silence//phan

2

The next morning after Alice makes me eat a slice of whole wheat toast and me taking my meds for my ptsd (a bunch of pills for depression, anxiety, etc etc.) I'm off to school and Alice is getting ready for work.

"I won't be home until late, but you can help yourself to anything for dinner." She says.

As I walk to school with my earbuds in, someone tapping my shoulder scares the crap out of me. I gasp and jump. I turn around to see it's just Phil, wearing his normal smile on his face.

"Hey, Dan!" He says in a cheerful tone. After what I was told last night, I'm very shocked that Phil is still this happy.

Hi, Phil. Oh my gosh you scared the crap out of me!

"Oh, I'm sorry." He says with a small giggle. I decide I'm not going to bring up what I found out, he most definitely doesn't want to talk about it.

"Ugh. Today we will have to swim in gym class. I jus-" swim?....... oh no. I can't. No. No no no. After what he did to me. I'll probably have a panic attack.

Actually, I don't think I'll be going to school. Sorry Phil. I sign before running back home on the edge of tears. I close the door behind me.

"Dan, what are you doing back here? Did you forget something?" I shake my head no as she comes down the stairs, still smoothing out her short but still very stylish red hair.

We will have to swim today in gym class and I can't do it. I sign.
"You mean you can't swim?" She asks. No. I can swim perfectly fine, but. What he did to me all those years ago. I can't. Being in a solid body of water terrifies me. I can hardly stand showers, but a pool? No.

"I don't want you to miss school because of this honey, I could write you a note to excuse you from swimming." She suggests. I nod. Hastily, she scribbles down a note for me.

Thank you. I sign.
"You're welcome, have a good day." She says before I'm out the door again. I see Phil on my front steps. He turns around.

"I knew Alice wouldn't let you stay home. Are you alright?" He asks. I nod.
Yeah, I just.. don't like water, that's all.
I explain. It's not the full truth, but its not a lie either.

"Oh, I get it. The teacher is pretty nice, she'll let you go to the library or something. I'd tell her before the class though, so you can go right to the library." He says.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

Before I go to lunch, I go to tell the gym teacher that I won't be going to swim. Note in hand, I enter the natatorium. The smell of chlorine is entoxicating. I try not to look at the 12 ft deep pool next to me. Just the knowledge that I could slip and fall into it at any moment is enough to make me feel sick.

I walk through the locker room to her office, when someone grabs my shoulder. I turn around and see the three boys again.
"Hey, freak. We never finished our little conversation yesterday." One of them, I think Ian, says. I flip them off and keep walking.

They grab my shoulder again, this time pulling me back.
"Ooo bad choice you little freak. What do you have there anyway?" Zach asks. I try to pull my arm away, but they grab the note before I can run away.

"Aww. So your name is Dan, huh? Oh. And poor little Danny can't swim. Hm, it would be a shame if he.. I dunno. Fell in." Zach sneers. They laugh and all three pull me, squirming and protesting, to the pool. I open my mouth to scream for help, but not a sound comes out.

That's the last thing I remember before I'm thrown into the icy darkness of the school pool. I'm so scared I have no idea how to get myself out. I thrash around, but I'm sinking to the bottom.