's right side. He agreed too. Nathan was getting paranoid as the minutes ticked by, he was kind of a wimp.

After about fifteen minutes of their quiet conspiracies, a teacher they didn't recognize told them that they could come to lunch. Nathan was glad that he had his phone in his pocket as they shuffled into the room, getting the weird smelling school food and then sitting at the tables. They were all sitting, four on one side and three on the other.

None of the lights were on, so they had to eat in the dark. Apparently, the lights weren't working here either. As they talked about memes and whatnot, Miss Bobo appeared into the room, standing by the exit door that was next to their table. Doctor Shuran appeared outside the door, and Miss Bobo let her in. They talked quietly, then she walked to the front of the cafetorium, scanning the students. There were at least 80.

The same faint buzzing from before started again, everyone giving quizzical looks and glancing around. Doctor Shuran didn't seem the least bit worried about it, as she ignored it completely. She disappeared towards the office shortly after.

Then the intercom turned on again.

"The reception and WiFi connection have been completely shut off, we ask that all electronic devices be turned off completely. This includes printers, computers, cell phones, and smart boards." Mr. Ramona said, a faint voice in the background telling him something inaudible.

Doctor Shuran stood in the center of the cafetorium now. "You heard it, whoever has phones, shut them off now." She almost growled. Nathan remembered that he had his phone and quickly shut it off. So did Beverly and Joe, who had also brought theirs.

She looked at the students for another brief moment, then walked out. Miss Bobo and Mr. Tino, the janitor, both sighed in relief like they had been holding their breath nervously the whole time. Nathan immediately whipped out his phone, and turned it back on.

"What are you doing?" Beverly asked.

"I'm texting my mom."