Mute Girl

Ch. 1

My name is Marie Grace, your average high schooler. Well, scratch that. I'm not the average high schooler because I don't talk. Never. Literally. I have never spoken a single word in public since I was 3. I'm not mute or anything, I'm just quiet. My parents don't know that I have the ability to talk. I do speak when I'm alone. Actually, I know every word in the dictionary because I have a photographic memory. However, nobody knows that either. In fact, my parents barely notice my existence since they are rarely home. It's sometimes just mother and when father is home, sh*t goes down. Words are more powerful than people realize. That's what started my 'issue'. Once I heard such strong words uttered from my parents mouth, I decided not to talk unless necessary. Eventually, I realized that I didn't need to talk. But learning how to read without talking was too challenging for my brain so I only talked by myself.

I didn't make many friends. The friends I had were always forced through my parents and their friends. You see, my family is extremely wealthy and my parents and their friends were always arranging play dates for me and their kids. The kids never talked to me, they usually just pretended I wasn't there. That was fine by me since I never really cared. My friends were books. Their comforting pages soothed my head every time I heard my mother yell at my father for being a 'two-faced bastard'. I excelled in school. My biggest problem was when a teacher called on me. The kids I grew up with realized I wouldn't talk and decided to talk for me if a teacher who may have been new, called my name.

"Marie Grace, what is your opinion on the juxtaposition of the moon in question of the sun?" Even if I wanted to answer, someone always answered for me.

"She doesn't talk." A kid next to me would say. The teacher would roll her eyes.

"Of course she talks-" The teacher would be interrupted.

"No, she doesn't. She's literally mute." Another kid would pipe up. The teacher would then immediately try to apologize thinking that she offended me in some way. That first day of the school year would be the only day a teacher would ever try to talk to me. It was quite nice of my peers to speak up for me, even if they laughed at me behind my back the next day.

The only class I would take part in was foreign language class. I know you're probably thinking, maybe she speaks only in another language. Well, that's partly true. I take American Sign Language, also known as, ASL. I don't sign a lot in the class, but when I do, it's if I'm being called on. I eventually made one friend who was deaf. His name was Ben Anders. He was the only guy I 'talked' to. He was homeschooled and still is, but he takes Advanced Calculus at my school. That's where we met. I still remember the day like it was yesterday.

I walked in the class feeling the same boring emotions as usual. The teacher had just called on me when the annual 'she's mute' rolled off the tongue of some kid who sat in the front. Surprisingly, the routine changed when I felt a tap on my left shoulder. I turned to my left. Sitting next to me was a pale, skinny kid with giant green orbs and black hair.

"Is it like this every year?" He signed to me smirking. I nodded my head while rolling my eyes. "Maybe they'll finally get the message." He signed again. I chuckled barely audible. He didn't talk to me for the rest of class. Before I thought that I would lose another would be friend, he came up to me again as the bell rang.

"Wanna hang out sometime?" He signed to me.

"I don't even know your name," I smiled at him. "What if you're a serial killer?" I raised my eyebrows.

"The name is Ben Anders." He stuck his hand out for me to shake his which I gladly accepted. He gave me his number and waved goodbye before signing out of the school and hopping into his mom's Volkswagen, his black hair gleaming in comparison of his sickly pale skin.