Home>>read Speechless free online

Speechless(44)

By:Hannah Harrington


                “—Batman? Black and gold?”

                “Green Lantern, maybe. Green and silver.”

                I sit back and listen to them debating superhero colors. They                     don’t seem to be bothered by me being there. Not even Sam. If he’s unhappy with                     my presence, he doesn’t let on.

                I wonder if he knows how Noah is. If he’s any better. No one’s                     told me, and even if I was talking, I wouldn’t ask. Even though I’m dying to                     know. It just…it doesn’t seem like it’s my place. Or maybe I’m just scared to                     find out if he’s not doing well. That would make things even worse for me than                     they already are. If the vitriol aimed at me is already this bad, I can’t                     imagine what it’ll be like if Noah doesn’t recover.

                I look past Asha and Sam and toward my car. Weird…it looks like                     there’s something on my windshield.

                I let them continue with their bantering and walk up to the                     car, and that’s when I see it. Someone’s thrown eggs all over the front window,                     the yolk running down onto the hood in a sticky yellow mess. I walk around only                     to find the word BITCH spelled out in shaving cream                     all over the back. It’s like I’ve been sucker-punched. My bag drops to the                     ground at my feet.

                “Chelsea? What’s wr—” Asha’s voice cuts short as she comes up                     beside me, eyes widening.

                “God.” Sam stops cold, skateboard in both hands, and shakes his                     head. “Who would do this?”

                I’m not sure why he’s so shocked. I don’t bother pointing out                     that the suspect list would include probably half the student body—including                     him. I can come up with twenty names off the top of my head. It’d be easier to                     narrow down who wouldn’t do this.

                “Come on,” Asha says gently. She puts a hand on my arm. “I’ll                     help you clean it off.”

                Sam sets down his backpack, takes off his jacket and unzips the                     hoodie underneath it. “Here,” he says, handing me both. “Use this. I’ll check                     and see if there’s any other damage.”