Speechless (GRETHAN)

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

Ethan Dolan

I walk down the empty corridor with a grim look on my face. My fingers tightly clutch the freshly-printed time table in my hands, its smooth edges crumpled from the firm clasp of my digits. An annoyed sigh leaves my lips for God-knows what time that day as I try to locate my classroom in the unfamiliar school.

Today was my first day as a senior at this godforsaken school as my parents had decided with their ever-so-intelligent minds that it was time to shift cities. Shifting to a new city after having begun my senior year back home, I'm now forced to not only restart my school year two months later but also make new friends in a completely different and humdrum environment. Upon receiving the news, I had done my best to 'brainwash' my parents on not leaving our home. No matter how much I pleaded or begged to move after I would have shifted off to college, they seemed to have made a decision that could solely be controlled by the Gods above. And thus, here we are! In Bay City, Michigan all the way from New Jersey. Heck, I know Jersey ain't that far but....it's not Jersey.

'Ethan, stop making such a fuss and do as you're being told. This is a one time opportunity for your father and he has decided to seize it. I stand by him, love.' I would hear my saintly mother's voice replay in my head as she had spoken the words, her hands full of brown boxes that filled up a U-Haul. 'We've made up our minds, Ethan and our decision is final.' They didn't bother to take my feelings into consideration for even a fraction of a second! 'New beginnings!' as mom called it.

I left my friends behind, my cousins, my life and moved to Michigan. Who the heck leaves Jersey for Michigan?! Upon a recent internet search, Bay City has a crime rate of 701 per 100,000 persons. I guess mom and dad should've read up on this.

Another deep sigh escapes my lips as I scan the lockers surrounding me. I glanced down at my schedule to find my locker number was 207. I took a pause to look at the lockers around me.

199, 200, 201....ah, just few spaces away and I find locker 207. I briskly walk to it and began to shuffle a bunch of papers in my hand, one of which consisted of the locker's combination. Finding it, I twist and turn the knob, punching in the set combination and the door swings open. I stuff my books and other paraphernalia into the metal bin and then I close the door with a 'bang', keeping only my history text in my hand as I prepare for my class which is due to start in moments.

Taking an unnecessary glance around me at practically nothing in particular, I began the walk to my class. The stench of sodium hypochlorite or ubiquitously known as bleach hung lowly in the air. The school bell rung just in time as I entered my class and took a seat at the very back of the room.

I took a glance of my classmates as I walked to my seat. Had I been in Jersey, I'd have spoken to half a dozen people before actually sitting down. Thanks mom!

The class' regular chatter reduced as a woman in her 50's walked in, dressed in a shirt that was rather small for her size and glasses that made her look older than ever. Gosh! Do people have no dressing sense?
The teacher seemed to have not noticed a new audience in class as she directly began to talk about the French Revolution. Well, good for me. I'm usually the hanky-panky person who wants to make their appearance felt but not this time. I'm not happy.

The class falls silent with only the teacher speaking with the repetitive sound of the marker pen in her hand as she taps it against the wooden table. My history text is open in front of me but I don't look at it. Instead, I grab this opportunity to take a look around the class. Most of the students are facing the teacher as she talked on, some yawn behind the fingers that covers their open mouth while a few are obviously dozing with their heads buried in their folded arms as they rest on the table in front of them.

Just before I was done surveying the class, my sight overlooks my fellow mate. In the far corner of the class is a boy scribbling away in the book in front of him. Dressed in a sweatshirt, he has himself in his own world as he metaphorically blocks the entire class out of focus while giving his attention to his tome. Probably a nerd, unlike me.

As class went on, I found myself mysteriously drawn-in by his actions. Neither did he look up at the teacher once, nor did he turn the page. The high-pitched sound of the bell alerts me as I turned my focus to the front of the class. Class had ended and I grabbed my backpack and my book. Turning back to face the reticent 'scribbler', I only found his seat empty.

"Hi there!",said a girl who appeared by my desk out of the blue. "I'm Hailee and it's nice to meet you. You're new, aren't you?"

Already making friends Ethan? "Uh..hi and yeah, I'm new. I shifted just days back."

"Oh that's lovely!",she went on. "Anyway, I couldn't help but notice that you're so cute and—" Jesus Christ! "—I was wondering if you'd like to grab coffee sometime?"

"Thanks but no thanks. It's good to meet you Hailee. Take care!",I said sarcastically and walked out the class.

The rest of the day was boring and tiresome and my first task on getting home was to take a long-ass nap. I was just done stuffing my papers into my locker at the end of the day when the sound of sneakers squeaking against the linoleum floor filled up the hallway. I was mostly alone since I spent 20 minutes post class in the cafeteria waiting for a damn takeaway sandwich.

The sound continued for seconds altogether and I took it to be someone being dragged across the floor. Peering around the corner of the series of lockers that lined mine, I saw 2 boys dragging another guy across the floor while he flagged his arms in an attempt to free himself.

"Hey! You!",I yelled from my spot. "Leave him alone!" My voice made the boys stop in the middle of the hallway and they turned to face me.

"Who do-" One of them began but instantly stopped speaking. The boys' facial expressions changed in milliseconds and I was left confused as to what brought about this unexpected change. They let go of their victim and ran down the corridor. The boy who was being dragged, stood up on his feet and looked at me from afar. Hey! He's the same guy from my class this morning who was engrossed in his book but why was he being dragged across the floor like a sack of potatoes?

"Hey!",I called out but he turned around too and ran down the corridor. Footsteps appeared from behind me and I turned around to be face to face with-

"Good afternoon Mr. Dolan.",spoke the principal.

"Good afternoon Principal Williams." He acknowledged me with the low nod while continuing to walk down the corridor with his head buried in an open folder in his hands. Seems like the boys I saw not long ago were feared by him.

Well anyway, first day hasn't been too great; might as well head home and sleep it off. Pulling on the straps of my backpack, I walked down the hallway.

A/N:- Hello! That was chapter one! I hope you enjoyed it and I shall be updating again soon. Please don't forget to vote and share this book with friends. It doesn't take long. All your support towards writers makes a difference. Thanks again and see you!