Conny: I wrote this a long time ago, while I still had English class. That was last semester. I miss having English class! Algebra and Biology is boring! Anyway, I had an assignment to make a continuation for the book SPEAK. I'm sure a lot of other students had to do the same, but I figured I would do something a little different.

Also, be on the look out for another SPEAK continuation. I wrote two different continuations, both of which seem extremely impossible. And highly unlikely, but I loved the concept!

DISCLAIMER: ALTHOUGH I UNDERSTAND THE DEPRESSION IN THE STORY, I DONT OWN IT. ...but an original character or two are by me...

COLLEGE BREAK

I know I shouldn't be coming back to this place, but I couldn't help it. I've missed that cricket-looking guy. No, he's not a half-man, half-bug. He's my art teacher. Mr. Freeman.

Miss Secretary: "I'm not supposed to let non-students in. And you don't have a child to pick up or visit…"

Well, it's just one visit. And I have to go back to New York City tomorrow. I made it into this great college, so I can't be late. This lady better let me through, or else the cops are going to have to take me away.

Me: "Please? It's just a few minutes."

She sighs, then forks over the visitor's pass. I thank her, then get my butt moving to the furthest part of this prison. I walk past my closet, I can't visit that old place. What if there's another student-oh, what the heck? Why not check it out? I step into it, making sure no one is around to see me. When I come in, it's like I stepped back into my past. Well, a much more Martha-ish version. The closet is cleaner, but it's still the sanctuary I knew. The chair is still here. There's new and old trees on the walls. Some of them are mine, the ones that I couldn't save. There's only one other name, besides my own, on these walls. Conny Williams. I should get out, I'm supposed to be visiting my favorite teacher.

I shouldn't be staying here, but I couldn't help it. I want to see if this girl comes back. And just as I hoped, MiniMelinda comes running in. Once she looks at me, she freaks.

MiniMelinda: "Who are you? Are you a senior? Why are you in here? Did my brother send you in to find me? Oh my God!"

I clamp my hands down on her shoulders, she seems too small. I think she's about to have a mental breakdown, so I pull her into a hug.

Me: "I don't know who your brother is. I'm not a senior. I'm only visiting my old hideout… and visiting my favorite teacher."

She stops hyperventilating, I guess I don't need to comfort MiniMelinda anymore. What's so wrong about her brother? I understand there should be a health fear for seniors, but why is it so bad with her brother?

MiniMelinda: "You used to be a Merryweather Hornet?" I know where this is going.

Outcast Code:

1.) When you are asked if you are/were a Merryweather Hornet, you give it a moment. After that moment, you mock it.

Me: "I was a 'horny, horny hornet.'" MiniMelinda laughs, I do too. "So… Mr. Freeman is still around?" She nods, so I look at her drawings. They remind me a lot about my drawings.

MiniMelinda: "Wait… you're Melinda Sordino, aren't you?" Oh, so she has looked at these drawings. I guess she was curious who her predecessor was.

Me: "Am I still that famous?" Oops, I meant infamous.

MiniMelinda: "Well, I heard things through my… brother. And these drawings you left." She seems happy she's met me. I'm not much, really. I'm just someone that made it into a good art school, thanks to a teacher that I have yet to even visit.

Me: "I should get going. I have to visit Mr. Freeman." I don't want to leave this girl alone, but I have to get going. My flight back to New York is soon, there's no way I can miss it. I don't have the money to afford that.

As I open the door, she pulls me back in. In her eyes, I see desperation. Did I have that in my eyes? Poor MiniMelinda. She deserves to be recognized by her name, Conny. Conny Williams.

Conny: "Please, you have to help me. I can't… I…" I know how she feels right now. Her throat is burning. There's an iceberg blocking out the words. Tears want to fall, bringing forth the tidal wave of secrets that must be frozen in fear.

What am I supposed to do? I can't hand a fellow Outcast over to the guidance counselor. He was useless to me, and he'll be useless for everyone else. Could she go to Mr. Freeman? Is she ready for that? Conny might be as silent as I was. Could talking to someone she possibly idolizes help her? I don't know. Maybe…

Me: "Here." I pull a piece of chalk from my pocket, it's not that weird. I've found a paintbrush in my coat pocket, I didn't even remember putting it there. Anyway, I wrote my cell phone number on the old chalkboard in here. "Give me a call. I didn't get a chance to talk to someone, so I'm giving you your chance to speak."

She hugs me, then I get going. I'll ask Mr. Freeman about this girl. I walk into his room, just as the bell rings. All the students get moving, I guess it's lunch time.

Mr. Freeman: "Melinda! It's nice to see a fellow artist again. How's NYC?"

Me: "Fine, it's so much bigger than Syracuse. Thank you for telling me about that college."

There, I thanked my favorite teacher for the opportunity I probably wouldn't have gotten. If it weren't for him pressuring me to work harder in art, I wouldn't have even considered majoring in the arts. Ivy is even with me, although, she's been busy working on her science majors, too.

Mr. Freeman: "No problem, Melinda." There was a knock at the door, so we both look to see who it is. I freeze.

Andy Evans: "Mr. Freeman-oh… I'm sorry, I'll just come back later." He leaves, I don't think he recognized me. Did he?

Me: "Why was he… here?" He graduated, he left for good. Didn't he?

Mr. Freeman: "He's tamed, no worries. Mr. Evans is a student teacher, working in the Literature department." The Beast has been tamed? Who put the collar on him? How?

Me: "Alright, I'll trust your judgment."

Mr. Freeman knows what Andy did to me, when he was a senior. I told him, just before the sunset of my freshmen year. It had to be the most liberating thing I've ever done. I told someone the full story, nothing vague, nothing too detailed.

Mr. Freeman: "Believe me, he isn't the boy you knew years ago." Well, Mr. Freeman is good at judging character. If he thinks that monster did change his ways, I'll believe him. I'm not worried about myself, it's the defenseless girls that walk these halls. The ones like Conny.

Me: "There was this girl, Conny. Is she…?"

Mr. Freeman: [smirking] "Melinda, I see great potential in you and that girl. She just needs an extra push." What's with the face? Come on, cricket-man, tell me. I am not about to go back to SYMBOLISM with Hairwoman.

Me: "I should get going, Mr. Freeman. Flights to New York aren't cheap." We say goodbye, so I head out.

As I leave, I notice a girl is running down the hall. It's Conny. A group of guys are down the hall she ran, one of them look like an OlderBoyConny. I see something in his eyes that I recognize. It's the IT infection. IT isn't a person, IT is the thought of having power. Too much power.

OlderBoyConny: "What're you looking at?" I shake my head. It's time to go. Conny will call me, if she needs someone. I'm sure she'll be fine. If I was, then she will too.

Just like Mr. Freeman, I believe she has potential. Just like me, she'll grow out of it. It's the tree. We're the tree. We grow, we survive the harshest conditions, we can live. Conny Williams. Melinda Sordino. Mr. Freeman. We're all trees.

Conny: No, this is not a reflection on my life. I just decided to throw my name in there at the last minute. I couldnt think of anything else. Also, that's not my last name. Anyway, was this good? At all? And if it was worth the read, tell me?

If you'd like a continuation... ask for it? Because I wont do anything if I'm not told to do it, alright?

So REVIEW. RAWR.