Eleven

All morning, Alex thinks about the stray dog, but when his stomach growls, his thoughts shift to the cupcakes. His stomach is so loud that his friend Doug growls back at it. When a note arrives for Mrs. Hamlin, the teacher, she advises all the kids to pack up their belongings. Despite his pleas for cupcakes, the teacher directs him to pick up his sister before leaving school. As he walks out of class, Alex notices that Mrs. Hamlin does not look well and that his birthday is marked on the class calendar: September 11, 2001.

The story shifts to an hour earlier when an adult man in a white shirt is in the mall beneath the World Trade Center, waiting for his morning coffee and bagel. Moments later, as he hits the elevator button, the entire building shakes. Moving away, the man overhears everyone’s questions and concerns. Chaos ensues when the elevator doors explode in a fireball, the lights go out, and sprinklers shoot water everywhere. Rumors fly as the crowd of people surges to the exits. As he leaves, the man learns the truth from a security guard: A plane just flew into the tower.