story238.xml
Title
story238.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-03-13
911DA Story: Story
On the morning before the attack, as I walked to school about four blocks from the World Trade Center, I remember thinking about what a beautiful day it was. There was not a single cloud in the sky. I looked over to the Towers (which I normally do not do) and remembered that one of my friends was going to meet me there after school for some pizza in the mall below the towers.
Needless to say, I arrived at school and began my first full-length day of the school year (the previous days had been half-days). My first period passed without incident (8:00-8:40 AM). During my second period I met my teacher for the first time. As she was introducing herself to the class, we heard a large bang outside. My own personal impression (and that of the entire class) was that it was just some construction going on nearby. Some kind of metal being dropped loudly into a metal bin. About 3 minutes after we heard the bang, another teacher came in and said "The World Trade Center is on fire." Although most of us thought he was kidding, a few went to the window. Sure enough, just above the building across the street we could see smoke billowing out of the top of the World Trade Center. At this point, at least 5 of my classmates began crying, though most were simply staring out the window in amazement. We could see clear down a street adjacent to the World Trade Center. On this street were hundreds and hundreds of people staring up, bewildered.
About 10 minutes after the crash, our principal made an announcement and sent us to our homerooms. During my class I was on the third floor of the school. However, my homeroom was on the 10th floor. From my homeroom window, we could all, much more clearly, see the top of the world trade center. At this point, we also turned the TV on in our room and were looking between the TV and the towers. At this point, the second plane crashed in (all of us with a clear line of sight as it hit). The floor shook and the TV sputtered to static. At this point we were all somewhat afraid, but it was mostly just amazement. The notions that the first crash was a mistake began to dwindle at this point as well.
Nothing really happened during the time between the second crash and the collapse. We stared out of the window and talked under our breath to one another. However, when the first collapse happened, I remember jumping under a desk. All of the other kids in the class ran to the window. I kept thinking that at any moment the glass would break inwards and hit my classmates but, fortunately, that did not occur. At this point, my principal got on the loudspeaker and, in a frantic voice, told everyone to evacuate out of the north side of the building. It, however, wasnt until later that we would learn that if the second tower had fallen straight towards us, the shock wave could have knocked down the school (only 5 blocks away). However, due to the fact that the school is so large (bit more than 3000 kids) and that we were on the top floor, it took a long time for my room to evacuate. As I was leaving through the lobby I saw firefighters being dragged in, covered with dust. A few were fairly bloodied. As we left the building they shouted for our water bottles, if we had any. It was at this point that the second tower fell, shaking the ground a bit again. We all walked, however, staying pretty calm. Luckily, the cloud of dust did not hit us, as the school managed to slow it down enough for us to get away in time. As I walked I saw a friend of mine's sister. I walked with her and later found my friend waiting for her. He was with his dad, so he gave me a ride to his house where I waited until my dad managed to get out of his office (also downtown) to come uptown and meet me. We travelled home to my mother and, after some tears, we basically just sat in front of the TV for several days straight (as my school was closed for a week following the attack until we were relocated). Now (3-12-02), we're back at our school and have been for quite awhile. There are still concerns about the air quality around our school (I have actually developed asthma and bronchitis since being back), but they refuse to acknowledge that there is a problem. I suppose only time will tell regarding that issue. If anyone reads this and wants to contact me, my e-mail address is WZBarnard@aol.com. Thanks for reading my story.
Needless to say, I arrived at school and began my first full-length day of the school year (the previous days had been half-days). My first period passed without incident (8:00-8:40 AM). During my second period I met my teacher for the first time. As she was introducing herself to the class, we heard a large bang outside. My own personal impression (and that of the entire class) was that it was just some construction going on nearby. Some kind of metal being dropped loudly into a metal bin. About 3 minutes after we heard the bang, another teacher came in and said "The World Trade Center is on fire." Although most of us thought he was kidding, a few went to the window. Sure enough, just above the building across the street we could see smoke billowing out of the top of the World Trade Center. At this point, at least 5 of my classmates began crying, though most were simply staring out the window in amazement. We could see clear down a street adjacent to the World Trade Center. On this street were hundreds and hundreds of people staring up, bewildered.
About 10 minutes after the crash, our principal made an announcement and sent us to our homerooms. During my class I was on the third floor of the school. However, my homeroom was on the 10th floor. From my homeroom window, we could all, much more clearly, see the top of the world trade center. At this point, we also turned the TV on in our room and were looking between the TV and the towers. At this point, the second plane crashed in (all of us with a clear line of sight as it hit). The floor shook and the TV sputtered to static. At this point we were all somewhat afraid, but it was mostly just amazement. The notions that the first crash was a mistake began to dwindle at this point as well.
Nothing really happened during the time between the second crash and the collapse. We stared out of the window and talked under our breath to one another. However, when the first collapse happened, I remember jumping under a desk. All of the other kids in the class ran to the window. I kept thinking that at any moment the glass would break inwards and hit my classmates but, fortunately, that did not occur. At this point, my principal got on the loudspeaker and, in a frantic voice, told everyone to evacuate out of the north side of the building. It, however, wasnt until later that we would learn that if the second tower had fallen straight towards us, the shock wave could have knocked down the school (only 5 blocks away). However, due to the fact that the school is so large (bit more than 3000 kids) and that we were on the top floor, it took a long time for my room to evacuate. As I was leaving through the lobby I saw firefighters being dragged in, covered with dust. A few were fairly bloodied. As we left the building they shouted for our water bottles, if we had any. It was at this point that the second tower fell, shaking the ground a bit again. We all walked, however, staying pretty calm. Luckily, the cloud of dust did not hit us, as the school managed to slow it down enough for us to get away in time. As I walked I saw a friend of mine's sister. I walked with her and later found my friend waiting for her. He was with his dad, so he gave me a ride to his house where I waited until my dad managed to get out of his office (also downtown) to come uptown and meet me. We travelled home to my mother and, after some tears, we basically just sat in front of the TV for several days straight (as my school was closed for a week following the attack until we were relocated). Now (3-12-02), we're back at our school and have been for quite awhile. There are still concerns about the air quality around our school (I have actually developed asthma and bronchitis since being back), but they refuse to acknowledge that there is a problem. I suppose only time will tell regarding that issue. If anyone reads this and wants to contact me, my e-mail address is WZBarnard@aol.com. Thanks for reading my story.
Collection
Citation
“story238.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed January 9, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/17640.