Voiceless

Chapter Five

The school cafeteria. The place where everyone gathers and yet no one truly connects with one another, where you come to eat only to find that your food isn't actually food at all; rather, it is some kind of meat mixture you don't want to know the ingredients of. This is where Haley led me, and if I hadn't respected the girl I would've beat her with a stick for bringing me somewhere I hated so much. But Vera, my annoying conscience reminded me, Haley doesn't know you yet. How would she figure out you hate the cafeteria?

I grimly accepted that bit of truth. Haley didn't know, so I let it go. But I had excellent reasons for my vendetta; the cafeteria was where people socialized, where people talked. Since being there reminded me that I couldn't speak or yell or whisper like everyone else, I kept my distance. Usually I just took my bagged lunch elsewhere, like a lonely hallway where no one could see me. My favorite spot was an old boarded-up part of a blind spot in the hallway. If you pulled the board back, a small unfinished room lay directly in front of you. I guess the school hadn't gotten around to completing it yet, so they did an excellent job of hiding it; now it was like a second home to me. I kept a lot of personal belongings there, like a picture of my parents and Gavin. I know Grandmother wouldn't have wanted to see it, so there it stayed. I had spent many a day sketching a picture or painting, and was able to do so most of the time because, while the room didn't have lights, it did have two windows. I called it Haven.

"Vera! Aren't you going to sit down?" Haley's voice rang out. I nodded and sat at the circular table. Megan, the mild brunette, was right next to her. I smiled at them and gave a small wave, hoping that that would be enough to cause instant chatter to break out. It didn't. Instead, Haley looked at me with curious eyes. Uh-oh, I thought. This is going to be painful.

"So, do you have a voice, or what? I mean, you're so quiet!" I began to feel uncomfortable. I shrugged, letting my smile fade. Luckily, Haley sensed my discomfort and dropped the subject. She turned to Megan. They spoke to each other for a while, allowing me to recover my wits. Without warning, Megan shrieked and began to freak out. Looking up, I noticed her eyes fixed on an object and followed their gaze down to her cell phone. That's when it clicked.

"O.M.G.! Tyler Allenovan just asked me out! Gotta go, bye!" And then she was gone, leaving just me and Haley. The diversion of Megan hadn't lasted more than five minutes, and I was hitting rock bottom in trying to be Haley's friend without revealing the obvious.  So I surprised myself by standing up suddenly and motioning for Haley to follow me as I walked out of the cafeteria.

Haley seemed confused but still walked behind me. My feet continued down the familiar path that led to Haven. When we came upon the boarded part of the wall with bright yellow tape that read DANGEROUS, I knew just what my mind had been subconsciously planning all along. I grabbed one end of the board and began to tug. "Um, I'm not sure if that's-" CREAK! The board swung open crookedly. "-safe." Haley finished, stupefied. I climbed inside and motioned again for Haley to follow. She did, but tentatively.

Then, I showed her my special secondary home: all of my memories lined the dusty shelves,  and my paintings made the walls their home. I began to have second thoughts about showing Haley the Haven. Granted, she would have great difficulty finding it on her own, but this place was so dear to me that I was afraid to take chances with it. Well, it's too late now. Let's hope she's trustworthy. I thought to myself as Haley took in all that Haven had to offer, her green eyes sparkling.