A Silence Full of Sound

Chapter 13

When I arrived at school the next morning, ready to tell Alice all about my eventful evening, I saw her standing in the corner with Justin and his friends. Her eyes looked longingly up at him as he told a story. It must have been funny because the guys around him burst into fits of laughter and started to high-five each other. Alice laughed as she looked around, her eyes caught with mine. She smiled and waved me over. I shook my head and waved the book in my hand, hinting that I just wanted to be alone with my book.

I didn't.

Justin and his friends make me nervous; very nervous. I know that I'm the odd one out; I get it. But sometimes being around varsity-jacket-wearing, player-type guys doesn't exactly make me feel welcomed. And it wasn't as if Justin or any of his friends had even spoken to me, let alone try to get to know me.

Instead, I made my way into the cafeteria, ready to sit down with my new project; my copy of 'The Great Gatsby' by F.Scott Fitzgerald. I had had the book for a while; it was a leaving present from Sammy's friends Thomas and Nick from back home.

I had brought Hunter's jacket with me, internet on giving it back to him when I next saw him. I wanted to show it to Alice and have her help me decipher what it meant, but I'm guessing that will have to wait.

The cafeteria was virtually empty. Inevitably, it was the beginning of the day and hardly any other teenager chooses to get up early for school.

A few people from the reading table were sat with their heads in their books, a few cheerleaders sat in uniform gossiping forwards and backwards.

I had just sat and opened the first page when a shadow loomed over me.

"What's the latest project?" Sammy said as he sat down opposite me.

Hailey sat down next to him. "Hey, Riley." She said giving me a small smile.

I gave her a small nod and smiled as I pulled the cover of the book back so Sammy could see.

"'The Great Gatsby'. How's that going?" Sammy said picking up my bookmark and running it through his fingers.

We both looked down at it. It was a present from our gran. Sammy knew how much I cherished that bookmark.

Grandma Nora was one of those grandmas that when you'd visit you'd leave five kilos heavier stuffed with casserole or brisket. And even then you would never leave without being offered a chocolate bar of some sort.

Every time I visited Grandma Nora, she gave me a new book. She had two big bookcases lining the walls, filled from floor to ceiling with books. We'd spend days and hours inside that room, just reading together. Sat in silence, completely absorbed in our own stories.

She gave me the bookmark for my twelfth birthday. Right before she passed. It was one of the few things I had left of hers.

"I haven't read that much of it yet." I signed subtly after grabbing my bookmark back from Sammy and placing it gently in my page. I closed the book and put it next to me on the cafeteria table.

I looked back at Sammy opposite me. I had walked to school on my own today. He had taken his car to pick up Hailey.

"I've got practice today, will you come and watch?" Sammy said. He leant on his elbows, his hands propping his head up. His brown eyes stared sweetly into mine, pleading with me.

I gave him a look of confusion. He had practice most days, usually I wasn't there.

"Apparently there's this big scout coming, and I need to be on my a-game for when he's watching. And you know how I'm always so much better when you're in the stands." He said casually.