Reincarnated ~ A Modern Newsies Au (Nowsies)

28 | The National Day Of Silence

I've been wanting to write a story featuring the Day of Silence since I first learned about it spring of 2020.

Me: yeah, this isn't based in any set year, it's just modern...
Also me: and they watched Luca, and Encanto, and there was this and that ...

So yeah, I kinda gave up on "no set year" a while ago so this will be based on Friday, April 22, 2022, the day which will be the Day of Silence this year. 

You didn't think I was going to leave that little bit in chapter 27 about the Day of Silence alone, did you?

Enjoy! :)

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Friday, April 22nd, 2022.

The National Day of Silence.

A day started by a group of students at the University of Virginia in 1996, tasked with coming up with a non-violent protest as a class project. 150 students participated in their Day of Silence that first year. It spread, and continued to spread worldwide, to when GLSEN and many others sponsored it, to where it is now: students will go about their day without uttering a single word, in protest of all the verbally/physically harassment of LGBTQ+ students, protesting the silencing of LGBTQ+ people. 

All are feeling different emotions right now. 

Tony doesn't speak from the moment he wakes up. Some times, he wakes up and forgets if there is anything important about the date. Not today. He's participated before. He wants to. He's ready. He texts Sean: stay safe today. Because there will always be those who don't understand. And so, they need to stay strong and stay safe.

You stay safe today too!! <3 Sean texts back to Tony. He's not new to this either. Luckily this year, with the Delanceys having been expelled, they have a couple less people to worry about. Sean also knows that if anyone wants to participate in the Day of Silence, the school can't stop them. So, in some way, he's protected. And the thing is, this feels great. He always loves the feeling of holding his head high, not speaking a single word, sending the silent message of This is who I am and don't mess with me. He can't wait.

Jack's been feeling a lot of emotions lately, between school work and trying to piece together what exactly happened to him in his past life. Add the Day of Silence on top of that? Well, actually, this is the one thing that makes sense throughout it all. Silently protesting the discrimination of people like him. That's an act of defiance he can get behind.

This is David's first time participating in the National Day of Silence and he is terrified. Luckily he has Sarah too. He still has a lot of questions. Does the silence start at school first thing in the morning or right now? Can he temporarily break his silence to ask all his questions? His heart is racing. What will everyone think? Will anyone judge him? Well, he is the quiet kid; will anyone notice if he doesn't say anything? What will happen to him if the wrong person finds out the reason why he's not talking? He wants to do this ... but this is also terrifying.

Sarah, pretty sure that her brother is a mess right now, texts his phone: chill. It's gonna be ok. True, she's never done this before either, but she's pretty sure it's all going to turn out just fine. She's done her research on it, and she's talked to Mr. Denton about it, and she's excited to break the silence too. This feels exhilerating. And they haven't even done anything yet.

Today is the day that Kathryn is going to show her father that this is not a phase. That their pronouns are valid. That she is wlw. There are so many choice words that she could use. So many essays they can write. But the truest way to show that they are queer and that it's not changing is by not talking today. Because then he can't ignore that this is for the Day of Silence, and she will finally be able to prove so many things, including all the discrimination is real, and they can fight for their humanity and right to exist.