A girl waited a bus stop. She was bundled up in a parka, scarf, gloves, and fuzzy headphones that her mom had gotten her for such a season as this particularly harsh winter. Her breath formed visible puffs in front of her face that she watched with contentness as she listened to her calming music in the early morning.

The screeching of bus brakes demanded her attention. She lifted her backpack up from the ground and slung it over one shoulder as she bus slugged to a stop, releasing pressure as it did. The door opened and she could already hear and feel the heat radiating from the heaters that were on for the students wishing for refuge from the frigid temperatures from outside.

"Morning." The bus driver said.

The girl nodded with a smile and sat down in the sixth seat back, the seat creaking quietly under the weight. She put her backpack in the seat next to her. She zoned out entirely, still addicted to her music and the fog on the window she now drew in, a small squeaky noise sounding here and there. Eventually, she was taken by surprise by a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see a boy. He was tall, had light brown hair, blue eyes and an inviting but unsure smile. He looked familiar to the girl, but she couldn't pin a name on him. The girl removed her headphones to hear him clearly.

"Can I sit with you?" He asked.

The girl smiled gently and moved her backpack into her lap. After a moment of silence, with the exception of the bus engine vibrating as they drove, he asked her another question.

"I'm Nathaniel. What is your name?" He asked.

The girl frowned for a moment before turning to the window. She breathed on the parts of the glass that she had un-fogged, causing them to cloud up again. She then drew out some letters, her fingered agains squeaking on the glass.

"Miranda?" Nathaniel questioned when she finished her writing.
She nodded happily, a small grin tugging at her face. He couldn't help but smile back at her. The two fell in a silence. It wasn't uncomfortable in the slightest. It was more relaxing to have the presence of another person. When they pulled up to the school and the bus stopped, Miranda pulled of her headphones and shoved them in her bag before standing up.

"Hope to see you again sometime." Nathaniel said with a grin.
Miranda nodded and smiled, the two splitting ways as soon as they entered the building. Miranda headed to her math class, her first period. She had taken off her jacket now and had most of it tucked away in her backpack, a small portion hanging out, to big to fit into the bag.

"Can anyone solve this problem?" Miranda's math teacher asked, the warm up posted on the board. Miranda raised her hand slowly when she saw no one else was awake enough to volunteer themselves.

"Miranda! Why don't you show us how it's done."
Miranda walked up to the board. A student coughed form the back of the room. The silence that followed was broken by the turning on of the AC unit in the classroom. Miranda touched the expo marker to the board and began her work. When she finished, she set down the marker and returned to her seat as her teacher analyzed her work.

"Yes, Yes, very good Miranda. Now, what are we doing today?"
Miranda's algebra teacher always wrote the days work and topic at the back of the room for the students to read. Miranda's classmates mumbled an answer in unison as she sat quietly, a small smile on her face. It made her feel weird that she didn't have to say it like the rest of the students, but she had learned to deal with it.

After the bell rung, Miranda put away her papers into her messy binder and put it in her bag, swapping it for her band binder. Band. It was something she found joy in and she could do, despite her inability to communicate verbally.

On her way she found her eyes landing on a couple on the hall. The male wore glasses, had brown hair, light skin and hazel eyes from what she could tell. The female was Asian. She had significantly darker toned skin and eyes and hair that both appeared to be black. The guy had his arm wrapped around her waist, a smile etched on both of their faces.

Miranda suddenly ran into something and fell back, her binder scattering from her hands. She looked up to see a girl with green eyes, black hair. She was y'all and towered easily over her two companions, a girl with frizzy brown hair, tan skin and brown eyes and another girl with blonde hair and chocolaty brown eyes.

"Hey, watch were your going bitch!" The black hair girl yelled as she kicked Miranda's binder away.

"Yeah. Watch where you going!" The blonde hair girl said.

"Not going to say anything?" The brown haired girl teased as they passed.

Miranda hadn't even seen these girls before. So they weren't her bullies technically speaking. Just crappy people who were self-righteous and acted as if they were above everyone else. Miranda had dealt with rose kind of people a thousand times before, but she still found herself feeing rather depressed after the last comment.

Miranda followed them with her gaze for a moment before standing up and rubbing her hands on her pants. She turned to pick up her binder, but instead, she came face to face with the boy from the bus.

"Miranda, was it?" He asked.

Miranda nodded, instantly hiding her frown with a smile. He gave her her binder and started walking next to her. She now realized now why he had looked familiar. He was in her band class. She had never had a conversation with him before. But then again, she technically hadn't ever had a conversation with anyone. It was always just them talking and her finding a way to communicate- wether it be motions, writing or typing.

"Hey don't let them get to you, okay?" He said over the hulk of other students in the main hall that led down to the band room.
Miranda nodded with the ghost of a smile. They walked into the band room and split ways to get their instruments set. She watched him get out his trombone and she got out her Oboe.

After class, he walked with her friends. She smiled a bit at seeing the group of guys all laugh and joke around. She suddenly felt a pair of hands on her shoulders as someone screamed "boo" at her. Miranda tensed up, then sighed in relief as she faced her friend, Kat- a strawberry blonde with the most beautiful brown eyes she'd ever seen on a male or female.

"So how ya been Randa?" The blonde asked, calling Miranda by a nickname.
Miranda gave her a thumbs up as an answer.

"That's good."

Miranda's attention was wrenched away by Nathaniel's booming laughter from the other side of the hall. Miranda looked over at him with a small smile. They met eyes for a moment. Time seemed to stop for a second. One of Nathaniel's friends punched him in the shoulder, grabbing his attention. Miranda almost tripped, causing her to look forward again.

"Who's that?" Kat gasped.
"Do you have a crush on him?!" Kat asked hopefully.

Miranda's eyes widened and she shook her head and waved her hands in front of herself defensively.

"Ha! Yeah right! Well, see you 'round Miranda, gotta head to science! Good luck with your boyfriend!" She cooed as she speed off.

Miranda would've yelled at her, but she couldn't. And it wasn't something worth chasing her down for. Miranda sighed and continued to head to history, ecstatic to see her other friend, Amy.