In health class we started a new unit, a unit I remember from last year.

Stress.

Depression.

Suicide.

We started with stress. The class did a crossword on our vocabulary words to start familiarizing ourselves with them. An activity was done (the whole 'put these ish-load of nails on that one and make it balance' thing) and the class joked around. My friend DeJean and I joked about my recent depression on how I preferably sit alone during lunch, eating my food and reading a book. My health teacher questioned me once, but I denounced her, simply telling her I was fine. I was glad to humble myself. I enjoy it very much, but only when I do it and if I give you permission, otherwise expect a backhand. We did a worksheet survey something-of-the-sort as it asked us all the many things one would have happen to them that seemed either normal or abnormal. N stood for normal and A stood for abnormal. For example:

"You cannot enter a classroom without counting to one hundred. _A_"

"You have trouble sleeping because you worry about passing your math exam the next day. _N_"

As soon as we get to:

"Every once in a while you get to feeling so low that you wonder if life is worth living. ___"

DeJean looks up from his paper and says, "Hey Jon, I don't have to worry about number 19, right?" He laughed.

I cracked a smile and let a chuckle out, in sincerity. I didn't answer him. God forbid I have to talk to a counselor or a social worker or a psychologist if I answered.

The loudspeaker went on and the secretary announce Mr. Welch, or Head Principal (there's a principal for each grade) had an announcement to make. We wondered what could've been so important to have us stop class. "Did 9/11 happen again?" was the first thought in everyone's mind in school, I guarantee that. The second was, "Did another student get stabbed in the butt?"

We turned on the TV and onto the school local channel, Mr. Welch sitting at the risen table where our homeroom news came from.

SOUTHBOROUGH —

 

A Framingham High School student has been identified today as the man who died in a one-car crash last night, police said.

 

Jamoan James, 18, of 8 Greenview St., died after his 2003 Dodge sedan, crashed into a tree near 17 Southville Road, police said.

 

Police did not say if James was the driver, but did say the car was registered to him.

 

Diego Mauro, 21, also of 8 Greenview St., a passenger in the car, was taken to UMass-Memorial Medical Center in Worcester where he remains in critical condition, police said.

 

Another passenger, Errol Moses, 17, of 3 Rosslaire Road, Framingham, was taken to the MetroWest Medical Center's Framingham Union campus to be treated for neck injuries.

 

Police are searching for a fourth man who was in a car. Witnesses to the 11:18 p.m. crash said the man ran into the woods.

 

The Massachusetts State Police sent a tracking dog to the scene, and it led police to the Howe Street area in Ashland where the scent vanished. Police think the person was picked up by another car.

 

Police ask that anyone with information about the missing person or the accident to call Southborough Police Sgt. Sean James at 508-485-2121.

The room was silent. Shock mostly. Every mind was trying to search who try to find out who this person was and if one of us knew him. We waited for one of us to get up and walk out the door, as Mr. Welch said that there were counselors, social workers, and psychologists standing by for any students wanting help coping with this news. A room full of sophomores, no one got up, I being a Sophomore-Junior, had the highest chance of knowing the guy, but even now looking at the picture he doesn't ring a bell. But the presence of death was there; the feel of a life gone of our world put a hole in us for a moment. The room was silent of voices only at this point, after a couple minutes passed. Everyone started packing up their things, as if no one wasn't paying attention to the clock in the first place. But as the final minute rolled, mutters and small talk started, but no laughter, harmless insults, or humorous comebacks were made. The bell rang first the end of first period, and we went on our way. I nearly chuckled when I remembered what my next class was.

Biology, the study of life.

During lunch period, friends of my algebra class came by and the topic of the tragic news came about. I was offended at the complete assumption that the driver was drunk. At the time, we had no idea about the fourth member of the car or whether or not Jamoan was the driver. We only knew that supposedly he was the driver and gave no mind of the other two. They all questioned the logic of driving drunk, which I quickly stepped in. I told them that they shouldn't have assumed that he was drunk, for all we know he was distracted by something or someone for he could've possibly been as against alcohol as I am. They shut down the drunk driving thought immediately, when I only came to realize hours ago that I should've drove the stake in the heart and told them immediately how disrespectful it was to think that; think of a cause of death through the thought that he was a lesser man than themselves. The news we were given didn't so much mention alcohol other than "police are not sure whether or not alcohol played a role" but still.

Jamoan, I most likely don't know you, but I promise you, I'll defend your name to any and all faces unless proven otherwise. You will not pass a man thought of less, but a man thought of equal, unless proven otherwise. If you did drink alcohol and were the driver of that car, I shall shake off my defense and let your soul carry on, for others control their tongues and their thoughts, but as of this moment, you are still an equal, and you will be defended as one.

I came back home from work a half-hour ago. The minute my mother parked the Explorer, her friend calls.

Immigration got one of our friends.

EDIT:

*sigh*

Can't believe I forgot to tell this...

My friend, Lee Anne, she's an epileptic. She has seizures often.

This morning, she was in class and complained about how she couldn't see out of her right eye, and the right side of her body was practially failing on her. She went down to the nurse and was soon taken to the hospital. Please give her prayer.

~AA