Page 18 of Shattered Silence Duet

“I have to talk a lot. I have four sisters, so if you don’t make yourself known, you get lost in the crowd, you know?” I nod like I understand, though I don’t.

“Okay, so now we’re friends, you have to tell me—which of the twins are you dating?”

I stare at her in shock. Which one am Idating?

“It’s Jasper, isn’t it? He seems so protective of you,” she presses, and I just stare at her, unable to answer. Why would she think I’m dating them? I barely know them.

“Oh my God, it’s Max! Ah, he’s so sweet, you two make a great couple!”

I look at her like she’s crazy, but my heart starts beating rapidly at the thought of dating one of them. But quickly, I realize I couldn’t pick one over the other. They’re both so kind and… hot. I’m just lucky to be friends with them.

“Oh my God, girl, are you dating both of them?!” she whisper-shrieks at me.

I look at her with wide eyes and put my finger over my lips in a “shh,” motion, but she takes it the wrong way. “Holy shit, girl, that’s so fucking hot! Every girl at this school is going to be so jealous when they hear!”

I shake my head rapidly, afraid she’ll start spreading that rumor.

She laughs at my reaction. “Don’t worry, secret’s safe with me! But I think people will catch on quickly. Right now, half of them think you’re the twins’ sister, and the other half are trying to figure out which one you’re dating.” I’m not sure why they would care either way.

Mr. Dalton asks the class to get started on their projects, so Alex says bye and goes to her own easel. As class goes on, I read some techniques and try them out on the canvas—not really painting anything yet, just practicing what’s in the book.

Soon enough, the class ends, and I see Max entering before I can even get my bag on my shoulder.

“Hey, Sweetheart, you have a good class?” he asks.

I give him a smile and a nod and he grabs my hand and leads me toward the gym. “You’re going to need to get a gym uniform from Tucker first, so I’ll take you to his office by the gym.”

As we enter his office, Tucker gives me a huge smile. “Good afternoon, Sugar. Glad to see you made it. Thanks, Max, you better get to class. You can meet her right here afterwards.”

I want to object to that. This is the last period of the day, and I won’t be waiting around—I have to get home quickly. Max says his goodbyes, and I’m left with my gym teacher, Tucker Stone, staring at me with his hands in his pockets and a giant smile on his face. He looks at me like he knows a secret and isn’t going to tell mewhat it is. I can’t stop myself from getting a good look at him. He’s wearing black track pants with a tight fitted dark green t-shirt and an unbuttoned green and black flannel shirt overtop. The colors match my kilt making me think it must be the school’s gym uniform, although I doubt a flannel shirt was part of it.

“Have you ever done yoga before, Mina?” he asks as he opens a cupboard and pulls out some clothing. I shake my head.

“I thought it would be a good activity for you to start with, as it’s gentle movements to help stretch your body. I have a t-shirt, shorts, sweatshirt, and sweatpants for you. You can wear whichever you prefer. Normally, you would go to the girls’ locker room to change…” he trails off as my body stiffens.

I’ve seen a few teen movies, and the locker room always seems to be the place where trouble happens.

“Just as I thought,” Tucker says, noticing my body language. “You’d probably prefer using the bathroom to change. There’s one right here.” He points to a door in his office. “Change there and leave your clothes inside to change back afterward. Nobody else will use it. I’m going to head into the gym. You come out when you’re ready and sit yourself on one of the mats laid out there, alright?”

I nod, thankful that he was letting me change somewhere safe.

“We’ll be doing some other activities after yoga, but I’ll make sure you understand each of them. I won’t let you get overwhelmed. Just give me that double tap if you need anything, alright?”

I nod again, surprised he knew that gym class was new to me. Although Mr. Hargrove did say he told all my teachers about mycondition.

“Alright, get going then.” He hands me the gym clothes and motions to the bathroom. I give him a small smile, trying to avoid eye contact as I take the clothes and close myself in the bathroom.

I change into the long black pants and black sweater as they cover the most skin. They fit me well, and when I exit the bathroom, I find a pair of white sneakers right outside the door. I sighin relief—I hadn’t even thought about how I couldn’t wear my dress shoes. Tucker must have put them here for me.

I put them on, happy to see they fit perfectly, and head into the gym. There are only a couple of students here now, so thankfully my nerves don’t get too high. I see the mats Tucker referred to and choose one at the very end, away from the locker room doors and other students. Tucker glances up and smiles when he sees me. I notice he’s removed his flannel shirt. His t-shirt hugs his frame, putting his muscular chest on display and I try not to stare, but it’s hard. He’s really good-looking, especially for a teacher.

I try to avoid watching him as students come in and talk to him. They seem to like him, he’s friendly and seems to treat everyone with respect. My heart warms a little as I notice he keeps glancing over to check on me. Is he worried about me?

As it gets busier, I start to pay attention to the students around me and notice all the mats are occupied now. I realize I should have chosen a mat at the back instead of the front, but it’s too late now. I try not to make eye contact with anyone but a voice pipes up despite my best efforts at staying invisible.

“Hey, are you new?” a male student behind me asks. I turn my head slightly and nod when I see the boy looking at me expectantly. He has shaggy brown hair and seems so much younger than the twins.

“What’s your name?” he asks.