by RH Fox
“Yes, Marky, bring them back to school when you come.”
Dreia took a deep breath past the lump in her throat and felt tears threaten. It was unlikely most of their families were prepared for an extended power outage of this magnitude. Her gut clenched at the thought of what these students. . . children she loved, were going to face if things got as bad as she suspected they would. It wasn’t a line of thought she could handle and still function at the necessary level, so she reigned in her emotions and directed the students to line up at the door after they had their backpacks ready. They sensed her mood and the line was much more subdued than normal.
After leaving her class in the cafeteria, she went to check on preparations in the front office. Raised voices penetrated the closed door as she approached.
“What if we’re overreacting?” Marlene was saying loudly when Dreia pushed it open. “Sam had a valid point, you know.”
The attendance secretary was nose to nose with Rena in front of the file cabinet that housed the student emergency cards. Dreia stopped just inside the office to see how the disagreement was going to play out.
“Unless you have some information that contradicts what Dreia told us, hand me the key to this file cabinet right now!” Rena ordered.
“It took me almost three weeks to make sure these cards were filled out completely and filed for every student,” Marlene whined.
“I don’t care if it took three months. This, what’s happening right now, is the whole reason we have emergency cards in the first place! Now, give me the key,” Rena commanded with her hand out. Her voice clearly indicated she was done arguing.
Marlene angrily handed the key over and turned her glare on Dreia. “I hope you’re right and we’re not going to all this trouble for nothing. I can’t watch this. I’m going to help in the cafeteria,” she threw her hands up as she stomped past, slamming the door behind her.
Dreia put her hand over her mouth, “Doesn’t she realize that if I’m right there’ll be more to worry about than her filing system?”
“Don’t pay her any mind. You should’ve seen her meltdown when we had to redo the lunch schedule she worked on a few years ago. She called in sick for two days.” Rena was calm and in control agian. “Come see if these are what you need, so we can get underway.”
Dreia looked at the items laid out on the counter. In addition to the stacks of emergency cards that Rena and Beth were transferring into a large milk crate, there was a clipboard full of bus assignments and two large district maps.
“We only have two maps?”
“For now. Linda took some of the others out to the buses to look for more. They’re also checking to see if any of the bus drivers might have left spare keys hidden somewhere. If they find any, they’ll see if they can get a bus started. Just in case,” Rena sounded pessimistically hopeful.
“Good thinking. At the very least, I know I’ve seen some of the bus drivers double-check their routes on paper when I’ve walked new students out. Maybe we won’t have to mess with these big maps at all. Let’s take what we have so far and get started.”
Dreia turned to Beth, who was staying in the office for any parents who arrived.
“There’s a good chance my husband’s already headed this way. Please come get me when he shows up.”
Beth nodded, so Dreia followed Rena across the hall to the crowded library where everyone was talking quietly. The abundant light coming from the tall windows almost cast the illusion of a normal staff meeting. She glanced around the room and noticed everyone seemed to be there, besides those helping in the cafeteria and checking buses.
“It looks like everyone stayed,” she murmured to Rena.
Rena nodded and whispered back, “Except Pam. Her husband was moved to hospice on Tuesday and she only came in this afternoon to review lesson plans with her long-term sub. I told her to go, in case their emergency generators went out, too. Her kids were supposed to be coming home tomorrow to help her. But I don’t suppose they’ll make it now.”
Rena bowed her head, her short blond hair falling around her face to hide the emotions she struggled with. Dreia knew Pam and Rena had taught together a long time before Rena became a principal, and their families were close. She’d been as devastated as Pam when her friend’s husband was diagnosed with lung cancer right after their youngest left for college in the fall. It had also caused many of their friends to question the mentality of putting lives on hold until ‘the kids are gone’.
Now, with both of Pam’s children away at college, there was no telling when, or if, they’d make it home. Dreia feared this was an example of what would become a common story of families torn apart by mere distance. Anxiety to be on her way home reared its head again.
At least her faith in teachers was proving accurate. After the explanation earlier, Dreia would have expected a lot of people to abandon ship in search of their loved ones, but teachers were a different breed. The responsibility for students was so deeply ingrained, even Sam was sitting at a table in the back. Dreia raised her eyebrows.
“My truck won’t start,” he answered her unspoken question in a churlish voice. “I still don’t believe we were bombed, but obviously something is going on and we need to get the kids home.”
“I don’t understand why we aren’t following normal procedures and waiting for parents to arrive,” one of the fourth-grade teachers called out.
Rena again deferred to Dreia, making it clear who was running things now.
“Remember, most people have no idea what’s going on yet, and most likely think the lights will be back on any time now. Unless they try to go somewhere and realize their cars won’t start, parents probably won’t be worried about their students until normal dismissal time. Then, when they figure out they don’t have any transportation, it’s going to take hours for parents who work downtown to get home.”
“Exactly,” another person chimed in. “If the parents aren’t home, why are we going to all this trouble? Wouldn’t it be easier to just wait with them here?”
“Physically easier, yes. But we all want to get home to our own families, don’t we? My preference would be sooner rather than later.”
Dreia refrained for mentioning that some of them didn’t stand a chance of making it home before dark as it was, herself included.
Instead, she went on, “If we can get the students home who already have someone there, or at least to their emergency contact person, that leaves a fraction of students waiting here. Meaning that only a small number of us need to stay until parents can pick them up.”
Several people nodded their agreement, while others grumbled quietly. No one else voiced opposition, though, so Dreia started explaining exactly what they needed to do next.
“Okay, we have to divide the emergency cards into groups by bus numbers. Keep siblings together, and don’t worry about emergency contacts at this point. Rena, how many buses are there total?”
Rena quickly flipped through the bus routes on the clipboard before answering, “Twenty-four.”
It was a bigger number than Dreia expected and she faltered, wondering if this undertaking was going to prove too much for them to handle. She closed her eyes for a moment. They didn’t have a choice if everyone was going to get home. She opened them to see everyone staring at her in worried anticipation.
“Alright then. Can you grab some paper and write each bus number on a separate piece? Then, put them in numerical order.”
Rena nodded and pulled some paper out of the library printer.
“I’ll get the markers and help,” the librarian offered.
“Great. Now, I need twenty-four of you to space out around the room. Try to find a spot at the long counter or a table, and Rena will bring you a bus sign. Once you start getting student emergency cards, group them by bus stop.”
Dreia watched as people started fanning out around the room. Several, being teachers, counted them out to ensure all twenty-four buses were covered. Movement at the doorway
caught her attention and Linda walked into the library, looking excited. A few others followed with big smiles. Dreia wondered if by some miracle they’d found a working bus.
“We didn’t find any keys. But, there was a map in every single bus with its route highlighted!”
“That’s huge!” Dreia exclaimed. “You just saved us from having to plot every bus route and draw maps!”
“And we’re done, everyone has an assigned bus,” Rena added.
“Okay, Linda, can you match up the route maps with the teachers who have bus numbers in front of them? Does anyone live close enough to the school to be familiar with the streets where our walkers might live?” Dreia asked the room.
Both the school counselor and nurse, as well as two of the teachers currently holding bus numbers, raised their hands.
“Kent and Carla, can you take one of the big district maps over to the carpet in the fiction section? We’ll bring the walker cards to you. Group them however you think is best according to where they live.”
They both nodded and moved to the designated area.
“Sam and Stacy, can you take over Katy’s and Monica’s bus number, so they can man the other map and do the same for car riders?”
“I’ll take charge of the other map,” Sam stated bluntly.
Before Dreia could respond, Carla yelled out, “Are you kidding me? You arrogant, sexist . . .”
Dreia interrupted before their nurse’s famous temper was fueled any further. “Carla, I’m sure Sam didn’t mean he should be on the map just because he’s a man.”
“That’s exactly what I meant. Men are better suited to reading maps. Kent’s on that one, I should be on this one.”
“Oh, Lord help me. I’m going to rearrange your anatomy if you don’t shut up,” Carla said, getting out of her chair.
“I’d like to see . . .” Sam started.
“Whoa! Calm down you two,” Kent called out in his most soothing counselor voice.
Dreia held her hands up to get everyone’s attention.
“Focus, people. Sam, knock it off. Carla, sit down. You can play doctor with Sam later, if that’s what you really want to do.”
That broke the tension when several people laughed. Carla turned red and sat down.
Dreia continued, “Sam, just go take one of the bus numbers. I’m sure us womenfolk can figure out how to read a map. We teach children how to do it, after all.”
Sam frowned as he grudgingly went to take Katy’s spot, ignoring the offended looks women around the room were shooting his direction.
“Katy, you and Monica take this map and do your best to group the car riders together. I wish we could plot each bus route on the map, but I think it would get too messy trying to color code it with that many buses. We’ll just have to figure out which car riders live along the bus routes after they’re all grouped.” Dreia sighed loudly, “Thank heavens most of us have experience reading real maps. Can you imagine our students trying to coordinate this kind of thing without an app on their phones?”
Some teachers snorted disdainfully while others shook their heads with sad smiles. They all recognized that over time technology had become as much of an enemy as an ally to their jobs.
“Alright everyone, if you aren’t manning a bus route or a map, come get a stack of emergency cards and start passing them out according to their means of transportation. If there are two different types noted, one to school and one home, go with the afternoon transportation for now. When there’s no cards left, partner up with someone on a bus route. Every route needs at least two adults.”
The rest of the staff lined up and the cards were doled out. Rena pulled Dreia aside while everyone got to work.
“You’re doing an amazing job of getting everyone to work together. I have to admit I’m thankful you stepped up and took over. You’ve thought about this before, haven’t you?”
Dreia hesitated before admitting, “I have. My family teases me about being paranoid, but I find myself looking for contingency plans everywhere I go. However, now that something’s really happening, I hope I’m making the right call.”
“I’ll support whatever you think we need to do. There’s still no communication at all from emergency responders or district office, so I’m making an executive decision to put you in charge. I probably need to go check in with the cafeteria. Is there anything else that needs to be done while we’re working on transportation?” Rena asked.
“Maybe someone could walk over to the fire station on Elm and see if they have any information? Actually, two people should go if you think it’s worth checking out. Even though it’s still early, I don’t think anyone needs to head out alone,” Dreia clarified.
“Good idea. I’ll send Linda and Jeff. It’ll make me feel better if a guy goes along, just don’t tell Sam I said that,” Rena smirked.
“Trust me, I won’t. We should have everything ready for the next stage by the time they get back.”
Rena nodded and left the library. Dreia watched her walk down the shadowy hall and worried about what was ahead. Faint singing echoed from the other end of the school. There was no doubt in her mind that it was only a matter of time before the lowlifes looking to take advantage of the situation started harassing people. Hopefully children ranked low on their list of targets, giving the staff time to get them all home safely. She turned and leaned on the doorframe to watch the emergency cards being passed out around the room.
Left with a few minutes to herself, Dreia tried to remember if Abbie had driven her Jeep to school that morning. It was no accident she’d insisted on that particular vehicle for her daughter. If the reports claiming older vehicles could survive an EMP were correct, she’d make it home. However, if she’d ridden with her best friend Tyler, they’d be walking for sure. Dreia knew that all the unknowns would drive her crazy with worry if she dwelled on them for long.
Glancing down at her watch from sheer habit, she was surprised to find the digital screen on and showing 2:30pm. With no idea how it survived the pulse, she was thankful she’d worn it. Dreia did some quick calculations and realized Matt could potentially arrive within the hour if he’d left base right after the power went out. She imagined her husband’s arms wrapped around her and his deep voice reassuring her that their kids were fine, and they would be, too.
Before that happened, though, she had a lot of work to do. Her eyes flicked around the bustling library again, relieved everyone was taking things seriously. They’d soon be ready for the next, and most dangerous, step of her plan.
4
Dreia watched the students enthusiastically singing along with the piano on stage. The music teacher had done a fantastic job of keeping them occupied.
“Ready?” Rena whispered.
“I hope so. Is everyone in their designated room?”
“They should be by now. Just go off the list and we’ll figure it out if something’s mixed up.”
Dreia nodded and went up to the microphone on stage when the song ended. Picking it up, she heard a choked off laugh come from the doorway. She glanced over at Rena questioningly, then at the microphone in her hand and rolled her eyes at herself.
Putting the useless mic back on the stand she practically yelled, making sure her voice was loud and confident, “Hi kids!”
“Hi, Mrs. Bennett!” they all chorused back, well trained.
“I hope you had fun singing with Ms. Drummond! What do you tell her?”
“Thank you, Mrs. Drummond!”
Lucy stood up from the piano and curtsied deeply, exaggerating the action quite a bit. Giggles erupted around the large room.
Dreia raised her hand and put a finger up with each number she called out loudly, “One, two, three, eyes on me.”
“One, two, eyes on you!” The students quieted after answering the familiar phrase, giving Dreia their full attention.
“It’s time to go home, but as you can see the lights are still out and it’s going to be very different today. I’ll need al
l of you older kids to be super helpful with the little ones,” Dreia paused, making sure she had the fourth and fifth grade students’ attention. “Our buses aren’t working, and your parents might not be able to use their cars right now. So, we’re going to have an adventure. The teachers are going to be your line leaders, and you get to show them where you live! Isn’t that awesome?”
It took a minute for her words to sink in. Then, Dreia was relieved to see confusion shift to enthusiasm and excited chatter started up all over the room. Children were surprisingly flexible, and that was going to work heavily in their favor.
Dreia glanced at Rena, who gave her a thumbs up and motioned for her to continue.
“Now, you already have your backpacks ready to go, so when I call your bus number I want you to stand up right where you are. Let’s try one for practice.” Dreia briefly paused and glanced down at the clipboard in her hand. “If you ride bus ten, please stand up.”
Several students stood up obediently.
“Good job! Now, if you’re standing, look around and see if your brothers and sisters are standing up, too. If you don’t see them, raise your hand.”
Dreia was happy that no hands went up. They were off to a smooth start.
“Alright. If you have a brother or sister on your bus, I want you to go line up in front of Mrs. Fostich. Hold hands and stay together.”
About half the kids went to line up at the cafeteria doors, and Dreia did a calculated once-over of the students left standing.
“Nicely done, everyone! Now, if you’re a fourth or fifth grader, and still standing, go find one or two younger students who get off at your stop and line up holding their hand. If there aren’t enough younger kids left to be your partner, find someone else from your stop and be buddies.”
Once all the students for bus ten lined up in front of Rena, she instructed them to follow a teacher’s aide to their designated classroom. There, the adults in charge of that route would go over safety rules for the walk and answer any questions while they waited for the signal to head out.
