It's still too soon for Kellam High students to fully understand; one of their classmates, 16-year-old James Normile, died in a car crash in Suffolk Tuesday morning.
"It feels like he should be here right now," said Holly Moye. "It feels like he should be like here joking with all of us to lift our spirits up and just let everyone know that everything is going to be okay."
They needed that comforting at tonight's candlelight vigil. The glow from their candles gave only a hint of the tears that were trickling down their cheeks. Sadness hung on their faces.
"I just collapsed, broke down," said Jessi Habick.
"I just thought about how, like I'll see him at church next weekend, or like we'll hang out with him. It was weird," said Moye. "It was like it wasn't actually happening."
James lost his two-year-old brother last May when the toddler drowned in a pool.
"I can't imagine what they're going through," said Habick.
His friends could see the loss wore on the teen and his family, even as they tried to stay positive.
"You could tell that like in his face that something wasn't right," said Moye.
"Everytime we talked, he just made me feel better," said Habick. "Even when he lost his brother last year, he was still the one that was making me feel like he knew everything was going to be okay. He was the strongest person I ever met."
James was always smiling, strong both emotionally and physically.
He was a talented surfer who loved being on the beach with his friends.
His loss is overwhelming for those who knew him.
They're not sure what to do or say. They just know they need to be there for each other.
"He was the most determined guy out there and he always had the most drive, the most energy, and everybody's going to remember that. He's going to be the person that, I think, is going to change us all," said Habick.
James Normile was in the car with five other people.
His father is in good condition, his mother and sister are in fair condition.
Two other children are in CHKD.
