Chapter 2

I walk slowly in the school hall and stare at the group of kids passing by me.

"Oh! Guys, look! It's Mute!" Billy laughs and points at me.

Great, more trouble.

"Hey, Mute. Why don't you talk to us? Oh wait! You can't!" John grins stupidly.

I shrug and avert my eyes away from him.

He smacks my forehead and mumbles,"Pathetic."

I give him an intimidating glare making him stumble backwards and walk away.

As Itsuki walks away he mutters,"Emo freak…"

I glare at him as he walks away, but as soon as he turns the corner I sigh and trudge along.

The girls standing next to me giggle.

I ignore them and continue walking, my shoulders slouched and my head hanging.

School is a dangerous place where no one can be trusted, not even the teachers. Billy, John, and Itsuki make me in danger here. They're at the top. They have good grades. And they are the biggest bullies. Everyone's scared of them.

I look up and shove my hands in my pocket.

Mute…

I stare at my feet and grit my teeth.

"I can talk…" I mumble,"I'm not mute…"

I just don't find it worth talking to fools like you. The only people I answer are my brother and sister.

I pull my phone out of my pocket and unlock it with my finger.

I was watching the news this morning and had forgotten to close it out, so the newscaster's voice rings throughout the hall.

"Susie Jones has now been missing for 24 hours. We continue to investigate, but have found no evidence, what so ever, about her disappearance. If you find anything please contact the police station right away. And if you see a girl wi-"

My eyes widen and I immediately close out the tab.

Susie… Jones…

I shudder and continue to walk.

When I'm in P.E I find myself doing push-ups.

Sweat trickles down my face and my breath becomes heavy as I continue to do the push-ups.

I gasp for air and my legs give out. I sigh and wipe my face with my arm.

"Ha, weak!" John yells at me and jabs me in the stomach.

The sudden rush of pain causes me to choke and everything starts to spin.

"Look at him!" John laughs.

My head suddenly becomes a heavy weight and I slowly fall over. My head hits the ground and I hear shuffling near me until I see Itsuki staring down at me.

"What's wrong with him?" Itsuki ask and pokes my cheeks.

I see a spinning figure of Itsuki before everything becomes black.

After another minute of black an image starts to form in my head.

My brother smiles at me and holds his hand out for me to take. I laugh and take it.

He leads me across the park towards my older sister who waves at us.

"C'mon! Don't you wanna play~?" My sister laughs and swings the bat in her hand.

"Of course! We're coming as fast as we can!" My brother answers.

"Can I swing?" I ask.

"Of course!" My brother answers and ruffles my hair,"Baseball is for anyone at any age~!"

I grab the bat from my sister and notice how heavy it is, but don't say anything.

My sister walks to her position and throws the ball at me. I try swinging the bat, but miss by a second.

"Strike one!" My sister yells.

My brother grabs it from behind me and throws it back at my sister.

She throws it again, but I miss again.

"Strike two!"

My brother throws it to her and she throws it back at me.

I… want to hit it. I want to. I have to. This is my last chance…

I swing and I hear a 'thunk'. I look up and see the baseball flying across the field. A smile tugs at my lips as I watch the baseball hit the grass miles away.

"Jessie!" My brother yells,"Run!"

I count in my head, 1… 2… 3… run!

After that the image disappears and everything becomes black again.

Why can't I have a normal family like that? I just want… a normal family.