Deadly Silence (complete) Chapter 20

Miriam nodded fervently. “Yeah. Last year a couple freshmen pulled a prank on him, thinking he’d be chill about it cause he’s decent that way. Unfortunately, he seems to have… a problem with pranks and the students weren’t allowed back in his class for a month. In school suspension, and then they had to catch up on the work they missed.”

“He was allowed to do that?” Vivian was surprised that a single teacher had that sort of leverage in the school. Maybe he was a board member or something?

“Mr. Stuart is really good at math,” the auburn-haired girl sighed a little, linking their arms together again as she spoke. “Like, *really* good. And he can teach in a way most students actually understand. Students rarely fail his class, and it’s not because it’s too easy — he’s just that good. So if he says someone can’t enter his classroom for a month, it’ll happen.”

“But he’s decent?”

Miriam nodded, steering them up a set of stairs to the second floor. “Yeah. So long as you show him respect he’s easy to deal with.”

Vivian mulled this information over for the remainder of their walk to the classroom. If showing him respect was sitting quietly in class, doing the homework, and generally not being a bother she had this in the bag.

Knocking on a classroom door, Miriam waited while the shadow on the other side of the fogey glass in the door came closer. The door opened to show an older gentleman, as thin as a bean pole, with glasses twice the size they needed to be resting on the tip of a thin nose.

Mr. Stuart’s eyes were brown and looked tired, accenting the myriad of wrinkles that covered his face as he squinted at the girls. His bushy moustache waved as he spoke. “Ah, Miss Wilson, you’re late.”

“Sorry, Mr. Stuart. Mrs. Gardener was on the phone and we had to wait for Vivian to get her packet before we could leave.”

“Ah, yes, I see,” he nodded, humming a little as he opened the door wider. “Alright, come in and take your seats.”

The teacher shuffled back to his desk as Miriam gave Vivian an encouraging smile and unlinked their arms. “Go ahead,” she whispered. “I’ll be right behind you.”

Pushing down the butterflies that had suddenly come to life in her stomach, Vivian took a breath before stepping into the classroom.

A single glance around the room showed twenty five desks in rows of five with the two nearest the teacher’s desk the only ones empty. That didn’t bother Vivian in the least and she beelined to the one by the wall, preferring how she would only have two neighbours instead of three like the other seat.

The sound of hushed voices met her ear as she walked, and continued after both girls had found their seats. Mr. Stuart didn’t seem to notice as he picked up the textbook they would be using that year, opening it with the flick of his wrist before speaking. “Let’s begin the year with some warm ups, shall we?”

A low groan spread through the class as they followed his instructions.

The class wasn’t difficult, but since it had been more of a review combined with a peak at what they would be covering that semester, chances were good it wouldn’t stay that way for long.

Once the bell rang signalling the end of first period, Vivian found herself being dragged along by her guide to second period without pause. The time between periods was short — long enough to get to your locker, switch out books, and get to your next class with a couple minutes to spare. If you had to use the bathroom in between classes it was best to forget about it, unless the teacher for next period was one who didn’t let students leave for the bathroom without making life difficult.

Before Vivian knew it, lunch time had arrived. Stepping out the classroom, she looked up and down the hallway, wondering if Miriam would show up to play guide or if she should just find the cafeteria on her own.

“I’m here, I’m here!” Miriam called out, coming to a stop in front of Vivian. Breathing a little heavy, the guide gave the new student a sheepish grin. “Sorry, I couldn’t get out a bit early to meet you right at the bell. Come on, let’s get us some food.”

By the time they arrived at the cafeteria it was packed with students. There were a number of banquet tables set up with chairs on either side, and then some circular tables at the far end of the room for smaller groups. Seeing where Vivian’s gaze was pointed, Miriam said, “The smaller tables fill up first with the quote, unquote, cool kids, and those kinds of groups.”

“I see…”

They waited in line for a few minutes before they made it to the front, where they could pick a number of different things to eat, ranging from soups and sandwiches, fries and burgers, to salads and fruits. Each item was labelled with a price tag that looked a bit too high for what was being offered. If it weren’t for the fact she’d been given a card with funds loaded on it for this specific purpose Vivian would be bringing her own food every day.

From a glance around the room after paying for the food, she noted there were few empty spaces to sit, but Miriam was unworried as she lead the way down one of the far tables to sit at the very end where a handful of empty chairs waited.

Looking around again, Vivian unwrapped the sandwich she’d purchased while trying to locate her brother in the crowd of people.

If she had to guess, he wasn’t the type to sit at the long tables and would prefer one of the smaller ones — he was also always on his phone texting so she wouldn’t be surprised if he turned out to be popular.

And there he was, at one of the smaller tables in the middle, surrounded by a handful of other students. The girls at the table were pretty, and the boys paid more attention to them than their own food.

The boys looked like the jock-type, though Vivian couldn’t put her finger on which sport they played based on a cursory glance.

As if knowing what was going through her mind, Miriam gave a small laugh. “Thinking about joining them?”

Vivian shook her head, taking a bite of her sandwich at the same time. “No.”

“Oh? Everyone wants to be one of them usually. They’re the rich, popular crowd.”

Swallowing the bite, Vivian raised an eyebrow at Miriam. “Aren’t most people here well off?”

A flush of colour came to the girl’s cheek as she averted her gaze. “No, not everyone.”

This was when Vivian remembered Mrs. Gardener saying something about Miriam being there on scholarship. Did that mean the girl wasn’t as well off as the others? Was she poor?