The Last Phone Call

By Sabrina

A true story

On September 11th, 2001, something terrible happened. This is the year, month, and date, when the terrorist group Al-Qaeda hi-jacked four United Airline’s planes. One hit the North Tower at about 8:46 AM, another hit the South Tower at about 9:03 AM. The third one crashed into the south side of the Pentagon at around 9:37 AM, causing 184 people to die on site or of severe injuries. The last flight was

MAIN CHARACTER

Author’s Note

seemingly supposed to hit the White House, but after passengers tried to reclaim the plane, the 4th plane crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at around 10:03 AM. All the passengers on the plane, totaling 40, perished in the crash. When the towers collapsed, over 2750 people died on site. Later, due to the poisonous air toxins released from the building’s debris, several more lives were taken in the aftermath.

In memory of the Twin Towers

Before

After

The Last Phone Call

I  picked  up  the  phone  and  slowly  dialed  Sue’s  phone  

number,   s9ll   trying   to   get   the   sleep   out   of   my   eyes.  

Listening   to   the   phone   ringing   just  mocked  my   eyelids,  

boring  me  to  death.  My  eyelids  dri@ed  slowly   together,  

urging  me  to  rest  for  just  a  liAle  bit…  

  “Mike?”  A  woman’s  voice  spoke  over  the  phone.  “Is  

that  you?”  

  I   jerked   awake,   remembering   that   this   was   an  

important  conference  call  that  I  couldn’t  miss.  

  “Yeah!   I’m   awake!”   I   exclaimed,   than   quickly  

lowered  my  voice.  “It’s  me.”  

  “Good,   because   you’re   a   bit   late   today.”   Sue  

grumbled   through   the   phone,   then  added,   “Okay,   since  

you’re   here   now,   lets   get   this   over   with.   My   stomach  

wants  some  breakfast,  you  know!”  

  “Oh   yeah,   sorry,”   I   muAered,   knowing   that   I   had  

skipped  breakfast  to  complete  some  unfinished  business.  

Hearing  my  own  stomach  growl  for  food,  I  replied,  “Well,  

I’m  all  ears!”  

  While   I  said  that,   I   looked  down  at  the  paper   in  my  

hands,   with   one   unanswered   ques9on   staring   back   at  

me.   I   realized  that   if   I  didn’t  get  this  ques9on  answered  

before  9:00  AM,  my  boss  was  probably  going  to  fire  me.  

  “Hey,  Sue?”  I  asked.  “What’s  the  coding  sequence  to  

merge  2  SQL  data  sets?  My  boss  wasn’t  too  happy  when  I  

didn’t  know  the  code…”    

  “Oh   my   god-­‐”   Sue   screamed   through   the   phone,  

than  it  went  “crshhh”,  “ssssss”,  followed  by  a  con9nuous  

loud  busy  signal.  

  “I  don’t  forget  that  o@en,  do  I?”   I   retorted,  thinking  

that   she   had   hung   up   on  me.   Then   I   realized   that   Sue  

wasn’t  the  kind  of  person  to  hang  up  in  anger,  especially  

when   someone   needed   help.   Maybe   she   just   dropped  

the   phone   or   spilled   coffee   on   herself.   I   tried   redialing  

her   office   phone,  which,   again,   responded  with  a  quick  

busy   tone.   Realizing   that   the   phone   circuits   must   be  

down,  I  shuffled  my  paper  work  and  con9nued  on  to  the  

next  issue  at  hand.  

  “Hey  Mike,”  My  co-­‐worker,  Ted  PraA,  said  outside  of  

my  cubicle.  

  “Yeah?”  I  responded  half-­‐heartedly.  

  “Some  stupid  pilot   just  crashed  their   plane   into  the  

North  Tower.”  Ted  scowled.  “I  can’t  believe  someone  can  

be  that  careless!”  

  “What?”   I   shrieked,   turning   around   to   look   at   the  

CNN  website  on  my  PC.  The  site  brought  up  the  image  of  

the  crash  with  the  headline,   “Unexpected  plane   crashes  

into   North   Tower”,   but   then   the   Internet   slowed   to   a  

crawl,  and  then  eventually  crashed.  

  “Most   of   the   internet   connec9on   is   down   right  

now,”  Ted  added,  glancing  at  the  PC.  “I’m  surprised  that  

image  even  popped  up  on  your  PC!”  

  “Yeah,  me  too,”  I  told  Ted.  “Isn’t  there  a  TV  down  in  

the  cafeteria  that  we  can  watch?”  

  “We  were  going  down  to  the  cafeteria…”  Ted  jabbed  

a  finger  behind  his  shoulder,  trailing  off  to  see  a  group  of  

people  trying  to  stuff  themselves  into  the  elevator.  

  I   sighed.   “Don’t   tell  me   the  whole  building   is  going  

down  to  the  cafeteria!”  I  groaned,  grabbing  my  computer  

and  backpack  and  heading  toward  the  crowd.  

  I  reluctantly  followed  Ted  to  the  elevator,  ha9ng  the  

feeling   of   being   squeezed   into   the   elevator   against   my  

will.  Second  a@er  second,  minute  a@er  minute,  I  watched  

as  the  elevator  swallowed  up  20  people  at  a  9me  in  one  

mouthful.  When  I  reached  the  front  of  the  crowd,  I  saw  

the   elevator   floor   numbers   come   up   slowly,   one   floor  

a@er  another.  Finally  the  elevator  reached  the  28th  floor,  

and  the  mouth  of  the  elevator  opened  up.  

  “Huh!”   I   gasped,   surprised,   not  expec9ng   the   force  

of  the  push  to  happen  so  soon.   I   felt  hands  on  my  back,  

feet   on   my   heels,   hot   breaths   on   my   neck.   Someone  

viciously   shoved   me   on   the   far   wall   of   the   elevator,  

making  my  nose  hit  against  the  hard  metal  painfully.  

  “Ding,   27th   floor.   Ding,   26th   floor…”   I   watched,  

dismayed,   that  every  9me  the  elevator  stopped  at  each  

floor,   at   least   5   more   people   would   try   to   stuff  

themselves   in.   At   floor   20,   someone   in   front   of   me  

shouted,   “You   people   have   legs!   Just   walk   down   for   5  

floors!   Or   are   you   too   wimpy   to   do   so?”   The   person  

sneered,   than   the   elevator   door   cut   off   the   angry  

response,  and  we  were  descending  9ll  the  15th  floor.  

  “Ding,   15th   floor.”   The   elevator   voice   announced,  

then   its   doors   opened   up   to   reveal   over   100   people  

liAered  around  the   cafeteria,   all  gaping   at   the  news  on  

the  TV.  The  whole  place  was  eerily  quiet.  

As  soon  as  everyone  stumbled  out,  I  slipped  through  

the  elevator  doors  and  watched  as  it  closed,  heading  up  

to  pick  up  the  rest  of  the  people  who  were  s9ll  wai9ng  to  

get  down,  home  or  cafeteria.  

  Turning   around,   I   went   to   sit   at   an   open   seat,  

glancing  up  at  the  news  on  the  way,  wondering  what  had  

happened  that   turned  everyone’s   voices  off.   Then,  as   if  

out   of   nowhere,   a   second   plane   hit   the   South   Tower.  

That’s  when  everyone  went  into  pin-­‐drop  silence.  All  the  

muAering   and   whispering   going   around   the   cafeteria  

stopped,   and   the   only   sounds  was   the   TV   whirring   and  

the   elevator   announcing   the   15th   floor   every   9me   it  

brought  another  load  of  people  onto  the  cafeteria  floor.  

  Finally,   the   reporter,   Peter   Jennings,   broke   the  

silence.  “America,”  he  started  quietly.  Judging  by  the  way  

he  was   looking  at  the  camera  and  his  tone  of  voice,  this  

was  bad  news.  “We  are,  in  fact,  under  a  terrorist  aAack.”  

Interview  Q&A  

Do  you  have  anything  historical  to  talk  about?  l Back  in  2001,  while  9/11  was  happening.  

Where  were  you  then?l At  work,  in  Detroit,  Michigan.  

What  time  did  you  go  to  work?  l Went  to  work  early  in  morning.  7:30  AM.  

Who  did  you  work  for?  l Marsh  and  McLennan  Companies.  They’re  an  Insurance  Company.  

Who  were  you  supposed  to  talk  to?l A  lady.  

What  was  her  name?  l Ang  Siew-­‐Nya.  

What  did  you  call  her  over  the  phone?  Did  she  have  a  nickname?l Sue.

How  did  you  speak  with  the  lady?  l Phone.  

What  time  did  you  speak  with  the  lady?  l 8:00  AM.

What  did  you  speak  to  the  lady  about?  l Supposed  to  speak  to  a  lady  about  a  programming  issue.  The  company’s  headquarters  is  in  the  World  Trade  Center,  North  Tower.  

How  did  you  know  that  plane  hit?    l I  didn’t.  I  knew  something  bad  happened  when  she  screamed  OMG.  I  heard  “crackle,  crush”,  then  the  line  went  dead.  Tried  to  call  back,  but  phone  said  was  disconnected.  I  didn’t  know  that  the  plane  had  just  hit.  

What  time  did  the  phone  disconnect?  l 8:45  AM.  

What  was  the  last  thing  you  said  to  the  lady?  l “What’s  the  coding  sequence  to  merge  2  SQL  data  sets?”  

Did  she  interrupt  your  sentence  when  she  screamed?  l No.

So  she  screamed  after  the  question?

l Yes.  

Did  anyone  tell  you  what  happened?  l The  co-­‐worker  behind  me  said  that  a  plane  had  just  crashed  into  the  World  Trade  Center,  North  Tower.  

Who  was  the  co-­‐worker  that  told  you  that  a  plane  had  just  hit  the  WTC?  l Ted  Pratt.  

Did  you  work  in  an  of]ice  or  cubicle?  l Cubicle.  

What  did  the  co-­‐worker  do  to  tell  you  that  the  WTC  was  hit?  l “Some  ‘expletive’  crashed  a  plane  into  the  WTC.”  That  time  nobody  really  knew  it  was  that  big  of  a  problem.  People  thought  it  was  just  an  accident.  

What  ]loors  was  your  company  on  in  the  WTC?  l Floors  93-­‐100,  on  the  North  Tower.  

Where  did  the  plane  hit?  l Coincidentally,  it  hit  93-­‐99  ]loors.  The  Marsh  and  McLennan  Companies  in  the  tower  were  

completely  destroyed.  The  100th  ]loor  got  destroyed  when  the  building  collapsed.  

Did  you  guys  watch  the  news?  l Our  Internet  connection  stopped.  We  couldn’t  see  the  news  fully.  Everybody  in  my  work  building  went  down  to  the  cafeteria  and  pulled  out  the  cafeteria  TV  and  watched  the  news.  At  ]irst  everybody  thought  that  it  was  a  small  plane  that  hit  the  building,  only  an  accident.  But  then,  watching  the  news  live,  they  saw  the  second  plane  hit  the  second  World  Trade  Center  tower.  After  that  happened,  the  entire  work  building  was  evacuated  and  the  TV  announced  that  they  were  under  a  terrorist  attack.  

What  ]loor  did  you  work  on  in  your  work  building?  l 28th  ]loor.  

What  ]loor  was  the  cafeteria  on?  l 15th  ]loor.  

Did  you  take  the  elevator  or  stairs?  l Elevator.  At  that  time  nobody  knew  it  was  a  terrorist  attack.  But  when  they  saw  that  the  second  plane  hit,  everybody  ran  down  the  stairs.  

What  was  your  work  building  called?  l Detroit  Renaissance  Center.  

What  did  you  see  on  the  news  that  you  remember  the  most?  l When  the  Twin  Towers  collapsed.  You’d  think  that  those  2  buildings  were  non-­‐collapsible.  But  when  the  buildings  both  collapsed,  people  were  shocked.  Even  the  news  reporter  on  CNN  was  shocked.  I  proposed  to  your  mom  on  the  WTC  restaurant.  That’s  something  that  you  can  never  do  now.  The  white  smoke  ]illing  the  streets,  people  running  everywhere.  

What  did  you  hear  on  the  news  that  you  remember  the  most?  l When  the  reporter,  Peter  Jennings,  said,  “America,  we  are,  in  fact,  under  a  terrorist  attack.”  When  you  hear  that,  you  would  be  very  shocked.  You  would  think,  how  could  someone  attack  America?  

Was  there  a  certain  smell  in  the  cafeteria  that  you  remembered?  l No  smell.  

Did  you  buy  anything  while  you  were  at  the  cafeteria?  

l Didn’t  buy  anything.  

Did  anyone  talk  to  you  when  watching  the  news  in  the  cafeteria?  l No  one  talked  to  anyone,  because  everyone  was  in  shock.  

Research Notes  for  Interview-­‐  

Used  Britannica-­‐Online  Encyclopedia

-­‐Plane  hits  the  North  Tower  at  about  8:46  AM.  

-­‐Plane  hits  the  South  Tower  at  about  9:03  AM.  

-­‐The  North  Tower  collapsed  at  about  10:28  AM.  

-­‐The  South  Tower  collapsed  at  about  9:59  AM.

-­‐Trying  to  find  bits  and  pieces  of  that  days  news  report.

-At  9:37  AM,  the  Pentagon  was  hit.  

-­‐Around  2750  people  were  killed  when  the  planes  hit  the  Twin  Towers.  

-­‐Around  184  people  were  killed  when  the  Pentagon  went  down.  

-­‐All  the  passengers  on  the  plane  that  crashed  in  Pennsylvania  died  (40  people).  

-­‐When  the  first  plane  hit,  observers  thought  it  was  a  small  commuter  plane.  Observers  thought  it  was  an  accident  that  could  be  fixed.  17  minutes  later,  the  second  tower  was  hit.  Now  there  was  no  doubt  that  America  was  under  aAack.  Then  another  plane  hit  the  Pentagon.  One  more  plane  was  seemingly  supposed  to  hit  the  White  House,  since  it  was  heading  for  Washington,  D.C.,  but  the  passengers  tried  to  retake  the  plane,  so  it  crashed  in  Pennsylvania.  

-­‐Al-­‐Qaeda  was  involved;  they  planned  it.  

-­‐19  militants  from  Al-­‐Qaeda  hijacked  4  planes  and  crashed  the  planes.  

Reflection:

I’ve now learned that my dad was calling someone right before the 9/11 terrorist attacks! I’ve never known that before, and this project has given me more information about my family’s history. Or, my dad’s history. I never knew he worked for Marsh and McLennan Companies before he started fixing computers. He also told me about a story where his friend was saved by a muffin! But that story is for another day, another time. This project has helped me understand my dad’s personal history better.

I think doing this project was important because I can understand my family better. Most people interviewed their grandparents and didn’t know that they had participated in a war, or an important time in history. I interviewed my dad, and didn’t know that he

had somehow participated in 9/11! He was in a conference call! Sadly, the plane that hit the North Tower hit floors 93-99, and Sue was on floor 95. The whole Marsh and McLennan Companies was destroyed, and the 100th floor fell when the building fell.

I enjoyed writing the story and finding the pictures the most, because it was my first time writing a story from a real person’s point of view. I’ve written from fiction character’s points of view, but never from a real person’s. I wasn’t happy when I found the image for the cover picture, but...glad in a way. The messages “Never Forget, Never Surrender” imprints the memory of the Twin Towers in my mind, also giving me a depressing feeling in my heart, causing me to remember the date and what happened then.

Bibliography:

Bergen, Peter L. "September 11 Attacks (United States [2001])." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/762320/September-11-attacks>.