Silent screams
Teen wolf remake
Chapter 1 – New Guy
We sat in the car outside the front gates of the school. Lessons had already started so it looked almost deserted except the students he could see inside the classrooms. The school itself seemed alright, it had that, generic high school theme to it and inside he'd probably find lockers as well.
Jack my adoptive dad had come with me to talk to the head teacher about my "problem". What is that problem? I here you ask (metaphorically of course). Well, my problem is that I can't speak.
When I was young there was a problem with my vocal chords and when i reached my eleventh birthday they started to swell up stopping me from breathing. They were swelling so fast that the doctor had to remove them to prevent me from suffocating. I had to learn sign language and how to cope without being able to make a single noise, I couldn't even whisper.
/Can we go in now?/ I signed to Jack with my hands.
"Sure, you got everything?" He asked to which I rolled my eyes. He had already asked me ten times this morning constantly fretting over it all.
/Yes, nothing's ran away out my bag since we got in the car./ it was hard to pull of sarcasm without speech but as usual I managed with ease.
"I'm just worried ok?" He said half-joking. Jack was everything to me since I was adopted by him seven years ago. He was pretty much my best friend since we haven't been able to settle down anywhere for too long, we just couldn't find somewhere to call home.
/You worried all morning, you don't have to worry all day./ It was Jacks turn to roll his eyes.
"Of course I do, I am your dad. Anyway, I need to go in first to talk to the head teacher about your problem" he said. "Just wait outside until we come out ok?"
/Sure/ I signed quickly before getting out the car.
We walked up to the building before we separated, I sat on the bench outside while he carried on through the doors.
I was sat there for almost two minutes when a car pulled up to the sidewalk and a girl about my age got out. She said goodbye to whoever it was in the car and walked up to sit beside me on the bench. "Hey, you new too?" She asked in a friendly way.
I began to answer in sign language out of habit before realising she probably had no idea what I was trying to say. After hesitating for a bit I ended up nodding simply.
"A man of few words." She joked smiling as a phone began to ring in her pocket. She scrambled around for a second before finding it and answering. "Mom, three calls for my first day is a little overdoing it." She continued to talk about a pen or something but I didn't listen in. Instead looking at the school and the lacrosse fields nearby.
After a few moments Jack walked out with someone who looked like the head teacher. "You must be Allison, and you must be Max?" He said shaking our hands. "I'm Mr Hanley, welcome to our school." His smile was artificial like a business person trying to secure a deal. "Max all the teachers have been notified of your "problem" and I am also pleased to say that two of our teachers actually speak ASL and you have been placed in their classes."
"Have a nice day Max." Jack said encouragingly.
/You too./ I signed. I continued to watch him get in the car and drive out the parking lot before turning to follow Mr Hanley into the building.
The girl, Allison, was looking at me quizzically. "Can you, uh, not speak?" She asked carefully, as if she didn't want to offend me. I shook my head at her and pulled a notebook out my bag about to write something when she holds her hand up to stop me. "Wait a sec."
She hesitated for a second before slowly signing /I can speak some ASL./
I grinned at her to confirm her accuracy and she grinned back. "I got that right?" I nodded and then sent her a questioning look.
She seemed to understand. "My dad taught me how to hold a basic conversation, he's always teaching me things like is, I never thought one would actually come in handy." I smiled, glad to know that I could talk to someone, albeit simple conversations.
As we were talking Mr Hanley led us through the corridors to the door of a classroom. He knocked on the door politely before entering the room. "Good morning class, this year I am pleased to say we have two new students, Max Crawford and Allison argent, please do your best to make them both feel welcome." He hesitated slightly wondering what to say next before turning to me as if asking if I wanted him to tell them my problem or not. I gave my head a slight shake, I wanted to tell them myself so I wouldn't seem completely helpless.
The teacher left leaving me and Allison to go sit down in the only spare seats in the class near the back of the room. The boy sat in front of Allison turned to her holding out a pen for her to use. How the hell did he know about that conversation she had outside the school to her mom? It was probably nothing, I probably didn't see her searching her bag when we sat down or something so I put it to the back of my mind and concentrated on the teacher for the rest of the lesson.
XxXxXxXxXxX
As soon as the bell rang everyone started to pack up as quickly as possible, either no one liked chemistry or I was in a school of nerds who wanted to rush to their next classes. It was probably the former.
As I was walking out the door the boy who gave Allison the pen caught up with me. "Uh...hi, I'm Scott." He said awkwardly scratching the back of his head.
I quickly snatched the notebook from the depths of my bag to write an answer. The notebook was Jack's idea, if I were to be honest I would never have even thought of bringing one if it weren't for him. I may have been in several AP classes in my old school but practical thinking wasn't one of my strong points.
I scribbled down /I'm Max/ it was sort of ironic really, my hand writing is almost illegible even though it was my only way of communicating to the majority of the world
"Uh...can't you speak?" He said just as awkwardly as before.
I shook my head before scribbling /I don't have any vocal chords./ God it sounded so weird, to be honest most of them would probably think me a freak or something.
He frowned in confusion slightly but didn't ask any more questions as another boy walked up behind him.
"Hey, I'm Stiles." He said holding out his hand to shake.
I took it before showing him the same note I showed Scott.
"Oh" was all he managed to get out. The atmosphere seemed very awkward and it would be for a few days until they all got eventually got used to it.
I spied Allison coming out of the classroom so I held up my finger as if to say wait a moment before heading over to her. I tried to get her attention, this was very hard as you can imagine not being able to call a name or anything.
After a few seconds of intense arm waving she caught sight of me and grinned.
"Hey." She said.
/how as class?/ I asked on my notebook, I wasn't quite sure what she knew so I was keeping it safe by using the pad.
"It was ok, you?"
I shrugged my shoulders as if to say the same.
/how much can you speak?/ I signed, hoping she would get it.
"I can hold a conversation a simple conversation, anything more and I lose track." She said smiling
I smiled back just as the bell rung. "See you later then." She said waving a quick goodbye before heading the opposite way down the corridor.
I returned to Scott and Stiles who were currently talking about sport. I gave them a questioning look and they seemed to get the gist. "We play lacrosse here." Scott explained as they began walking to their next lesson.
/I don't like team sports much, you can get the picture./ I wrote. Because of my speech problem it meant I couldn't communicate with the rest of my team.
"Yeah, try-outs are tonight though, I'm gonna make first line." Scott said determined.
"He says this every year and he still hasn't made it." Stiles explained causing me to grin uncontrollably. That is my version of a laugh since I can't.
"It's not that funny." He insisted. "And I will this year." He added on just as we arrived at the door of our next class.
XxXxXxXxXxX
After the last bell had rung the three of us found ourselves stood in the corridor next to our lockers as Scott and Stiles dug through them to retrieve their kit.
"You should come to the try-outs anyway. I could give you a lift home after." Stiles offered.
/Sure, I'll text Jack/ I wrote, pulling out my phone from my bag to text him.
"Who is Jack anyway?" Scott asked.
/My guardian, he adopted me a while back./ I didn't exactly want to disclose all the info.
I got a text back almost immediately. /sure, have a good time :) do you need a lift?/ I quickly answered him before showing them the text.
"Lets go then." He announced but Scott didn't seem to be paying attention. "Scott?" He asked, trying to get his attention.
I followed his gaze to see he was staring wistfully across the hall at Allison, who was stood with another girl and boy.
"We'll see you out there ok?" Scott said as the two of them entered the locker room together with the boy who was stood with Allison.
I started walking towards the field outside but before I got out of the door I heard someone call my name behind me. I turned to see Allison and the other girl going the same way I was.
I smiled and walked over to them.
"Hey, this is Lydia, Lydia this is Max." She said introducing us both.
"The mute, right?" She said. I stood, rather shocked at the bluntness of her comment.
"Lydia!" She scolded.
It's fine, I got it a lot when I lived in San Francisco I wrote.
"You lived in San Francisco! We lived there for the last three years, we moved over the summer."
So did we I wrote smiling widely.
"Were you going to watch the try-outs? We were just going there." She said.
"Come on, lets not be late." Lydia said before the three of them walked to the stands together.
XxXxXxXxXxX
Try-outs were interesting to say the least, from what I had gathered from Stile's mocking comments of (or lack of) Scott's ability throughout the day I gathered that it would go bad from the start. What made me angry though, was for the coach to completely blow any chance Scott had out the window by putting him in a position he hadn't ever played and using him as a "moral boost" for the players.
I looked over to the goal where Scott stood awkwardly, waiting for the first player to get ready.
"Who is he?" Allison asked us, Scott turned to face us, as if he heard the question.
"I don't know." Lydia answered.
/He's my friend, Scott/ I signed as I had left my notebook in my locker but I don't think she was watching anyway. I didn't even know if he was my friend, but I wasn't going to write 'he's a guy I literally only just really met'.
Then something strange happened; the coach blew his whistle to start the exercise but it seemed to hurt Scott as he clutched his head in pain.
"Is he alright?" Allison asked, slightly worried. I shrugged my shoulders, it seemed that something was wrong with his ears.
The player gave Scott a funny look but took the chance, firing a shot straight at Scott's head before rolling into the goal.
The hit to his head looked like it brought him away from whatever pain he was feeling and he seemed to regain his cool and prepare for the next shot.
The ball had been but this time he caught it in the net of his stick with ease. From then on Scott seemed to have no problem catching every single shot fired at him. It was strange, on one particularly spectacular save I could have sworn I spied two orange lights beneath the helmet but it was probably a trick of the light.
I caught sight of Stiles having some sort of exited fit before the coach blew his whistle to send them all back to the locker room.
I left Lydia and Allison and walked to the car park where Scott and Stiles were waiting. Apparently Scott got a lift with Stiles as well.
"So, where d'you live?" Stiles asked once we were all squashed in the front of the car.
/Near the west entrance to the forest preserve/ I wrote, catching a secretive look Stiles sent Scott's way.
Something was going on here in Beacon Hills, and I was gonna find out what it was.
XxXxXxXxXxX
That night I sat on my bed with my notebook and tried to remember all the strange things that had happened so far and tried to collate them into some order or something.
Firstly, Scott's unusual performance in lacrosse, I hadn't seen him play normally though so I couldn't compare but from stiles I gathered he was shit. I also remembered the pen incident, it could have been a coincidence but with the other strange things going on I had to consider it. Maybe he had heard her talking on the phone outside? He did have a problem with the whistle at practice, almost as if it had been amplified in his ears somehow.
He could have something wrong with his hearing? But it was more like he had better hearing, or even better senses in general? He did have much better reflexes than the others in lacrosse as well.
I put the notebook down and lay back in my bed. I would continue my investigation tomorrow.
'00:30' My clock read, I closed my tired eyes, falling asleep almost immediately.