Mute

6: Shame and Forgiveness

Lunch rolled around quite quickly that Monday and Maya and Violetta sat together at one table, both girls picking at their food. Maya was ashamed to say the least. She never wanted to worry nor scare Violetta as she did earlier that day. Violetta, on the other hand, was still processing the fact that Maya had stood up for her before any of the girl's comments got too extreme or severe. 

"Hey..." Maya spoke first. Violetta looked up at the girl, waiting for her to speak. "I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to scare you or anything..." Maya rambled. Violetta took her notebook out of her bag and scribbled some words down, and slid the page across the table before Maya could say anything else.

- You didn't scare me. 

Violetta wrote. Maya read these words over and over again. She glanced at the girl in front of her who only flashed a small smile. Maya chewed her food slowly. "I didn't?" She asked, just to make sure that Violetta meant what she had written. The girl nodded and began to eat slowly. 

For the next few minutes, the pair sat in silence, eating. Violetta wrote a note and passed it to the girl in front of her.

- Actually, I wanted to thank you again. No one ever stood up for me before. I admit, your reaction was a little over the top, but I appreciate it. I can't speak up for myself. So, really, thank you. :) 

Maya read through the note carefully and, unknowingly, a blush spread across her cheeks as she looked at Violetta apprehensively. Violetta, too, had slightly flushed cheeks as she wrote and re-wrote her next note. 

- I was also going to ask if you wanted to come over to my place again? Just to hang out this time, instead of doing schoolwork. I could show you some bands I like, or we could watch something... 

The note trailed off nervously and Maya only took a peek at the first sentence before nodding quickly. 

"I would love to come over!" She beamed, her mood seeming to brighten at Violetta's written conversation. "I could even stay over for the night!" She smiled. Violetta's eyes widened a little as she looked away and began to fidget. Maya's bright smile softened into a small one. 

"If I can't, then that's cool." Maya started. "Just thought I would suggest it." She smiled but Violetta shook her head as the girl spoke and wrote something else. 

- It's not that I don't want you to stay over it's just that I've never had a sleepover before, so I don't know what you do on those...

Maya laughed a little at the note and Violetta blushed a deep red, trying to snatch the note away from her friend frantically, worried she said something stupid. Maya grabbed the note before Violetta could grab it and smiled. 

"That's okay! I've been on plenty of sleepovers." Maya grinned. "There's a lot of things to do. We can chat, watch movies, bake something, eat, read scary stories. So much stuff!" She laughed again. Violetta paused and sat back down with a small nod, trying to hide her smile. 

"When would I come over? This weekend?" Maya asked as she finished the last bite of her food. Violetta thought for a moment, wondering if she had any plans and, eventually, nodded. Maya smiled. "I'm so excited! We're gonna have a lot of fun!" Violetta smiled softly and nodded as she, also, finished the last bite of her food.