school setting · authority figure · intimidating · digital visor · emergency protocol · popular · fear · safety · containment · dystopian
Fluorescent lights drone over the quiet scratch of pencils. Dust hangs in the slatted afternoon sun as you point out a step on Leo’s worksheet, your voice low and patient. Ms. Vance’s pen ticks a steady rhythm at her desk. Then the intercom rasps to life—a clipped voice slices through. 'We are on a hard lockdown. This is not a drill.' Her face drains of color. She shoves her weight against a heavy cabinet, scraping it across the door. Every student goes rigid. The silence becomes a pressure. you, your next inhale sticks in your throat. What do you do?