Mute (Completed)

Chapter Two

"Charlie, you have to let go now." A girl's voice said from behind me. "I can't talk to you when your hands aren't free."

I shook my head, and clenched my hand tighter. I was shivering, and cold sweat dripped from my forehead. I dangled from a harness, high up in the trees of a high ropes course. Way too high up for comfort.

"Aw, come on, I thought you'd like this!" Whined the girl.

I turned to face my friend, Mari, with my best "mad" face. Despite my efforts, I am pretty sure I just looked as if I was constipated. I'm not good at being mad, especially to Mari.

"Hon, you aren't fooling me." Mari said, flicking me in the head with her manicured nails. "If you aren't going to let go, I guess I'll have to leave you here!" She winked at me, playfully. I shook my head emphatically.

Mari just grinned and let go of the rope holding her in place. In a matter of seconds she was gone, speeding through the air.

In a panic, I let go of the rope to sign to her. Stop! I signed. Stop now! It was no use though, she was way too far down to see my hands. I sighed and laid my head on my harness rope. All of a sudden my body started to move. I whipped up my head and looked down. 

In my attempt at signing at her, I had forgot one very important thing. If you let go of the rope, you go down. I picked up speed, my entire body screaming for help. My hands clenched the rope, my hands completely white. The trees whipped by me, too close for comfort. I was going to die. I was definitely going to die. The rope is going to break, I am going to fall to my dea-

"Hey Charlie, welcome back!"

I looked up to see Mari's grinning face looking at me. I then noticed that I had stopped moving. I sighed with relief as Mari helped me out of my harness.

Never again. I signed at her.

"Whatever you say, hon." She said. "You look as if you just saw a ghost! It wasn't that bad, was it?"

Yes it was. I signed, glaring at her.

"Well, you didn't die." Mari said, playfully punching me in the arm. "But you are covered in sweat. I'll wait while you go wash that sticky stuff off of you."

I rolled my eyes. As much as I love Mari, she was a bit...girly. She was daring, yet completely scared of dirt and grime.

I'll be back. I signed and headed off in the direction of the bathrooms, still weak and shaky from my near-death experience.

I walked into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. My short hair was still perfect. That's the advantage of having a pixie: it always looks good. My mascara was a little smudged under my eyes, as the wind made them tear up. 

Suddenly, my iPod Touch vibrated. I used to have a phone, but for obvious reasons, I can't exactly use a phone anymore, so an iPod works fine. I quickly glanced at the screen. It was a text from my mother.

Hi Charlotte. I know you are probably having a lot of fun with Mari but I just wanted to tell you that I love you and to be careful. Yours, Mom.

I smiled. If I was in public, I would have snorted and rolled my eyes. But the truth is, I really love the notes she sends me. Ever since I lost my voice, my mother has started to constantly watch over me. I guess it scared her, almost losing me.

Yeah, yeah. I texted. Love you too, Mom. Try not to worry so much. Mari and I are both fine, neither of us are dead, and we haven't run into a single child molester yet! I joked.

"Charlie, hurry up!" Mari's voice called from the outside of the bathroom. "There's still the gift shop to look at! Just imagine all of the cheaply made stuff we can buy to throw away later!"

I smiled, took one last glimpse in the mirror, and walked out the door. I couldn't wait for those tee shirts either.

Author's Note: 

The translation of the sign language used in this book is a rough translation based on what Charlie would say, given she had a voice. Proper "ASL grammar" can be difficult to understand. Because of this, the dialogue from Charlie isn't entirely the same as what it would be if it were translated exactly.