Chapter one
Ky was mute.
She hadn't always been that way, but a freak accident involving the death of a close friend had shocked her so deeply that she just stopped talking one day and never spoke from that moment on.
Her best friend now –who was called Tia- was intrigued by her best friend's silence, it was something that had always puzzled her, she hadn't known Ky before she came to the school she was at now and only knew one other person who swore on his life that Ky could speak, but Tia had no proof.
And she wanted to know what the truth was and what was a lie.
Valkyrie Frost was late for school again, she threw on her uniform and dragged a brush through her dark chocolate coloured curls before scraping her hair back into a bobble and sliding her feet into her boring black school converse trainers.
She just caught the bus in time because the driver was kind to her and always idled at her stop in case she was running late, she smiled as she showed him her bus pass and she found a seat at the back of the bus before pulling her book out of her school bag and beginning to read.
When they reached West Cedar Falls road, a dark skinned girl got on the bus, she was slight in build with big eyes and a button nose, her dark hair was windswept and it hung down her back like a long black glossy curtain.
Ky had been staring at her for some time before she realised that the girl was heading her way and she quickly returned to her book.
A moment later, a shadow passed over Ky and stayed there, there was the noise of someone clearing their throat and looking up, Ky saw the dark skinned girl grinning sheepishly at her and she said
'Do you mind if I sit here? All the other seats are taken'
Ky glanced around and saw one other seat next to Dave Pilchard, the school bully and she gave a small nod as if to say 'Sure you can' and with a sigh of relief, the girl sat down next to Ky.
The bus bumped over the potholes on Lighthouse Lane and Ky was forced to close her book as it was moving too much to read, it was at this point that the girl next to her jumped at the chance to start talking to Ky
'I never introduced myself by the way' she smiled, Ky tilted her head in a 'Go ahead, I'm listening' way and the girl babbled on
'My name is Tia Stanton, I go to Cedar Falls high school, what about you?'
With a wry smile, Ky pointed to the school crest on Tia's blazer and then to the crest on her sweatshirt, they were exactly the same
'So, you go to my school? How come I haven't seen you around?' asked Tia, starting to take an interest in the strange girl.
Ky pulled out a notebook and a pen and wrote
'my name is Ky Frost, it's a pleasure to meet you Tia Stanton, the reason you may not have seen me before is because I recently transferred from the city of Breakwater to here in Cedar Falls'
Tia read the writing quite quickly and smiled as she finished
'I have always wanted to go to Breakwater city; it's like New York but with more friendly citizens'
Ky smiled and rolled her eyes, writing
'its not all that good, I mean, the only good thing about the city is how close it is to the ocean and the fact that you get a lot of fish and chips in cafes around the city'
Tia giggled and Ky felt a smile creep across her face, the first genuine smile since Anna died… No, she couldn't think about that now, it was over with and she was supposed to be moving on, but then, if she didn't speak anymore, that was her best friend's killer winning…
Ky broke out of her depressing thought chain before she let it make her cry and she tapped Tia on the shoulder, pointing out of the window to tell her that they were approaching the school, Tia smiled and pressed the red button on the green pole in front of her, then the two got off the bus together, Tia telling funny stories, Ky smiling and wishing Tia knew sign language.
Tia looked at the girl who was getting off the bus behind her and she realised something, that this girl was pretty behind the curtain of hair that she used to hide her face and that, despite the fact she hadn't spoken a word, they were friends.