Silent Scream - Damien Dawn

Chapter Six: Are We Friends?

You don't know real pain until you've slept in a cramped closet for 14 hours.

By the time I woke up and realized where I was, my legs and back were completely dead. It took a few minutes to get most of the pain out of my body before I could come out of the closet (hah). It was dark, as expected, and my clock read 5 am.

I had spent the entire night on my closet floor. It wasn't the first time and it definitely wouldn't be the last but there was a small part of me that prayed it would never happen again.

Good luck with that one, Laney Rubia.

I crawled out and got to my feet. My knees might've cracked but I wasn't listening for that. The silence downstairs indicated that my dad was either asleep or out but I didn't dare creep down to the living room to see. If he was still down there, I knew he'd wake up this time and shit would hit the proverbial fan.

Grabbing my stuff for school today including my board which thankfully I left in my room yesterday, I opened my window and crawled down my ladder, raising it up using a pulley system that I made years ago so that I could pull it back up from the outside. Luckily, the neighbors weren't up yet and didn't see the weird Asian kid from across the road climbing out of her window.

I thought of going to Sam's but he wouldn't be up this early in the morning. Josh was staying at a friend's so I doubt he'd appreciate me knocking on their door at 5 in the morning. Not to mention I was in the same outfit as I was wearing yesterday.

The skate park was empty and it seemed a good a spot as any as I set my bag down on the cement floor and sprawled out across the bench. If I could catch an hour of sleep then that would be a miracle. Mind you, the bench wasn't exactly comfortable but at least it was quiet here and there was no one around to bother me. So closing my eyes, I dozed off into an uncomfortable sleep but it was sleep nonetheless.

A loud honk woke me up. A transport truck had drove past and was honking his massive horn to a guy across the street who waved at him. It was 7:36 when I checked the clock on my phone. The school would be open by now and students who went there to get breakfast were probably lined up if not already eating. The program called themselves The Breakfast Club but it still reminded me a little bit of the classic 1985 film from the way they always played old music. Old but still good.

I grabbed my skateboard and hopped on it. School wasn't too far from the park. If I were on the second floor of the school I was able to see it from the chem lab so it couldn't have been a three minute ride from here to there. Super quick and it makes for a fast hideout spot if I ever needed one. So far I didn't have to use it in that manner.

Art was in the parking lot as I rolled up. He looked like he was unpacking some band gear and having a little trouble.

"Hey Art. Need some help?" I kicked my board up into my hand.

He turned at the sound of my voice. "Little dudette! I could totally use an extra set of hands here. Big day today for the school band. Last practice before the fall concert."

"It's that time of year already?" I grabbed his guitar case out of the trunk of his car.

"Time flies, little lady. Watch your head." He closed the trunk and lift his speaker into his arms. "What are you doing here so early? I never see you here before 8 in the morning."

"I could ask you the same thing."

He laughed. "I'm always here this early. You wouldn't know that because you're never here this time of day."

Fair enough. "I'm here for the breakfast. Wanted to go for a skate around town this morning for some exercise. Didn't make any before I left."

The look on Art's face told me that he didn't believe a word I said but he didn't object. "Right on. The breakfast here is pretty basic but tasty. Eggs, bacon, toast. Everything you need for a balanced meal."

"As long as it's food I don't care what they serve me."

I carried in his guitar case and suddenly smelled something coming from the cafeteria where they were serving breakfast. It smelled amazing; I could never cook up something as incredible smelling as what was being served to the students. Nowhere near the same level as this.

"How come you don't ride your motorcycle here anymore?" I set his case down on the stage.

"Parents complained it was unsafe. Like their kids don't drive recklessly," Art rolled his eyes. "I still have it, in case you were wondering. It's in the shop getting some repairs done."

"Cool." I didn't know what else to say so I started easing myself out of the theatre room. "I should go grab some food before its all gone. Catch you later, Art."

"See you, kiddo. Have a good day." God this dude was the best. Teacher of the century, hands down.

Once in the cafeteria, I grabbed some scrambled eggs and toast with a side of bacon and orange juice to drink. There weren't many tables to choose from so I picked an empty one by the window. The more solitude I had, the better.

"Laney? What are you doing here?" A voice said. Lo and behold, it was Nora. She was dressed in her usual mismatched outfit but her curly blonde hair was pulled back into a messy bun.

"Oh. Morning. I'm eating breakfast. What else does it look like?" I frowned as she took a seat beside me. "What are you doing here?"

"Eating breakfast. What else does it look like?"

Touché.

She smeared some butter on her toast and took a huge bite of it. "I'm here every morning. My mom doesn't have the time in the morning to cook breakfast for all of us kids so I come here to get some. Is that a crime?"

I shook my head. "No. I couldn't get breakfast today either. Hence why I'm here."

"At least you have groceries to make it. I don't."

Not wanting to ask her any questions about it, I changed the topic. "Did you get home okay last evening?"

She nodded through a bite of her eggs. "Yeah. But what about you? What happened after I left?" When I shook my head, her frown grew even deeper. "Laney, your dad didn't hit you did he?"

"What? No. I locked my door and hid in my closet like I always do. He's never laid a hand on me. He'd be dead if he tried."

Nora fell quiet after that. As noisy of an eater as she was, she plowed through her breakfast and finished long before I did. She even asked for seconds and finished that too.

"I meant to ask you," she wiped her mouth and coughed, "how you found the first chapter last night. Did you read any more?"

"I was in a dark closet hiding from an alcoholic dad. What do you think?"

She cringed. "Sorry. Didn't think about the whole dark thing. Sorry."

We both finished eating and brought our trays over to the tray return. The lady working in the kitchen gave us a warm smile while wishing us a good day before we headed out into the hallway, which I suppose made me feel a little better. The only other person who ever wished me a good day was Josh and even that was a rare treat nowadays.

"We can probably get some more of the reading done during free period if you want. When's your free slot?" Nora asked. She pulled out her schedule and looked it over. "Mine is fourth period."

I checked mine. It was the same. "Fourth. But I really don't feel like reading today. I'm tired. Didn't get much sleep last night."

She pat me on the arm in sympathy. "No worries. I can always run home after school and grab my cassette player and bring it to your place. Save you the trouble of looking for one yourself."

I blinked several times. "Who even owns a cassette player anymore?"

Nora laughs at this. I hadn't noticed this before but when she laughed, the edges of her eyes crinkled and the blue disappeared under her eyelids because they almost closed as she laughed. I didn't want her to stop laughing, but I quickly shook this thought from my mind.

"My dad collects anything considered classic. Records, technology from before the year 2000-basically all kinds of stuff." She snorts and tugs at her bun. "You should see our garage. It's packed with all kinds of cool junk."

The bell rang at that moment and students piled past us and towards their lockers. I could see Sam standing by his and waved. He waved back and mouthed "Why are you with her?" I shook my head when Nora wasn't looking and gave him the pointer finger to signal for one minute.

"Well. That's the bell. Do you want to eat lunch together again? Or do you have other plans?" Nora closed her locker door and saw me looking at Sam down the hall. "Oh. You're eating with your friend today?"

"Huh? Oh. No. Uh, yes? I don't know. I'll let you know later. Later!"

I couldn't escape her fast enough. Though I felt kind of bad just leaving her in the dust like that but we've been spending so much time together lately that I had a funny feeling that people were beginning to think we were friends or something. I couldn't have that. Not on my watch.

"Good lord. I thought you'd never get away from her," said Sam, "because I thought for sure you two were getting a little cozy."

"Screw you," I shoved him with a gag. "We're not getting cozy. We're just partners for the English project. That's all."

"Uh huh. Sure Jan. Anyway, I'm gonna need to borrow you at lunch to help me decide what to wear for the party on Saturday."

"Party? What party?"

Sam guffawed. "Laney. Always lacking behind. Dallas is throwing a keg party at his place! His parents are out all weekend so what better time to have a party?"

I shrugged. "I guess. Who's smuggling the keg?"

Sam smirked. "Dallas' older brother is getting the kegs. He just turned 21. Isn't that awesome?!"

I had to hold onto Sam's sleeve to keep from getting swallowed by the crowd. "But I thought the gig was on Saturday?"

"The gig is in the afternoon, Lane. The party is at night. So you coming or not?"

We stopped outside our chem class. "I wasn't invited."

"Pfft. Please. Dallas asked me to ask you if you wanted to come. Why wouldn't he invite his favorite skater?"

I beamed. "I'm his favorite skater?"

Reaching up, Sam booped my nose. "Of course. Tony Hawk is shooketh. Now come on. God forbid we're late for this class."

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"You didn't pack a lunch today?"

Sam eyed me from across the table in the cafeteria. My lack of lunch was unusual to him, and I'm sure it was unusual to everyone else too. I was known to pack a lot because I ate a lot. When you had a metabolism like mine, you never really got full. No matter how much you ate.

"No. Never had a chance today," I sighed. Sam's burger looked good. Stupid me forgot to bring my wallet when I escaped my house this morning so I could buy something.

"I see you sneaking peeks at my burger, Rubia. Just take it. The calories in it is unreal anyway." Sam hastily handed me the burger. "Just touching it alone makes me sick. How do you eat it?"

"With my mouth," I smirked, taking a huge bite. "Mmm. That's the stuff. You sure you don't want a bite?"

"I would rather eat my own semen," Sam laughed as I cringed. "So. What's up with you and the nerd?"

At the mention of Nora, I looked over his shoulder in her direction. She was sitting a few tables down from us, her full concentration on her notebook. She hardly noticed the people watching her and whispering to each other. What was there even to whisper about? She was writing in a notebook. I'm sure they've done that before themselves a thousand times.

"What are you staring at?" Sam looked over his shoulder. "Oh. There she is. She's so....weird. Like the way she dresses and stuff? Those cardigans look like they're from my grandma's closet."

He laughed and the more he opened his mouth, the more irritated I got. "Stop. Just stop talking."

He paused mid-sentence. "What did I do?"

I nodded in Nora's direction. "You talk about her like she's there for your entertainment. She's a person, Sam. With feelings. Emotions. You should ashamed of yourself."

Sam's face went red. "I didn't mean-"

"You did mean it. Now eat your grass salad and shut up." I grabbed my bag and was about to storm out of the room when I heard an uproar of laughter. Turning to see what the commotion was about, my heart sank as I saw Nora wiping what looked like spaghetti sauce off her face and glasses. The jocks at the table beside her were cackling and more than likely were the source of the mess on her face.

My blood boiled. I've never actually been this mad before (the gym incident being an exception) but I legit got so mad that I was seeing red. The edges of my vision were red and the only thing I could focus on were the dimwits sitting and laughing at her.

The bag on my shoulder fell to the floor. The tables I walked by went quiet as I stormed over to where the jocks sat, one of their comrades poised and ready to take another shot. There was a full plate of spaghetti on his plate so I grabbed the back of his head and slammed it down into the thick mountain of red sauce.

That's when the room fell dead silent. All eyes were on me (even Nora's) as I backed up to let the jock lift his face from his plate. He was covered in sauce from his forehead right down to his chin with the occasional noodle here and there.

"Try that again and next time it won't be red sauce covering your face. I'll break your nose and all ten of your fingers if you even think about pulling that shit again." I slammed a fist down on his juice pack and to my delight it exploded all over him and his buddies. It sprayed all over me too but I didn't care. I just wanted to get Nora out of here as quickly as possible.

"Laney?" Nora whispered as I packed up her stuff and shoved it into her bag. "What was that?"

"Not a word. Just keep walking," I hissed.

Once we were in the girl's washroom, I shut the door behind me and locked it so that no one could come in. I set my bag on the counter and started to shrug off my hoodie.

"Laney...." Nora said again. She looked so pitiful with sauce in her hair and on her face. "You didn't have to do that."

I pretended not to hear her over the sound of the running water. "Take off your shirt. I'll clean it for you."

She obliged. It was actually the first time I noticed that her body was kind of curvy. She wasn't fat per se but had a little bit of chubbiness around her stomach that I found oddly endearing. Her bra was a black push-up, making her boobs larger than they already were. They were nice boobs-

Focus Laney

She spoke again once she gave me her shirt. "Did you hear me? I said you didn't have to do that."

I scrubbed at her shirt with a wet paper towel. "Yes. Yes I did. You saved me from getting suspended in gym class," I sighed, "so consider this me returning the favor."

She went quiet as I scrubbed at the stains on her shirt while she got the sauce out of her hair. In order for her to really get it out she had to take her hair out of her messy bun. The golden ringlets fell to her shoulders in waves and I tried not to imagine it happening in slow motion.

What the hell was wrong with me?

"I have to be honest with you," she said while she wiped her hair with a wet towel. "The way you slammed Asher's face into the sauce was really impressive."

I turned off the water and then held her wet shirt under the hand dryer. "You thought so too? Not my best work but it definitely made my top 10 list."

We giggled as we stood there in the bathroom, with me drying her shirt and her washing her hair. It wasn't a situation I ever thought I'd be in with her. It was kind of nice, actually. Nora wasn't what people made her out to be; a weird, seclusive girl who fantasized about the world of fiction 24/7. She was real. More real than any of those fake assholes back in the cafeteria.

"How's my shirt doing? Will it survive?" She dabbed at her hair before bending over and drying it under another dryer.

I checked the stain. "Good news is I got most of it out. Bad news is that it'll probably stain if not thrown in the washer without the proper detergent. This is just hand soap I used to get most of it out."

She sighed. "Lovely. My mom's going to wonder where the hell I got spaghetti from."

"Do you have anything else to wear?" When she shook her head I handed my hoodie to her. "Here. Wear this for the rest of the day if you want. It's the least I can do."

"How will I give it back to you?" She pulled it on over her head. It was a little snug but other than that it looked good on her.

"You can just give it back tomorrow morning. No biggie. I have like a hundred hoodies at home anyway. It's not a major loss if I lose one."

She smiled softly. "Thank you. Seriously. I've never known kindness in school before until you came along. I doubt anyone else would do this for me."

I waved a dismissive hand. "Don't worry about it. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a bully. People who pick on others are cowards. I deal with them head on."

Nora cocked her head to the side. "So....all those times you nearly got suspended....were they all from fighting bullies?"

Not all of them I thought to myself. "Some of them. But a lot of them were because I was looking for a fight."

She gasped. "Why do you go looking for fights?"

"It helps with my anger. Tae kwon do doesn't cut it anymore so I went searching for a fight. Girls won't dare fight me. They think I'm 'butch'. Guys cry when I fight them like complete babies. So the pickings are slim around here."

Nora then did something I didn't expect her to do. She came over to me and wrapped both of her arms around my neck in a soft hug. My arms didn't know what to do next so they hung limp at my sides.

"Oh Laney," I heard her breathe into my ear. "You don't have to fight anyone. There are other ways to curb your anger."

"Really? Because I don't see any other options out there."

She laughed. "Come to my house after school. I'll show you a way."

Go to her house? Like the place where she lived? What a turn of events. Never in a million years did I ever see myself going to Nora's house for anything. How the tables have turned.

"Okay," I agreed. "I'll just call my brother and let him know where I'm going."

She smiled so broadly her eyes disappeared under her cheeks. "Excellent. My mom should be home with the babies but she won't mind a visitor. She's been dying to meet the new friend I've been talking about lately."

"Wait what? Do you mean me?"

"Laney," she laughed as she picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Who else have you seen me hanging out with? Of course I mean you."

I gave myself a mental slap on the forehead. "Right. Sorry. Do you really consider us friends?"

Nora stopped in front of the bathroom door and turned to look back at me. "Yes. You're the closest to one I've ever had. Don't you?"

"Yes," I blurted. "I do."

Nora smiled again. "Awesome. I'll see you after school, friend."
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Kids can be cruel to each other. Adults too for that matter. I've seen this first hand growing up and even experienced it as well. So if you see someone being bullied don't be afraid to stand up and say something. It makes all the difference.

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