Bad Boy Chemistry

46. Pillow Fight

Charlie's POV

A few days had passed and I still had not spoken.

I could tell my family was still unsettled by my selective silence, but they were being very patient about it. My mother still gossiped to me every morning as I sat down for breakfast.

"So, Jenna McNeal's daughter, who is just a grade above you, Charlie, turns out, she's pregnant." My mom gasped.

I rose my eyebrows in response.

"Jenna is pushing for an abortion, while her husband is saying that abortion is a sin. So I'm guessing life in The McNeal's house is going to be uneasy for awhile."

"What? Beth McNeal is pregnant?" Nora gasped.

I continued eating my cereal as my mother continued gossiping to Nora.

After i had finished my breakfast, I grabbed my backpack from the counter and started my walk to school.

"See you when you get home, son!" Mom called as I walked outside.

Every morning for the last few days, I've woken up with a single thought.

Today's the day I'll talk again.

By the end of that day, I still hadn't made a sound. Maybe by the end of this one, I will.

The walk to school felt longer than usually. It was chilly outside, due to it being winter, so I decided to wear a coat to school today.

I arrived to the school six minutes before the first bell, and my friends were seated at our usual spot. They all looked over at me, as if they had somehow sensed my presence.

Just walk over there Charlie.

You can do it.

One foot at a time...

I paused on the path for a moment, contemplating, before I decided to just continue inside in a hurry.

As I walked through the doors, a whiff of bleach entered my nostrils, causing me to grimace.

The janitor must've cleaned the floors earlier today.

God, I hated the smell of bleach.

I continued to walk down the corridor, a series of different conversations passing as I walked on by.

~

For the last two periods I had double science. Mrs Dandry was made aware of my particular mutism by my mother, as were all the other teachers that I had, along with Principal Haas, who suggested I speak with the school councillor.

I decided against it, silently, of course.

Ace sat next to me in his assigned seat, an unfamiliar scent clinging to him. Cedar, sandalwood and.... Musk?

It smelt like a calming, desolated forest.

"Psssst."

I turned away from my worksheet to look him in the eyes, raising my eyebrows.

"When are we going to start on our science project?" He asked in a whisper.

Seriously? He wanted to talk about our science project? Bad boy Ace Caldwell wanted to talk science?

I shrugged my shoulders, turning back to my work. Silence enveloped us, apart from the infernal sound of his pen clicking rapidly, again.

"Are you okay?" He asked, nudging me slightly.

I kept silent as I jotted down an answer to one of the questions in the worksheet.

He nudged me again, this time was more urgent. "Did I do something wrong?"