The Silence Between Us

Life's a Walking Shadow

Chapter One:

A single walking stick tapping the ground filled the hallway with its sound, the laughing and the endless chatter stopping as it approached them. The clicks of the object striking the ground prompted the whispers to start all around it, empty phrases hanging in the air.

"She's all alone."

"Poor thing."

"Freak."

I was not a freak.

My walking stick hit a nearby shoe and I muttered a small apology. The minute I sensed the pungent smell of too much perfume filling the air, I knew a simple apology wasn't enough. I didn't have to have eyes to know that Cora Burton, head cheerleader and classic bitch was standing in front of me.

"What the hell, Louisa! Are you trying to kill me?"

I ignored her, moving forward past the lockers that I knew surrounded me on both sides. I could sense the other students' eyes on me, trying to gauge my next move. I wanted to scream at them to leave me alone and find entertainment somewhere else, but that would only attract more attention to myself. Besides, there was always a crowd around Cora, so no matter where I tried to hide, her and her posse would always find me.

A vise-like grip snatched my hand from the air, forcing me to drop my walking stick on the ground. I could feel Cora scowling at me, looking down at me with utter disgust, "Are you deaf too, Louisa? Next time you don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you. Do I make myself clear?"

I stared straight ahead, not turning my head towards her. She wasn't going to get whatever the hell she wanted whenever she wanted it. If she had a problem with me, then she could tell me without the entire school holding their breath as they watch our conversation. She had screwed with me one time too many, and I was done.

"Go to hell, Cora," I said as I bent down to pick up my walking stick.

 That was the wrong answer.

I heard the whoosh of air as she moved her hand, but it was too late for me to react. Cora's hand came down across my right cheek, causing my whole face to move with the motion of the slap and turn to the side. My cheek stung and I bit back tears, trying to not let the whole school see how much it affected me. No one should get away with physically assaulting their peers in the hallways, and this wasn't the first time Cora rose a hand to me. But what could a blind girl do to a person who could see my every move?

The hallway burst into energized conversations.

"I heard this wasn't the first time that Louisa got slapped! What did she ever do to Cora?"

"Why does she even go to this school? She doesn't have any friends and she just gets bullied all the time."

"Aren't there special programs for the blind anyways?"

"I heard she couldn't afford to go to those fancy schools and get help adjusting after that accident."

"Shut up! She's walking this way..."

I ignored all of them, continuing my pilgrimage down the high school hallway, finally coming to the end of it as the chatter ceased. I slipped into my classroom, my walking stick hitting the desks to alert me of their presence and avoid them, even though I knew where they were anyways. Sliding into my desk near the middle of the classroom, I pulled out my earbuds and shoved them into my ears, blocking out the rest of the world with music.

This was the only method that worked on separating me from the real freaks, people like Cora. There was no reason for her not to like me, she just simply didn't. And when Cora doesn't like something or someone, she would go out of her way to show it. I was constantly reminded of that every day.

I felt a small tap on my shoulder, the girl to my left, Alyssa Shaw, signaling that class was starting. Sighing, I took the earbuds and put them back in my backpack, tuning in to the lesson.

"Alright class, pull out Macbeth and flip to his soliloquy in act five scene five." Ms. Jensen's feet padded across the hallway as she addressed the class, pacing around the room. "Macbeth's words in this scene 'Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage', what do we make of that? What is he implying through this passage?"

There was a rustle in the front of a classroom as someone raised their hand and started speaking, "I think that he's trying to say that he's acting as something that he's not, and regrets the decisions that led him to this point." I recognized the voice as belonging to Lulu Gibson, Cora's right-hand girl and the second in command of the cheerleaders. I rolled my eyes, thinking of the smug look on her face that must have appeared after her answer.

I raised my hand. Ms. Jensen called my name and I stood up, talking to the class, "What Macbeth is saying is that he is simply just another pawn being controlled by fate throughout his entire life. Through all the struggles and challenges life throws at him, he can't seem to break the cycle of fate. He is stuck, a meaningless hostage of someone else's entertainment." I sat back down slowly, muttering the words "just like me" as I moved back to my seat.

-o-

"Mom, I can't do this anymore," I threw my hands up as I sat down at the dinner table in exasperation.

"What do you mean? I thought things were going great for you at school."

I glared at her. We had this conversation yesterday. And she had already forgotten about it. Although between her constantly working and raising the other two kids in the house, it wouldn't have been too hard for it to slip out of her mind.

"They hate me because I'm different from them. I can't just magically cure my blindness! How am I supposed to stand up for myself or not be ridiculed when I can't even fight back?"

"Honey," I could feel the hot tears trailing down my cheeks, my mom noticing my grief, "I'm not sure what you want me to do about it. I can't just move to send you to a different school, I don't have the time or energy to send you to teach you myself, and I don't have the money to pay a tutor to homeschool you every day. I tried talking to your teachers and the principal, but it's your word against all of the other students in that school."

I sighed, looking away from her, "I know that, but they're lying to protect their precious queen bee."

I could feel my mother's gaze on me and I squirmed in my seat, "Can you stay there one more day while I try to figure out what our next move should be?"

"You said the same thing yesterday," I said, still not meeting her gaze.

She paused, obviously trying to recall the conversation that we had. I could tell the wheels clicked in her brain when she said, "I just needed more time to figure it out. Please, honey, one more day?"

Keeping my eyes turned to the floor, I nodded slowly.

"One more day."

-Author's Note-

Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed this first chapter :) up top is a picture of Louisa that I made for a frame of reference and I hope you continue reading! Thank you for your support!