Chapter One
I don't talk. That's it. End of story. And I honestly do not understand why people can't seem to grasp that concept. I am not mute. I didn't damage my vocal cords in some elaborate suicide attempt. I just choose to not speak. Yet this new teacher of mine with a…puppet? What the hell? Anyway… This new teacher is still trying to trick me into speaking. Good luck, man. I've been trained since I was six to keep my mouth shut. Uncle Jim says I'm getting good at behaving myself. I still get the Punishment sometimes, but I always deserve it. It's my own stupidity that gets me Punished. It's my fault for being a bad girl. But there's still one thing that I NEVER slip up on. Keeping my mouth shut. The teacher shoving that creepy puppet in my face makes me want to scream but I won't. I promised Uncle Jim I wouldn't be a bad girl at this school. At my last school, they noticed my bruises and cuts, so he moved us out here. Uncle Jim said that I didn't do enough to hide my Punishments, that I was trying to get attention. I can't stand looking at this teacher anymore so I scan the room. These kids are 16 to 17 and have apparently had this teacher since 3rd grade. Poor kids… No wonder that blonde kid is so shaky. The class seems well behaved enough, I wonder why the school decided they would be better with the same teacher every year. I can't take this shit anymore. Looking him in the eyes, I stand up and walk out of the room. Maybe he'll stop if I wander around crying crocodile tears. The door opens behind me before I'm even three steps down the hall. I guess the teacher had to follow me… I turn around to see a kid in an orange sweatshirt and a green hat. Weird… Kids usually shun away from the "weird quiet girl," not follow me.
"Look, Mr. Garrison is a prick. I'm Jewish and he tried to make me play Joseph of Arimathea in an elementary Christmas play. He's a horrible person we all hate, but it's better if you just ignore him. If you want, you can come sit by me and my friends. I'll have your back." I have to admit, I was shocked. Uncle Jim would be pissed, but he didn't have to know. I nodded and followed him shakily back to class.
"Mr. Garrison, she really doesn't talk. Save yourself some time and stop trying." Wow, this kid has balls. If I talked to anyone like that Uncle Jim would flip. I was just waiting for Mr. Garrison to give the kid a detention but instead he just walked to the front of the class and started spewing horribly incorrect facts about the Industrial Revolution. I followed the kid with the green hat to the back of the empty desk next to his. I ducked under my desk to set down my books. When I looked at the top of my desk there was a carefully folded piece of notebook paper on it. I half smiled at the note. Nobody had ever been this overtly friendly before and honestly, it was rather adorable.
"I'm Kyle Broflovski. Who're you?"
"Don't have one. *winks/sticks tongue out*"
"If you don't tell me I'm just going to have to make one up"
"Oh my God, man! Nice ripping off the new Star Trek movie lmao"
"Oh shit, you watched that too? *facepalm at my stupidity*"
"Girls can be Trekkies too, thank you very much"
"Well, to distract from my embarrassment, seriously, what's your name?"
"*sigh…* Call me Mikki. Yes, I know that's a male name. But my name is McKenzie McFinnigan. I hate my name and refuse to go by Kenzie because it's too girly. Thus, Mikki"
"Mikki…I like that. It suits you somehow"
"*does happy dance, finger twirls included* Whoo! +10 points for Kyle!"
"Points?" By this point we're both stifling laughter and we are most definitely getting odd looks from everyone else in class.
"Because I don't talk and most people hate me, I get to study their behavior a lot. My way of keeping track of peoples' behavior is points. If someone does something I like they get +10 points. If they do something I don't like they get -10 points. Very simple lol"
"Whoo! I feel special now lol"
"You should! You're the only person I've met in town so far to actually gain points instead of immediately going in the red"
When I pass the note back this time I notice the kid sitting next to Kyle staring at me. I scribble a quick P.S. at the bottom of my note.
"P.S. What's your friend's name? *stares at the kid to see if I can make him feel awkward*"
Kyle looks at his buddy and smiles.
"Stan. He's my best friend, despite the fact that he is apparently creeping on our conversation"
"Stan? Wow, I was expecting something along the lines of Skylar of Brody from how intently he was staring. He seems like he should have a soap opera name, you know?"
Kyle loses it this time. He busts out laughing so hard he turns red from lack of oxygen.
"Kyle Broflovski! New kid! Just what do you think you're doing?" As Kyle apologizes to Mr. Garrison, I grab a piece of paper and a sharpie. My face flushing with annoyance and embarrassment, I write my name so it fills up the entire sheet. Holding it up for Mr. Garrison to see, I can feel my jaw tighten with anger. I want to go off on him so badly, but I know Uncle Jim would Punish me if I did.
"Mikki?" he questions. I nod. "Well, for someone who doesn't talk, you sure can be bitchy." I shrugged in response. I was used to childish name calling by now, both from kids at school and Uncle Jim. A sudden wave of nausea washed over me. Uncle Jim… Uncle Jim wouldn't approve of me passing notes with Kyle… No. I wouldn't let Uncle Jim find out. For once someone at a new school was actually being friendly. There was no way I was going to let Uncle Jim take anything away from me again.
"Not talking is dumb. Then everyone just walks all over you." Cartman was getting more annoying the more time I spent with him. I caught Kyle's eye and did a thumbs down, symbolizing another -10 points for Cartman. He laughed and nodded in agreement. I was walking home with them to hang out because Uncle Jim was gone for the night anyway. Once Kyle was distracted by a conversation with Stan, I took my notebook out of my bag and scribbled down some quick observational notes.
"Points: Kyle- 90 pts.
Stan- 60 pts.
Kenny- 80 pts.
Cartman- -370 pts.
Overall conclusions:
Kyle- fucking awesome
Stan- Pretty cool from what I can tell
Kenny- ADORABLE!
Cartman- Nazi
"Wow, Mikki. Nice." Kyle mumbled in my ear. I blushed and snapped my notes shut.
"What?" Stan questioned. I buried my face in the collar of my hoodie to hide my blush and stifle my laughter. Stan stopped in his tracks and busted out laughing.
"Holy shit! I haven't seen anyone do that since Kenny finally grew into that coat!" I honestly thought he was going to have a heart attack if he continued laughing like that. I smiled shyly at him. Finally, a hint of him being social. So far he had spent the day looking like he was going to throw up.
"If all of you don't shut up I'm gonna punch you all in the face!" Cartman griped from about three feet ahead of us. My blood ran cold and I stopped walking. I felt myself begin to shake. I know it was an empty threat, but it still petrified me. Images of Uncle Jim punching holes in various walls and throwing things flashed before me. I swear I could feel the ache of a black eye, the burning feeling of the first breath of sweet oxygen after being choked, the blood running down the insides of my thighs…
"Mikki!" Stan's voice brought me back to reality. I was exactly where I had stopped. I mouthed sorry and quickly walked away from the guys before they could ask questions. Kyle rushed to catch up with me.
"Mikki, are you okay?" I wanted to shout no, to sob, to tell them about Uncle Jim's punishments… But instead I nodded and motioned for us to keep walking. I was weak.
