Meaningful Silence

Chapter Six

I sat in class with Alina as we were discussing Cyrano de Bergerac in French. Alina talked so fluently I always wondered why she needed to take this class. The class phone went off and our teacher walked over to her desk to answer it.

She said a soft "okay" before hanging up and turning towards the class.

"Nathan Miller. Report to the principle's office." She announced.

My head shot up and I looked at Alina who was just as shocked as I was. I felt my heart beat speed up as I slowly stood and walked out of the classroom.

The principles office was on the first floor of the building by the main entrance. My throat was dry and my legs were a bit shaky. I have taken drama for my whole life and never once did I feel scared to be on stage, but now, I was petrified. I hesitantly knocked before entering.

"Mr. Kron, you wanted to see me?" I popped my head in. Mr. Kron was a very strict principal. He was a very fit man, with tan skin and blue eyes. He had brown hair with patches of grey, and bushy eyebrows to go along with his bushy mustache. He wore a clean, ironed suit, and sat behind a brown wooden desk.

"Mr. Miller, have a seat." I obediently sat in the chair across from his desk and gulped.

"Did you have a nice winter break?" Mr. Kron asked.

"I...Yes, I did." I tried to stay calm.

"I believe," Mr. Kron started as he pulled out his phone, "that you had too much fun."

He placed the phone in front of me and my stomach dropped. The New Year's Eve Party.

"A classmate of yours found these photos of you drinking." It clicked right when he said "classmate". Heather. She showed Mr. Kron the photos. My sense of fear was replaced with anger.

"Heather showed you these didn't she? Can't she get in trouble also?" I argued.

"I am not to disclose the student who showed me these. We must go back to the problem here."

I crossed my arms and glared at Mr. Kron.

"Now this school is held with dignity and pride, and is one of the most respected schools here. Having a student on social media looking like this, harms the schools imagine. Therefore this will not go unpunished. You are banned from the school's play and suspended for the rest of the day."

"What!?" I jumped out of my seat, "You can't!"

"Mr. Miller keep your voice down," Mr. Kron said sternly.

"No! I've worked my ass off for this play! I've been in drama for the past three years! This was my opportunity to show Juilliard my potential!" I was practically leaning over his desk.

"Mr. Miller you are dismissed. Leave my office." Mr. Kron sat back in this chair.

I balled my hands into fists and stomped out of his office, slamming his door. I was in uncontrollable rage. I wanted to break something or fight someone. My fingers gripped my hair as I tried to suppress a scream that wanted to tear through my throat. I ran out the main entrance and into my car to go home.

...

I lay in bed, watching my phone screen flicker with light every time a text message went through. I was exhausted from punching my pillows and kicking the walls of my room. My parents already found out what happened through a phone call at the school. Although they were angry with me, they also felt bad that I got kicked out of the play. I felt empty. All my hard work had just gone down the drain. I curled up in a ball and just stayed there. I'm not sure how long I stayed there, but I didn't even noticed my mom in the room.

"Nathan, there seems to be a package for you outside. So I suggest you get up and go see it," My mom advised.

I groaned and shuffled out of bed and down the stairs, following my mom. She opened the front door and there stood Emily, Adrian, Amelia, and Persephone. Emily held balloons with red hearts on it, Adrian had a pizza box in his hands, and Persephone had coffee cake (my favorite).

"The balloons were discounted from Valentine's Day," Adrian said.

I looked at the balloons, "Thanks."

Apollo wrapped one arm around me while his other held the pizza, "I'm sorry, dude."

"Ms. Rhea announced the whole thing today during practice," Amelia added as she came in for a hug.

"This completely sucks," Persephone commented despite her optimistic attitude as she joined Amelia.

"So we decided to bring you this stuff to make you feel better," Adrian said in a cheery voice.

Emily finally handed me the balloons and went in for a hug. I wrapped my arms around her and held her for a moment.

She pulled away and mouthed, "This sucks".

I flattened my hand and tapped the fingers to my head, "I know."

I didn't really need to sign to Emily for her to understand me since she could hear, but I liked to sign for practice. That way I could understand her better when she signed.

"How was the bridge? I'm sorry I wasn't there to watch you guys stack weights on it," I tried to change the subject.

She put her hand in a fist.

"We got an A? That's awesome!" I shouted as I hugged her again. At least I got some good news today.

"Alina told me about what happened with Heather. What are you going to do about it?" Amelia asked.

"We can't do anything about it. She the queen of the school, and she probably has blackmail on all of us," I stated.

"The best route right now is to not let this get to you. She can't get any satisfaction if you don't care." Persephone chimed in.

I sighed, "I guess that's the best option. Now then, we have pizza to eat."