The room is dark, nice and cool. The only light visible is that coming from the outside entering through the small open crack at the bottom of the door. Then he is awaken by an annoying sound. The clock alarm has gone off and using his right hand switches it off. Six, zero, zero, that 6 o clock in the morning. Slowly he stretches his arms and legs, removing the covers off him, and gets out of bed. What college student get up at 6 in the morning? As he get out of bed he gently walk to the front of the room where there a sink and to the right a dresser, where he gets his tooth-brush and toothpaste. Doing this with caution and as quiet as possible to not disturb his roommate whose still asleep. Getting himself ready, dressing in black shorts and a white tee-shirt, along with white socks and his black running shoes, he gather his keys and Id and quietly heads to the door. Opening the door he is shot with rays of light from a silent hallway, squinting his eyes as they adjust to the light. Gently closing the door in begin walking down an empty hallway, not a single person in sight, just brown locked doors watching him as he passes by. Behind them males or females silently asleep under their bed covers.
Taking the evaluator from the 7th floor to the ground floor, seeing a few early bird starting their day early. He walks out of the lobby seeing the students workers sitting at the front desk and opening the door that leads to the main entrance to Jester West dorms. Walking toward the gym there nothing that appear out of the ordinary. The smell of breakfast coming the cafeteria. It just like any other morning, very few people, the sunrise coming up from the horizon, night becoming day. Once arriving at the gym and the front desk receptionist scanning his id to enter, he heads to the 3rd floor. Walking up the stair he hear the sound of the machines people using below the ground floor. At the 3rd floor, an indoor track where every morning there are two or three people doing their morning runs or ROTC group getting their morning physical fitness drills. By now it about 6:35ish and he starts out with stretching his legs for five minutes and being his run around the track.
Around 7:05am heading to exit the gym, he see more people walking in. Guy in shorts and muscle shirts, Girl in short just above the knee and a shirt that outline their sport bra. Walking back to his room, the only difference is there are few more people walking the buildings and halls. Walking in and out the restroom/shower room that each section of the hallway share with other males or females if they are in an all female section. In his room he turns on his computer to quickly check his email. Clicking on the web browser address box, he types the address to yahoo. At this point his roommate is in the shower getting reading for his 8:30am class. In a second the yahoo page displays and seeing the news headline, something about a plane crash. Thinking nothing of it, probably just an accident, he closes his web browser and goes takes a shower. After taking a shower and returning to his room, he receive a phone call from home. Answering the phone, it his mom, telling him quickly turn on the tv. Turning on the TV he see the headline that a plane crash into the world trade center. Thinking back to what he saw on yahoo a few minutes earlier, that was no accident. Listening to the what he is hearing from the TV was shocking.
Two hours later after doing some important errands, he gathers his books and backpack to head to his Mexican history class. He been glued to the TV about the events unfolding in New York and in Washington D.C. Both World Trade center towers have collapse. Wanting to say in his room and continue to watch, but knowing that he has to head to class. Walking and taking the same elevator he took early this morning to the lobby, now filled will students. Student just waking up and hearing the news. Some without a TV in their room, gather around the TV in the lobby watching what was unfolding. Some females in their pink and poke a dots PJs, in tears and crying as I past them by.
Just into a week and a half into the fall semester, the atmosphere had changed on campus. No longer people talking about their classes, or enjoy the first week away from home. Everyone on campus talking about the two plane that crashed into the world trade center, talking about Sept 11, 2001 or 9/11. Some even scared and confused. Other still trying to figure out why someone would do this.
Later that evening, students and staff gather at the main mall for a candle light vigil. Place their candles on the front step of the tower where they slowly burn, leaving the asphalt with a black burn. At the end of the vigil, one student begin to sing, slowly two more students, then 15, 40 and the entire student body is singing the Star Spangled Banner.
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