Speechless

Chapter Two

The entire day went by slowly, hours passed with my attention fading more with each hour. I was fixated only on the clocks in the walls each of my classrooms. I watched the minutes' drip away like ice on a hot day. Teachers were polite and a few students introduced themselves but other than that I maintained near invisibility which was far better than the first hour.

I forced my way through a large herd of people. I could feel the stares as they bore into my back. What happened in first hour spread through the school like wildfire. I had overheard a few people discussing it in my third hour class. It was hard to miss their glances my way and hushed tones. I was not only the new girl anymore; I was the new girl who caused a scene. Their soft snickers were unfazed in the echoing noise of the hallway as they whispered to each other about the new girl. No matter how many people stared at me I knew that there was nothing I could do to stop them. Even if I tried that would just spark an entirely new set of rumors which I did not need within the first few days of my schooling here.

"Hey! Are you the new girl?" someone called towards me though the group of people I was working my way thought.

Turning my head, I saw her, she was tall, thin, and perfectly clothed. Her sandy blonde hair was pulled back into a slick pony tail.

"My name is Lindsay," she smiled at me sweetly, "I have heard your name is Eleanor."

I took a deep breath and grabbed my cards out of my pocket. I had used these too many times today. Despite my insistence and my mother's reminding no one seemed to understand I did not want to be called Eleanor. I held up the card to Lindsay and smiled.

Please call me Ellie.

"I'm so sorry, Ellie," she corrected herself.

I adjusted the backpack on my shoulder and looked at her.

"I just wanted to introduce myself," she smiled, "I am the class president and wanted to make sure you didn't have any questions or need anything."

I signed and mouthed thank you to her. I looked past her down the hallway. Hoping to signal to her to that I wanted to leave. Instead she took a step to the left to block my path.

"I heard what happened in first hour." She leaned in towards me as if this was gossip. "Westley Cooper is a mess. I really would try to avoid him if you."

She pulled a notebook out of her backpack and scribbled something down on the paper. Ripping off the corner of the page she handed it to me.

"This is my number, shoot me a text sometime!" She said.

I smiled and tucked the paper back in my pocket.

She reached out and gently touched my shoulder, "please believe me when I say he isn't someone to be around."

Lindsay dropped her hand and walked past me back into the sea of people. I stood for a moment staring out into the crowd where she had disappeared.

His name was Westley Cooper. The image of him floated back into my mind, his curly hair, his tattoos, his leather jacket, his piercing green eyes. For a moment I was lost in the image of him.

I shook my head to shake away the image of him and regathered my thoughts. Remembering Principal Taylor's request I walked back towards the office, against the flow of students. I pulled open the heavy wooden door to the office and was instantly greeted by the smell of flowers.

The receptionist, Miss Abel, was sitting at her desk with her eyes focused firmly on her computer screen. She was middle aged and her brown hair was pulled into a high bun. When the door shut behind me, she looked up.