Chapter 10

I walked back in the doors of Punkie's Hounds High and for the first time in my life people paid attention to me that wasn't immediately followed by snickering.

"Hey, Petunia," Chastity said, "good to see you."

"Hi," John Wayne said. I think the expression that accompanied it was supposed to be a smile. Either that or he just got back from the dentist's office.

All around me people were almost smiling and welcoming me back. It was great until I tried to respond. Two weeks since those damned tubes came out and I still couldn't talk. I couldn't even whisper. I dropped my backpack and pulled out a pen and paper.

Sorry, I wrote, Can't talk.

I showed it to the crowd. Some of them backed away as if I might be contagious; others just left like a voiceless girl was a waste of their time. The rest hung around and fired questions at me faster than I could write. I had to wonder if they got the whole 'no voice' concept.

The bell rang and I was escorted to home room.

"Good to have you back," Mr. Hand said. He gave a small nod in my direction.

"She can't talk," Chastity said. "Something about tubes."

"Thank you, Chastity," Mr. Hand said. "I received a note to that effect."

We were sent off to our first class. I sat in my usual desk. Once again Chastity took it on herself to announce my lack of speech.

"Well," Mr. Sheldon said, "since she hasn't said anything for the past month in this class, I imagine that we will get on just fine." He winked at me as he said it and I nodded back.

The class was its normal mix of boredom and mayhem. I could tell in the first few minutes that nothing significant had changed in the dynamics. I doodled on my note book while my fellow students tried to beat each other into submission with great enthusiasm and a complete lack of common sense.

"Mid-terms are next week," Mr. Sheldon announced at the end of the class. "If you haven't started studying I suggest you begin."

"Does Petunia have to write them?" Chastity asked. "She just got back."

"If Petunia has a medical reason for not writing as well as not speaking, we will have to figure something out." He looked at me and raised that eyebrow.

I turned to a fresh page and wrote, I'm ready.

"Well there you go then," Mr. Sheldon said. "But thank you for your concern, Chastity."

Phys Ed was a repeat of Civics. Chastity stated the obvious, then the class ignored me as they struggled through a review of the rules of all the sports they had learned so far. At least we didn't need a shower, though I was sure that some of the cheerleaders were over heated from so much thinking.

I picked up my lunch from my locker. I had taken the risk of actually leaving my stuff there. It was undisturbed.

When I walked into the senior annex I saw Marilyn. Ne gave me a huge smile and waved at the table in invitation.

"Why don't you come and sit with us?" Chastity had come up behind me and was trying to guide me to her table full of smiling blonde cheerleaders. One of them actually waved at me. I smiled and shook my head and walked toward Marilyn's table.

"You don't want to start that again." Chastity's voice was threatening to lose the cheery edge that had been there all morning. I stood there in the cafeteria with my lunch and hand and envisioned the future. I could sit with Chastity and the non-virgins while they talked boyfriends and other mysteries of life that I had yet to experience. Who knows, I might even be able to fit in for the rest of the year. Or I could sit with Marilyn and be anathema because I refused to stay away from someone whose only crime was making every one uncomfortable because ne didn't fit in an easy box of 'boy' or girl'. High school hell waited for me at that table, but ne had saved my life, and more to the point. I wasn't throwing nem to the Hounds.

I gave Chastity a shrug, then sat at Marilyn's table and gave Marilyn a big smile.

"She can't talk, you know," Chastity said in the general direction of Marilyn then huffed off to join her table.

"Really?" Marilyn asked.

Really, I wrote on my pad.

"That sucks," ne said.

It isn't much different than normal.

Marilyn laughed.

"It's nice having you back," ne said. "It's been lonely. No one else talks to me. You're the only one with the nerve." Ne patted my hand. We ate lunch in silence.

"I have something for you," Marilyn said after lunch. We walked to her washroom. I stopped outside the door, but ne waved me in.

"Here are your clothes. I would have gotten them to you sooner, but I didn't know where you lived." Ne handed me my backpack and gave me a bear hug. "I would have hugged you earlier, but I didn't want to cause you any more trouble on your first day back."

You can hug me anytime, I wrote when I could find my pad. We're friends. I gave nem a hug and headed out to Math class. Chastity was standing outside in the hall when I left Marilyn's washroom. She frowned at me and turned her back.

Oh well, back to life as normal.

I didn't need to talk in Math. We played chess and I listened to the others talk about being top of the list in Math.  

Chemistry was being held in a different classroom. One of the cheerleaders who hadn't gotten the memo that I was out again told me. I walked into the class, dreading seeing Mr. Hall. There was a different teacher though.

"Hi, you must be Petunia," she said. "I'm Ms. Granger. Mr. Hall has retired." She pointed to a chair near the back. "I understand that you are non-vocal at the moment, so I can trust you not to cause trouble back there."

"Hi partner," Ron said. "I guess I goofed up pretty good."

I just shrugged and let the lesson flow over me while I doodled on my notebook.

"They told me I can't do anymore labs," Ron said. "I think I'm going to give up on chemistry and go into Cooking."

"Pay attention back there," Ms. Granger said without missing a beat of her lecture on molar equations.

I was surprised. It felt good to be back.