Illéa High

Silence

I walk off the plane and into the airport. I find my luggage. I wait for the limo to take me home. It arrives. I climb in and stay silent. The ride back to my house takes less than an hour. We approach my road. I get out and the limo pulls away. I breath in and out. The door opens. My mom is standing in the doorway with May behind her. I drop my bags in my room and start to unpack. May watches me from my doorway.

"What's that you're wearing?" May asks.

I look down at the bracelet on my right wrist. I shrug. "Just a present from some people at the school."

May stays quiet. She slowly walks into my room and sits on my bed. She keeps watching me unpack.

We sit at the small dinner table with slightly cold food in front of us. It's different from the school's meals. May and my mom chat about May's day at school. I sit in silence. May and mom chat about May's friends. I sit in silence.

Everything in my world is silent.

Days go past and I don't go out of the house. Maddie and Julia keep trying to call me. I silence it. I don't sleep, I don't get dressed, I don't get out of bed, I eat when it's dire, and I just lay in my bed and think.

I hear a knock at my door. I don't answer. I hear the same person knock. I stay silent. The door creeks open. I close my eyes. I feel two pairs of footsteps on my floor. The two people sit at the edge of my small bed. The bed isn't as comfy as the ones at Illéa High. I stay silent.

"America..." one voice says.

I stay silent.

"America... please, we are worried about you. Everyone is worried about you," the voice says.

"Just talk to us, were your friends. We are here for you," the second voice adds in.

I stay silent.

I fight the tears threatening to roll down my cheek. I breath in and out.

"I ruined everything," I shakily mutter.

"What?!" Maddie asks calmly.

"I. Ruined. Everything," I repeated just as calmly.

"You didn't, America, no. You didn't ruin everything," Julia tries to comfort me.

"You don't even know the story," I snap at my life long best friends. I sit up and they finch. Hurt in their eyes. I sigh and lay back down.

"Well, if you want, on your terms, you can tell us the story," Maddie says shyly, trying not to break me. What she doesn't know is that I'm already broken.

"It's a long story."

"We have time."

"It's full of ups and downs."

"That's the way life is."

"It doesn't have a happy ending."

"Most books are lies if they do."

"I didn't get the guy."

"You don't need a guy to be happy."

"I lost my friends."

"You'll always have us."

"I became distant and moody."

"Nobody is perfect."

"I ruined my life."

"No you didn't."