It was the terrible day of August 31. Many kids had expected to miss school on that dreadful day to spend what could’ve been their last day with their loved ones. Tropical Storm Erika was running its path through Florida, leaving a heavy track of devastation with it. The large and heavy storm gave drivers a tough time driving through the traffic. Many drivers left their houses later than usual because of the deadly winds, which were dangerous enough to tip over entire cars and other vehicles. Not only were the winds affecting traffic, but trees were knocked down, preventing cars from being able to make their way through the streets.
It didn’t help that the streets were completely flooded from the amount of rain that the state received. Once people made it to their jobs, they found that all of the buildings were absolutely wrecked. Their roofs were missing as a result of the sheer force of the storm, and walls of buildings were scattered about the whole city. People traveling by foot had to commute by swimming around the city because of the flooding.
People were sitting on top of their cars and letting the water take them where it pleased. If people found dry land to stand on, they had to do an Irish jig of sorts in order to dodge all of the lightning strikes that were hitting the area around them.
The storm, of course, greatly affected the school system within the state. Students were losing all of the work they had done so far this year. The papers were soaked and the ink smeared, making the words illegible and causing teachers to hand out failing grades to every student. The winds also affected the students themselves, since it knocked over the students that had to walk outside from building to building between classes. The kids whispered to themselves, saying they wish that they had a pair of iron boots. This caused a remarkable 200 percent increase in the amount of tardies handed out. The teachers had to duct tape the windows to prevent them from opening at random because of the winds.
Due to the uncontrollable forecast, students kept looking out the window, staring at the impending storm that was slowly making its way towards their inevitable doom. Many teachers yelled, “Stop looking at the window! You live in Florida, you should be used to a little sprinkle!” The screeching of the teachers just caused the students to stare out the windows even more, almost to the point that they were burning holes into them. The storm outside couldn’t even be compared to the storm brewing within them. Everyone lost hope that day, and it’s all because of Tropical Storm Erika.
Britt Stone // Graphics Department
