The Boy Who Slayed Dragons

"He looks very loud"

Lunchtime was a very interesting time. I could sit with a group of people and listen to them talk or I could go and sit in the library and help Mrs. Rina.

Today my curiosity got the better of me and I went to the library.
"Hello Luke, it's nice to see you, are you going to help me out with my books?" She asked with an old smile. I nodded she let me behind the counter to scan books.

I don't talk to her, my mouth locks its self around her, I can't open it as if it refuses to let me speak.

I was scanning the books humming quietly to myself. I heard the door open and it falls back into place with its larger wooden brother. The two doors clicked into place, I kept scanning, expecting them to be cutting across to the other side to get to the other side of the school.

"I need a book kid."
I looked up to see very cold eyes, not rude or hateful eyes but the icy blue eye that looks unnatural. They were set on a very stern face that grew tousled black hair.

"I need a book kid get to scanning and make it happen I haven't got all day." I looked at him, and there stood the tall bus boy.

What did he need it on? I wondered, I looked down at his hands and he didn't hold a book. "You've got to get a book for him to scan Davis." Mrs. Rina called from her office, he looked at his hands.
"Oh shit you're right"

He cried hitting the palm of his hand to his face "language Davis" Mrs. Rina called after him as he looked around the bookshelves for a book.
He continued to talk to her as he scanned the shelves. "I've got switched to an art class Rina and I can't do art, so now I've gotta do a project so I need a book." He told her "Onward please help Mr. Davis with his book you know what to look for."

I carefully walked over to the boy who was able to reach in the top shelf and I made eye contact with only the sixth one on the ten shelved bookcases.

"I don't want something really hard, like Mozart or goth but just something basic." I looked up at him, he scanned the shelves.

I grabbed a book on some modern paintings from around the worlds and handed it to him. He looked at me and took the book from my hands. "I can't trace this kid" he started making me frown "you can't fake art" I quietly comment making him perk up a bit "you are a quiet one aren't you." He leaned in closer making my breath hitch, "you can't fake art." I said even softer since his face was so close to me.

"Well what am I supposed to do, they put me in art cause I needed an easy credit but the teacher seems kind of hard."

Mrs. Rose wasn't hard at all, but she doesn't take effortless work, she makes sure everyone does their best at least. I was in the art as well, but I'm not sure if the boy was in my art class I hadn't noticed him before.

"This project is called the selfless portrait, make a portrait of your self without your face."

I sighed and went back to the counter and grabbed my book bag.

The bell was going to ring soon.
•_______________________________•

I walked towards the bus stop at the end of the street where the school sat. I was cold, I could feel my cheeks turning red from the cold air blowing against them.

"This is Lucas Onward, he's starting our 9th-grade class, he transferred from across town." The teacher introduced me to the large classroom. "Lucas has something called selective mutism, he's not much of a talker and when he's able to he's very quiet. So don't be upset if he doesn't talk back but I hear he is a very good listener."

I shuffled through the hallway, I almost jumped out of my skin when I felt a hand in my shoulder. "Hello, my name is Jenna" I looked at the girl standing at my exact height, her brown hair cut above her ears. Showing off her freckles face and blue eyes. Her smile was gapped between her front teeth and canines. I watched her move her hands as she talked "I was wondering if you had any sign language lessons or knew any?" I shook my head, a blank stare on my face that made her smile more, she tapped her middle and index finger together and then moved her hands down more.

"My name is Jenna, that's what that means, I'm deaf," she said touching her ear. My eyes widened at that information, the first thought was that she didn't sound deaf at all. "I can teach you to sign language if you'd like Luca."

I nodded at her a smile forming in my face.

The bus horn honked in my ear and I walked towards the front getting off a few streets away from my house in the busy city. I made my way down the street. I thought about the boy a little more, he has pretty teeth very pretty teeth. I thought about how fun it could be to draw those perfect teeth. My teeth were slightly crooked, I had a small gap in the back and my front teeth were uneven. I couldn't help but wonder what else was up his sleeves on his tattooed fingers.

I walked into the house and I saw my mom standing in the stairs to the attic going through some mail. "I've heard from a few more colleges Lucas," she said looking at me, I shook my head.

I can't go to college because I'm just too stupid.

"No thank you I'm ok," I tell her in a low voice.
"Ok baby, I'll be going to the parlor soon would you like to come this time?" She asked as she pulled her black greying hair into a ponytail.

My mom was beautiful, her thin lips were always painted red and her face had soft wrinkles, she was always wearing some oldies rock band tee shirt I had no clue about. Her favorite thing ever was a grey a jacket. She says that fate hangs off it and she can always have good days with it on. "I would like to go to the t-tat-tattoo parlor" I struggle out smiling at her widely.
I've often gotten the question how I can talk if I'm mute but selective mutism isn't just not talking. It's the anxiety of talking and over the years my moms helped a lot with it.

But I still don't like it, I still have a stutter something I've tried going to speech therapy for. But it just sticks like sand after a beach trip.
The parlor was just around a block away and walking with mom was something I loved to do, she's talking about her book, and she's holding my hands and swing it making me smile. My mom was tall as well, lovely and she smelt like new books all the time. The scent of fresh paper and warm cinnamon often followed her.

As we walked into the parlor she waved and smiled at her coworkers.

"I've got an appointment with a young man. He should be here soon" she told the lady in the front working the desk. There was a vintage look to the room, the red walls looked very rustic with the peeling paint. They had golden picture frames of magazines of old bands and headlines.

The room melt like dust leather, there was one of my mom's good friends sitting on one of the couches against the wall.
The room was one big open room, there were four chairs for tattooing and there were tables and charts set up. There were a back room and a bathroom other than that it was very simple but their decorating gave it a fuller look.

"Hell Charlie, how are you?" She asked, the tattooed man smiled at her, he was younger than my mom and he had blonde hair with green eyes. He was about 6'6 and usually wore a black tee shirt to a worker with his grey distressed jeans. He was 26 if I was right and he always smiled at me when he saw me, here when I first met him I thought he was a psychopath.

Charlie is the piercer here, he really good too. He had a lot of strange piercings and body modification.

I was obsessed with them, they made his body look so strange and covered I loved tracing them and redrawing every tattoo. Secretly over in the corner, I've never touched any of his piercings or his tattoos.

I'm too shy, much too shy.

Mom has a few tattoos but nothing compared to the ones on Charlie that made me so infatuated with them.
I would never dare touch them though.
I wish I could though, they look so strange like they could be swept away with a hand carrying a gust of wind.

So fascinating