It Only Takes A Smile

"Nate, I really think you should put on your seatbelt," I say looking over at my elder brother.

"It's fine. We're almost there anyway," he says, keeping his eyes glued he road ahead of us.

"Ugh, do you really wanna die in a car crash," I mumble to myself looking out the passenger side window, to see a semi-truck with a frantic driver inside, "Nate look out!" I scream, but it's to late. The semi hits us. My head hits the window and everything goes black.

I wake up with a start, I see my empty room and realize I had the dream again. The dream of how my brother died. I look around at my empty room. We're moving today, new town, new school, new people, new start. My parents want a new start. I guess they don't want to be known as those people with a dead son and a practically mute daughter.

I drag myself out of bed and grab the small bag I packed for the car ride. I pull my earbuds and phone out of the bag. I put my earbuds in as a signal to my parents that I don't want to talk.

Headphones (n) - socially acceptable, I'm ignoring you, device.

I get in the car with my parents and we head towards our "new start".

~

I wake up in my new room. The dream revisited me last night. Same day replaying over and over again in my brain every time I close my eyes. No one dreams when they blink, but I do.. I guess, though they aren't dreams. More like nightmares behind my eyes reminding me that I could've saved him. I could've saved him.

I get dressed and look in the mirror. Same, dull black hair and pale lifeless green eyes, ew. I go down stairs with my earbuds in. I grab an apple and walk to the bus stop. When the bus stops in front of me, I hop on and sit down next to a boy wearing the same shirt as me with earbuds in. We sit in silence all the way to school. I'm honestly glad we have this new start I'll be able to blend into the wall easier here.

I go through the first half of my day in solitude. I sit down at an empty lunch table. I look up to see the boy I sat next to on the bus. He is walking towards me. He sits down next to me. We eat in silence for a while until a girl with black hair comes over and sits across to the boy  from my bus, and they start having a conversation. Then the black haired girl looks over at me.

"Hi. I'm Addy. What's your name?" she says, giving me a warm smile.

"Marcie," I mumble, looking up from my half eaten lunch.

"Well, Marcie, I love your hair," she says starting to pet my hair.

"Thanks," I whisper as she summons a short boy with brown hair over.

"Aaron, this chicks hair is soft," she says, continuing to pet my hair.

"Really?" he says coming closer to me and starting to pet my hair also.

"What the heck are you guys doing?" a dark skin girl asks coming over also.

"Marcie's hair is soft," Addy explains as her and Aaron stop petting my hair, finally.

"Shana get over here!" The new girl shouts across the room. Soon a black and blonde haired girl is walking over.

"What, Bea," Shana says.

"This girl's hair is soft and I wanna pet it, but I don't want to look like a creep, so pet it with me," Bea says.

"M'Kay," Shana says and they start petting me. They stop soon though.

"That was practically our initiation you're stuck with us now," Addy says. Guess my idea of blending in with a wall didn't work.

~

"Marcie! Wait up!" somebody screams at me down the hallway. I continue walking. somebody walks next to me and it turns out to be Bea. I continue to walk to my class and we turn out to be heading to the same class. She sits down next to me and starts to make weird faces at me. I try to be stoic, but eventually I crack and start to laugh. She laughs with me and soon we're making weird faces back and forth and laughing our heads off. The teacher walks in and gives us "a look" the bell rings and class starts.

Soon the day is over and I'm walking down the hallway towards the buses. Suddenly I'm pressed against a locker.

"Hey guys look, fresh meet!" The guy screams to his buddies.

"Oo,what did you find, Tate?" a girl says walking up behind him.

"A little whimp, KC," he says pressing me harder against the locker.

"Let me go," I say quietly.

"Why should I?" Tate asks.

"Tate, let her go!" somebody screams from the end of the hallway. I look and see the guy from my bus. He lets me go immediately. He and his group walk away towards the parking lot.

"Marcie are you okay?" he asks walking up to me. I nod my head, yes. "Well, you missed the bus so you can catch a ride with me and my brother," he says.

"What's your name?" I mumble.

"I'm sorry what?" he says

"What's your name, I didn't catch it earlier," I say, looking up at him feeling like an idiot.

"Oh, I'm Jeffrey," he says smiling at me.

~

That night when I get home my parents are having their daily fight, that they think I can never hear. Suddenly a pot comes flying at me. It hits right next to my head. My mom screams at my dad who apparently threw the pot. I walk numbly up the stairs and into my bedroom. I lay down in bed and put my earbuds I turn the volume all the way up and try to drown out my parents voices.

~

I walk down the stairs and into the kitchen in a blue tank top. My mom looks up from the morning paper and frowns at me. I felt confident this morning but now I'm doubting myself it's been two weeks since the pot incident. Two weeks since my dad moved out, or in the correct terms. My mom kicked my dad out.

"Honey, are you sure you wanna wear that top to school?" my mom asks.

"Um, yea. Why?" I say.

"Well it doesn't cover your scar," she says, motioning to the scar on my right shoulder from the car accident.

"Mom, I can't hide it forever," I mumble walking past her and grabbing a banana and my backpack on my way out the door. I sit next to Jeff on the bus and we greet each other with a hug and fall into a deep conversation about Adventure Time. Addy, Jeff, and I have grown really close these past two weeks. When Jeff and I arrive at school we go to find Addy. She's looking through her locker. Her papers spread out on the floor and students stepping on them as they walk by.

"Aha, I found it!" she shouts in victory, holding a paper in the air. She looks at the mess around her and frowns.

"You're gonna have to take that off," Jeff says pointing at Addy's hat.

"They can't make me!" Addy screams, shoving all the papers into her locker. Then me and Addy walk to first hour which we happen to have together.

I show up at lunch and immediately see Shana's hair. I walk over to our table. I see a hat-less Addy pouting.

"Addy, where's your hat?" I ask.

"They took it from me!" she exclaims slamming her fist on the table. Everyone at the table starts laughing, me along with them, and for the first time in months I feel like I will be okay, that everything is perfect, and that I can laugh a real laugh and a real smile. Trust me that's the best feeling in the world.