Disclaimer: I dis this claim.

Chit-Chat in Silence

Chapter 1: "Most conversations are simply monologues delivered in the presence of a witness." -Margaret Millar

He hated school. There were no if, and, or buts about it: he hated school. Almost as much as he hated his home life, but that one always trumped over anything in its comparison.

Still though, he did hate school. Every aspect about it. The students, teachers, classes, hallways, lunches, lockers, ceilings, walls, everything. It was all stupid and pointless. And he was stuck here until his mom and step-parent got on the move and let him attend flight school.

He was pretty sure school hated him back. All of the students thought he was acting "stuck up" for not talking, and the teachers treated him like he was stupid. He wasn't stupid. He got straight A's, finished his work, all that bullshit. He just wanted the fuck out of here.

Out of all the classes, he hated biology the least. In that class, he got a table all the way in the back, all to himself, no one bugged him, and he was permitted to work with his hands. He still hated it though. People looked at him and snickered, the teacher gave that disapproving look when he asked a question and received a notebook in face with the answer. (He didn't ask questions often though).

The teacher, Mr. Ling, wasn't asking Dwayne questions today, thank gawd. Dwayne was down to his last three pieces of paper in his notepad, and left his spare one at home. He was expecting a sub in his last class, so he would probably need the paper for then. He really hated this fucking school.

They were going over simple crap today. Mitosis and meiosis. Mr. Ling kept hinting that a big project was coming up. Whatever. It's not like the silent boy needed to worry about a partner or any of that bullshit.

"Now, in anaphase one-" Mr. Ling's lecture abruptly stopped with the opening of the door. Dwayne looked up uncaringly from his notes and doodles. He stared at the wooden door as the vice-principal(or bitchipal, as he preferred) entered. She held the door open and in followed a girl.

He didn't really look at her. She looks plain. Blonde hair, tan skin. Yay, another Cali-Girl.

The "educators" talk and the girl stares around the room, swaying. She looks hippie-ish. Long skirt and sleeves and hair and all. Yay, another peace lover.

The vice-bitchipal leaves and the girl keeps standing there. Dwayne suddenly realizes why she's there. She's probably a new student. New student, means that the only available seat in class will be taken by her. The only available seat, being next to him. Dammit.

"Everyone, this is Virginia Mars, she just moved here from Juno, Alaska." She smiles hugely at everyone.

She must dye her hair, is the first thing he thinks.

"I go by Ginny," she tells Mr. Ling, then looks at the class like she hopes they understand.

"Okay, well Ginny, you will be sitting," Mr. Ling pauses and looks around the room, as if hoping another spot that isn't beside the "freaky emo kid" has appeared for the new girl.

Nope. No random seats materialize. Dwayne is screwed.

"You'll be sitting by Dwayne, in back there." He looks like he's inwardly wincing, and the fact that Dwayne is causing such a turmoil nearly makes him smile. He doesn't though, he keeps his composure.

"Okay," Ginny says and practically skips to the stool next to Dwayne. He doesn't look at her as she sits down and rumbles through her backpack and pulls out some paper and a pencil. "Hi," she whispers.

He doesn't consider himself to be too rude, so he nods in response before tapping his pencil on the desk a few times.

She pauses for a moment, and he realizes she looking at him, waiting for a reply. Well, she won't get one. He is going to stay true to his vow of silence no one was going to make him break that even for the smallest of reasons.

She stops staring and goes back to getting school ready things out of her bag. He goes back to doodling planes and circles.

Mr. Ling talks to Ginny for a few minutes about what she's gone over and if she's at where there at and all that bullshit. From what Dwayne caught pieces of, she's behind.

"I'll be right back class, stay quiet," Mr. Ling suddenly says and walks out of the room.

Dwayne's the only one who follows the directions, even Ginny feels compelled to break the silence request.

"Hi, so you're Dwayne?" she asks nicely.

He nods.

"Do you like this class?"

He shrugs.

"Are you in tenth grade?"

He nods.

"Not very talkative, huh?" She giggles.

Sighing, Dwayne pulls out his worn red notepad from his back pocket. He flips to the third to last page and scribbles on the paper, and then pushes it to her.

She reads the words aloud. "'Vow of silence'." She pauses, blinking at the paper. "Oh, for what?" She hands the notepad back to him.

He sighs again, and writes again.

Again, she reads the words, " 'Air force academy. Parents won't let me go.'" She pauses again, as if she has to take a minute register the words meanings. "Oh, okay. That's cool. How long since you talked?"

She's really chatty. He jots down '4 months' and her eyes widen.

"Whoazus." The word makes Dwayne's brain spark. "Whoazus"? What kind of word was that? "I'd never be able to hold up that long. Props to you though, that must be rough." She slides his paper back to him, as if she hopes for a written reply.

He just shrugs.

"You shouldn't even bother talking to him," a voice that's way to nasally to be authentic reaches their table, and Ginny and Dwayne look to the voices owner. "He's emo and silent-y, so don't bother." Dwayne doesn't know who the hell this girl is, but she apparently knows a lot about him.

"Well, actually he was just-" She holds the paper up and Ms. Nasal Voice interrupts.

"Oh yeah. His little 'communication' slip. Freak." She scoffs at Dwayne, and he's tempted to flip her off, but she turns away from him to quickly and looks at Ginny. "So. You're from, like, Alaska? That's cool. Was it, like, really cold and stuff?"

Ginny is quick to reply, "Oh yeah, it's always freezing. You have to wear hundreds of layers just to go check the mail."

Dwayne's pencil stops from the drawings he resumed. It wasn't that cold. Surely she knew that.

"Oh wow," Ms. Nasal says in an awestruck voice. "That's terrible."

"Yeah, I was able to survive and not lose any of my toes, but there were a lot of kids at my old school who had lost a bunch of their toes." Ginny goes on, sounding completely honest.

Seriously, there's no way it was that cold.

"Oh my gawd, that's terrible!" Ms. Nasal says, devastated, or faking it more likely.

"Yeah, haven't you heard of the Juno Research Foundation? It's all for figuring out how to give kids new toes."

What the hell?

"Oh yeah! I think my dad went to one of the fundraisers last spring! He donated, like, five-hundred dollars." Dwayne looks up and see her smiling proudly at everyone who's eavesdropping. Which is everyone.

"Oh wow, that's so nice of him," Ginny replies, and Dwayne catches it. It being the smallest hint of sarcasm.

He gets it; she's joking. She's trying to see how stupid everyone is and making up a load of bullshit in the process.

Damn, she's good.

"What about, like, mooses?" asks a girl from a table in front of them. "Did you, like, see them?"

"Uh-huh. All the time. They just wander the streets and sometimes have stampedes through the villages."

Everyone gasps dramatically.

"Did you, like, ever see them, like, hunt?" ask a different dumb person.

Ginny still doesn't hesitate. "Yeah, I saw them eating a bunch of baby penguins one time. It was really dramatic. I still have nightmares." She shakes her head and looks away, but Dwayne catches her out of character and sees a laugh on her face.

Everyone mutters things like: "You poor thing," or "Those poor penguins," or other stupid shit, until Mr. Ling walks back in.

Once he starts talking about all of the meiosis phases again, Dwayne reaches for his still open notepad and writes at the bottom of the page: Good one.

He pushes it towards her and she reads it. She smiles widely, then whispers, "Thanks." And that's that.

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