Hard Fi-"Living For The Weekend"

Wow has it been a long week. All sorts of crazy things happened, and I'm so relieved it's Friday that I needed a song to express all my wild thoughts. Here's a condensed version of the band history/sound/song sound: fun British dance punk bursting with energy, catchiness and rocking guitars. Their latest, Stars of CCTV is also nominated for a Mercury Prize.

So that's that. And let's get to the interesting part, where I tell you all about the monumental lock down we had in school this afternoon, fiction story style.

It was half way through fourth period P.E. when the annocement came on and a voice stated that we had a lock down. Our teacher barely blinked an eye, told the students to close the doors and locked them. We kept on with our activities, and everyone thought it was just another drill. Then, when it got nearer towards the end of the period, and still the annocement didn't okay our leave, we began to get worried. Our teacher (call her Miss X) gathered us to the front of the room and explained what she knew. The lockdown was real. There was an attempted robbery some way up the hill and one of the robbers was shot, the other escaped. Police came on campus and secured the school. We had to stay inside the room until the principal cleared the call.

We sat around and chatted, with no real purpose. Sure, Miss X claimed that police were all over the place, but we probably only had to wait a few more minutes before everything cleared out and we could get the hell out. Of course, we had to wait much longer than that. The period ended and lunch should have started, but we stayed inside. We couldn't go to our lockers or even use the bathroom. Whines and complaints drifted from all corners of the room. We scattered out, some lying on mats, some sitting around in circles. We were hungry, we wanted our backpacks with all our cell phones and iPods and books and notebooks. We wanted to leave and go to lunch and chat with our friends. Time stretched into an everlasting thread.

Because we love random photos, and Sheep Dogs are the best. Period.

Whenever the annocement sounded, we felt hope and happiness surge through us. But it was just the principal announcing that the lockdown was still in effect, that teachers should check their emails. We became restless. My friends and I tried to play 20 questions in desperation. That lasted for a couple of rounds, and lost all its excitement. We slugged back to the mats and tried to get comfortable in our gym shorts and shirts. And then, voila! The back door opened...and in came four policemen with guns drawn and flashlights ready. We gave them the customary stare and watched their progress. They asked us whether we saw anyone coming in or not. Of course not! They went on their search.

One of the storage rooms was dark and I supposed they thought it a nice hiding place, although we were here the whole time and no one could have slipped in unnoticed. They did the whole flash light/gun drawn/back against the wall thing. It was good entertainment, but at the same time a part of me worried what would happen if the escapee did hide inside. Would they shoot? How loud would the gunshot be? How much blood would be shed? Of course, they came back out with everything intact. Next was a n area flooded with gigantic mats. It was dark inside, and there was probably enough space to hid a man (or two). A woman came in and climbed up, armed with her everlasting flashlight. The highlight of the whole experience came when she came out, sliding down one of the big tilted mats like it was a slide in a park. Exciting.

But the adventure was short lived. These cops left and one stayed at the back door with his booklet of whatever and his radio and his guns. He tried to make conversation. I guess we weren't the only ones bored to death. By that time fifth period had already passed. He told Miss X that it would be 45 minutes at least until we get out. Yeepee. The atmosphere cheered up immediately.

One of the students got the delicious inside scoop and filled us in. Apparently a high speed chase was involved, the man who was later shot dropped off his partner near our campus, and that's who the police searched for. We oohed and ahhhed and nodded and passed the info to our friends.

And finally, with twenty minutes to go before school ended, we got out. We had to stay on campus until 2:10, but we were free to eat and chat. Several versions of the story floated outside and it seemed everyone was stuck in their least favorite class. Ah, the beauty of the school system.

A news van parked outside our school and interviewed a random student. Police cars stayed in close proximity. Although it was a completely waste of time and effort, the policewoman sliding down the mat made everything all better.

And that's my story (and my sort-of excuse for posting late). You know you love it!