Silent

07- Angry, Mute and Special.

Derrick had been right. We got a substitute teacher. While she sat and read a book after making us promise not to make a sound- which I doubted any of us was actually going to fulfil except me- the rest of us enjoyed the free period we had got. There was always gossip to discuss with friends, the latest movie, whether that actor had really needed rehab or not.

Derrick and I were different: we celebrated our newfound friendship with silence, simply silence. He had taken out some copy and was working with a lot of concentration- staring for a while at each and every word, crossing quite a few out every once in a while. His handwriting was huge- okay, that might be a bit of exaggeration, but it was quite big. While he concentrated on his work, I concentrated on my surroundings.

The atmosphere around us was full of whispers and giggles and laughter and joy, and for once I was able to empathise with it. For once I didn't feel jealous. I looked at the two girls sitting in the corner of the class, giggling and eating food quietly, gossiping together. A guy came up to them and grinned. One of the girls almost swooned but the guy hardly noticed. He kept on running his hand through his hair, while the other girl kept on smirking at the former mentioned girl. It was clear that girl number 2 knew about girl number 1's crush on the boy.

I smiled. It was nice to see them so... Unscarred. Unscathed. Yes, that was the word I was looking for. Unscathed. I sometimes felt so old in front of all my classmates. They were enjoying a sense of freedom which I had given up a long time ago.

However, sometimes I felt too young. My classmates had experienced more than me- they had experienced large number of people laughing together. They had experienced a lot of people partying together or shopping together. And I might never get that experience. It made me scared.

The ringing of the bell awoke me from my thoughts. It was lunch. I nudged Derrick who hadn't noticed, lost in concentrating on his work.
"Eh, what?" He mumbled, his gaze still stuck on his work. I shook him again.
He scowled. "What is it?" He asked grumbling as he looked up. I quickly worded break at him, not wanting to anger him so quick into our friendship.

I was pretty sure that Derrick had some anger issues. I did not know much about them, but the way he got so angry and so quickly made me sure that it was one of his issues.

"Let's go then," Derrick said with a sigh as he stood up, picking up his copy. All the kids were rushing out of the class- some literally running out while some took their time. Different types of people, but not as different as me. Or Derrick.

In all my time as a so called freak, I had noticed that some people are more different than others. Some are borderline normal. Like Jackie. Then you have people with different talents. Like Lois. Then differently abled people and people like me and Derrick. And then the special ones who stand out from the rest- like Cameron.

We sat at our solitary table. Although the word solitary was now ironic considering the fact that it was me and Derrick now. Derrick and me. Me and Derrick. Derrick and me. Me and Derrick.

It felt nice.

Derrick had his earphones attached to his ears- it was his normal routine now. However, this time his volume was low. I smiled at him affectionately. I had never thought that another person would want to become close to me ever again. Though I had never thought that a brooding guy with anger management issues would become my friend in my entire life.

I looked away as Derrick caught my eye, blushing a bit at being caught at staring. I glanced about the cafeteria searching for Cameron, to find him looking around for someone. His expression was worried, his eyes not leaving any corner alone. And then his eye met mine. His eyes relaxed in relief and he started walking towards me. I noticeably tensed.