Anna slammed her locker shut. She was a junior at high school. She's grown so fast. So has Julian. Anna saw Julian and waved to him. Julian gathered his books, shut his locker, and went over to Anna.

"Hey," he leaned up against the stone wall.

"What did you get for lunch?" Anna asked.

Cynthia made them lunch everyday for school. But no matter how many times they tell her, she gets their sandwiches wrongs. Anna wanted turkey and chesse while Julian wanted a ham lettuce wrap.

"Uh, turkey?" He replied.

"Switch?" Anna asked hopefully, not wanting to eat ham.

"Sure," Julian nodded.

They switched brown paper sacks right as the bell went off. "Shoot, gotta go!" Anna yelled, running down the hall. She zig zagged down the hall into her history classroom. Anna closed the door quietly behind her, muttering a soft sorry before taking a seat.

"Class, today our Intersting Topic Essay is due today. We'll read them out loud. Who wants to go first?" Mr. J said.

Anna, along with a couple other students raised their hands.

"Ah, Mary, go," Mr. J said.

Mary got up and went to the front of the classroom.

"I chose the Salem Witch Hunt as my interesting topic. Here I go. In Salem, Oregon, hundred of years ago, people were accused of being witches by these girls. And they beleived them. They had several way to try and find out if they were a witch. They would tie a boulder to them and throw them into a river. If the floated, they were a witch. If the drowned, they weren't, but it'd be too on late to save them. Another way was pressing them to death. They'd ask the victim a question. If they didn't answer or lied, they'd put a rock on them. They'd end up putting so many rocks on, they'd die from the pressure. People were accused by these girls who claimed they had seen them do vodo magic. The girls would point to nothing in the air, as if they saw a spirit. They'd have seizures and panic whenever they heard anything that had to do with God. Many people believed the girls did see this. My opinion, however, is that the girls wanted attention and accused the rich on purpose," Mary slammed her paper down on Mr. J's desk.

Everyone clapped.

"Let's see," Mr. J said, looking at the students holding their hands up. "How about... Anna."

Anna stood up. She had been saying her essay all weekend to herself and Jullian; her father being to busy for her and her mother always being... distant.

"I chose Signing for my topic." Anna stated.

She heard a student say, "Of course," and she didn't feel enthusiastic about her essay. Maybe she should stop obsessing about songs and music. But singing was her life. She couldn't imagine doing anything else but signing.

"Singing. A seven lettered word with maybe seven thousand meanings. It's something everyone can do. Sure, you may not necessarily be good at it, but that still doesn't mean you cannot sing.

"My father has taught me that singing help you deal with emotions. Whether it be from a breakup with your boyfriend or you're happy you passed that exam with an A."

Anna read the rest of her essay to the class and finished. Everyone clapping in the end. Anna turned in her paper, receiving a smile from her teacher.

She took a seat and half listened to the rest of the student read the essay they wrote. Her mind wandered to her family. She couldn't remember the last time she talked to John, her father. Whenever he was home, it was only for an hour before he left.

Cynthia, her mother, has been distant with her for the past two years. Anna feels like her mother is locked in her bedroom more than anywhere else. She wondered if her father has noticed at all.

Probably not. Anna thought, cursing her father for being that way.

Julian is her best friend, he always has been. She has never really brought the topic of their falling apart family up to Julian. She wondered he has noticed like her. He most likely didn't. He was normally busy with his friends and girlfriend.

"Anna," Mr. J said.

Anna blinked, pushing her thoughts aside. "Yes?"

"The bell rang," he stated.

Anna looked around, finding berseld to be the only person besides Mr. J in the classroom. Her face hot, she gathered her belongings and exited the classroom, going about her day.

The school day ended and Anna left the school, heading to her red car her father bought her when she passed her driving test.

She drove home preparing for another day being alone.