In Your Arms by Becky Andrews Read Free Book Online Page B

do.”
    “What? Make each other late to class?”
    “No, give each other nicknames. Yours just happens to be Sam, and mine just happens to be…”
    “ Fine , goodbye, handsome,” Sam said.
    Phillip smiled. “Bye Sam. Bye Alex.”
     
    * * *
     
    “All right, guys, homework for tonight is problem set 65. This covers what we went over in class so if you were paying attention, you shouldn’t have a problem. Now for those of you who were not paying attention, and there were a few of you, read through the chapter or call one of your fellow classmates for help,” Mr. Stevens said to the class just before the bell rang.
    Sam and Alex stood up and headed out the classroom door.
    “Did you hear him?” Alex asked. “‘ For those of you who weren’t paying attention.’ ”
    Sam just smiled at her friend. They both knew Mr. Stevens was referring to them. They had been passing notes during class, again.
    “It shouldn’t be that hard,” Sam said. “It’s not like we were completely ignoring him. I mean I was listening, some of the time.”
    Both Alex and Sam began to laugh as they reached their lockers.
    “Oh, hey, I forgot to turn in my homework to Mr. Stevens,” Sam said. “I’ll meet you in English.” Sam grabbed her English book and headed back to Mr. Stevens room. “Mr. Stevens,” Sam said as she walked into his classroom. “I forgot to turn in my homework.”
    “Thank you, Sam. Oh, and next class, try and pay a little more attention to the lecture. You are my brightest student, but I would like a little acknowledgement once in a while.”
    Sam smiled. “Sure thing, Mr. Stevens, see you tomorrow.”
    Before Sam made her way down the corridor to English to join Alex and Michael, she stopped at a nearby water fountain in the East wing of the school. As Sam bent down and pushed down on the lever, she nearly choked when she heard several loud pops. Just like…gunshots.
    Sam’s heart was pounding in her chest even before she heard the screams and saw students running down the stairs.

Chapter Five

    S am was paralyzed with fear. What was going on? Students were running down the stairs, passing her as they made their way outside the building. All Sam could do was stand there and watch as the whole thing unraveled. Teachers had come out of their classrooms and began escorting students and yelling directions. It was a mad house as everyone rushed to get out of the school.
    Yet for some reason, Sam remained locked into place, too terrified to move. She thought of all the times she’d seen this on the news and couldn’t believe it was happening here. The gunshots weren’t far away, just up the stairs. Several more shots rang through the nearly empty hallway. Everyone had evacuated the upper level immediately after the guns first began firing. As Sam stood in an empty hallway, void of all activity, she heard echoing footsteps.
    As the footsteps and voices grew louder, Sam quickly backed up against the wall near the water fountain and crouched behind it. She closed her eyes and prayed that the shooters wouldn’t see her or walk toward the water fountain. Sam maneuvered her body so she could see down the hallway.
    As she did so, she saw two guys, both wearing ski masks. The only thing she could make out was their bulky shapes. Both wore jeans and black T-shirts
    “Check and make sure the coast is clear,” one said, and Sam flinched back, trying to place where she’d heard that voice before.
    “Don’t worry, man,” the other replied. “I checked twice and no one is here. It’s empty.”
    “That’s good to hear. We have to move fast, the police will be here any minute.”
    “Can we take these masks off now? They’re making it hard to breathe.”
    “Yeah, I guess. Come on, we have to find those pills and hide them before the police show up.”
    “I’m pretty sure they’re in the councilor’s office. I mean, that’s where Mr. Sheppard put them when he confiscated them.”
    So these were students,