Mute

4: The Assignment

Saturday rolled around quickly, and Violetta was visibly nervous about Maya coming to her house, meeting her family and being in her room but, by the time Violetta woke up, Maya was already on her way over. 

Maya :) - I'll be there in about ten minutes :)

Violetta groaned at the message and quickly cleaned her room. Her room wasn't very messy most days but ever since she started a proper school after being homeschooled for three years, she had so much homework that she was too tired to clean it after a day at school and her books would lay scattered all over the floor for a few days. 

"Hey, Violetta?" Her mum called from her door. The girl in question looked over and saw Maya standing next to her mother. Her eyes widened slightly, and she looked down. "Sorry... I called you from downstairs, but I guess you didn't hear me." Her mum chuckled a little. Violetta shook her head and fidgeted with her fingers slightly. Her mother left soon after and the two girls were left alone. 

"Sorry. I didn't think I would get here earlier." Violetta shook her head and snatched two spare pillows and placing them on the floor. She sat down on one and looked at the floor. Maya got the hint and placed her bag down, sitting down on the second pillow slowly and looked around. 

"You have a nice room." She commented. Violetta bit her lip slightly and hung her head further, remembering all her posters of her favourite bands hanging up on the walls. "You listen to a lot of music, huh." Maya smiled as she opened her bag. "Maybe you can give me some recommendations?" She suggested. Violetta visibly relaxed at the words, realising that Maya wasn't going to judge her for her taste in music. 

Violetta sat still for a moment and sighed lowly to herself, grabbing a hair-tie and tying her hair back so that she could see what she was doing. Maya watched her quietly, in awe at her big brown eyes and pale face. Violetta noticed her staring and glanced over briefly. 

Maya only smiled and handed her a sheet of paper. "I made some notes last night after school about what we can write about." Violetta nodded and read through it carefully. Maya sat quietly and sighed, speaking again. "So... what do you do in your spare time?" Violetta looked up and grabbed a piece of paper and writing on it. 

- Reading 
- Listening to music 

Maya smiled at the answers and looked at Violetta. "I can tell you like music." She referred to Violetta's walls. The girl next to her blushed at the comment and looked down. Maya looked at her in a panicked way. "I-It's not a bad thing! Everyone has something they enjoy. For example, I like singing!" Maya reassured quickly. Violetta looked up in awe at Maya's words. She grabbed the piece of paper and wrote. 

- You can sing?

Maya nodded at the question and rubbed the back of her neck shyly. "A little I guess." She smiled. "Just for fun." Violetta nodded and stared at her for a while before pointing to the list, circling the ideas she liked, and they started to work on the project. 

Halfway through their work, Violetta's mum knocked on her door softly and walked in with a plate of finger-food and two glasses of iced-tea. "I brought some snacks for you guys while you work." Maya thankfully took the plate and glasses with a small smile. Violetta's mum glanced over at her daughter and noticed that her face wasn't covered by her face and couldn't stop a small smile from gracing her lips. "Well, let me know if you girls need anything else. Alright?" The two girls in question nodded and watched as the middle-aged woman left the room. 

"Your mum's nice." Maya commented, taking a cracker from the plate. Violetta nodded, taking a cracker and nibbling on it slowly. Maya fidgeted with the cracker in her hand. "Do you... really not talk to your parents normally?" Violetta tensed at the question, something that didn't go unnoticed by Maya. 

"You don't have to answer that. I was just curious." She smiled slightly. Violetta thought for a moment and turned to Maya, shaking her head and writing something again. 

-I don't speak to my parents. 

Maya hummed slightly at the answer and looked at Violetta. She desperately wanted to ask why she never spoke, but she decided against it, after all, they weren't that close as friends and she thought it would be overstepping the line. They sat in silence for a while before getting back to work. 

Hours passed by quickly and the two girls managed to finish their project in one day. Maya packed up her things and got ready to leave but was stopped by Violetta's mother.  

"Maya? Do you want to stay for dinner?" Maya turned with a small smile and shook her head. 

"I don't think I should, Mrs Black." Maya refused politely. Violetta's mum looked at her a little sadly. 

"If you're sure then I won't pressure you." She smiled. "Is one of your parents picking you up?" Maya shook her head again. 

"I'm taking the bus." Violetta's mum frowned at the answer and shook her head. 

"It's too late to get the bus. Stay for dinner and Violetta and I can drive you home." She offered. Maya looked over at Violetta who smiled softly and nodded. After a while, Maya agreed and sat down with Violetta and her mum to eat dinner.