Zach's Death

Zach’s Death
(Revised)
By Kyle Lamberton

It was during third period math class when Zach passed out. Mr. Stenson had just been explaining how to find the z-score using the standard deviation, when his head hit the floor. Everyone knew something was horribly wrong when they heard the dull smack of skull hitting tile. Someone on the other side of the room screamed. He then went into convulsions. Karen screamed his name and ran forward desperately holding on to his jolting head. Zach’s bladder involuntarily released and Mr. Stenson put the lid back onto his marker, perhaps realizing how stupidly frozen he looked.
Karen was hysterically weeping by then. She felt a little embarrassed for crying and screamed for someone to get help. All the while she was thinking about Zach’s mom, she knew his whole family, his sister Samantha was her best friend. What would his mother and Sammy think about Zach unconsciously thrashing around on the floor like this? Surely they would start to cry just as she had when she saw those scared looks of agony on his face. His eyes were closed but she could tell that this was his last stand. She held both sides of his face trying to steady him but he was too strong for her. His head hit the floor numerous times. Mr. Stenson was now trying to hold his feet while the rest of the class stared in utter fascination.
The school nurse arrived and began screaming his name over and over into his ears as if he were just asleep and having a bad dream. Karen continued to hold him tight, and thought about the previous summer break. Samantha had invited her to Europe with her and Zach’s family. They went to Rome, Paris, and London; saw all the sights. On the train (the train that Zach’s father was so immensely impressed by) Samantha whispered to Karen that she thought Zach had fallen in love with her. This incited copious amounts of giggles for the rest of the day. She knew that Zach most likely had not fallen in love with her. But she did, however, think that he did have a bit of a crush on her. Later that day they went to see a castle in northern England. Zach was terribly exited.

“Come on Karen race you to the top of the tower!” he shouted, “Loser has to buy lunch!” At the top of the tower they fell on the floor gasping for air. They could hear Samantha from down stairs yelling for them to wait up.

“It’s been nice getting to know you Zach,” said Karen, “We should be friends…. I mean at school and everything.” Just then Sam came in panting and said that their parents were ready to leave. Zach smiled at Karen.

Ever since then, she had been friends Zach, she spent as much time talking to him at school as she could, her life was oh so busy these days but she made time for him she thought about him a lot. He was a smart boy-very smart. He was in most of her classes which was impressive considering he was only a freshman and she was a senior. Karen often wondered what went on inside his head; he was too quite to tell anyone. All of these thoughts poured through her just as the tears poured over her face. It was just the day before when Zach saw Karen walking home in the rain and he ran up to her holding an umbrella over her head the whole way home.

Zach was the kind of person who loved to make people feel better, about
Just as suddenly as the convulsions had started, they stopped, and the silence hit everyone like a train. The nurse stopped screaming his name and sat up straight. Everyone was staring at him as if her were performing a wonderful Shakespearean monologue, but of course he was not, he was dying. Zach’s arms flew up and grabbed Karen’s hands with and enormous amount of strength, then he just let go, his arms fell to the dirty grey tile that lined every class room and hallway. The nurse checked his pulse and announced that she couldn’t find it. Karen, along with everyone else understood this for what it was.

During those last few minutes Zach had fought hard. His eyes had been glued shut, it looked as if he had been having the nightmare of his life, and maybe he had been. At the end of it he had died right there in front of an audience. Everyone in that class room remembered watching him go. They remembered the fact that his pants changed to a darker color around his crotch. They remembered his looks of agony as death set in; over come with the inevitable. But Karen remembered more. She told his mother, father, and sister what she remembered. Karen told them that Zach wasn’t alone with strangers when he past away, but he was with someone who loved him.