Cypress

Winona

It was the same thing every morning. Wake up, get ready, walk to school, then walk home. You'd think something interesting would happen every now and then. But Winona didn't mind. In fact, she loved the comfort that an everyday routine gave. At least she'd know what to expect, and how to prepare for it.

It had to be at least five in the morning. She pulled the covers up to shield her eyes from the blue daylight glowing in the open window. Her efforts to resume her dream had ended in vain. It was a shame really. This particular dream had been about a certain someone, that sat in a certain spot in her algebra 2 class. Her cheeks warmed at the thought.

Not seeing the point in laying in her lumpy bed any longer, she kicked the covers off herself, and rolled onto the floor with a thump. She stilled for a moment, listening to see if anyone was awoken by her carelessness. Silence. This didn't surprise her really. Winona's small room was located in the attic of a two-story plantation house. Despite its ancient state, it still held up well, thick walls silencing most of the noise.

She slowly eased her door open, and descended down the cobwebby staircase to the kitchen. The new Wetherby home was in dire need of some renovation. The same two hundred year old paint clung to the walls, and the furniture was most likely all original. She and her parents had moved in almost a month ago, but you'd think no one had even lived here due to the dust that coated every horizontal surface. Winona swiped her finger across the walnut banister, bringing her now brown index up to her face for inspection. She frowned slightly reminding herself to dust later.

She skidded into the plain kitchen, and thrust open a nearly bare cabinet. Getting up on her tippy-toes, she reached for the sugar smacks, and poured herself a bowl. Next she raided their out-of-style icebox for the milk jug, coming up empty handed. She thought a nasty swear word, before sitting down and eating her cereal dry.

The light that streamed from the windows had now taken on a golden hue rather than blue. She would have to hurry in order to make it to school in time. The Wetherby plantation home was isolated from everything else in a certain sense. Fifteen miles away from town, four miles from the high school. The only vehicle sitting outside the house was a '69 impala, but her father used that to drive into work everyday. She had no choice but to walk.

When she had finished her meager breakfast, she flew back up the stairs to get dressed. She'd went with a plain shirt and jeans, nothing out of the ordinary. The girl that stared back at her in the mirror was less than remarkable. Stringy mouse brown hair, small blue eyes, and a slightly long nose. If you saw her out on the street you'd forget her immediately. Nothing about her stood out, nothing eye-catching or strange. Just a plain old Winona Wetherby.

With a disappointed sigh, she gathered her school books together and left the house for what seemed the millionth time. She hadn't bothered telling her parents bye. They probably weren't up yet, but even if they were she would have avoided them like the plague. They weren't exactly on the best speaking terms in both a literal and figurative sense.

Winona hadn't been born a mute. There was once a time when she could sing and laugh just like every other teenager. But a few years ago she'd contracted a rare sickness that had left her with the inability to speak. It made her feel dumb and useless. A doctor from Cincinnati had reached out to them with a potential cure, but the treatments were more than her parents could afford. It was a petty reason to be angry with them, and she knew it was something that couldn't be helped. But she had needed someone to blame, someone to hate.

She slung her rucksack over her shoulder, and started down the dusty road. The sky was a pale yellow, and the dewy air smelled like beets. The nostalgic smell put a faint smile on her lips. Someone must have recently cut some grass she thought.

Small grackle birds dipped overhead, with the occasional sighting of a gull. She was glad to have worn jeans today because the slight breeze had begun to whip dust clouds up onto her legs. The sneakers she was wearing had once been white, but they now resembled potatoes. She really needed to get a new pair. Winona was often picked on in school for being a mute, and wearing drabby outfits certainly didn't help. But it's not like she was able to go shopping everyday, or even had the resources to do so. Fifteen miles into town was quite the trip without a car, and with no friends to take you.

The rest of the long walk seemed to go by rather slow, and by the time Winona reached the high school she was red in the face and gasping like a fish out of water. The cream walls of the school appeared freshly painted, and stood in sharp contrast to the pole with a tattered American flag flapping in the breeze.

The ring of a bell pierced through her thoughts, letting her know that she was now officially late. Another mental swear. She picked up her pace, and decided to slip in through the cafeteria instead of the front entrance so no one would be gawking at her. After a quick stop in the ladies' room, she felt confident enough to make her way to class. Her first class of the day was World History with Mr.Coleman. And Winona knew that she wouldn't be let off the hook so easily. Mute or not.

"Miss Wetherby."

She flinched at the harshness of her teacher's tone.

"Miss Wetherby would you mind sharing why you're late to my class?" Mr. Coleman said, arching a gray bushy brow.

She just looked at her teacher with wide eyes, feeling the stares of the students in the room. Her neck and ears grew hot. She sat down.

"I will not tolerate this again. May this be the last time you're late to my class, or you will be punished." Mr. Coleman said.

He ignored the giggles coming from the rest of the students, and turned to write his lesson on the board. Winona felt the prick of tears threatening to spill. She took a shaky breath, and willed them down.

For the past thirty minutes, she thought about everything except World History. Even though she had her book open, she didn't have even the slightest idea of what was going on. At least she didn't have to worry about getting called on. One of the few perks of being a mute.

As soon as history had ended, Winona scrambled to get her books to be on time for the next class. She didn't think she could handle any more humiliation.

All day she watched the clock with anticipation.  She'd hoped to catch a glimpse of Johnny in Algebra, but he was absent. Probably skipping again no doubt. He was one of the few people that treated her kindly. Johnny never actually talked to her, but when he saw her he'd smile or wave instead of pretending not to notice her. She appreciated that, and that was what she liked most about him.

When school had finally let out, Winona got her rucksack and left as quick as her short legs could carry her. Outside, the temperature had risen at least twenty degrees since that morning. Heat steamed off the blacktop, making her feel like she was in an oven. She had to squint her eyes in order to see properly.

Ignoring the sweltering heat, she started in on the four mile walk home. She'd heard about a shortcut at the end of Bayer road that forked off towards the swamp. Instead of going all the way around, it cut directly through the road she usually took, shortening the overall walk to only two miles. She had never actually been that way before. Partly because her mother had told her not to. It was also a popular place among the students at school to hangout, doing only God knows what, but it would be a whole lot quicker.

She only hoped that no one was there now, and her walk home would be a peaceful one. When Winona made it to the fork, she turned right, heading for the bayou.

A/N: y'all I'm so sorry for this ending. I expected it to be better, but it just didn't work out that way...anyways hang tight and don't forget to vote vote vote and comment!!