Speak & Listen

LEAD

LEAD

"Attention students, there will be a school meeting at the school hall after recess. Thank you."

"Did you hear about Sandra?" A girl, who I assumed was Brittany, whispered with a nasal accent behind me.

We were in English, the period before recess. "What about Sandra?" Tamia, her geekish friend, responded.

"Sandra got raped this weekend. They're probably going to address it. Do you think it's the jocks?"

My head automatically turned and both their eyes stared at me, widened. They separated to their respective seats, feeling awkward. I looked forward and from then, I failed to concentrate. As I've said, it was as if Sophia being gone unblocked my ears. I could hear every thought, every sound and every vibration or disturbance. Everything that happened in that school now, I knew. Even when I didn't want to.

The bell rang and everyone was first to leave. When I was about to leave. "Mr Spector..." It was my English teacher, Mr Word. "A word with you." As much as I thought the pun was funny, I didn't laugh.

I walked to his desk as everyone left. "Yes, Mr Word?"

"The school meeting, in general, is to address issues that took place and still are taking place at Clever Cats High School. Now I hate to remind you, but it seems as if you were a subject not so long ago to bullying."

I nodded.

"Maybe speaking out in that meeting will give others the voice to speak out as well. Sandra, our senior, got raped at the toilets this past week and she has no memory whatsoever of the event taking place. The same happened to you. If you could..."

"Mr Word, I am not a hero. If so, I could have stopped this from happening to me and others a long time ago. As long as no one wants to talk about it, I'm not talking about it." My voice was sterned.

He nodded. I limped out of the classroom. I don't know how to describe the feeling, but I wanted Mr Word to call me back and beg me to stand at the alter on that meeting, beg me to talk, you know, make me feel as if I was needed in that meeting. But he just let me go.

I ghosted to my locker, my shoulders heavy from the exhausting day already. I opened my locker and a huge poster was shoved in my locker. My heart started racing, pounding against my chest, prohibiting me from breath. I looked at the huge poster, it seemed as if someone knew my combination. I took out the poster and a wet liquid dripped from it. I finally opened it up, only to find eyesore blood painted on the poster itself, with the photoshopped picture of my face and a stranger's butt naked body, with blood painted exactly on the butt region.

My body recoiled from the poster as it fell on the floor.

There was a note, written in red paint, which read "Watch yourself, kiddo..."

I had not noticed that I was hyperventilating again, grabbing for air anywhere I could find it. I felt oppressed like a heavy force weighed on my shoulders and I couldn't stand up, literally. My body froze in one place.

"Adrian." I heard a familiar voice echoing.

I saw Jeremiah picking up the poster and when he scrutinized it, his jaws twitched. Now I had to stop him before he did something stupid. "Jeremiah."

He looked at me. "How long is this going to go on?"

"Jeremiah, take me to the cafeteria."

His eyebrows furrowed. "...What? Adrian, we need to do something about this."

"You are going to throw away that poster, we're going to the cafeteria and we're not, ever, talking about this again. Do you understand me?"

He nodded, but I knew he disagreed. He would do something stupid right after school. He threw the poster in the bin and walked back to me again. "Can we go?"