Silence is Golden

Chapter 9: October 2010

Ms. Lou was being a dick again. It's been a month since the start of school and I have developed a strict ritual to avoid any social contact with the teachers. Most of them was just taking notes, exaggerating every move of looking up, and writing down shit. It works pretty much on any teacher. They seem to avoid you when you are busy taking "notes". Not Ms. Lou. No. She lives in Satan's butthole.

"What creates a volcano?" she asked the class, nearly nobody taking notes from the screen.

I was. Well, I was trying out my ritual that seems to be working for everybody. I tried my very best to look as busy as I could taking notes about tonic plates. They're just big floatys in a pool of lava with a lot of sass.

"Aiden?"

I flinched, kinda peed my pants, but continued to copy down the notes. Maybe she is going to ignore me.

"Aiden," she asked in a strict tone, "may you please answer the question."

I slowly looked up from my notes to her, scared of another detention. Everybody was watching me now. I gently placed down my pencil as if it would trigger her anger.

"Do I need someone to repeat the question for you? Sam," the fanboy who always wears band t-shirts, "repeat the question for him please."

He lets out a long "ummm," before Ms. Lou interrupted him.

"What makes a volcano?" she asked over his questionable response.

I sighed, giving in to ASL once again. It's so weird trying to explain science stuff in ASL. It kinda came out as Ocean, Plate, and, Ocean, Plate, Together. I gave myself a mental high five for my great interpretation.

Ms. Lou did not seem as impressed as I was with my answer. "Aiden, for the last time, I need you to speak. I don't understand childish hand waving."

"That's enough," another voice rose to the situation.

For a second I thought it was Minks. But it was Rain, the girl who saved me a while back from the Ian boy.

"Can't you see?" she argued, standing up from her seat. "He can't talk. Just let it go."

"Rain, sit down, this doesn't concern you," she shot back.

"Yes it does, you are abusing the innocent. Even worse, you're abusing my friend."

I let those words soak it. So that's where we stand. Friends. You let someone save you once and they think we've become friends. Not that I was complaining.

"Detention for both of you," she settled, moving on with the lesson.