Carnage

Stephanie shot Michael,
who crumpled to the earth.
They’d only been going out a week.

Laughing maniacally,
she turned the gun on the others
and picked off a dozen more as they scattered in panic.

Bodies lay strewn,
contorted and still.
Some twitched.

A bell rang
to signal the end of lunch
and the carnage.

Reluctantly, they rose
and trudged back to class in clusters,
exchanging frank critiques of each other’s performance.