The Silence Between Us ✓

[8] Prague

NOAH

It was a stupid idea. I knew that even before I decided to go through with it, of course I did, but I just didn't realise how much. Fuck. I've really messed this project up, now haven't I?

I can't decide whether I knew why I did it. I guess I was more curious than anything; it wasn't a secret that she just completely vanished into thin air at break and lunch. I guess I also just wanted to speak to her more, which sounded crazy now – she couldn't/ doesn't speak, and that was a fact. I wasn't surprised that she spent her time in an empty classroom, and that really pulled something in my heart. She really was completely alone at school, wasn't she?

So why didn't she speak? If she was feeling that lonely – and I knew she was; I could see it in her eyes as she was sat there – why didn't she just at least try and talk to someone? And then I thought back to every time she'd avoided the question, I'd pretty much asked her in most conversations. She always used the word 'can't', not 'don't' which could mean that perhaps she really can't speak, but then I was being stupid: of course, she could speak. She probably just had a really really bad form of social anxiety or something – I'd seen countless TV shows where the same exact thing had happened. I hoped that if we got to know each other better, then maybe she would finally start talking to me, but I wasn't counting on it, especially in the way she left the room as soon as I walked in. I could tell by her face and the way she flicked her curly hair back that she really didn't like me at all. It was all for the coursework, I guessed.

XXX

I had chemistry next period, which could only be described as pain. It was safe to say I had the most boringly strict teacher ever and come on, it's chemistry. The said teacher also happened to hate me because when it came to practicals, I had a knack in messing them up. And I'm not talking about adding the wrong chemicals together to get a wrong PH. No, I'm talking like actual catastrophes. I don't know how I did it, but it consistently happened every single time.

That being said, you can see why I was elated when it turned out that we had a cover teacher. Mrs Roberts was thankfully ill, and we instead had the joy that was Mrs Webb, AKA the loveliest person ever. She was pretty young, definitely in her twenties anyway, and so was one of those teachers that you could actually see had a life outside of school and told us quite a bit about the others that we probably shouldn't know. *Cough cough* Mr Harold's wife left him *cough cough*.

"Ok guys, so Mrs Roberts has given the instructions to answer the questions on pages 46 and 47" She announced as everyone started to get their stuff out. I guess this was the only downside to cover teachers: textbook work "Come on then, get started!"

Everybody diligently opened up the chunky textbooks and started writing. Harrison smirked at me as I rolled my eyes at the blank piece of lined paper and I playfully stuck my middle finger up at him. Uh, Harrison, I really did need to sort that mess out.

About halfway through the lesson – definitely not halfway through the questions (I have to put my hands up, I was only on the third or fourth question) – Mrs Porter interrupted. She had that expression that she always carried, slightly displeased, and the bun she had on top of her head looked just as tight as always. Sometimes I wondered if gave her a permanent headache and that was why she never smiled, but I always decided that, no, she was just a genuinely mean person.

"Hello Mrs Webb, class" She gulped and vaguely nodded her head at us "I was just wondering if I could borrow Via for a few minutes"

My head snapped straight to where Via was sat, right at the back as always. I'm pretty sure most of the class was staring at her as well, but she didn't go pink like I thought she would. Instead, she just followed Mrs Webb's lead and followed Mrs Porter out of the room. It wasn't the first time that I tried to figure out what really was going on with Via and why she was here in the first place. I internally sighed; why was she so mysterious? And why wouldn't she just give me any of the answers to the questions I asked her? What was she hiding?