Silenced

Headmaster Waters

Lily envied those other girls, although she could never say it aloud. Those girls who were loud. Happy. Fun. Confident. The girls who could wake up everyday and look forward to something new. The girls who could meet with friends. Who hung out. Who gossiped and giggled at everything. She envied their freedom. 

She didn't care for looks, but she couldn't deny that she envied those girls. The drop-dead gorgeous ones. Long tanned toned legs. Slim, fit bodies. Beautiful, natural hair. Curly, wavy, straight, layered. She didn't know and didn't care because whatever way it was styled, it still looked damn good. 

Perhaps in an alternate reality, she could imagine herself. Top of the popularity charts. A girl that everyone liked, knew and respected. Pretty and kind. And to top it all off with a boyfriend who was as handsome as they come. Charming. Athletic. Who would treat her like a queen.

But, alas! That was a fantasy. Lily's reality was a lot less fairytale-esque.

With two pieces of clothing to her name, a lot of colouring on her body - that couldn't be counted as tan and not a single friend to call her own - Lily's life was a lot less pretty

...

Walking into high school was like walking into a lion's den. For some, maybe it was heaven, but for others it was hell.

Luckily, for Lily it was neither. With her hoodie swamping her tiny body and its hood covering her face - Lily was invisible to her classmates and her teachers.

She wasn't bullied but she was ignored. 

Boys would throw footballs around the corridors, running into her and knocking her books but they wouldn't even acknowledge it. 

Girls would gossip - talking about their sexcepades and their private matters right beside her, as if she was a ghost.

Lily was a ghost in school - but that was what suited her. Get in - do what needs to be done - get out.

She skipped lunch breaks to take classes and get through the day sooner. 

Everyone else was in there for six hours - Lily was finished in three.

It was extreme and intense, but she needed it, she needed to get out on time.

Her teachers also ignored her. She had two meetings with the school councillor but when she didn't open her mouth to speak she was sent to the headmaster's office. 

Luckily Headmaster Waters was kind-hearted and well meaning - when he saw Lily's ... 'affliction' he offered her an alternative. Handing her a piece of paper - the two conversed in writing. There, Headmaster Waters understood what Lily needed after she explained to him her issue. He issued instruction to teachers to send her academic reports to him instead of it being announced publicly in class. He shortened her school day and he offered her his office as an escape. 

Headmaster Waters was everything Lily could have wanted in a father - headmaster figure and he meant the world to her.