Mute

Chapter 4

   The new girl sitting next to me was gorgeous. Really gorgeous. She had the whole package- beautiful wavy brown hair, cute little chin, big blue eyes that peek out from under her long bangs with an almost wistful expression. With a face like hers, she could get any of the boys here. In fact, I spotted one of them heading this way now. Nate Hall, one of the most popular boys here. And when I say popular, I mean popular with the girls.

   I expected her to do the usual; hair flip, cute smile aimed in their direction. Turn her head to the best angle to show off her eyes or hair or whatever.

   But instead she scooted closer to me, staring at the boy nervously. I heard her mutter "Just leave me alone" under her breath. What the heck?

   I glanced at her, trying to read her expression as Nate came up to our table. 

    "Hi." Nate flashed a killer smile at the girl, hand outstretched to shake. "I'm Nate."

    Still hiding behind her bangs, the girl looked up at him uncertainly. "D- Darcy Abbott," she muttered, giving his hand a quick, limp shake. Then hid said hand in her jeans pocket. 

    "You new here?" Nate leaned on the table, casually showing off his biceps.

    "Yeah." The girl stared down at her salad, fingering her fork. Not one for conversation, is she?

    "Nice." Nate was obviously trying to think of something to say. He glanced at me, then glances away. As usual. No one wants to flirt with the mute girl. "Um, you liking Westmore High so far?"

    I wasn't sure how the girl was going to react. She just kept staring at her salad. Finally she muttered, "Not really. There are too many flirty boys."

    I liked her.

    I smirked inwardly as Nate tried to stay cool, grinning fakely. "Yeah, I know what you mean," he said. "There're a lot of girls that flirt with me too." Oh my gosh. He was the expert at turning an insult into a casual compliment toward himself.

    The girl didn't even answer that. She might as well have been holding up a "Don't Talk to Me" sign. Either she was an extreme introvert, or she just hated boys in general. 

     After a few moments of Nate awkwardly standing there, he finally gave up with a "I should go get lunch" and walked away. 

    The girl waiting a moment until he was gone, then looked up. "Boys are so annoying," she muttered. Picking up her fork, she started digging into her food, smirking. "That's why I avoid them. I've got that shy routine mastered."

   I liked her even more then.

    Turning to me with a mouthful of salad, she mumbled, "So, what's your name?"

   I shook my head, not answering. She might as well know now that I don't talk. I sat back and waited for the usual "oh, never mind" and slow slide away from me.

   But instead the girl looked confused. She swallowed her food, then asked again, "What's your name?" 

   I heaved an inward sigh, and looked at the cafeteria line, where Maddie stood. I wish she would come rescue me from this awkwardness.

    Light slowly dawned in the girl's eyes. "Oh, you don't talk, do you?"

    I shook my head.

    "But you read lips?"

    I nodded. Thank God she understood.

    "Oh." That was the second time. "Oh" must be this girl's favorite word. But I didn't really care. She was going to leave any second now.

    But she didn't. She took another bite and said, "Well, my name's Darcy." She reached out a hand for me to shake, and this time her grip was firm and confident. "Nice to meet you."

    I smiled.

    She eyed me as she chewed, then finally said, "So you never learned sign language or anything?"

    I shook my head wryly. I didn't talk with my mouth by choice, so why would I want to talk with my hands? 

    "You should learn." Darcy grinned at me. 

    My gaze flitted to her string cheese. I love string cheese. My pitiful lunch had consisted of an apple with mushy spots in it and a hotdog with no ketchup or mustard, the cheapest things I could buy. I didn't get a large enough allowance to buy anything else.

    I think Darcy saw my gaze, because she picked up her string cheese and offered it to me. "Want it? I'm guessing you like string cheese."

   I nodded and smiled my thanks, taking the cheese from her. 

   "Oh my gosh, same," she laughed. "Cheese is the best. It's literally the only reason I'm not a vegetarian."

   I gazed at her as she grinned at me, wondering. What was it she saw in me that made her act so nice towards me?

   I had no clue, but one thing was for sure. It definitely wasn't my winning personality.