Tainted: Listening to the Silence (Book 1)

TWO

  

Salvador

                I was so into my music, playing the notes with my hand and hearing them in my head, that the sudden knock on my door scared the ever living out of me.

“Sal, you’re going to be late if you don’t leave soon!” My mother yelled coming into my room.

“Relax, it’s cool. It only takes me about half an hour to get to school.”

“Sal, do you even know what time it is? It’s 7:40!” Mina yelled again picking up my bag from the floor.

“Oh. Well I’ll be late either way, so what’s the rush?”

“Just get going to school will you?” My mom begged holding out my bag for me.

“Ok, ok. I’ll get going.”

                I grabbed my bag from her hands and made my way slowly to the front door. Music was still playing through my headphones as I made my way to school, hidden from the early January chill in a sweater. I didn’t know what the big fuss was, I was going to be late either way. And school wasn’t all that big a thing anyways, it would be just the same as it was the day before. Oh right. I remembered as I passed by the house of our neighbors the Andels. There was a new kid coming into the school today. He’d been everything the town could talk about for the last week. Let’s just say that here news get around fast. The rumor was that the Andels had finally decided to adopt, and the new kid was their child. They said he came from the city, must be a big change coming from the city to the suburbs. Anyway, that wasn’t anything to fuss about either. I just didn’t understand these people and the way they made a big deal about every little detail, they should just live their lives instead of spending them gossiping about other people’s lives.

“You’re late again, Salvador?” The wrinkled old woman in the main office said when I came in.

                I just shrugged and she sighed. She didn’t look like she really cared whether I answered or not, and I didn’t think she’d understand it either way. She glared at me as she put the tardy slip in the counter. I grabbed it and gave her one of my charming sarcastic smiles. I made my way slowly to class, still listening to music when I entered the classroom.