Okay so…this is my first HHAW fic, and I'm a little nervous to see how people like it. :x So please, PLEASE R&R even if you hate it.
Shining Through the Silence: Chapter 1
A lone who stood at the spot where the school bus came, according to her mom. She certainly hoped her mom was right; she didn't want to miss the bus on her first day of seventh grade in Whoville. She was scared out of her wits. She wasn't used to this new school—heck, she wasn't even used to Whoville. She had just moved from a small town that was far south of Whoville, a small, nameless town, which she loved with all of her heart. Then, her father, a dentist, had a great job opportunity in Whoville, and here she was.
Now, this who had an unusual look to her. She had pure white fur, which was striped with stripes of sky blue. Her hair, always kept in a long ponytail, was an identical color of blue. Her eyes were a beautiful crystalline, you guessed it, blue. She was also noticeably short. This was the normal look at her small town, stripes, hair and eyes all the same color. She wasn't sure what other who's native to Whoville looked like, though.
As she pondered about Whoville and the whos, the school bus pulled up right in front of her. As she walked towards the reclining door of the yellow bus, she was suddenly afraid. Would people judge her because of her looks, or the fact that she was new, or because of her…impediment?
As she walked onto the bus, everyone turned to look at this new who. They began muttering amongst themselves, and the small who caught small fragments of their whispers as she slowly walked down the isle. "Is she new?" "I bet she's from out of town." "Is it just me, or does she seem kind of short?" She tensed at the latter comment. She was unhappy that she was being judged already, as soon as she was in sight of the other whos.
She gulped, now focusing on finding a seat. As she looked around the bus, trying to ignore, the best that she could, the whispers of the other whos. Aha! She saw an empty seat, seemingly the only one left, next to a gray-furred who with black hair, who was staring out the window. Hoping with all her might that this who wouldn't judge her or make fun of her, she made her way to the only empty seat on the bus.
~~/+\ = /+\~~
The small, black haired who stared out the window boredly. Eventful day on the bus, as always. He'd never liked school, more or less the bus ride to school. It was quite sad, actually. A whole year at middle school and he hadn't made a single friend. Plenty of enemies, though. He thought bitterly. His thoughts were interrupted by a faint noise next to him that sounded like a weight being put on the seat next to him. Someone had sat next to him?
He looked away from the window and towards the who that, apparently, made a mistake and sat in the wrong seat. Why else would anyone in their right minds si… A sudden rush of curiosity cut off his thoughts as he looked at the who beside him. She was a pure white who, save for the blue stripes on her fur that reminded him of the color of the sky. Her hair, in a remarkably long ponytail, was the same color, as were her eyes, which shined like twin crystals. She's truly a sight to behold… He remarked mentally. He noticed that she was looking at the ground, as if she was afraid of judgment from him.
Then, she looked up. Their eyes locked for a moment. The black-haired who, deeply embarrassed that he was caught staring, dropped his gaze to the ground, though he sub-consciously watched her from the corner of his eye. To his surprise, she started to dig into her backpack, apparently looking for something. Moments later she pulled out a small, blue, spiral notepad with a pencil put deliberately into the spirals so that it wouldn't fall out.
His interest piqued when she took the pencil out of the rings, flipped to a page in the notepad, and started to write. What is she doing? His question was answered when she held out the notebook to him with a "please, PLEASE don't ask" look on her face. The black-haired who blinked, but didn't say a word as he took the blue notepad and read the lone word on the otherwise blank page.
"Hi."
Hmm…she doesn't like to talk? He glanced at the who beside him; she was looking at him with a hopeful look, as if she desperately wanted to believe that he wouldn't judge her. Huh. Well, I can relate. Big time. He quickly wrote on the space below her message and handed it back to her with a small smile.
"Hi. What's your name?"
As she read, her face lit up, he noticed. Wait…why was he noticing her facial expressions so intently? Embarrassed with himself yet again, he dropped his gaze to the ground once more. When she held out the notepad again, he accepted it with another faint smile and read the words below his handwriting.
"Mimi. What's yours?"
Mimi… He quickly wrote back.
"Jojo."
Mimi stared at her notepad for a moment.
"Hi, Jojo. I'm new at your middle school…and I'm really nervous, so forgive me if I act…I dunno, weird."
Jojo blinked. So that's why I couldn't recognize her!
"I will. But I have to warn you, the kids at Whoville Middle School can get pretty nasty."
Mimi frowned at her notepad.
"Oh…I hope they don't pick on me."
"I hope so, too. They'll probably too busy picking on me to even notice your presence, anyways."
At this, her eyes widened with shock.
"Oh…I'm really sorry about that. You seem really nice, though."
Jojo blushed slightly as he read her message.
"Thanks. I barely even notice them anymore." He paused in mid-stroke. He decided to take a risk. "By the way, if you don't mind me asking…why do you interact by writing and not by just talking?"
When Mimi read this, her expression got slightly more serious and even a little bit sad. Jojo immediately regretted asking her, and his muscles tensed when she began to write again.
"Well…I was born without any vocal chords, so I have to communicate by writing."
Jojo froze in shock. Wow…wasn't expecting that.
"Oh, I see. Mind you, I don't like to talk very much, either. I prefer making faces at people."
Mimi smiled.
"You're funny."
"I try my best."
"I can tell."
Jojo laughed.
"You're not bad."
"Neither are you."
Jojo was about to write a response when the school bus screeched to a halt. Jojo sighed and quickly wrote a sentence on the notepad as all the other whos got off the bus.
"Welcome to Whoville Middle School, Mimi."
