One of the swotty lasses came bursting into the common room and told us that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Centre and they weren't sure if it was a terrorist attack. Two things crossed my mind. 'What the frig is the World Trade Centre?' and 'The Irish haven't started up again have they?' - having grown up in the 1990s anytime terrorism was mentioned, I automatically thought of Gerry Adams and his cronies. So I apologise to the Pats for thinking this.
We moved through to the study room and and found news24 showing footage of the event. I knew what the World Trade Centre was now. There was on of the most iconic buildings, seen in just about every American New York based film I'd ever seen. One of the twin towers had a fucking gaping big hole in it. BBC were doing their indifferent sitting on the fence best, claiming that it was unsure if it was a terror plot or if a plane had simply crashed. They soon changed their tune two minutes later as they, like us, watched in open mouth horror as another plane came onto the screen and plowed into the other tower. Definately terrorist. Then everyone (just us thankfully, not the Beeb reporters) did that thing everyone does when they're panicked or scared - a nervous giggle.
News continued all day and rest of it is a bit sketchy, although I remember watching the rolling news all night, seeing people chuck themselves off the top floors rather than burn to death, and saw the towers collapse within 40 minutes of each other. A shocking day of events that will live on in people's memories forever. I just wished I'd started it and finished it with a bit more class. Rude words in strangers tongue, and on school bus home singing REM's 'It's the End of the World as we Know it'. Although some would agree it genuinely was.
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