It had happened in an instant.
Ronnie’s teacher had stepped out to get a worksheet off of the printer, the class loudly talking over one another about nothing in particular. A small noise cut through, a girl named Wendy looking over at her friend. “Em? What’s wro-”. She stared at her friend, the girl’s hand fading off into dust. “Help..”. Emma muttered desperately before she disappeared completely, ash covering her chair. The class screamed, some gasping, some silently reacting. More kids started disappearing, Ronnie silently shaking as she watched the chaos. She felt two arms around her. “Ronnie, it’s okay, we’ll be o-”. The voice of her friend cut off, the weight off of Ronnie’s shoulders. The teen didn’t open her eyes, not wanting to see her friend’s ashes strewn in front of her. An announcement rang through. “Attention all students and faculty! Please report outside immediately! Please report outsi-” The voice cut off, small bumps being heard on the old microphone. Ronnie sighed, quickly standing up and opening her eyes. She saw seven of her twenty five classmates left, all of them quickly going for the exits. Ronnie started running, her phone buzzing. A text from her friend Laura. “Are you okay?!” Ronnie quickly text back while running. “I am. Are you good?” The speech bubble came up, not going away for a minute. Nothing sent.
Ronnie frantically called her friend, hearing her custom ringtone up ahead. She rushed towards the sound, dodging the disappearing people and tuning out the screams and sobs. When she arrived at the phone, she let out a choked sound to see a cracked screen near a pile of ash. She looked at the screen, seeing the words typed. “Ronnie help please he”. The girl slowly picked up her friend’s phone, continuing onwards. When she finally got outside, she held onto herself, trying to make sure she stayed glued together. “Ronnie!” Her eyes darted up to see her friend. “Robin! Oh my god you’re okay! Laura..and Nathan..they.” Robin swept her friend in a hug. “It’s okay. You’re okay.” Ronnie fell into the hug, tuning out all the noises except her friend’s voice. “We’re okay. Neither of us are going anywhere.” The girls held onto each other, taking a few minutes before they believed the words Robin had said.