Page 11 of Shattered Silence Duet

Absorbed in the content, I flip through page after page until the door opens, startling me. I jump, instinctively grabbing the coloring book and pulling it on top of the textbook to hide it. I look up and see Jasper watching me with confusion as Max enters with a tray full of food, followed by Mr. Hargrove and a man I’ve never met before.

His strawberry blond hair sits messily around his ears and his blue eyes seem to study me as he moves to one of the free seats around the table. He has the shadow of a beard growing in and I can’t help but notice how his arms and upper body seem to stretch his button up flannel shirt to the max. There was no way this man was a student.

“I picked up food and company!” Max announces as he places the tray down.

“Is it really a good idea for us all to be here together?” Jasper asks, glancing at all the men with a look of worry.

“Nobody can see us, it’s fine,” Mr. Hargrove says in his soothing British voice. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. Whywould they not want to be seen together? Was it because teachers aren’t supposed to eat lunch with students?

As they all take seats around the table, My eyes move to the new man. I don’t know him or if he’s safe for me to be around. I bite my lip with worry. Why is he here? Why is the guidance counselor here? This has my mother written all over it. She probably has all these people watching me. Or else, I’ve done something wrong.

My eyes move to Jasper as I go over what he knows about me. He knows I can read, well, he knows I was looking at the textbook, he doesn’t know that I can actually understand it. Maybe he doesn’t really have anything to tell her yet, I just need to be more careful.

I watch the new, tall, broad man as he leans back in his chair, aiming a mischievous grin at me.

“Hello there, Sugar, I’m Tucker,” he says confidently, but a cough from Mr. Hargrove makes him falter.

“Uh, well, I guess it’s Mr. Stone, or Tucker Stone. My students call me Stone. But you can call me whatever you like.” His words tumble out awkwardly, and I can’t hide my confusion. Not only could I physically not speak, but I had no idea which of those names I was supposed to call him.

“Or well… You know… Umm…” His voice trails off, and I blink in surprise. Is he… flustered? I’ve never seen someone who looks so sure of himself stumble like that.

Jasper and Max burst out laughing, and even Mr. Hargrove’s face cracks into a smile.

“There’s a first time for everything,” Mr. Hargrove says quietly while placing portions of food in front of each of us. I glance at him, confused by his comment. He just shrugs and gives me a small, reassuring smile. I wasn’t sure what he meant or what was so funny.

“Max bought too much, so you’ll have to help us eat some of it, or it will go to waste,” he explains, placing some fries on my plate.

I hesitate, unsure if it’s really okay to join them. But as theysit and start eating without hesitation, my stomach rumbles from not eating in days. I cautiously reach out and pick up a fry. I know what these are, but I’ve never tried them before. Curiosity gets the best of me and I take a small bite, the salty, crispy flavor surprising me. My eyes widen, and I shove the rest of it into my mouth.

The next fry disappears just as quickly, and soon I’m eating faster and faster, my hunger taking over. It’s been so long since I’ve eaten anything, especially something this delicious. When I finish the fries, I pick up the burger and nibble a tiny piece, testing it. When the juicy flavor hits my tongue, I quickly devour the rest in huge bites, unable to stop myself.

When I finally come up for air, I notice the room has gone silent. My heart sinks as I realize all four of them are staring at me. My face burns with embarrassment, and I freeze.

Tucker’s grin breaks the tension. “Enjoyed that, did ya, Sugar? No harm in that,” he says, taking a huge bite of his own burger as if to show me everything’s fine.

The others follow his lead, resuming their meal, and I relax—until a sudden wave of nausea hits me. I leap up, clutching my mouth, my eyes darting around the room in desperation.

Jasper moves fast, shoving a garbage can in front of me just in time as I grab it and bend over, retching my lunch into it.

“That’s it, Angel, just let it out,” Jasper says gently. I realize he’s holding my hair back as I kneel on the floor, gripping the sides of the garbage can as my stomach clenches and turns in pain. The sudden movement also causes fresh pain through my arm.

As I struggle to breathe, someone gently starts rubbing my back and I peek over my shoulder to see Max’s worried eyes.

“I guess she ate too fast?” Jasper asks.

I glance up to see Mr. Hargrove and Tucker exchange worried glances, and catch a flicker of understanding in their eyes. I feel exposed, vulnerable, like they know something I don’t.

Max hands me a water bottle as I stand up, my stomach still churning. I take it gratefully, chugging the cool liquid.Jasper offers me a napkin, and I use it to wipe my mouth, embarrassed beyond belief.

“We need to get you something lighter to eat first. I’m going to go grab you some soup,” Jasper says, turning to leave. I quickly grab his arm and shake my head, placing my other hand on my stomach.

“Your stomach hurts, so you don’t want to eat anything right now?” he correctly guesses. I nod, letting go of his arm as I sink back into my seat.

“Alright, just sit there and relax, okay? We still have thirty minutes left before third period. What class does she have?” Jasper asks, turning to Mr. Hargrove.

“Art,” he answers quickly. Does he memorize all his students’ timetables? Or just the new ones?

“Hmm. Neither of us are in that class. Angel?” Jasper says, and I glance up at him. “Do you think you’ll be okay in that class by yourself, or would you rather stay here?”