Mute (Calum Hood)

Chapter 1

I cautiously placed my hand on the silver door knob of room 423, Language Arts. I could feel my heart pounding through my chest, and my hands started to shake. I took a deep breath, and turned the knob.
I heard the shuffles of people's bodies turning in their desks to glue their eyes on me.
"Hello. Principle Simpson emailed me about you. You must be Lacey Evans?" A tall, middle aged man with bright red hair and a pair of glasses smiled at me. I nodded. "Why don't you go take a seat next to Calum? Calum, raise your hand." I flicked my eyes towards the sea of desks to find this mystery Calum. A tan boy with dark hair put into a quiff, wearing a sweatshirt that said "MSHS soccer" on it raised his hand and smiled. I hesitated before making my way over to the desk next to him.
The journey to the desk felt like it took 400 years. I finally got to the desk and slid into it, running my hand through my hair to get it out of my face.
The teacher, who I soon found out was called Mr. Roberts started to ramble about figurative language and making sure we knew what it was and other things like that.
I took the time to study this Calum boy. I won't lie, Calum is a very attractive guy. his eyes were a bit squinty, maybe he was Asian? Or from New Zealand? He has a pretty big nose, but it fits him perfectly. His deep brown eyes were the complete opposite of my icy blue ones. His hair was dark, and styled in a quiff like most of the other boys in the class room. His jawline was sharp, and prominent. His large tan hands held his pencil in a loose grip, as he whispered to his friends next to him.
I was shaken from my thoughts when a loud bell rang. Class was over.
"Miss Evans! Can I speak to you a moment?" Mr. Roberts called after me. I turned around and made my way back to his classroom. "Now, Principle Simpson told me about the Selective Mutism. All your teachers were informed. I want you to know I completely respect you, and your decisions, and I will not give you a hard time in class, alright?" He said softly. I really appreciated this gesture. I smiled and nodded, and he wrote me a late pass to my next class.

Another loud bell sounded through the classes, and all the students piled out. I looked down at my schedule, lunch.
The first 4 classes of the day all went remotely the same. I was introduced, told to sit down next to someone, and the teacher went on about the same things. I did not talk, not was I asked to.
Mountain Shadows had a large outside lunch area with some tables, grassy areas, and food carts around each area. I decided to get a pretzel, the only thing sounding appetizing. I sat down under a large tree, and untangled my headphones from my backpack. I searched the many artists of music, and clicked on Green Day, one of my favorites.
I used this time to study the campus. The groups seemed quite defined here. Most of the soccer players hung out at a few round tables, along with cheerleaders, football players, and a few dance girls. There is a small group that sits in a grassy area not far from me full of kids in marching band.
Other groups consisted of skaters, academically gifted kids, theater kids, and you can't forget the potheads.
A body blocked my vision of the courtyard. I looked up to see two girls, both blonde, smiling down at me. I waited for them to speak.
"Hi! I'm Elaine, I'm student council president. And this is the Vice President, Brandi. We heard you were new here, and we just wanted to chat!" They smiled, waiting for a response. Of course, I didn't give them one. They continued waiting, I continued to stare at them, as their smiles started to fade.
"Um.. did she hear us?" Brandi whispered.
"Yes I can hear you. idiots." I said. Not out loud of course, but in my head.
"Excuse me?" Elaine said trying to get my attention. I felt horrible just sitting there. I wanted desperately to tell them I couldn't talk, but of course, I couldn't.
"Well fine. You know we've never even done anything to you, yet you're acting like a bitch and giving us the silent treatment? We're just doing our jobs!" Elaine exclaimed walking away with Brandi trailing behind her. I sighed. The fist day of school just took a turn for the worst.

************
(Calum's POV)
I sighed in relief as the last school bell finally rang. I rushed out of my 7th hour, and out the front doors of the school.
"Hey Ash!" I said, approaching one of my best friends, Ashton. He was waiting outside my red hummer, like always. We all usually drove home in my car, just as we have all year.
"Hey Cal. Open the door mate I'm starving!" Ashton rushed me. I laughed and unlocked the car, Ash got into the passenger seat, and we waited for the others to come.
A few minutes later, Luke and Beth, and Michael and Trinity piled into the back seats of the car.
A bunch of chatter filled the car as I drove off the school campus.
"Was anyone listening to Elaine today during lunch? Apparently some new girl was being a complete bitch to her." Trinity said. Elaine came over to our group at lunch, extremely pissed off about some girl not speaking to her or Brandi.
"Yeah. That seemed like a big deal. Rumor has it she doesn't talk at all." Michael said, gathering his things and pulling Trinity out of the car. "See ya!" He said as they made their way to his house.
I dropped off Luke and Beth at Beth's place, and Ash off at his. As I was driving to my house, I saw one of my neighbors outside. If I had to pick an adult I trusted the most, it would be my neighbor John. I don't have a father, and my mom is working a lot of the time. I pulled to his curb and got out of my car.
"Calum Hood! What kind of trouble are you getting into now a days?" John said jokingly. I laughed before responding.
"All kinds Mr. Jacobson. Hey, looks like that girlfriend of yours moved in? How is she settling in?" I asked. A few weeks back, John told me his girlfriend from Minnesota was going to move in with him.
"She's settling in quite well thank you! Would you like to come say hello?" He offered, I nodded and followed him inside.
"John! Were can I put these- Oh! Hi!" I giggled at the woman's response to seeing me.
"Hi, I'm Calum Hood, I live a few houses down." I introduced myself, the woman smiled, her blue eyes widely staring into mine.
"Hello Calum! I'm Melissa. It's so nice to meet you." Melissa said. "My daughter should be around here somewhere, I'll go find her." She added, leaving the kitchen.
"Cal, I should warn you that Mel's daughter is a little bit, well, quiet." John said. I was confused, but I had no time to ask him about it, when I heard footsteps down the stairs.
What I saw was breathtaking. A girl, with long, deep brown hair curled obviously with a curling iron, but it was pulled back into a messy ponytail. She was wearing black Sophie shorts, and a grey hoodie a little bit oversized. She had a pair of glasses on, and her harms were crossed across her chest. She was beautiful.
"Wow." I felt the word slip out. John grinned at me.
"Calum, this is my daughter Lacey." Melissa said, nudging her daughter forward.
"Hi Lacey. I'm Calum, I live a few houses down." I tried saying softly, trying not to scare the pale, fragile beauty standing before me. She smiled lightly. I got what John meant by quiet. She does not talk at all.
   "Alright, well I actually have soccer practice tonight, and I've got to get going. It was nice meeting you both." I said. John offered to walk me back to my car.
   "Selective mutism. Mel doesn't know why." John said, basically reading my mind.
   "So, she doesn't talk at all?" I asked.
   "No, she doesn't. I know she's such an amazing girl, she just doesn't talk. We're hoping to get her therapy again maybe." John informed.
"Well, I'll keep an eye on her at school." I offered. John smiled, and thanked me for it, and I got in my car and drove home.
   God that girl was beautiful. The shit she got from Elaine today will not be tolerated by me. I will look out for Lacey, and maybe I can even get her to talk?
   I threw on my uniform and drove back to school for soccer practice, Lacey never leaving my mind.