Chapter 1: Meeting
~*~Side A~*~
Alright. Morning. The sun is nice outside and I'm already dressed up 20 minutes before I need to leave my house to go to school. I picked a clean blue v-neck shirt with my varsity jacket over it, pairing it with dark blue straight cut jeans and my favorite sneakers. Simple, but not bad. So I slung my bag over my shoulder and make my way downstairs for breakfast. Dad's probably already at work so I went up and kissed my mom on her cheek.
"Morning, mom"
, I signed then went to the fridge to get some orange juice.
"Good morning, Christian dear. You're up early. Something happening at school today?" replied my mom with her soft morning smile as she hands me a plate with bacon and eggs.
I held up my right hand and start signing to her,
"Nothing really. Just woke up earlier than normal."
"I see. Well don't rush and take your time eating, alright? By the way, Coach called and said that there's a quick meeting after class." Mom said as I take two slices of toast, putting in the bacon and eggs then munching it down as a sandwich.
The thing about being mute is, speaking with your mouth full doesn't really apply to you. So while downing my food, I signaled to my mom,
"Thanks, mom. I'm going with Ray and Nick to the mall. We'll go after the meeting. I'll be back before dinner."
"Sure, dear. Don't wander off too far. I heard that there has been some hold-up on the downtown gas station so you're only allowed to go the mall near your school, alright? If you're going to go anywhere else, text me first. Don't forget your phone, OK?" my mom says with her hands on her hips, waving the spatula around as the pan sizzles with more bacon and eggs for my younger brother who's still sleeping and probably going to be late again.
"OK, mom. Thanks for the food. Also, I think Jeff is still asleep."
I signed as I pick up my plate with my left hand then leave it on the sink.
"I'll go now. See you later! Love you, mom."
"Really that kid. I'll go upstairs to wake him up so lock the door behind you. Be careful on your way. Love you too, dear."
With that, I lock the front door then walk around the back through the kitchen, leaving from our backyard then out to the garage. Getting in my truck, I drove to school with my windows down, liking the gentle cold breeze of the morning.
~*~Side B~*~
To say that I'm nervous is an understatement. I'm shaking like a leaf during a storm and I couldn't eat my breakfast at all. My dad keeps reassuring me that I'll be alright but my anxiety keeps getting in the way of positive thinking. I woke up during dawn and couldn't fall asleep again so I've been awake more than 2 hours before school starts. It's too early but I'm glad I did because it took me at least half an hour before I could calm down enough to pick myself and take a warm shower. After almost an hour of pep talk with my parents and my sis driving me to the school, I was feeling a bit better. I was still scared out of my wits but at least I've stopped shaking and could breathe normally. I've still arrived at school 30 minutes earlier so I stayed in the car with my sis for a bit more.
Giving a deep sigh, I looked at Sandra. "Can I really do this? What if it's a repeat of what primary and middle school was like? What should I do if some big guy shoves me and I get beat up?"
"Sweetie, you can't say that it's going to happen when you haven't even gone inside. It can't be that bad alright? If anything happens, you can go to your teachers or call me. I'll keep my phone with me the whole day at work. Besides, no one should make fun with such a cute thing like you." Sandra said as she gave me a reassuring smile and caress on my cheek. She's 5 years older than me and currently under on-the-job-training in a pharmaceutical company. She's petite and about 4 inches smaller than me, but she's really confident, outgoing and head strong so no one ever belittled her. She always knows what to say to make me feel better and I've looked up to her for as long as I could remember.