Silent

09- Rewind.

I didn't know much about Derrick Wright. Even though I was one of his closest friends. Nobody did. I wasn't even sure that his sister did- though obviously she must have.

It was just that he was... how do you say it? Unwanting to tell. Mysterious. He wasn't mysterious just to be mysterious. He was mysterious because he didn't want to talk about it. It made you wonder the horror of what has happened with him. What had broken him.

I wondered at times what had happened with him, why he had changed schools, but never asked him. He was Derrick Wright, he told you what he wanted you to know. I'd find out when I needed to.

I just didn't know how much bad it would have to get before he told anything.

It was physics again. The only period where I was left alone without my two warriors with Jesse and Lois. One beside me and one behind me. Lois didn't like me and she made no secret of it.

How ironic was it that while one of the twins was my closest friend, the other one hated me?

As Lois sat beside me, I sighed at the prospect of spending an whole hour with her.

Fortunately for me, it was a substitute. And so Lois went to the back to sit with her friends.

I didn't know how bad that was for me.

"Hey Darlene," A kid named Tyler grinned at me. I smiled back hesitatingly. Why was he here?

"Heard you're friends with Derrick Wright and Cameron Sawyer," he commented noncommittally, as he pulled back the chair beside me to sit. I nodded questioningly.
"Well, Jesse told me to ask you something," he gave me another quick grin, but this time it made me feel uncomfortable. If this concerned Jesse then it couldn't be good.
I tried to stand up, but Tyler caught hold of my arm.

"I'm not finished with you yet, little bird," he gave me a cold smile. This time it made my blood stop. Only Derrick had the right to call me that. Even Cameron didn't call me that. Oh how I wished Derrick or Cameron would magically appear right now. Tyler was making me feel scared even though thirty other kids were around us, not to mention the substitute teacher. I slowly sat back down.
"Well well. Darlene Francis. Stuck up little bitch who was pretty popular until her parents were murdered in front of her eyes- including a lot of traumatic horrors which she had to witness- lead to her becoming forever silent and friendless. Mentally unstable, gloomy and quick to cry, how in the world did you end up making friends with Derrick Wright and Cameron Sawyer? Eh?" Tyler asked me.

I froze up. He had said all that with so much detachment, like it was just a story. Like it didn't matter. Like it hadn't ruined my whole goddamn life.

Destroyed my whole life.

That day, that horrible horrible day. That Day. It was the day when Darlene Francis ceased to exist and a lunatic took her place.

It was when every piece of happiness I had ended.

My hands began to shake.

"C'mon now, what did you do? They beat up Jesse real bad for just talking to you, y'know. He didn't come to school for a whole week."

My life had ended.

My parents. My older brother was still in collage. He was going to bring a girlfriend home.

All gone like a candle blown out.

"You didn't even notice that he was gone, did you?" Tyler laughed sarcastically. "Of course you didn't."
I shook my head pathetically. I didn't notice that he hadn't been there a week? Was that even possible? Oh my, did Jesse think that I didn't even care about him anymore? My poor Jesse, my poor sweet Jesse.