Historic Field Trip

Everyone had filed into the bus that morning with smiling faces. It was our first field trip of the school year. Dad was driving the bus, and Mom was our chaperone. Having a coach and a teacher for parents wasn't too bad. The bullies left me alone for the most part, because they knew their parents would find out from mine. My older sister helped. No one wanted to mess with a highschooler. Dad smoothly pulled out of the main drive of the campus, and we were on our way to The White House.
Not all my classmates were enthused about visiting some government building, but I couldn't wait. I wanted to see everything. From the West Wing to the Oval Office, maybe even sit at the Resolute Desk. Mom and Dad were at odds with each other on the issue. Mom was just as excited as I was. Mostly for me, of course, she was Mom, but also for herself. She had studied politics and government most of her life. It was a fascination that I inherited. Dad, however, never trusted the government. He didn't want anything to do with it, but he drove us there anyway. I think to keep Mom happy.
As we pulled onto Pennsylvania Avenue we could see The White House but something was odd. We got closer and could see that fencing had been erected all the way around the place. Dad told us, "Hang on, y'all. I'm gonna see if we can get in." He continued driving slowly, looking for anyone he could talk to. There was no one in sight. There was no gate house or entry way through the fencing. The whole place seemed locked down.
Dad finally hit the breaks when he saw a soldier come marching around the corner. He hit the breaks a bit hard, and made us jerk in our seats. Setting the air brakes, he opened the bus door and hurried over to the soldier. We could see him asking questions about The White House, but couldn't hear anything over the bus engine.
I saw Dad freeze while the soldier continued to talk with him. It's like he was in awe or shock from what he was hearing. The soldier talked with him for a few minutes, then Dad turned to board the bus. He was pale. His eyes wide. Mom rushed out the door to meet him. Again we couldn't hear anything over the engine noise.
I saw Mom start to cry and hug Dad around the neck. He consoled her as best he could, and motioned for her to get on the bus. She wiped her tears, not wanting the kids to see and boarded. Dad closed the door and released the breaks. We drove back to the school. Our field trip was cancelled midway through.
That night I asked Mom, "Why couldn't we go inside The White House today?"
She looked at me lovingly and said with a small crack in her voice, "The White House was closed..., because the President was killed in Dallas, Texas today."