In a steady downpour they streamed out of school carrying signs bearing the names of the 17 people killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida exactly one month ago.
"We're here to remember the victims lost in Florida and to say we have a voice, too, and we need to be heard," said sophomore Jasmine Gomez.
Gomez and the rest of her friends at Everett's ACES High School are on the front lines of the ongoing assault against America's schoolchildren.
On the very same day 17 people were slaughtered in Parkland, Florida, police in Everett arrested an ACES student who they say hoped to kill many, many more.
"It makes us all sad. We're a community. We love one another. It definitely hurts, but this has made us a lot stronger," said Gomez.
At ACES High, school shootings are no longer an abstract.
They're a very real.
The 18-year-old student arrested had a gun, a plan and even a date, according to prosecutors. The possible killing spree was apparently foiled by his alert grandmother who grew suspicious and found an assault rifle hidden in the teen's guitar case.
"All we could do was sit in awe that it would've been us on April 19, 2018 if his own grandmother didn't call," said Gomez.
What has many of these students most frustrated, however, is America's seeming willingness to just accept the continuing carnage.
But not these kids.
After their 17-minute walkout Wednesday, they headed back to class armed with a platform and a purpose – grateful they're alive to speak for those who no longer can.
"We wake up going to school hoping to learn but now some of us don't get to go home due to school shootings," said senior Keila Reynosa.
"We can no longer stay silent about this,"added Gomez. "We need to unite as one."
