Letting Go

[Gage Foster]

"Gage! You're still alive!" Tyson Harper, one of the volunteers at the shelter with a relieved look on his face before thumping Gage on the back. "We heard about the shooting, we were really worried."

Gage scratched the back of his head sheepishly out of habit before nodding at Tyson. "Yeah. I was lucky I was in the library. Pays to be a geek sometimes." He responded nonchalantly though he had feared for his life while he clutched his withered "As You Like It" paperback in his hands in a form of comfort. The shots rang clear in his mind now but he managed to push it aside in order to maintain his sunny disposition in front of her fellow volunteer.

"But...I'm actually here to tell you I might be coming in a little late later. There's a memorial at Gould and I want to attend it. Some of the ones that have passed were my friends."

"Of course! Take the time you need! I completely understand. I'll tell the Big Man. He'll understand." Tyson nodded with a smile and patted Gage on his shoulder once more. "You take care, man."

Gage nodded before exiting the animal shelter and slipping into his mom's car and drove off to school.

--

He was one of the early ones to arrive. The ones there must be Gould students since they didn't look familiar to him at all. He chose a seat right at the back and started to read through the program that was on the seat. He looked up at the faces of the deceased, smiling and unaware of what was to come after the day they took that picture...

Gage had to look away since one of them had been someone he had truly admired. His eyes wandered around everywhere but the pictures. This was going to be a long ceremony.

[Slate Cummings]

Slate looked like hell that morning. He had tossed and turned all night with the sounds and images running through his brain. The images started to fade away as his alarm went off that morning. He smiled slightly, that was it! The whole thing had been a dream.

He showered and put on a Super Mario T-Shirt and ragged jeans and headed down stairs for breakfast. His folks were there both looking worn.

"Mornin' hon," his mother said softly giving him a hug, then looking him over. "Your not going to the memorial looking like that are you?"

Slate froze, it seemed his dream really had happened. "Umm no, I just wanted to be comfortable for a bit before I go." He felt a lump in his throat. He grabbed a glass of orange juice and downed it quickly before heading upstairs to change.
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He was given the good car for the day, a backfiring Gremlin wasn't the best choice to drive on the somber occasion. He arrived the school, dressed in a button down rusty red shirt and black dress pants. He looked around for any familiar faces. He saw a lone figure sitting close by. He went over, "Mind if I join you here?"

[Gage Foster]

It wasn't as though Gage wasn't paying attention to his surroundings because he was...wasn't he? His eyes were staring holes into the back of the head of the person sitting directly in his direction far away from his own seat. His mind was elsewhere as his hand unconsciously wringed the program to shreds on to the floor. He wasn't nervous. No...he wasn't even afraid of the dead people smiling down at him in still pictures...immortalised in such a creepy manner.

How he could be so broken up by someone who didn't even really know him outside of their social circle was beyond him but broken up he was, as was evident in the absence of paper in his hand by the time the newcomer arrived.

Gage would normally greet a newcomer warmly, regardless of age, race, religion, or gender. He was just that friendly guy people would normally find pleasant but not someone to really hang out with. But Gage really didn't mind. He was into making people feel more confident and more...noticed he presumed. He hadn't met this guy before though and his welcome was slight and curt.

But it only lasted a few seconds. He turned to the newcomer and grinned as he wiped his hands on his jeans. "Of course please sit." He smiled, nodding. "Never seen you around...do you go to Silver and Gould? My name is Gage."

[Slate Cummings]

Slate took the seat next to Gage. "Thanks." He looked around, there were tears, some sitting somberly, other comforting others. No one back in Georgia would ever believe this actually happened.

"Its a pleasure Gage, I'm Slate Cummings, I'm a senior at Silver." He introduced himself to the other teen. There was a small bit of silence as he rubbed his chin then ran a hand through his hair. "I never thought I would ever live to see something like this happen."

Back home everyone knew everyone else. So if anything was going to happen, people were prepared. He even remembered having cookouts in people's backyards in the summer, everyone just got along. This is what happens when you leave the small town for the big city.

"I really didn't know any of the victims personally but I felt like I should be here, even though I've been at the school just a few months now. Did you know any of the victims?"

He thought about Jack and wondered what she was up to lately. Was she safe? Had she heard about the news? He'd send her a text later, unless she had changed numbers.

[Gage Foster]

Gage was surprised he hadn't seen Slate around the halls. Even if he was a new student...Gage thought he knew everyone. He shrugged before nodding. "Always thought stuff like this only happened everywhere else." Gage sighed softly, his head hanging down low. His eyes were blurred so he looked up quickly to stop the tears from flowing. He was fifteen years old yet he was acting like a big cry baby. Gage had never been one for tears. He didn't even know any of them so well but he knew them.

Slate's question brought him back to the present and he stumbled over his answer. "I knew all of them." He blurted, not wanting Slate to think he wasn't paying attention. "Um...not personally. I guess everyone here at Silver knows everybody else. They don't have to be friends to know each other...I suppose." Gage looked up and once more his eyes went to the same picture. Damn it...he thought to himself before looking away. Why he couldn't stop looking at that particular picture he didn't know.

"It's funny that we never bumped into each other before. Are you in any of the school teams?" Gage asked, wanting to stray away from the sombre event.

[Slate Cummings]

"Thats the way the world works. We live in our own comfort zones and think nothing can happen to us there." Slate moistened his lips slightly. "Then all of a sudden something happens that jolts us from our lives and wakes us up." He noticed the tears in the boy's eyes and took out Kleenex from his pocket. He handed it over to him and put a firm hand on his shoulder to show that he wasn't alone.

"I'm the same I guess, I didn't know them personally but I knew we went to school together, it sort of makes us one I guess."

It was strange to think that the smiling faces in the pictures around were now just memories. They wouldn't be seen in the halls any more or at pep rallies. They were now faces from the past.

The appreciation of small talk was welcomed by Slate. "no, I'm not on any of the teams. I just do my bit to cheer them on." He tried to smile slightly but the tears were starting to take over his eyes. "We never really knew who to look for before." He said as a tear dropped from his cheek.

[Gage Foster]

Gage accepted the tissue even though he knew the tears were not coming. He crumpled it up in a fist and winced when he felt the pat on the shoulder. As Slate talked, Gage could only listen, not knowing what else to say. He sighed and nodded when Slate talked about being the ones in the sidelines.

Gage's leg started to jump up and down a bit, a force of habit that he had yet to kick. He bit his lower lip and sighed once more. "I'm on the basketball team. But I'm mostly just back up." He shrugged before turning sideways a little to see that a tear was rolling down Slate's cheek. "I don't...I don't think I can stay anymore." Gage whispered, shaking his head and standing up. The chairs were almost all filled and Gage started to hyperventilate. "Damn it..." he cursed under his breath. He turned back to Slate.

"It...it was nice meeting to Slate. Let's...make it a habit to say hi in the halls sometime..." Gage's smile quivered. He took Slate's hand and shook it jerkily before walking away.

Once out in the halls, he took in deep breaths, trying to calm his heart down. Boy, was he a wuss or what? When he was calm enough, he bit his lower lip again. He hoped Slate didn't think he was a jerk. Then again, they hardly knew each other. Gage raked his fingers through his hair and walked to the entrance.

He looked around and realised that he had asked his mother to pick him up after the memorial. He shook his head and started to walk to the nearest phone booth which was conveniently located some hundred metres away. He dialed his mother's number and told her he was going to hang out for awhile so she didn't have to pick him up. His mother sounded concerned but he said he'd be fine. She asked him to be careful and he told her he loved her and then hung up. He walked away and didn't look back.

[ooc: I think this could be a good place to wrap unless you want to write more? ]

[Slate Cummings]

its a good wrap for me here