"Stupid piece of shit!" The man yelled in a deep raspy voice as he pinned Kianna to the wall. The stench of alcohol and cigarettes rolled out of his mouth as he breathed down on her. He growled before punching Kianna in the stomach. Kianna lurched forward in pain before getting kicked back, causing her to slam back against the wall and slowly slide down. The man smirked before crouching down and grabbing her chin.

"They would be alive if it wasn't for you. You are nothing but a burden," He said before yanking Kianna's head to the side and getting up. The light behind him, along with Kianna's hazy vision, only allowed her to see the outline of his figure. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw the figure of Desmond and of a woman behind him. Kianna closed her eyes.

A moment later, Kianna opened her eyes halfway and glanced up at the ceiling with her blurred vision. She stared at it blankly as she felt a hand crawl up around her neck and the side of her face. She continued to stare as a bronze hand covered her eyes. The hands then pulled her down, through the floor. It felt like Kianna was sinking into a body of water. Suddenly the hands let go and disappeared. Kianna's vision cleared as she saw a male figure above her in the water. It was Desmond, but he was bleeding from his chest. His blood turned the water red. Desmond reached out to her with a look of desperation. Kianna quickly reached out to grab his hand when suddenly the two bronze hands covered her neck and eyes again, bringing her back into the darkness.

"You are stuck here. You caused our death and now you suffer," A woman's voice said. Suddenly the water disappeared and Kianna was slammed into the ground.

Kianna's eyes snapped up and she jolted forward. She groaned as pain erupted from her stomach. She slowly got up and into bed. She glanced at the picture of Desmond. A sob erupted from her chest as she curled up on her bed, her body shaking as she let out another sob.

"I am sorry...I am sorry," Kianna chanted over and over again as if it was a spell that would end all of this. Eventually, it died down as Kianna fell asleep in pain.

Mrs.Gruwell sighed as no one showed up to her Parents' Night. She got up and saw parents piling out of Mr. Gelford's class across the hall. Gelford gave Mrs.Gruwell an annoyed look before going back into his room and closing the door. Mrs. Gruwell sighed and went to take down the poster she put up for the parents when she remembered the cabinet was full of journals. She stopped what she was doing and walked over to it. She opened it and smiled as she saw the two shelves fully stacked. She grabbed a couple of the journals and placed them on her desk before sitting down. Mrs. Gruwell mentally prepared herself before grabbing the first book. Brandy's name was on it. Suddenly, it seemed like Brandy was sitting in her seat talking to Mrs. Gruwell.

"In every war, there is an enemy," Brandy said as suddenly the words in her journal depicted a scene of her father strangling her mother. Brandy ran over to defend her mother, yelling for her father to stop, but her father yanked her away before grabbing her mother again. "I watched my mother being half beaten to death and watched as blood and tears streamed down her face. I felt useless and scared and furious at the same time. I can still feel the sting of the belt on my back and my legs."

"One time, he couldn't pay rent. And that night he stopped us on the street and pointed to the concrete. He said, 'Pick a spot.'" Brandy said before seeming to disappear. Mrs. Gruwell closed her journal before grabbing Marcus'. Marcus then suddenly appeared in his desk and his voice echoed through the air.

"Clive was my boy. He had my back many times. We was like one fist, me and him, one army." Marcus said before his words depicted a scene of a much younger him and his friend, Clive, checking out a gun he had brought.

"That's heavy," Marcus said as he held the gun.

"Yeah," Clive said as he took the gun back.

"That's the real shit right here. Nobody'll jump us now. But we got to practice 'cause this, this got power. You shoot it, it..." Clive was saying as he fiddled with the gun. Suddenly, it went off and blood poured out of his head. Clive then fell over with his head landing in Marcus' lap. Marcus stayed there, frozen, as he put his hand on Clive's back and waited there on the park bench.

"I sat there till the police came. But when they come, all they see is a dead body, a gun, and a black kid. They took me to juvenile hall. First night was the scariest. Inmates banging on the walls, throwing up their gang signs, yelling out who they were, where they're from. I cried my first night. Can't never let nobody know that. I spent the next few years in and out of cells. Every day I'd worry, 'When will I be free?"'Marcus narrated from his desk before disappearing. Mrs. Gruwell opened Andre's book. Andre then appeared at his desk.

"My brother taught me what life is for a young black man. Do what you have to, pimp, deal, whatever. Learn what colors to learn, gang boundaries. You can stay on one corner, you can't stay on another.  Learn to be quiet. A wrong word can get you popped." Andre said before disappearing. Mrs. Gruwele snapped her head towards another desk as another voice appeared.

"If you look in my eye, you'll see a lovely girl," Gloria said at her desk. "If you look at my smile, you'll see nothing wrong. If you pull up my shirt, you'll see the bruises. What did I do to make him so mad?" Gloria then disappeared as another voice spoke up.

"At 16, I've seen more dead bodies than a mortician," Jamal said leaning back in his desk. "Every time I step out my door, I'm faced with the risk of being shot. To the outside world, it's just another dead body on the street corner. They don't know that he was my friend."

"During the war in Cambodia," Sindy said as she appeared at her desk, "the camp stripped away my father's dignity. He sometimes tries to hurt my mom and me. I feel like I have to protect my family."

"I was having trouble deciding what candy I wanted, then I heard gunshots. I looked down to see that one of my friends had blood coming out of his back and his mouth. The next day, I pulled up my shirt and got strapped with a gun I found in an alley by my house." Alejandro said before disappearing. Suddenly there was Eva, staring at Mrs. Gruwell from her desk.

"I don't even know how this war started. It's just two sides who tripped each other way back. Who cares about the history behind it? I am my father's daughter. And when they call me to testify, I will protect my own no matter what." Eva declared before she disappeared. To Mrs. Gruwell's surprise, Kianna appeared at her desk.

"Do you know what it feels like to have everyone point their weapon at you? My mother wanted to kill me, and my father does too. After all, he beats me. Hell, he has even pulled a gun on me. The day Desmond died, my father rushed us out of town to an empty dirt road. He then suddenly stopped the car and told me to get out. I did. I stood in front of the car. He walked in front of me, his figure looked like a shadow because of the headlights." Kianna said before getting up and walking up to Mrs. Gruwell's desk.

"He then pointed a handgun to my forehead," Kianna said as she leaned over the desk and made a finger gun with one of her hands before pointing it to Mrs. Gruwell's forehead. "'You killed them,' he said. 'You are the reason why they are dead. Now, you pay.'"

  Kianna quickly moved the gun from Mrs. Gruwell's forehead to her right shoulder as she made a bang sound. Mrs. Gruwell stared at Kianna in shock as Kianna pulled back from the desk. Kianna looked at her blankly as blood seemed to seep through her hoodie.

"'This will remind you of it every day. You are mine to make judgement on,' my father said. Funny right? The people that should always protect you can be the people who want your blood on their hands," Kianna said with a scoff as she disappeared.

Mrs. Gruwell stared out at her empty classroom. She leaned back as she thought about everything she had read. She grabbed some of the journals and dialed up someone on her phone while rushing out of the school.

Mrs. Gruwell was sitting at a bar at a restaurant, waiting to be seated as her father, Mr. Gruwell, read the journals. She watched as her father read through the pages. She sat there quietly as he did, until a waiter came up to them.

"Mr. Gruwell? Your table is ready. Follow me." The waiter said. Mrs. Gruwell picked up the journals and followed along with her father to the table.

"Dad, I don't know what to do with this. I'm not a social worker. I'm barely a teacher." Mrs. Gruwell said as her and her father sat down at their table.

"These kids, they're 14,15 years old, and if they make it through the day alive, that's good enough. And I'm supposed to teach them?" Mrs. Gruwell said, feeling stressed out. Her father sighed.

"Listen to me. You're not responsible for their lives outside of that classroom. Just do your job the best you can," Mr. Gruwell stated as he looked at his daughter.

"How? The administration doesn't give me any resources, no books, no support," Mrs. Gruwell said as she fiddled with her white pearl necklace. "So, what should I do?"

"Fulfill your obligation until the end of the school year, but line up another position. Success follows experience. So, get some more experience. But no matter what, you gotta remember, it's just a job. If you aren't right for this one, get another job," Mr. Gruwell siad completely dismissing the students' struggles. Mrs. Gruwell gave her father an annoyed smile before having dinner with him.

"You're gonna sell bras at a department store?" Mrs. Gruwell's fiance, Scott, asked in disbelief as Mrs. Gruwell changed into pajamas.

"Just part time. I am having a little trouble getting books and things for the kids. So, a little extra money will give me a little more freedom to do what I want," Mrs. Gruwell said before she walked over to Scott. "And this way you can play tennis with Evan after work."

"Okay, let me get my head around this. You're going to get an extra job to pay for your job," Scott said a bit annoyed that Mrs. Gruwell would do this.

"It's just temporary. I promise. Once the kids' grades go up, I'll get a little more help from the school. And I get an employee's discount. Isn't that great? Want a new tv?" Mrs. Gruwell said with a smile on her face. Scott griminced lightly but gave her a smile.

"Yeah," Scott said annoyed before walking away. Mrs. Gruwell's smile dropped as he walked away. She sighed looking down. The image of Kianna with her bleeding shoulder flashed before her eyes. Mrs.Gruwell smiled as a flame lit inside her and walked off.