Mr Kingston's Roommate | ꪜ

Mr Kingston's Roommate|10

Edited

Leila's POV
Late night shouts

I couldn't believe that it has been two weeks since the school shooting. Overall, there were eight victims, five of those being casualties and the remaining three only injured. Thank god that Peter was among those who were able to survive.

This still feels surreal.

Two teachers and three students lost their lives, all because of one person. Before they announced to the world the reasoning behind this unfortunate event, we were the first to have the bad news bestowed upon us.

According to the shooter who unfortunately survived Blake's shot to his thigh ⎯ a member of the faculty was indebted to him. The man was a loan shark and had been owed a sum of 1 million dollars that this faculty member refused to pay off.

When his life was threatened, we were told that he brushed it off and asked for an extension to return the money. When he missed the date for the repayment, the shooter decided then and there that he would take his life in the only place he could find him: school.

He claims that initially, he only meant to target this faculty member but swore that if anyone had gotten in his way then collateral damage would be fine with him. And thus, other lives were taken for one man's carelessness and the other's lack of humanity.

We haven't returned to in-person class since that day. All assignments were sent through Coursera along with prerecorded lectures and additional notes. Along with this accommodation, we've been provided with the opportunity to see the on-campus psychiatrist for those unable to cope with what occurred.

Despite Blake's hounding me to take advantage of this opportunity seeing as I am still very much shaken up, I declined. It's not because I dislike psychiatrists. I've been seeing one ever since...ever since Kyle.

However, the reason why I declined is that, despite the time I've spent sitting in a plain white office wearing my heart on my sleeve and pouring out my frustrations to a professional, it has never helped me in any way, shape or form.

And I refuse to take medication to deal with my anxiety.

I've seen what it can do to someone.

I still have nightmares but not as drastic as when they first started.

Blake seems to be warming up to me but we never faltered from the name-calling. Because if we did then that would mean things really did change and nothing was normal anymore. My normal here, in this dorm room, was glaring at my controlling professor who couldn't stand me.

But even so our normal has shifted a bit.

We both know things have changed between us. . .between everyone.

I couldn't tell how Blake felt about the shooting. He has been leaving the dorm room more often and I asked him what he was doing so regularly and turns out he's been working out excessively. I guess that's his own way of coping with it.

Within those two weeks spent indoors, I grew closer to my new friends. Sure, my reluctance has gotten in the way many times, but so far they seem to be good people. We've gone to see Peter at the hospital multiple times and it was such a relief to hear he only got shot in the shoulder. The bullet didn't fracture anything, it went right through, meaning that he would be able to heal sooner.

News of the shooting has now been globalized. A handful of news outlets has swamped the campus looking to speak with witnesses and survivors. Social media outlets have also jumped on the bandwagon of trying to understand what happened in greater detail.