Seeing The Silence by Tyler Lace (dark books to read txt) 📕

I decided to withdraw and walk back to my room. I put the papers in my draw and chucked everything else out, shoving it in the plastic bin beside my desk, then just sat on the chair, staring at the window.

"Wow, I'm bored," I sighed, my hands folded on my lap. I now wished I hadn't left my friends so early. After all, all we had done when the idiots left was talk about random stuff and finished practicing the song.

People had been bothering Rose since the day she had come out as female. She was never one to wear skirts, but, just to prove her point, she started wearing them. A lot of people discouraged her about it, but a lot more people thought she was brave. She just found it dumb that people had to accept it, like she was sick or something.

The first time I met her, I was in year seven, and had just completely blocked out my so called 'friends' from primary school. We were put in the same science class together, and we had to find partners. This was term three and the week she had announced it. I'm not saying she stood on a crate and shouted at people with a megaphone. I mean she just didn't give a damn anymore and didn't feel like lying to herself and her family anymore.

The teacher had announced that everyone would need new lab partners to, in her words, "mix it up a bit". I remember sitting at those counter-like desks and looking around the room, silently cursing the fact that I, again, was going to be paired with someone I hadn't even known.

But my thoughts were cut off with Rose tapping me on the shoulder, causing me to look at her. The first thing I saw was her purple hair she had back then. Then her awkward, nervous smile. "I'm Rose," she introduced, her voice trembling slightly.

I smiled back. "I know. Everyone's been talking about you."

I don't know why, but I expected her to say the whole "I know, I'm not surprised people talk about me", or the " it's so annoying" complaint that is so unconvincing, it's not funny.

But she just flicked her hair back in a stuck-up manor and rolled her eyes. "I'm just so popular," she said, in a purposely, really bad, fake American accent. She sounded like one of those snobs from the teenage movies that just care about appearance and making a clown out of everyone.

I couldn't help but grin. "Obviously." I stuck my hand out. "I'm Caroline."

She smiled and took my hand, then released it. "Finally, a normal person."

I snorted by accident. "Normal's a bit farfetched."

"Well excuse me, miss princess."

I rolled my eyes, letting out a small laugh. "What I meant to say was: I'm usually not seen as normal."

"Join the club." She smiled and I couldn't help but smile back. "And what I meant to say was: you're the first person who hasn't glared at me, spat at me, called me 'unnatural', smiled awkwardly or just shuffled away not knowing what to say." She grinned as my eyes widened.

I coughed. "I could just bow if you want? Although I can't courtesy because I'm not wearing a skirt."

She chuckled before looking down at her own attire. "I wouldn't wear a skirt usually, but I felt like it for some reason. I think it's, like, a way for me to express who I am."

I smiled. "That's cool."

"Yeah." She shrugged. "I've seen you around, you know?"

I blinked twice. You'd think I would see a girl with coloured hair, but I never did.

She chuckled at my response. "You know how you usually just sit by yourself, yeah?"

"Well, now that you've pointed it out, I do," I said, mockingly.

She just laughed again. "Do you want to sit with me and my friend at lunch?"

I blinked twice again. "Really?"

She nodded and smiled, so I felt inclined to agree.

"Only if you do something for me."

"Oh, so you sitting with us is doing us a favour? I see." She sat down next to me, resting her head on her hand as she looked at me. "What is it?"

"Be my lab partner?"

She chuckled. "Sure."

We spent the rest of the lesson listening to the teacher talk about what we were going to learn, then, lunch was here.

I walked out of the classroom and lost her in the flood of students, so I just decided to sneak off to my locker first, but, just before I got there, a girl grabbed my arm and yanked me to the cafeteria.

When I finally escaped I realised it was just Rose, laughing like she had just seen someone fall into a thing of mud.

"Come on," she insisted after she caught her breath. "We sit over there."

I walked after her and sat across from her, but, before I did, I saw a boy with black hair and bright green eyes. As I sat, I couldn't control myself. "Your eyes. They're so cool."

He kept his arms folded and back against the wall. You see, our table was in the corner near the wall, so he could rest his head there. He opened his eyes from sighing, then looked over at Rose. "Who's that?"

"That's Caroline," she announced as she ate a part of her sandwich.

"Aha, okay. And why is she here?"

"We became friends in science."

"Didn't you have science twenty minutes ago?"

"Thirty," she corrected.

"Fine, thirty, you've still known her for thirty minutes and you've labelled her as a friend."

"Labelled?"

"Yes."

"You can't label someone?"

He sighed. "Everyone else seems to disagree," he mumbled, now moving around his pasta with a fork. "But, that's not my point. How do you know-"

"Hey, uh, dude, I'm right here."

He turned his gaze to me, his voice still coming out in monotone and his face still blank. "Yes you are."

Rose nudged him with her elbow, causing him to wince for a second, before sighing. "I'm Andy, nice to meet you, I guess." Then he turned his attention back to playing with his food.

"Nice to meet you too," I mumbled. His hair seemed to cover his eyes as he looked down.

"Don't mind him," Rose stated, before putting a hand shielding the left side of her mouth. "He's a bit of an ass sometimes."

"You know you're supposed to cup your hand so the person doesn't see your mouth? Not on the opposite side because, well, I'm on your right, not left."

"See?" she whispered. "Ass."

"Still the wrong side," he examined, causing Rose and I to laugh and her to put her hand down.

Over the year we became good friends, but Andy still knew more than me. She had been friends with Andy since primary school, though, so it was fair. They lived across from each other as kids, then he left the area in year five. But when he reappeared in year seven at her school, she had a friend and didn't have to deal with all the awkward conversations between new kids and people who had known other people for years, and also the people who felt the need to rub it in their faces that they already knew a whole parade of students.

So, it was no wonder Andy didn't trust me until year eight. It wasn't any particular situation, I think. I remember telling people to "go away" when they spat words, indicating to one of us, or, I may have ranted at someone. But, through the hatred I was getting and the situations I kept finding myself in, somewhere in there I earned his trust. Which proved a hard thing to accomplish.

We had decided to form the band after we had an assignment to perform in front of the class, so we had decided to form a group.

"For the last time, Rose, the name isn't important," groaned Andy, lying on the table with one leg over the other. I sat on the table next to his head, swinging my legs, feeling fidgety because I didn't like staying in the same spot for too long.

Rose sighed. "Yes it is."

"We could come up with it later?" I insisted. But, Rose could be stubborn, so I wasn't expecting anything.

"But what if-"

"No ones going to tease us for not having a name," said Andy, almost reading her mind.

"What about-"

"They won't make up a name that we wished we could of made up."

"And-"

"I think you lost the argument," I interrupted this time and she sighed.

"Fine. What about a song we could do?"

I looked up. "Remind me again what the rules are?"

Andy sighed, staring up at the high ceiling. I was surprised no one had told us to get off the furniture yet. But no one seemed bothered. "We can't do an original, so it must be a cover, and you can't all play the same instrument."

"What if someone was going to do a choir," insisted Rose.

"You have to have at least one instrument," answered Andy, with the same monotone voice.

"But your voice is an instrument. Well, kind of."

"Tell that to the teacher. He wouldn't accept it."

"Okay," I interrupted, still swinging my legs. "We could do a cover of a Linkin Park song? They're cool."

Andy sighed, shaking his head. "I guess."

Rose spoke up. "What about 'In The End' by Black Veil Brides?"

"It'd be too complicated for us," explained Andy, his eyes never tearing away from the ceiling. "At least for the short period of time we have."

Rose nodded in agreement, sitting on a chair she pulled out, now with her feet up on the table.

"Can we do 'Sharpest Lives'?" I asked.

"Yes!" yelled Rose, then receiving a few looks. She lowered her voice in embarrassment. "That's an awesome idea. What do you think, Andy?" She no longer had her feet up, but was leaning forward in her chair.

"Yeah. That'd be pretty cool." I swear he reminded me of Raven from Teen Titans.

"Great! So, what does everyone play?"

"I play guitar and sing, I guess."

"Bass and sing a bit," said Andy.

"Cool."

"Wait, what do you play, Rose?"

She smiled. "Drums. Been playing since I was young."

So, it was then and there that we first decided to play together. It was pretty cool, and a few people actually knew the song, and we got a high mark. It was after that that we just automatically formed a group for music, but still had no official name. And then it led us to just forming a band. I know it seemed like a total teenage cliché, but we couldn't care.

Knock, knock, knock.

I spun around in the chair. "Yeah?"

"Mum and Dad are here early," explained my sister. "Mum's making dinner now- why are you smiling?" she asked, curiously.

It wasn't till she pointed it out that I realised I was. I quickly got rid of it and shook my head. "Just thinking about things. Thanks, Nisha."

She smiled and closed the door behind her, leaving me in my room by myself.

I spun around and stared out the window again, the sky looking even darker and more pink then before.

I tapped the pencil on the desk, lying my head on my arm as the teacher droned on about algebra and stuff. Rose didn't show up to roll call, and neither did Andy, so I knew