Mute » 1D

Chapter 9

Chapter 9


Kashine


I woke up to the sound of five boys' voices chorusing: "IT'S TIME TO GET UP!!"

I shrieked and flailed around desperately, trying to dispatch the strangers that had somehow managed to sneak into my bedroom. I wondered where John and Martha were. I was scared. It wasn't until my eyes had focused when I saw the One Direction boys staring down at me. I gulped in some air as I remembered where I was: the boys' bungalow. John and Martha were across the ocean and in North America. The thought made me shudder. I stopped waving my limbs about and blushed. I smiled at them. Good morning.

"Good morning, Kashine!" they said in unison. I wondered if they had this rehearsed. "I wanna show her around!" Louis shouted and hauled me out of bed. I squealed in surprise and fought against his grip. He let me go and I fell on the floor with a dull thud. I scowled at him before standing up again and daintily brushing myself off. "Nice PJs," Zayn snickered. I blushed again.

Louis tugged on my arm and I reluctantly allowed myself to be dragged around the bungalow.

"This is the bathroom."

"This is the kitchen."

"This is the living room."

"Down this hall are our bedrooms. You can't go down there."

I laughed and nodded. I wished I could write down (or even better, tell them) that there was no way in hell would I ever go down there. Not even if I was payed. I knew how many activities that could go on down there.

They continued to show me around. I have to admit, it was a nice place. The bungalow was plenty spacious, and there were so many rooms, this place could hold a whole NFL team. It was also a mess. Most of the boys blamed it on Louis, and I wasn't too surprised. After all, they're teenage boys and they had to live with Louis.

"And this is the music room. You'll be teaching us in here."

Louis moved aside so I could see, and my mouth gaped slightly. It looked pretty much like a recording studio. Instruments were packed everywhere, and a half-glass half-control panel of a wall cut the room in half. In the control-panel half, couches were spread out and posters from previous One Direction concerts hung on the walls. In the recording half, five microphones stood alone, and there were small speakers dotted in the corners. The headphones were hung carelessly on the microphones poles.

I had to enter the room. I walked in slowly, as if in a trance, and the boys followed. I trailed a hand along a couch armrest, then over the sleek back of a guitar. I stared into the recording studio. I didn't dare enter, even though I wanted to. I smiled. We were going to have so much fun in this room. Then I blushed. Not that kind of fun, you perverts!

A phone rang suddenly, making me jump and break out of my daze. Niall answered it, then put it on speaker phone.

"Kashine?" Simon's voice asked. "I trust the boys haven't given you any trouble?" I bit my lip. How do I answer him? I forgot my journal and pen upstairs, and I couldn't talk. I'd never owned a cellphone in my life. Rather convenient, if you ask me.

I felt a nudge and when I turned I saw Harry offering me a blank white sheet of paper and a pencil. I smiled gratefully and took them. I wrote quickly and gave it to Liam to read aloud. "I'm having a great time," Liam read. "They just showed me where the music room is. It's lovely. That's what Kashine wrote," he added quickly.

"That's good," Simon said. "I would prefer it if you started tomorrow. If you need private time for this so you can make plans or routines, I can take the boys out." I didn't want them to leave, but I knew it was for the best. Simon wanted me to start working tomorrow?! Man, I had to get started, and fast. I scribbled quickly.

"That would be great, thanks," Liam said

"I'll be there in twenty minutes," Simon said satisfactorily. "Do one of the boys need to stay behind in case you have trouble?" My blood boiled. I frowned. I was almost stabbing the paper as I wrote.

"No, thank you. I'll be just fine," Liam translated.

"Alright," Simon said. "See you soon." He hung up.

Louis folded his arms and pouted, looking like a little child. "I don't wanna leave," he complained. "I like being here with you, Kashine." I blushed again. Why did the boys have to make weird comments like that?

I walked out of the music room and went to my bedroom. It was a little disconcerting when they followed me. I turned around and put my hands on my hips. They stared back at me innocently. I stretched out my hand and did the universal hand motion for "give it here." Liam gave me the paper and pencil.





Why are you following me?





"You might get lost," Zayn said. I rolled my eyes.





Yeah, right. This place may be big, but it's not a maze. I'll be fine. Now go away.





"That's hurtful," Niall complained. "We gave you a room, and now you lock us out of it. What kind of guest are you?"





A female. Unlike most young girls out there, I would prefer to keep my figure covered up and away from your inquiring eyes. Now shoo while I go change. Don't you have to eat breakfast anyway, Niall?





"Yes!" he screamed and raced away. I laughed. "But I like your pajamas," Harry protested. I wrinkled my nose.





Go away. Now.





"Fine," he mumbled. "Party pooper." He stalked off and the rest of the boys followed.

Finally alone, I locked the door to my room behind me and changed into some simple street clothes quickly. I brushed through my hair and ducked inside of the bathroom for a bit to wash my face and brush my teeth. I went back to my room and took out my journal. I tapped the pen against my chin thoughtfully.

What should I do first? I wanted to choreograph "Live While We're Young" as soon as possible, so I decided to start there. I struggled to think of possible moves and routines that could go with the beat of the song, but I got zilch. I needed the music in my ears to help me figure it out. So, sighing, I stood up and grabbed my iPod and a portable iHome.

I walked inside of the kitchen and gasped. Niall and Louis were shouting at each other as they grappled over a box of cereal. Zayn was doubled over laughing as Liam squirted syrup in Harry's hair. He stopped laughing when Harry chucked an egg at his back. Zayn threw a fistful of flour at Liam, completely smothering him. Soon they were in their own little battle.

I heard a loud whack and a yelp. Niall had just swatted Louis over the head with a wooden spoon, and he was rubbing his head painfully. He smacked Niall's head with the box of cereal and ran out of the room. I tried to stop them, but they ignored me as if I weren't even there.

Liam shrieked as Zayn tossed a spoon at him and it bonked him in the nose. Harry started throwing flour-balls like grenades, completely covering the room in a white powder. I coughed. Liam squirted more syrup, this time in Zayn's face and the boy started clawing at his face, trying to get rid of the sticky stuff.

I gasped again as a projectile of whiteness bowled towards me. I dived to one side and it exploded with a mega POOF as it hit the refrigerator.

I clenched my teeth angrily, and screamed. It was a high, thin sound and the boys stopped fighting abruptly. Louis and Niall raced back into the room. I stamped my feet on the ground over and over. I really wanted to scream at them and tell them off, but my voice wouldn't cooperate. So instead I stomped around and pushed them about. My hands got sticky and white, but I ignored it. Finally, I took a deep breath and grabbed a napkin and a nearby pencil.





WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!?!





"Breakfast," Niall replied. He shoved Louis and grabbed the cereal box. "I win," he smirked and stuck his tongue out. Oh no, you don't. I reached over and snatched it away from him. He opened his mouth to complain but I shot him a death glare. He closed his mouth.





You are all acting like little children! You're covered in white powder and syrup, Louis has a new bruise to worry about, and Niall now needs to be kept away from all wooden spoons at all times!





Louis snickered as Niall threw his hands up in the air in annoyance. I continued to write:





Now clean up this mess before Simon gets here! You have ten minutes, so make it quick!





"Are you gonna help?" Harry asked hopefully. I sniffed.





No way, José. I'm gonna go shower. YOU'RE gonna clean. So get to it!





Grumbling, they obeyed, which I found kind of surprising. After all, I was only sixteen, and Harry was older than me by two, three years. But I suppose since I was a guest and a girl they feel obliged to make me happy. Good thing too, you little idiots.

I stomped off and stripped off my now-dirty clothes in the bathroom. I made sure to lock the door, but I still kept a close eye on it, since Niall could pick locks. I turned on the shower and stepped inside. I stood there for about a minute, just letting the warm water soak into my skin and clean myself of the syrup and flour, before starting to actually wash myself.

Five minutes later, I stepped out and wrapped a towel around my hair and figure. I picked up a blowdryer and dried my hair. I let my hair go and it tumbled down my back in soft waves. I kept the towel wrapped around my body as I swiftly applied coverup for my little scars and lip balm for my slightly-chapped lips. I exited the bathroom and went inside my bedroom. I could hear the sound of floors being swept and boys cursing as they cleaned up. I giggled. I changed back into street clothes and dropped off my dirtied clothes at the laundry room.

I smiled when I saw the kitchen clean for the most part. There were some spots here and there, and all of the boys were still smothered in syrup and flour, but it was acceptable. Liam looked at me expectantly. I nodded and made a shooing motion with my hand. You can shower now.

Zayn raced ahead faster than anyone else and the door could be heard as it slammed shut. I rolled my eyes. "Good thing there are, like, four more bathrooms in this place," Louis said and I snickered. The rest of the boys ran off.

I picked up a rag and gently rubbed it over a surface with anything gross on it. When I finished I hung the rag in the sink and plopped down on the couch. Thanks to their fights, I wasn't exactly hungry anymore.

I picked up a remote and turned on the television. I flipped through the channels, bored. I stopped on Spongebob. The jokes were really cheesy and stupid, but I watched it anyway.

The first to return was Niall. He went into the kitchen and sat down next to me with a simple bowl of cereal. Unlike me, he laughed at every joke.

Next was Liam. He sat down on my other side and watched Spongebob with me. He also had a bowl of cereal.

Then Zayn. Then Harry, which I found kind of surprising. Then, obviously, Louis. I told you when I wrote down that he took the longest to be prepared. I giggled when he sat down, but he only smirked in reply.

The doorbell rang. "You'll get it," Zayn told Louis. He frowned. "Why?" he complained.

"Cause you just sat down," he replied. "It's probably Uncle Simon. Go answer it." Another ring. Louis shrugged and got up to answer it. I turned off the television. "Awww!" Niall complained.

"Ready to go, boys?" Simon asked, entering the living room. "No," Harry replied. "I wanna stay here with Kashine." I blushed and turned away. "Well, you can't," Simon retorted. "She has work to do. And she doesn't need you boys distracting her." Zayn groaned dramatically and slouched down in his seat. "My spine broke," he mumbled. "I can't get up."

"Here, I'll help you," Louis offered and took Zayn's hand gently, like he was handling a toddler. Then he yanked him up mercilessly. Zayn yelped and rubbed his hand, standing. "All better," Louis giggled.

Simon sighed and clapped his hands together loudly, impatiently. "Let's go!" he said. Groaning, the boys inched their way to the door, like snails. Did they really want to stay here this bad? I felt cruel letting Simon take them away. It's probably all just an act. Don't all teenage boys want to laze about and do nothing all day?

Simon managed to scare them into moving faster. I'm not telling you what he said, because it kind of creeped me out too.

"Goodbye, Kashine!" Liam shouted. "We'll be back soon, never fear!" I giggled. "Superman is here!" Louis finished and tried taking off his shirt. Harry and Zayn managed to stop him. "See ya!" Niall laughed and closed the door behind him. I smiled and shook my head. They were morons, but they were cute and sweet little morons.

I collapsed back onto the couch and took out my journal and pen. I closed my eyes and thought. I blinked them open again and went to the music room. My breath was taken away again, but I would have to dwell on the beauty and awe of it later. I had business to take care of.

I plugged in my iPod to my iHome, and then plugged that into the nearest outlet. I turned the volume back on and skimmed through my songs. Finally, I found it. I pressed play, and the music filled my ears. Perfect.

I stood back up and jiggled my arms and legs, loosening them up. I took a deep breath to calm myself. Just sink into your own little world, the dancing world where nobody judges you or your moves.





.......





When the song ended, I took a deep breath and jiggled my arms and legs again. I smiled up at the security camera. Somehow, I just knew that it was motion-sensor and that it had caught the whole thing on tape.

I went over to a nearby computer and logged on. I opened a few links and folders and managed to separate my dancing from the security tape. I watched for a bit and I was surprised. I'm not even boasting when I say it looked good. All of those moves had sounded so stupid in my head. I mean, hold your foot down and stomp in a circle? They're young men of twenty, not five! But it still looked amazing. No, ama-ZAYN. Haha.

I created a new folder and named it "Kashine Private". Now Simon and the boys knew to stay away from it. I saved the short clip inside. I picked up my things and went to my room. I sat on my bed and started to think.

Despite the fact that the dance moves had been good, there were still some perfections to be made. They will be holding microphones, so the finger-heart shape thing would probably have to be removed. Or maybe they didn't have to have microphones. Aren't there these little headphone things that you can put on that have a little mic attached? Yeah, I saw those in the boys' studio. They might work. I scribbled this idea in my journal.

How should I work with the boys? I don't think I could work with them altogether, because if one of them messed up, the others would probably joke about it and slack off. But if I worked with them separately, they wouldn't be able to dance together....

Then it hit me. I SHOULD work with them separately, but I should also teach them their separate moves when they sing solo or altogether. That way once they got the moves down pat, I'd be able to bring them together and make them dance in sync. Yes! I wrote in my notebook.

But what to do with the others while I worked with one? I supposed I could create each of them a schedule that at different times different sessions could occur. Yoga would definitely be one of them, it'd help their flexibility. I suppose Just Dance games could be another session. Why not? I would say gymnastics, but that probably wouldn't work. I was having trouble coming up with two more sessions, so I wrote down the two I had and put little question marks underneath them.

Next I created each boy a schedule. None of them had the same session at the same time. I knew they would slack off, and I needed them focused on this task. To them this may not seem like a big deal, but to me, it's everything.

Saturday would be a resting day, because nobody wants to spend their Saturday working or doing chores. I think we all know that from personal experience. Sunday I might start it back up again, but probably not....

Wait. Once they knew their moves and could do it professionally, why not work altogether on a Sunday? No doubt there would be distractions, but that's expected. Nothing can go perfect.

I wrote down each of these ideas down quickly in my journal and I paused. I wonder, was this how a teacher felt before every lesson she teaches? Wow, I felt for her. I'd never slack off in class ever again.

I put my journal and pen down, and massaged my cramping hand. It's getting late already. When would they return? I went downstairs and grabbed an apple. I washed it off and cut it up quickly. I put the slices into a bowl and went down to the recording studio, where my iPod and portable iHome waited for me. I scrolled through the songs while chomping on an apple slice. Delicious. I decided on "Rock Me" and I stood up, once again jiggling my arms and legs.

I began to clap the beat, and tapped my foot against the ground. Ready, set, go!





......





Thirty songs later and I was drenched in sweat. I danced my heart out, and my legs were burning like they're about to fall off. But I didn't care because I still felt energy buzzing inside me. Because that's what happens when you do something you love: you can't ever stop.

But I had too for right now because I stank and I hated the feeling of sweaty wet hair clinging to the back of my neck. Panting slightly, I picked up my iPod and iHome and trudged up the stairs to my room. I put them on my side table beside my large bed and put my journal in its secret compartment. Couldn't let the boys find that. Most likely they would read it out of curiosity despite my death threats on the first page.

I picked out some new clothes and hopped into the shower for the second time that day. I wrung a towel through my hair but didn't dry it completely. The cool wetness felt good against my warm neck.

I was starving from dancing so much, plus I kind of skipped breakfast and lunch despite the apple slices, so I made myself a couple of peanut butter sandwiches.

I don't like jelly, and some kids told me that you haven't had a childhood if you didn't eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. What they don't know is I missed out on a lot of my childhood because of my voice loss: I couldn't make friends or sing the nursery rhymes. I couldn't participate in the school's choir, something I've wanted to do since forever. I couldn't say the Pledge of Allegiance, and while most students hate saying that every morning, I'd never said it before in my life. And you can't exactly pledge your allegiance in your thoughts.

Ugh, now I'm ranting. I sound like I wanted pity, but I didn't. What people didn't know about me was that I'm just like everyone else. Yeah, I was mute, but who cares? I didn't ask for it, and I tried everyday to speak. Why couldn't people look at me and think that I was just like everyone else? It's their problem if they couldn't get past the fact I was mute, and I didn't care what they thought.

I didn't realize I was glaring at my plate until my vision focused. It's also embarrassing. Most people had no idea what I was thinking when I was all bright and cheery from dancing to suddenly moody for no apparent reason. Stupid teenage hormones.

I heard the doorbell ring and a bunch of voices, making me jump. I ran over to the door and opened it. The five boys and one man grinned at me before stepping inside. I ran back over to the kitchen to grab a paper and pencil and before turning to greet them. "Hello, Kashine!" Niall said brightly.

"How was your day?" Liam asked kindly.





Good, thanks. I got a lot done. What about you guys? What did you do?





"Uncle Simon just took us around," Harry said with a shrug. "It was boring." Simon sighed and I could tell that the boys must have been getting on his nerves all day. Poor man. "Well, I'm off," he said. "Be good to Kashine. Oh, wait. Did you accomplish what you wanted to get done?" he asked me. I nodded.





Mostly. There are still some things I need to complete, and some things I need to perfect, but other than that I'm all set.





"That's great," he approved. "I knew what I was doing when I hired you." I giggled and waved after him as he left. "Bye, Uncle Simon!" the boys shouted after him. They turned to me. "I guess we start working tomorrow?" Zayn grumbled. I nodded again.





I need the computer and printer for a while, so please don't get on them. I'll also be a little busy, so don't bother me. I tend to get mean when people interrupt me.





"Your warning is heeded," Liam said solemnly and I rolled my eyes. They wandered off to do their thing, and I went back to the room where I saved my dance video.

I created a new Word document, and I named it "Schedules". I typed in the boys' new schedules, minus the two unknown sessions and stared at the screen thoughtfully. What should they be? I decided I would bring in the Insanity video. I think the title is self-explanatory. I'd give them the options of cardiovascular or flexibility, both are equally powerful and insane.

Then what's the last one? I suppose each could have about two hours with me, just to get a feel for what I had in store for them. This'd be perfect: five weekdays and five boys. I typed in the missing sessions and clicked on print. Once it was done I got it laminated so the boys wouldn't rip it up or anything. I didn't trust them, I'll admit that. I saved the document under my folder and left the room.

I headed out with their schedules tucked under my arm, and I spotted them on the couch staring at the television. Typical teenage boys. They're a lot more normal than I thought they'd be, but they were still special to me.

I whistled to get their attention, and they glanced over at me. They got up and went over to me. "What are those?" Louis asked. I gave them the papers. "Our... schedules?" Zayn said curiously. I nodded. Thankfully I had the foresight to bring a paper and pen with me.





Each of you have to do two hours of each session. I've made them as fun as possible, so no complaining. None of you will do your sessions together, because I know you'll goof off. Each of you will spend two hours with me throughout the day. There will also be a scheduled lunch time between two of the sessions. You don't have to get up at a certain time, but you must be ready by 8:00am. Understood?





"8:00am?" Harry complained. "But that's so early!" I glared at him.





Do it or so help me Harry I will post an embarrassing video of you on YouTube. And you know how many fans and subscribers I have.





"Fine," he grumbled. I smiled, satisfied.





Any more questions, stupid or sensible?





No one said anything, so I advised them to put their schedules somewhere they knew they could find them or see them often. "Who are you seeing first, Kashine?" Niall asked. I checked my own copy of their schedules. I pointed.

Liam.



Author's Note (read if you want!):

I know it's been a while since I last posted, and I'm sorry for that. But "She's Got That One Thing' is a sucess and it's almost done! Yay! Once that story's done I will be working on "Mute" for the most part. Thank you all that added this to your library and continued reading this, and I promise I'll have a new update before the 20th of March! Hold me to it!

-HisStripedCarrotGirl