Broken Silence Read online

  By lunch time I was a lot less positive about this place than I was this morning. I had gotten a handful of annoyed people, but at least I didn’t have anyone threatening to fight me. I guess I could count my blessings for that alone.

  I made my way to the cafeteria. At least there would be one friendly face today. As I walked up I looked around for Abby. Apparently I beat her here, so I waited near the doors for her.

  “Sorry!” Abby said as she jogged up to me, out of breath. “I got held up after class and I am so not athletic.” She bent over with her hands on her knees for a second before she regained her composure. “Hungry?” She asked as we walked into the cafeteria.

  This was definitely new. Inside of the cafeteria was busy. It was packed with students, and had several lines and options. It was a nice change to the awful food we had at my old school.

  “How was your day so far?” her voice was sympathetic while she waited for my facial expression. I gave her a grimace. She laughed as soon as I made my face. Her laugh was contagious, one of those laughs that just makes you happy to hear it. “That bad? Ouch.” I gave her a playful smile as we piled our trays up with food. I was thankful it wasn’t all healthy food. I grabbed a grilled cheese sandwich and fries. I grabbed a bowl of fresh fruit so I could convince myself I made good choices occasionally.

  “I usually sit with my friends, is it ok if we join them?” She asks before we tried to find a seat. I nodded and she led me to a table near the middle. I was expecting a group of girls, since she seemed so social and girly. I guess I should know better than to prematurely judge someone. Instead she led me to a table with an odd mix of students. “Hey guys, this is Charlie. Charlie this is Adam, Cole, Alice, and Trent.” I gave a shy wave before sitting between Abby and Cole.

  Her friend Adam was tall and muscular, clearly the athletic type. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes. His smile was friendly as he gave me a nod of his head and he bit into his sandwich. I recognized him as the guy who helped me with my locker.

  Alice seemed really shy. She had her red hair braided to the side. Her big green eyes were hidden behind black rimmed glasses. She put the book she was reading down to give me a shy smile and wave. Trent seemed really laid back and happy. He was leaned back in his chair and gave me a quick smile. He had on jeans and a bright orange shirt. He was also really good looking. His smile flashed perfect white teeth. He had flawless mocha skin and long lashes. He could be a model with those perfect features.

  Cole was the last of the group. He had the whole dark and brooding look. He would have been one of the guys picked on at my old school for being too emo. He had longer black hair and wore all black clothes. He had on a band tee, which immediately got my attention. It was actually one of my favorite punk bands, I couldn’t help but appreciate his taste in music. I assumed he played music because he had one of those chunky leather bracelets guys wear, with a guitar pick holder woven in. When he looked up at me I was struck by his amazing bright blue eyes. He was gorgeous, he had long lashes framing his bright eyes and chiseled features. I felt heat creep into my cheeks, which he clearly noticed because he gave me an amused half grin. I quickly looked away and focused on my food.

  “How is your first day going?” Trent asked, flashing his smile at me. I gave a shrug and looked back at my food. I braced myself for their reaction. Here was the point where everyone started to judge me. I really don’t care what most people think, but I hated the idea of Cole not liking me for some reason.

  “She doesn’t talk, guys.” Abby stated in a firm voice and gave them each a serious look. I appreciated her wanting to stand up for me. It was something I hadn’t had happen before. Even Lizzy wrote me off as a lost cause before to long.

  I heard my phone go off and dug in my bag to grab it. Thank goodness it didn’t go off in class or I’m sure I would have been in trouble. It was a text from Sophia.

  Sophia: Good first day?

  Me: It’s alright. Could be worse.

  Sophia: Hang in there, it will get better!

  Leave it to Sophia. She was a forever optimist. I looked up and Abby gave me a puzzled look, which confused me. I didn’t think having a phone was weird. Were they banned in school or something. I gave her a questioning look.

  “You can hear?” Abby asked quietly. I shook my head slowly. I wasn’t sure what she was talking about. I didn’t use sign language in front of her. “Whoops, I told the others you were deaf. I’m sorry.” I gave her a shrug and a smile. I didn’t care what she told them. Maybe it would spread around the school and make my life easier.

  “Why don’t you talk then?” Alice asked in her quiet voice. I met her gaze with wide eyes. I just shook my head no and looked away.

  “You don’t ask people questions like that, Alice!” Adam said in an exasperated tone. Her face immediately went to a dark red and she mumbled a quick apology. Abby reached over and squeezed my hand when she noticed I wasn’t eating.

  “It’s ok, Charlie. Our group of misfits doesn’t care if you are different.” Cole gave me a wink and a reassuring smile.

  “What’s your afternoon look like?” Trent asked and I handed over my schedule. “Anyone have biology, gym and the arts?” He asked the others.

  “I have biology with Walters next.” Alice announced without looking up from her book.

  “I have biology with Green. Who does she have?” Adam called down to Trent.

  “She has Green. I have gym with you, we are playing basketball this week. You any good?” Trent looked up at me. I gave a nod. I was pretty good at volleyball and basketball. “Sweet.” He said with a big smile. “You can join my team then!”

  “I have the arts for last period.” Cole added as he looked at me. I gave him a small, shy smile. That’s not my usual smile. I generally appeared pretty confident in my numb state, mostly because being emotionless left little room for letting others get to you. For some reason this boy was shaking my barriers and I didn’t even know him.

  “Phone?” Adam reached toward me. I gave him an odd look, not sure why he wanted my phone. Whatever, I doubt he was going to run away with it. I handed him my phone. He did something to it and handed it back with a smile. “Now you have our numbers and a group chat. Let me know if anyone messes with you. We protect our own.” He said and leveled me with a hard gaze. I nodded and pulled out my notebook. I quickly wrote ‘thanks’ and showed it to Adam. He gave me a big grin.

  They continued the conversation around me and I was happy to listen and eat my food. I actually felt really happy among this group. I hardly think they qualified as misfits, I’m assuming they just grew up together. As lunch wound down I threw away my trash and gathered my bag up, I was glad I visited my locker before lunch so I had my afternoon books and gym clothes.

  “Come on Charlie, we can walk together.” Adam motioned me over and I joined him. He led us through the masses of students. I could hardly keep up with his long legs and the pushing crowd. He eventually reached over and grabbed my hand and pulled me up next to him. “Don’t let the crowd push you around.” He joked, but kept my hand until we were outside of the class.

  Having an ally in class made it much easier to tolerate. He gave me a rundown of what I had missed so far before the teacher started class up. It also kept people from talking to me, which was a huge bonus.

  Gym was also a lot easier, sports don’t exactly encourage chatting. I changed and made my way to Trent. The teams had clearly formed in previous classes, so he just waved me to join his.

  I almost reached Trent when I went flying forward as a basketball hit me hard in the back. The impact stole my breath and it took me a second to figure out what happened. Seriously? This was going to start already? Trent was over in front of me in a few seconds and helped me to my feet. Once he saw I was ok he ran off across the gym. By the time I reached him he was in a familiar girl’s face.

  “What the hell Jessica?” He yelled. I realized she was the girl from my history class. I didn’t realize she was th
at offended that I didn’t talk to her.

  I put a hand on Trent’s shoulder and he met my eyes. I shook my head no and tried to gently pull him away. He didn’t budge.

  “She needed to know her place! You can’t be the new girl and a complete stuck up bitch! She completely ignored me in class like she was too good to talk to me.” Her voice was shrill as she practically shrieked, causing a scene. I didn’t let up on trying to move Trent away, and he almost came until she said that last sentence. He looked livid as he swung his body around to face her.

  “She can’t fucking talk!” He yelled as he grabbed my hand and pulled me with him back to our team. I gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. I glanced behind me to take in Jessica’s reaction. She looked sorry, but then quickly changed back to angry.

  When we made it back to our team he was breathing heavy and still didn’t look like he was calming down. I quickly took my hand out of his and put a hand on each shoulder so he could see my eyes. I took exaggerated breaths to encourage him to calm down. Apparently my new friend had a bit of an anger issue. I gave him a soft smile to show him I didn’t care and he smiled back, finally calming down.

  The rest of gym went smoothly until the locker room. I finished changing and was heading out when Jessica shoulder bumped me on her way out. “Stay away from Adam, he’s mine.” She hissed as she closed the locker room door in my face. I rolled my eyes as I walked to my arts class.

  Cole was waiting for me in the hall. He saw me and gave me that half grin of his. As I got closer he was trying not to laugh. “Have a fun time playing dodge ball?” He asked in a fake innocent voice. I immediately covered my face in my hands as he continued laughing at me. I wasn’t upset by it, he seemed to just have a joking personality. I didn’t expect that out of him, I expected a more serious demeanor. I was pleasantly surprised that he was comfortable enough to joke with me.

  “Come on Charlie girl, don’t be embarrassed, Jessica is a bitch.” He said as he headed into the classroom. The room was huge, clearly used for band practice. I assumed that meant this was the music portion of the arts classes. I pulled out my notebook as he led me to one of the tables set up in the middle of the room. It was two to a table so I was extra grateful Cole was here.

  ‘How does this class work?’ I wrote and slid it over. He read it and looked up at me. “Do you play any instruments?” He asked before explaining. I nodded my head. “Cool, only a few of us do. Today is actually the first day of music, we just finished theater. This class has two parts, one teaches those who don’t play how to read music. The other is pretty much practicing whatever instrument we know. It’s nice knowing how to play so you don’t have to spend an hour studying sheet music. What do you play?” I smirked at him ‘guess.’ He read my note and chuckled again. He studied me for a second.

  “Piano?” He guessed in a confident voice. I was a little surprised. I smiled and wrote back ‘piano and violin.’ He gave me an appreciative look and seemed impressed. I was suddenly thankful that dad spent the time teaching me to play. I haven’t played piano since he died, but I learned violin at my first foster mother’s insistence that I pick up an extracurricular. I took to it quickly and practiced a lot. It gave me a way to fade the pain away for a bit.

  “Welcome to our new student, Charlotte. Wave Charlotte!” A booming voice announced, getting everyone’s attention. I gave a small wave and got a few curious looks from around the room. “Do you play any instruments, Charlotte? Since this is the music portion of our arts class, we teach those who don’t play how to read music and those who play an instrument get to practice and learn more.” He said enthusiastically. I nodded my head and he started at me, apparently waiting for me to answer. I mimed the piano and the violin. His eyes lit up at my admission. “Wonderful, split up! Charlotte come up here please.”

  I gave Cole a panicked look but made my way up to his desk. He was shuffling through some sheet music for the class to study, then turned to the bookshelf behind his desk. He selected a book of sheet music for pianos and one for violins.

  “Which would you rather play? I have a classroom violin and a piano, so either is fine.” I quickly grabbed the violin book. He raised an eyebrow at how quickly I chose. “Which do you have most experience on?” I hesitantly pointed to the piano book. He must have picked up my hesitation because he didn’t push any further. “ It’s always good to improve upon a new instrument.” He gave me a reassuring smile before turning to the class. “Alright, instruments to the music room and the rest will be working in here with Mrs. Jones.”

  He ushered me to the glass door on the side. I noticed Cole and three other students join us. Cole went for the piano, the other three were clarinets and a flute. I found a violin and went to one of the stools to wait for Mr. Hill to explain what he expected of us.

  “Charlotte, we take turns playing one song for the group, then when everyone has a chance to play you each can practice on your own. On nice days we go to the courtyard and set up away from each other to practice too. It’s a pretty laid back class, but we will work on techniques. Ok, lets start with the clarinets.” He announced and leaned against the door. They were pretty good, I assumed the other three were in the school band, they all seamlessly played their songs.

  “Alright, Charlotte, are you ok to try now?” He asked. I nodded and chose one of my favorite violin solos, thankful that it was in the book. At least my first song wouldn’t be a failure. I closed my eyes and went into the music trance that always happened when I played. I finished the song and looked up. Cole gave me an appreciative smile and Mr. Hill clapped. He thankfully didn’t linger as we moved on to Cole.

  Cole was an amazing piano player, which was almost comical with his punk rock shirt. He looked like a rocker playing a classical tune.

  Mr. Hill was an understanding teacher and I enjoyed playing music again. Cole and I headed out after class and went our separate ways. I grabbed the books I needed out of my locker and made my way to the main entrance.

  Chapter 4

  “I’m glad school went well!” I chose not to tell Sophia about the basketball incident. I just told her I made a few more friends and enjoyed my music class. I didn’t feel like writing out a ton on the way home so I just wrote a few basics while I waited for her to pick me up and handed it to her when I got in the car.

  “Do you have a lot of homework?” Sophia asked as we walked inside our house. I shook my head and opened my planner to point out all I had to catch up on. I pulled out a pen and wrote ‘Can I walk to the library?’ I would much rather study there then in my room. It was just something about the library in general that made studying more efficient.

  “I don’t mind, just try and be back by dinner? Call me if you want me to pick you up, I’ll just be working around here so don’t hesitate to text.

  I gathered my most important homework assignments and loaded them into my backpack. I downloaded my new music onto my phone and made sure my headphones were in the bag already. I was heading outside when I heard my phone chime.

  Abby: Rough first day, Charlie?

  Trent: Jessica is an idiot. Sorry about hulking out. If there is one thing I hate, its bullying.

  Me: It’s ok guys, I’ll survive. It isn’t new to me. Apparently she thought I was trying to flirt with Adam. Apparently Adam is hers.

  Adam: Why would she care if you were? We broke up two years ago.

  Abby: Dude, some girls are like that.

  Alice: Did the teachers load you up with homework? I can help if you need it.

  Me: Thanks, I think I can handle it so far. I’ll definitely let you know if I can’t. Speaking of which, If I don’t respond, I’ll text you guys after I get done at the library. I’m walking there now.

  Abby: Have fun!

  I was a little disappointed that Cole didn’t have anything to say, but I couldn’t really complain. I didn’t know anything about him. I couldn’t exactly date anyway, not until I deal with my broken pieces first. Which isn’t likely to happ
en soon since the nightmares have been happening every night again. Sweet Sophia has come in every time and held me until I fall asleep. She never asks, but one day I need to tell her.

  I made my way to the library and got settled in one of the tables. I had just spread out my book and was figuring out where to start when my phone went off again. Since I wasn’t actually studying yet I pulled out my phone. My heart did a flip when I saw it wasn’t the group text, but a private text from Cole.

  Cole: Hey Charlie girl, want some company?

  Me: sure :)

  It wasn’t even ten minutes later when he joined me. He sat in the chair right next to me and I shuffled my books around so he had room. I put a notebook between us in case I needed to answer anything.

  “I saw your texts and figured I could join you since I have a test in chemistry tomorrow.” He explained as he pulled out his chem book. I gave him a small smile. We worked in companionable silence for almost an hour before my brain felt like it was melting. I rested my head on my book for a second. Cole tapped me on the shoulder and I looked up at him.