Silence

Mitchel

Sure, it was years ago, and yes, I barely knew her, but Elise Johnson, in a second, would become the starring role in the horror story of my past. Only I wasn’t the victim. She was.

Elise

Mitchel West. That was his name. I loathe him almost as much as he loathes me, I’m sure. It all began 10 years ago, my junior year of high school, when I transferred to Washington High School.

10 Years Earlier

Menacing. That’s the look everyone is giving me now. It’s two weeks into my junior year, and everyone has homecoming fever. There are girls sitting on the laps of their boyfriends, guys holding hands with ‘their girls’, and freshmen asking out that one special upperclassman that almost everyone wants to date. The entire thing makes me sick, mostly because the whole thing is about which popular girl is going with which captain of the football team; also because I know that I’ll never get a date, especially not with Mitchel. Mitchel is tall, popular, and smart, with light tan skin and dark brown hair. I am tall, awkward, and pale, with hideously straight hair that is a too-dirty-blonde color. I’m just what everyone says; stupid, shy, stuttering Elise. I can feel the eyes of everyone around me burn into me as I make my way toward Mitchel West. Well, here goes nothing.

Mitchel

I can feel Jake’s elbow hit me hard in the ribs, but I already know why. Anyone could see her coming a mile away. She is tall and lean, but not in a good way, kind of in an uncomfortable or awkward way. She walks up to me with her face to the floor, but when she reaches me, she lifts her head shyly to meet my gaze. For a few seconds, we just stand there, looking at each other. The look I’m giving her must be confusing, as I can’t read it myself. She looks frightened at first, but quickly regains composure and looks at me intently. Jack and the rest of the guys at my lunch table behind me must be watching, as they have grown silent, and just as I’m about to speak, Elise opens her mouth.

“M-M-Mitchel, w-will you go t-to homech-choming with m-me?” It only takes a second for me to turn around and look at the guys. Jack has his face buried in his hands, and is shaking with laughter. Steve has a huge grin on his face. Kyle leans over to whisper to Cole, and they both laugh and stare at me. Everyone is staring at me.

“Go on, loverboy, tell her how you feel!” Jack shouts out to me from his seat. The guys can’t contain themselves and the laughter that they were suppressing comes out in a steady flow of snorts and chuckles, which only cause them to laugh more. I can tell that I look confused, so I turn to Elise.

“Are you joking?” I need to keep my image, you know. And my image will not withstand homecoming with Elise. The thought of her wearing my jersey to school before the game... repulses me. Behind me the guys quiet each other so that they can hear me. “Go to homecoming with you? I don’t want to hear you talk! Why would I want to take you to homecoming?” The guys are whispering behind me, so I decide to wrap things up. “Please, just go back to where you came from and stay out of my way, okay?” She is still looking up at me when the tears roll down her cheek. Part of me feels guilty, but part of me can’t help but love what just happened. My image is crystal clear.

Elise

Stupid. That’s what I am. Completely and utterly stupid. I used to think I was always a little bit smart. I always believed that what everyone else said about me was wrong. But now I have no reason to. Why would Mitchel go to homecoming with me? I’m ugly. I’m dumb. I can barely complete a sentence. Mitchel is so perfect. He deserves to have his wishes come true. He says he never wants to see or hear from me again, so he never will. The note I wrote is lying on the floor in front of me, although I can’t see it. The gym is dark and hollow, like a cave, like my heart. The only warmth I feel is the warmth of the tears on my cheek and the warmth of the last embrace I will ever feel. The embrace of the rope around my neck.

Mitchel

The school is dark and empty except for a few rooms where teachers are still working on grading or creating assignments. I walk to the locker room and flip the lights on. I change before I head to the gym, which isn’t something that most guys do at 5:00 pm, but Coach told the whole team we needed to spend an hour working out every night before homecoming. Football practice just ended, so why not? I’m the only guy that works out at school, but I like working out alone. It gives me time to focus. I swing the gym doors open and throw on the lights. Out of the corner of my eye, I see someone lying on the floor. It’s Elise, wearing what I assume is her homecoming dress. Her hair is curled to frame her face perfectly. Her high-heeled shoes are sparkling in the dim light of the gym. But something is terribly wrong with this picture.

“Oh, God, Elise!” My Heart rushes as I scream for help.I scoop her up in my arms and pry the noose from around her neck. The rope must’ve come untied from the basketball hoop. Her face is still and lifeless but her skin is warm, and I can feel her chest rise and fall briefly. I’m still screaming for help as I see the note laying on the floor next to me. My hands begin to tremble as I pick up the envelope and I almost faint as I see the person it’s addressed to. Me. I rip the envelope open and read the note”

Dear Mitchel,

Wish granted. You won’t have to hear me speak again.

Yours always,

Elise Johnson

The Next Day

Everything is too bright; too cheery. How the rest of the world can function properly is inconceivable to me. I struggle to take each step, to breathe, to eat. My life is a complete mess, and I’m not sure what I’m doing anymore until 10 minutes after I’ve done it. The walls are closing in; the lights are blinding. Passing by rooms with sad people, dying people, dead people. Dead people. Even thinking the words makes me shiver. I find myself in a room. Elise’s room. She lays still on the crisp white linen, not even looking at me. In her hands she holds a dry erase board. I must look like the biggest idiot as I stand there and stare at her. She scribbles something on the dry erase board and it takes me more effort than it should to read what it says:

“I’ll never talk again.”

She breaks down into uncomfortable, choking sobs. I’m not sure what to do at the moment, so I leave. I simply walk out on her, just like I had so many times before.

Present Day

It was a long time before I could talk about those days; as well as think of them. I didn’t want to see Elise ever again in my life, but life has a crazy way of bringing people back to you, and I have run into her in many different places. Each time I see her, it makes me think of how different my life would be if I had gone to homecoming with Elise, if I had never found her in the gym, if I had never walked out of that hospital room.

Will this horror story ever find its happy ending?