It was Monday, two days before school was going to end. Brooklynn walked by me in our gym, and we exchanged hellos— nothing special, but little did I know that this was the last time I would see her. She went over to her friend’s house the next day after school. That friend’s dad had a gun in the cabinet. We’re not sure how or why, but Brooklynn’s friend got the gun down, something happened and Brooklynn was shot in the back.
Brooklynn’s dad was called, and he raced over to their house, heart racing, thinking he would find her hurt but that everything would be okay. It wasn’t; she died from her wound in his arms. Darchel, her mom, was beyond devastated, as all of us were. She could not believe her 13-year-old girl was gone. Her friends at gymnastics could not believe it either. We are all still devastated, almost eight years later. Brooklynn would’ve been 21 this year, 2021.