Maria

Chapter 2

Lola

There is this girl that doesn't utter a single word in class. Not once have I heard her ask a question or even speak at all, she just sits with her mouth closed and her eyes trained at the front of class. Everyone says she is weird and that a witch got her tongue, I know the truth though- she's  mute. I want to be her friend but what would my friends think of me? What would they think of me befriending  a mute? 

I remember the day she came. A white van turned grey with age drove slowly up the road towards the orphanage. Everyone knew she was coming so we were all out to greet her. I remember her face when she got out of the van with her bags- she wasn't crying. Odd. Usually when newcomers arrive they have red puffy eyes and swollen cheeks. This girl didn't. She had long curly black hair that went past her shoulders and her almost-black eyes glared at us. There was a sprinkle of freckles across her face but apart from that she was deathly white. I thought she was pretty. I knew then that I wanted to be her friend. 

"Hello." I said as I made my way through the crowd.

Silence. Her lips were still- not a word came out of them. Then her eyes seemed to refocus and she smiled at me- still silent.

"I'm Lola." I said as I shifted my weight nervously. The crowd started to leave then, leaving just us in the middle of the yard.

Still nothing. Then she pulled a notepad and pen out of her bag and wrote down 6 words:

I am Maria. I am mute.

I sit at the back of the classroom in English, so does she but she doesn't say anything or offer to read out her work which I know is very good because I've read it myself. She has this beautiful handwriting- swirly and big like birds flying in the sky.

 The bell rings, it's time for lunch but instead of sitting with my big group of friends, I go over and sit with the silent girl. She looks at me with a panicked expression on her face and gets up to leave but I grab her arm and gesture her to sit down.

"It's okay, I just want to know how you're getting on." I say quietly.

She grabs her notebook and scribbles something down :

Why are you doing this? Your friends will think your crazy for talking to a girl who won't talk back.

I look at her and realise that it's true, everyone else will think I'm weird but I realised then that there is much more to the girl who calls herself Maria.

"I want to be your friend." I say

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay so there it is, Chapter 2- tell me how it was in the comments!!