Silence Screams

Chapter 4: Isolation Deepens

The day felt longer than usual, each tick of the clock echoing louder than the last as Elena sat in her assigned seat, staring at her notebook. Her pencil moved slowly, half-heartedly sketching swirls and shapes in the margins of the page. The teacher, Mrs. Rayburn, droned on about a new topic, but Elena had long since stopped trying to keep up with the lessons. Not that it mattered. She was too exhausted to care.

As the minutes dragged by, she felt the stares of her classmates boring into her. Whispered comments floated around her, barely audible, but she knew they were about her. They always were.

"She just sits there like a statue."
"Does she even know how to talk?"

Elena's heart tightened. She couldn't respond, couldn't defend herself, so she swallowed the pain, letting it sink deeper into the hollow parts of her soul. It wasn't as though Mrs. Rayburn could help. She was kind, but misguided, often speaking to Elena in slow, exaggerated tones, thinking it made communication easier. Elena hated it. It made her feel smaller than she already did.

During a pause in the lesson, Mrs. Rayburn approached her desk. Elena stiffened.

"Elena," Mrs. Rayburn began softly, crouching by her side. "Is everything alright? You've been quiet today-well, more so than usual."

Elena nodded stiffly, eyes fixed on her notebook. Of course she was quiet-she always was. She gestured toward her work, pretending to focus. Mrs. Rayburn hesitated, then smiled kindly before moving on, and Elena exhaled in relief.

But the relief was short-lived. At lunch, Elena found her usual corner in the cafeteria, hoping to disappear. She was about to pull out her book when she caught a group of girls from her class walking past her table, whispering and giggling. One of them, a tall girl named Lily, made a loud comment as she passed by.

"Hey, Elena, maybe if you're lucky, someone will invent a way for you to talk!" Lily laughed, her voice dripping with mockery. Her friends snickered behind her, tossing their hair like they'd just told the funniest joke in the world.

Elena's cheeks flushed with heat, her hands shaking as she shoved her book back into her bag. She wanted to leave, but standing up would draw more attention, and she couldn't bear it. She sat frozen, gripping the strap of her bag, willing herself to stay calm.

But the words hurt. They always did.

Home wasn't much better. That night, she sat in the corner of the living room while her parents argued in the kitchen. Her mother's voice pierced the air, sharp and irritated.

"I'm telling you, we can't keep catering to her like this! It's not normal. She needs to learn how to-"

"She's fine!" her father cut in, though his tone lacked conviction. "What do you want me to do, Karen? Force her to speak?"

"I want you to act like you care!" her mother snapped.

Elena shut her eyes tightly. She knew better than to hope they would stop arguing about her, but it didn't make it hurt any less. She was the problem. She always had been.

Elena was a very intelligent student in her class. Not because of she was very fond of studying but because she had to. Her parents abused her mentally and physically for getting low grades. She was less likely to be seen at her own home. She started loving darkness and found peace in it. She always sat in her room with her sketchbook or she read a book to escape the reality.

Sitting alone she gets so many flashbacks of her distressing memories. Elena's first day of kindergarten has made her self worth feel absolutely absent. Every kid stared at her. They preferred not to sit with her or come near her. She always felt neglected. Whether it's her own parents or any outsiders.

She had a teacher -Mrs Layla- who was a very tender hearted person. She was very kind to everyone. She was a middle aged woman nevertheless she didn't had any child. That's when she decided to surround herself with many children to make her feel less sorrowful. Mrs Layla saw Elena's special abilities when others saw her disabilities. When others mocked her she wanted to scream she wanted to cry out loud however she only could cry without making anyone notice her. Mrs Layla wiped Elena's tears and told her to not worry about everyone else and focus on herself and her studies. She would give her chocolates and gifts to make her less lonely.

***

It happened the week before in the school hallway, where it was easy for Tom to find an audience. Elena had been walking past when he and his group spotted her.
"Hey, Elena!" Tom had called, his voice loud and mocking. "Oh, wait, I forgot-you can't even say hi, can you?"His friends chuckled, feeding off his energy, but Tom wasn't finished. He stepped closer, his voice lowering just enough so only she could hear. "You think anyone really cares about what you have to say, even if you could talk? You're just the freak who can't even scream for help."

Elena had frozen, the words cutting deeper than any physical blow. The way Tom looked at her-cold, disdainful, like she was less than human-stung more than she could express. His words lingered in her mind long after the laughter faded.

You don't need water to feel like you're drowning. Do you ?

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