POW! The sound went off right before the end of school bell rang.

No tears were shed, no cries were sung, and heartbeats accelerated at first, but quickly regained their normal pace. Everyone grabbed their book-bags and ran towards the exit, smiling that school was finally over for the day. No one stopped to think about the noise. After all, everyone already knew that it was the sound of another innocent life being lost because this was the year teachers carried guns.

We watched as students' fear of violence began to fade, teachers' natural empathy and caregiving transformed into aggression and rage, and parents' unstable thoughts augmented.

We watched the students change their behaviors at school - from softened, opinionated, happy kids, they transformed into cruel, inhumane, robotic humans that did as they were told and did not question anything. The 8-year-olds begged their parents to stay home, the 10-year-olds hid from their teachers during lunch, the 14-year-olds were trying to find ways to take the guns, and the 17-year-olds were fighting against the teachers and speaking up.

Schools became a risk of life for all age groups. We watched teachers wave guns in front of students' faces if they misbehaved; they held the weapons as if they had for years; we watched as their humanity disappeared. Although there were teachers who turned against the others, those who refused to carry left and never looked back. But nothing changed.

We watched one teacher accidentally pull the trigger, for his anger was not managed. The 13-year-old class clown's chest burst slowly and vividly in front of all the other classmates. His blood splattered onto his classmate’s desks and shirts, some students left with his blood on their shoes, even face. Accidents like these occurred monthly and nationally.

A widowed mother was forced to bury her 11-year-old child because he stole lunches from the cafeteria; little did the teacher who released the trigger know he only stole because he wanted to bring food to his mother who hadn’t eaten for days.

Two 15-year-old girls lost their lives after speaking up to the teacher who took their cousin’s life away, simply for having spoken back in class.

After the losses, mother’s found themselves hopelessly locked in their rooms with baby albums in one hand and bottles of alcohol filling the floor. Fathers hollered from the loss of their sons and daughters, pounding on the door of the school’s principal.

We watched the students be constantly removed from school; homeschooling rates raised by 14%. Lawyers were constantly being called in and lawsuits were rapidly overloading courts, but it was just loss after loss. We watched the protesters become violent, banging horrifically on the gates of the house that made this our reality.

Until the day came for reelection. People fought, people bellowed, children protested, teachers who hid their faces appeared again, candidates ran, and prayers were finally heard. Guns were put away. Teachers' auras finally redeemed and refilled to their normal care-taking beauty, students became fearless once again, and everyone joined together again. But no one forgot, no one would ever forget, about the lives that were lost and taken during the year that teachers carried guns.

As many ill-minded people attempt to enforce violence upon their nation, we must come together and refuse this absurdity, for love and compassion is imperative and all that matters. Schools are meant to be a second home for kids to freely express themselves with their friends; a home for kids to find comfort in trusting teachers; a home to shape up people on the inside and prepare them for anything that may come, and it is a place to learn the value of education.