9/11/01: A school day like no other.

• Author: Sussell, Emily
• Position: VOICES

Sept. 11, 2001, was my fourth day of sixth grade. I had just started middle school at IS-89, four blocks from the World Trade Center. I remember forcing myself to focus on my teacher's lesson about ancient Egypt, when I noticed I had forgotten to write the date at the top of my notes. I scribbled in 9/11 and smirked to myself, realizing the date was the emergency telephone number. Then the world fell apart.

I guess you could say we were lucky that the blinds were pulled down. We felt the building shake a little bit and heard a shattering boom. I thought it was a big car accident. Ten minutes later, we were told to evacuate.

When I got downstairs, I saw eighth-graders crying, and I knew something terrible had happened.

Then I saw my mom's friend, Michelle, who grabbed me and led me outside. As I worried that I'd get in trouble for leaving without telling my teacher, it never crossed my mind that I wouldn't return to that building for months.

And that's when I first saw it: a fire in the sky, an enormous hole with flames and black smoke at the top of the North Tower of the Trade Center. I could feel the heat of the fire on my face, even four city blocks away.

RUNNING FOR OUR LIVES

Michelle took me to the nearby elementary school where my mom works and where I used to go. For the next hour, we were herded from room to room, as the police tried to figure out what was best for us. At some point during that time, the second plane hit the South Tower. Finally, we were told to leave, but it turned out to be exactly the wrong moment.

As the first tower collapsed behind us, my mother and I raced hand-in-hand away from an enormous cloud of smoke and debris. I...