Whispers Part 1

Prologue

I stand alone. Again. Just like every day since the start of school this year. And the year before that. And the year before that. I arrive, and I get to watch all of the different cliques circle up and start chatting. Everyone seems immersed in conversation. Except me. I don't have a clique. You might call me a loner, but I'm not. Everyone just calls me a reject. No one ever thinks to even look away from their conversations to look at me. "Ew, there's Ruth. She's such a loner." That's all they've said to me ever since the start of fifth grade three years ago. Hardly anyone talks to, or even glances at me. Because who would ever want to hang out with the small, shy girl who is always in the corner? No one. Not even one. Now, at most schools, the loners all have a small clique together. That's true for every loner at this school but me.

I have stood alone ever since the start of middle school. I don't even know why everybody pushed me away. I actually think I'm kinda pretty. I have small brown eyes, and shoulder length light brown hair. I'm not exactly a model type. I'm just naturally small. And I'm shy. I participate in class occasionally, but whenever I do, people just look at me like I'm weird. I can be outgoing, but only with people I really trust, like my family. And my ex-friend Mia. We were totally bffs in elementary school, but once middle school came, I knew it was over. She was always a sociable person, so I can understand why she dumped me for her new, cool friends. You might think she dumped me because she wanted more less-shy friends, right? Wrong. I know the real reason she stopped hanging out with me. And it was nothing to do with my shyness.

Chapter 1

Normally younger kids don't have a ton of drama in their lives, but Mia and I did. At first, like all frenemy-enemy friendships, we seemed like the best of friends. Not anymore. After September 27, everything had changed. I didn't realize it yet, not until she started avoiding me. I used to be social. When Mia was with me, I would make an attempt to make friends. Besides her, I mean. I had a few other friends, but after I lost her, I became a reject. People were scared of me. And here's why.

[10:38 AM, Rosa Parks Elementary] The intercom came on. "Can we please see Ruth Henderson in the office?" My teacher, Mr. Donner nodded at me to go. I slipped out of my chair and started to walk down to the office. I wondered what was wrong. Maybe I had forgotten something at home and my mom had came by to drop it off. Maybe I ha a doctor's appointment and didn't know. I had guesses about what it was, but overall, I was clueless. When I arrived at the office, the first thing I noticed was how grim the staff's feces all looked. Then I noticed my mother. I was confused. My mom was supposed to be at work. And it looked like she had been crying. Uh oh. The principal comes up to me and says in her soft voice, "Honey, why don't you sit down for a minute." I take a seat next to my mom and that's all I remember. The next few minutes are a blur. They talk with me and I find out something I never thought would be true: My dad is a killer. And when I say killer, I mean killer. Turns out he murdered a lady a few weeks ago. The case had been going on for a bit, but I never payed much attention to it. I knew he was called in for trial because he was a witness, but I had never dreamed he would do that.

There you go. That's why people are scared. Now I bet you're going to run away from me just like all the other kids. Like I'm a threat as well. As if! But then again, I NEVER in a million years expected that my dad, the guy who gave me my pretty singing voice and my artistic talent, would ever kill someone. I don't even care why he did it. I know the police people explained everything to us, but I still couldn't remember it because I was in such a shock. The next day, word was out at school. Mia came by to apologize and everything, but I just nodded numbly. The next week, Mia was hanging out with her other friends, all the girls who are on the soccer team with her. Same with everybody else. They were afraid to even come near me. Not just the students, but the teachers too. If I was shy before, this just pushed me even farther back into my shell. Now, this has been going on for three years. I'm in eighth grade now, but no one talks to me. And Mia has stopped even looking at me. I actually put in effort to make friends since it's the last year at this school. Maybe next year in high school things will change. Maybe people will forget.

They might forget, but I never will. Never.

Chapter 2

So. To the present. It's been a little over three years since that day. I'm in eighth grade at Fairview Middle School, and I still don't have any friends. Mia does though. She's in one of the "popular" groups at school. I used to be in that group, until we stopped being friends. I would never had been in that group if it hadn't been for Mia. It's Monday morning (ugh.) and I just got to school. I head to my locker, which, unfortunately is right across from Mia's, and get my books for the day. Since it's Monday, it's lazy day, at least for me. I look down at my outfit, and then dig into my pocket for a pack of gum. I find a pack, but it only has two pieces left. :( Popping it in my mouth, I shut my locker and secure the lock. Not that anyone would want to steal my stuff.

I turn around, and there's Mia, with her little clique. They're not the most popular, and they certainly aren't snotty, but they still avoid me. They all have their own sense of style. For example, Mia's crazily obsessed with owls. I remember giving her that necklace for her birthday way back when. I see her glance over at me and give me a weird look. That's when I realize I must be staring. I look away and walk towards my first class. I shiver, wishing I had worn something warmer. It's the beginning of December, and it's just starting to snow lightly outside.

I slip into my first class, English, and take a seat near the back by the window. I love watching snow. It's mesmerizing. I sorta tune out when I'm mesmerized like that, so no wonder I don't notice when a new girl comes in. I don't think my teacher introduced her. I finally look away from the snowfall when I see she's heading back towards me. I think she's headed to the only empty seat, in front of me. Of course it has to be in front of me. She smiles at me as she sits down, and then it hits me. This girl could be my friend. She's new and doesn't know my story. If I befriend her quickly, then she won't be afraid of me. The only problem is, I have to open up. And I haven't done that since Mia. This is going to be a challenge.

Chapter 3

The rest of class is blurry. Normally Sometimes I pay attention and take notes, but today I'm too busy devising a plan on how to become her friend. I come up with a plan, but I never would have thought I would carry it through.

1. Smile at her. (hard)

2. Introduce myself. (pretty hard)

3. Ask her about herself. (VERY HARD)

4. Become friends with her. (IMPOSSIBLE)

See? Hard. At least for me.

You know, being a reject actually has its ups and downs. Obvious down: no friends. Another down: no one to talk to. But, there is one up that is pretty nice. When you're a reject, most of the time no one even notices you're there. So I can walk around and i hear things. Rumors. Whispers from friend to friend. I know things that the average teen would kill to know. Being rejected definitely has an upside. I know deep dark secrets about the popular girls, the band geeks, and the  jocks. Also, given my past friendship with Mia, I could do some damage there too. Not that I would ever do something like that. But, just in case I ever get blackmailed, it's good information to know. Now, how am I supposed to go about becoming friends with this girl? Okay, after class I'll do it.

*Brrrring*

Okay, here's my chance. I walk up to her as she's gathering her things. I first smile, not very well, but it's a smile. She smiles back. I take a deep breath.

"Um, hi. I'm R-Ruth." I say, struggling not to shake.

"Hi, I'm Alex. I just transferred schools from Ohio" she says, standing up.

She's almost a full foot (or maybe one and a half feet) taller than me. She's got long-ish blond hair and it's tied up in a ponytail. I take a look at her outfit and try not to gape. It's the first time I've seen a girl dare to wear sweats to school. She must be one of those extreme tomboys or somethin. But I can't lie, she is really pretty. She could be a model, but I doubt she would want to. I pinch myself when I realize I'm doing it again. I always seem to judge people on their appearance. She might not be a complete tomboy. Heck, she might be one of those prissy frou-frou types. I guess I have to wait and find out.

"Do you w-want me to show you around t-the school?" I say softly, but louder than I normally would.

"Sure," she says with a smile. We start walking and I give her a tour around.

Parts one and two accomplished. YES!

Chapter 4

Feeling satisfied with myself, I head home with something I don't usually have: pride. I don't have friends, so I never have anything to be proud of, well, except for my singing (in the shower only). I take the bus home, since my mom is forced to work because my dad is, you know, in jail. I am completely blaming him for my messed up life. I write him SHORT letters, once in awhile, because I'm his daughter, and I should do stuff like that. I'm not a full hater, I'm just permanently angry at him. He did ruin my perfectly good life, after all.

I get home and as soon as I shut the door behind me, I make a beeline for the fridge. I am always CRAZY hungry right after school. I dunno why, it's just one of those weird things I do. I grab an apple and some tortilla chips and head to my room to do my homework. I am SO glad my house doesn't have stupid rules about not eating in bedrooms. When I get to my room, I sit down at my desk. I love my desk! It's one of those old-fashioned ones that has the thing you pull down. My room is basically the opposite of my personality. It's all bright colors and bold stuff and yeah. Not really the "shy-girl" type bedroom. I wearily get my books out of my backpack, and open my math book. Ew. Algebra. I absolutely HATE IT! I despise graphing, so that might be the problem. Before I start, I think about that new girl, Alex. I hope she's in my algebra class. We didn't have it today, so hopefully she'll be in it. I wonder what it's like Ohio. I get so caught up in my thoughts and wonders about Alex that by the time I stop myself to start on homework, my alarm clock says 3:36. I spent a half hour thinking and daydreaming. Ugh. I really need to break that habit. But being shy, I never have anyone to talk to, so I daydream and think about random stuff.

A little after I finish my homework, at about 5:23, I hear the door. My mom's home! We weren't that close before the "dad incident" but since then we've grown steadily closer. I call down "hi mom!" and then go to my laptop. I know, I know. Every single kid story character has a laptop. But really. If your dad was in jail and your mom had to work all day as an engineer, then you'd probably have your own computer, too. I just got it two years ago for my birthday, on October 13. So I powered it up and went straight to Google search. Okay, I was really curious about Alex. I started to type in her name, but I realized I didn't know her last name. Kind of a problem. Oh well. I'll probably find out tomorrow anyway. I decide to play some games instead. I love free online games. Key word free. I especially love word games. I start to play Word Ruffle and find myself immersed in the game.

By the time dinner comes around, I've beaten my all-time high score. Yep, that's me. An extreme gamer. You would never think that the shy girl in the corner could actually be good at things. Oh yeah, you never even glance at her. Maybe you should think twice next time. Actually make an attempt to make eye contact. But wait, you're too cool to even look at the loners. That's right. You think you're on the top of the world and you're the best person around. Well guess what! If you don't even want to look at "un-cool" people, then you're a loser. That's right. A loser. And yes, I just went there. Next time, be nice.

*SIGH*

Sorry for overreacting, I just get so angry sometimes at the other people at school. I mean seriously! They act like I'm going to whip out a gun and just shoot them all! I am NOTHING like my father. NOTHING! I would never in my entire life, purposely exert violence towards anybody. And the people at school need to realize that. Soon. Or my life is PERMANENTLY ruined.

Chapter 5

When the alarm/radio comes on in the morning, I get up right away. Normally I just turn it off and sleep for 10 more minutes, but today is special. I have to make a new friend today. I take extra time putting together my outfit and for once, walk out of the house with confidence. I want to get to school early so I can have a chance to talk to Alex some more. Since I don't have any friends, I don't see the point of riding the bus cuz people will probably isolate and ignore me anyways. Instead, I get to ride my bike! I hop on and start pedaling. I think I'm early enough. School starts in 45 minutes. I pull up to the bike rack, lock my bike in, and head to the front steps of the school. I don't see Alex on the front steps, so I head in towards my locker. After about a minute, I spot her walking out of the admin office. She must have had to get her locker information or something.

I walk over. "H-Hey Alex." I say, louder than I usually would. We start heading up the stairs.

"Hey Ruth" she says. Today she's  ditched the sweats for something a little more festive. I actually really like her outfit, but I probably wouldn't have worn the combat boots.

"So, do you know where your locker is yet?" I ask her, proud of myself for not stuttering.

"Yeah, it says I'm on floor 2," she replies, glancing at the paper she has in her hand.

Disappointed, I say glumly, "Oh. Mine's on floor 3." We reach floor 2 and I keep going up while she turns left off the stairs.

I stop walking. I see Mia and her clique huddled around something Mia's holding. I can't help but wonder what it is. It looks like some kind of book or magazine. Well, they are all reading addicts. But not nerds. They just love reading. So do I. I used to be kinda sorta not really in that group.

I go to my locker, and I, as usual, hear some of their whispers.

"We have to tell her."

"No, how are we supposed t-"

"What!?! We haven't talked in years!"

"But she needs to know to back off!"

Uh Oh. They were talking about me. It was probably about the Alex situation. Great. I walk away quickly before they can talk to me. But I hear one more thing.

"Fine. We'll just talk to Alex then. We'll tell her everything." This was definitely Mia. She ruled the group.

Great. I better find Alex again before Mia ruins my chance at any friendship whatsoever.

Chapter 6

So. The race is on. Sorry. I don't know where that came from. I guess i just read too many books. Ugh, I'm getting distracted again! So, I'm racing down the hall, looking for Alex. It's almost time for the first class, but I need to find her!! AAAAAAHH!

*Brrrrrring*

Oh great. The first bell. Now Mia probably already found her. Oh well. I'll look for her during free period, in about two hours from now. How am I supposed to endure that!?! So, first up, biology. Oh, maybe she's in biology too. I walk in, and it seems like everyone's getting ready for a test. Huh? There's no te-OH SHOOT THERE'S A TEST TODAY! AAAAAHH!  WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?? okay Ruth. Deep breath. It's okay. There's still five minutes until class starts. I open my notebook. Alright, the test is on- I scan the pages-basic lab skills. Oh, this'll be a breeze. Microscopes and classifying organisms. Easy peasy.

The test goes by fairly easily, and as soon as the bell rings, I jump out of my seat and run into the hall. Maybe I can catch her while I'm switching classes. I'm concentrating as hard as I can to recognize her high blond ponytail. Nope, not her, not her, not her. Ugh! I'll never find- Okaaaaay, who is that? There's a boy walking toward me. He's kinda tall, and he's got dark brown hair. He's got a smirk on his face, like what he's thinking about is funny. Like an inside joke that only he knows about. What's his name again? There are so many people at this school. "Hey Luke!" another boy calls behind him. He turns, so I guess his name is Luke. I can't believe I haven't noticed him until now. Wow. You have to understand that I am not the kind of girl who gets all obsessed with all the cute boys, okay? I haven't had a crush since like, 5th grade. I don't even know what the point is if no one even wants to look at me. Man, he is cute. You would think that, being a loner reject, I would notice everything. But no, I have to keep to myself and miss him. Okay, I now officially have a crush.

He's staring at me kinda weird,and I realize I stopped in my tracks. I'm blocking the hallway! How embarrassing can you get? I quickly move on, my head down. What was I doing again? Oh yeah! ALEX!! Findherfindherfindherfindher. Where is she?? Okay, now I'm out of time. Next class. Surprisingly, it zooms by. I rush out into the hall, and there she is. Right across the hall. But there's one problem. Mia's already with her. Oh no! They're gonna tell her about Dad!! I try to run over, but there's too many people. I catch a glimpse of Alex's face. It's going from friendly to surprised, to kind of scared. I finally reach them, but Alex just looks at me with fear and walks away with Mia. She doesn't even glance back. Great. Juuuust great. I lost my only chance at a life.

I drag myself through the rest of the day, hoping I'll see Alex. No success. But it turns out she's in my Algebra class. I snag a seat next to her, and smile at her. She doesn't even look over. Her eyes seem kind of fearful. Okay, time for Plan B. Oh right, there s no Plan B. Looks like tonight I'll be thinkin up a new strategy to bring my social status upward.