Page 21 of Shattered Silence Duet

“What does he see in her?”

“She must be really easy.”

“The whole shy girl thing is kinda hot, I’d bang her.”

Jasper’s hand tightens on mine as he pulls me a little faster, obviously hearing the students whispering. When we reach the cafeteria, Max is waiting for us at our usual table.

“Hey Jasper, hi Mina.” I give him a little wave as Jasper directs me to a seat between them. “How was science?”

“Good, I found out Mina’s favorite color is green and her favorite food is burgers.”

Max looks at Jasper in surprise. “That’s cool, I like burgers too. What kind of music do you like?” He looks at me expectantly, butI have no clue how to answer. I don’t know any bands or songs. I give him a small shrug, which makes him frown and glance at Jasper. Is it weird to not know what type of music you like?

“How about your favorite tv show?” I twist my lips in discomfort as I stare down at the notebook in front of me. Maybe being able to communicate with them through writing was a bad idea. It just pointed out the differences between us. I don’t know any tv shows, movies, music and, hell, I barely know any variety of food. Plus, I was supposed to act like I didn’t understand the topics being taught in our classes. We literally have nothing in common.

When it becomes clear I’m not going to answer, Jasper and Max start up a conversation between them about today’s menu while I contemplate what to do. There is no way they would want to be friends with me now they see how boring I am. I should just spend the rest of the day in the library on my own. That’s what my mother would prefer, anyway. Besides, if anyone is reporting back to her, my throbbing arm reminds me that I can’t afford any more injuries at this point.

Just as I start to gather the nerve to stand up, a plate of food is set in front of me, making me glance up at Max’s smiling face. “Eat up, Mina,” he says, pointing to the plate of chicken fingers and fries.

My stomach rumbles, making the decision to stay for me. I’m not guaranteed a meal tonight, so it’s best I eat now, while I can. As I nibble away I realize the twins have gone quiet and when I glance at them, I see them preoccupied on their phones. I feel a small sense of relief knowing they aren’t watching me like I’m some strange freak right now.

After lunch they walk me to art class, which I spend swirling paint around on a canvas, with zero artist ability. Max meets me after class to walk me to the gym. Earlier in the week, I thought they were walking me to my classes because they didn’t think I could read my schedule or the class numbers on the wall. But they know I can sort of write now, so I’m not sure why they are still doing it. I don’t mind though, especially when they hold my hand.

I’m a bit surprised when Max takes me to Tucker’s office again, but I’m grateful to stay far away from that locker room. Tucker isn’t in there today, but my gym clothes and shoes are neatly laid out on his desk for me. As I go to grab them, Max gives my hand a small squeeze and stops me.

“Mina?” I look at him in question. He lets go of my hand to pull something out of his pocket. There is a small silver device and a white cable. He holds it out to me, but I furrow my eyebrows. “It’s for you, I had a spare and thought you’d like it. I’ve loaded it with music for you.” Music? I look at it again and gently reach out to pick up the silver device and turn it over. There is a small screen on it and a few buttons. I glance at him and shake my head in confusion.

That makes him scrunch up his eyebrows in confusion. “You don’t want it? Or…” Internally sighing at the communication barrier, I place the device back in his hand and pull my notebook out, writing:what is it?

When he reads it, his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “Oh! It is rather old, sorry about that,” he says with a chuckle, as if it’s his fault that I don’t know what it is. “It’s a mp3 player, for playing music.” I look back down at the tiny thing in consideration. That’s cool, but I couldn’t listen to music in class or even at home, others would hear it.

“These are the headphones,” he says, lifting up the end of the white cable. Oh! I recognize them now, I’ve seen them on tv years ago. Each end goes in my ears and then plugs into the mp3 player. So I can listen to music without anyone else hearing it. Wait, did he say this is for me? He’s lending it to me?

Quickly writing in my notebook, I ask:you’re lending this to me?

He gives me a soft smile as he replies, “no, it’s for you to keep. I have a charging cable here, too.” He reaches into his other pocket and brings out a black cable with a plug on one end. When I don’t move to take any of it, he opens my bag and puts it all in the small front pocket. “There! Now you can listen to music over theweekend and let me know what you like on Monday. We put a variety on there for you, so hopefully something speaks to you.”

We?Did Jasper help do this? Is this because I couldn’t answer his question about my favorite music? But haven’t they been in class since then? When were they able to do this? The fact that he’s given me a gift, not to mention such a thoughtful one, has me flinging my arms around him in a hug before I can even consider my actions. Luckily, he gives a little laugh and his arms immediately wrap around me, returning the hug and I feel his cheek rest against the top of my head for a moment.

I don’t think he will ever know how grateful I am for this gift. The first one I have received in over eleven years.

Chapter 11

Mina

Monday morning, I walk to school, feeling excited to see Max and Jasper. Somehow I got away without any interactions with any of my family all weekend. If it wasn’t for the fact that they didn’t let me out of the basement, other than twice a day to use the bathroom, and my arm was throbbing in pain, it would have been almost enjoyable. I listened to every song on the mp3 player and made a list of my favorites, the ones I liked and the ones I didn’t. I was excited to have something to share with the twins.

I couldn’t believe I got away with listening to it all weekend without being caught. I only ever had one earbud in at a time, so I could listen for someone coming down the stairs. And since the mp3 player was so small, it was easy to hide in my pillow case when someone did come down.

Luckily the temperature is a little warmer today so I’m not shivering, but it doesn’t help the pain in my arm. My stomach is hurting less now, but my arm is getting worse. There’s still pus coming out and the whole area is now red.

I spent a good part of the weekend debating if I could ask my new friends to help me get some antibiotics for it. But ultimately, if they knew about the wound, it would bring up more questionsthan I’m prepared to answer. I just have to hope that my mother gets me medication soon, since I’ve been on my best behavior. But I can’t help but fear she’s probably forgotten all about it.

As I reach the school parking lot, I’m surprised to find the twins leaning against a truck parked right at the edge, far from the school, but closest to me. When they spot me, their eyes light up as they smile and I can’t stop my own smile from covering my face. When was the last time someone was happy to see me?

“Mina, hey! Did you have a good weekend?” Jasper asks, as he pushes himself off the truck and pulls me in for a hug, surprising me. His arms wrap around me and when one brushes the bottom of my arm wound, I turn my face to his chest so they can’t see me wince in pain. When he lets go, I do my best to school my expression as I turn to Max, who, thankfully, hugs me gently before looking at my face. His hug doesn’t put pressure on my arm, making me sigh against him.

He places a hand on the back of my head as he pulls back from our hug to look down at me. “Hey, you okay, Sweetheart?” I nod my head and watch him search my eyes. I do my best to keep my expression neutral and eventually he gives me a small nod and a tight-lipped smile.