A couple weeks passed, and school turned out to not be so bad. I was starting to think that the kids at the orphanage were over exaggerating. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it'd be.

There wasn't a problem until I'd been there about two months.

It was the weekend. I was outside on the porch, drawing a picture of the frontyard landscape. Then I overheard Mr. and Mrs. Stueck talking.

"...She hasn't participated at all," Mrs. Stueck said. Mr. Stueck sighed.

"She's just shy."

"Shy is putting it lightly, Simon. She's alisema one word to me the whole time she was here. And what, one sentence to you? This is getting ridiculous."

"I thought we knew this when we brought her. The orphanage owner alisema she doesn't talk. All she needs is time."

"I know, but... I didn't think it'd be this stressful. I mean, she hadn't alisema a word to her in six years! I don't know if I can deal with that."

"You just need to be patient. She's gone through a lot."

"And that's another thing that scares me! I knew it before, but I hadn't aliyopewa it much thought, but... Her parents were criminals! Who knows what they taught her!"

"That's not fair, Kendra. She deserves a sekunde chance. She can't help who her parents are." Mrs. Stueck sighed, and opened the front door. She seemed surprised when she saw me there.

"Oh! Um... Hello... Did wewe hear that?" she asked nervously. I shook my head. "Oh. Ok." She walked down the porch and got in the car, and left. I felt terrible. I was making them miserable. But even so, the urge to retreat zaidi grew bigger. I packed up my paper and colored pencils, and went inside. Mr. Stueck was sitting at the jikoni table.

"Hey there, Hecate. What'd wewe draw?" I held up the picture. "Wow. That's good," he noted. I wanted to thank him, but I just couldn't find it in me. I ducked my head and shifted my weight awkwardly. He looked at me for a while, then turned to read the paper. I made my escape to my room. I sat there for a while, hating myself. He'd complimented me, and I'd been to much of a coward to thank him. I felt so rude. I got up and took a big breath. I'd be fine. It's be over as soon as I alisema it.

I went downstairs, and stood kwa him. He looked up at me, and watched patiently. I opened my mouth, but couldn't make one noise. I couldn't look at him. I turned my head to the side, and pretended I was talking to Officer Truman.

"Thank you..." my voice trilled a little bit, shaking and going up and down. I felt so stupid. I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them wide again. I felt like I'd start hyperventilating. Hopefully he'd know what I was thanking him for so I didn't have to tell him.

"For what?" he asked. Ugh! I turned my head to the other side and pointed out the window. He raised his eyebrow. I started to panic. I looked around the room, and pointed to a painting, then me. "Oh," he said. "Your welcome, Hecate," he smiled. I let out a big sigh of relief, then went back up to my room. I wasn't sure if that was worth it au not.

That night, I was coming downstairs for a glass of water, when I heard them talking again. I felt bad about eavesdropping, but it gave me a look into what they thought of me.

"...She's getting better," Mr. Stueck said. "She just has her own way of communicating. wewe just have to pay attention." Mrs. Stueck was thoughtfully quiet. I came all the way down, and they looked at me. "Hello," he said. "Is there something wewe need?" I looked to the sink, where luckily there was a cup. I pointed to it, and slowly made my way over to the sink.

"Go ahead, Dear," Mrs. Stueck alisema softly. I grabbed a clean cup and filled it with water, and took a sip. "You can bring it upstairs with wewe if wewe like." I nodded once and started upstairs.

"Goodnight," they both alisema benignly. I paused and stared at them for a while. I smiled shyly then went back up to bed.

***

My secret got out.

One siku after school, a senior came over to me just before Raven and jogoo were about to leave.

"Hey, you're Fayard right?" he asked. I nodded limply. I already didn't like where this was going. Everyone looked at the guy in confusion; they didn't know what he was getting at. All of a sudden he picked me up kwa my shati collar. "Your fucking parents killed my father," he seethed. I whimpered, but couldn't get myself to fight back, au even try and get away. "I'm gonna kill you," he growled through his teeth.

"Get away from her!" Raven shouted. She somehow got between me and the senior, and pushed him back. He glared at her, and then pushed her back. She swore at him, then jogoo jumped on him from behind.

"Don't touch my sister!" he shouted. He wrapped his arms around the guys neck, choking him. The senior grabbed the back of his shati and flipped him off, so jogoo landed on his back on the ground. He was about to beating up Crow, when Axel picked up his skateboard, and swung it at him like a baseball bat, with the wheels facing the senior. The board cracked in half, but at least the senior was done. Blood started to onyesha through his white shirt, and he swore at us then ran away. I stared after him in shock.

"You ok?" jogoo asked Raven, taking her hand and standing her up. She wiped the dirt off her pants, and nodded.

"What about you?" she asked me. "Are wewe ok?" I nodded. jogoo laughed.

"Your skateboard's totally busted, Ax," he said. Axel held up his shattered skateboard, and looked at it remorsefully.

"That sucks," Chasity alisema sadly. Axel shrugged.

"I got zaidi at home," he said.

"What was that all about, anyways?" Liberty asked, turning to me. I adjusted the strap on my bag and stared at the ground. "What'd he say about your parents killing his dad? Was he telling the truth?" I shrugged.

"Alexandra and Martin Fayard," Raven sighed. "Don't wewe guys know? They were one of the biggest serial killers in America." Everyone looked around uncomfortably. Raven put her hand on my shoulder. "It's ok, we're not going to judge wewe for that. It's over, and you're ok. That's all that matters." Everyone else was quiet for a moment, then joined in and agreed. I smiled thankfully at them.

***

One siku at lunch, I felt like I wanted to finally say something to my new friends. I wasn't sure if I could exactly call them that yet, but it's not like they'd know that's what I refer them to. They were really nice. They'd learned I don't really like direct questions. They only ask me yes au no questions, which I was thankful for.

"What do wewe think, Hecate?" Liberty asked me. I opened my mouth to try and speak, then all of a sudden there was a gun shot. The whole cafeteria screamed, and people ducked and ran out of the way.

"Get down!" Chasity shouted. Everyone ducked under the table, but I was frozen. I could only get my eyes to scan the area, trying to see what was going on. "Hecate!" Chasity shouted. She grabbed my sleeve and pulled me under the table. People were screaming and scrambling everywhere. There was another gun shot. The screams grew even zaidi frantic, which I didn't know was possible. I looked around me, everyone stared in different directions, wide eyed. Liberty was crying. Others were too.

I looked to my other side, at the people under the meza, jedwali inayofuata to us. None of them I knew. My eyes were fixed on a boy and girl. They were holding each other and crying.

All of a sudden, there was another gun shot. I saw the bullet go straight through the girl's face. She was dead instantly. The boy cried harder, and held he closer in his arms. Another gun shot. This one went through the boy's temple. I held my hand over my mouth, but I couldn't close my eyes. I sat there in shock as zaidi and zaidi gunshots fired, and the screams and cries grew louder. I held my head in my hands, waiting for this nightmare to be over.

***

"Everyone, please stay calm. No one leaves without their legal guardian," the principal alisema over the intercom. The hallways were filled with students, everyone trying to find their parents who'd been notified of the shooting.

I sat on the bench in the hallway, staring wide-eyed at nothing. I held my knees up to my chest, and my hands were noticeably shaking. The noise level had died down somewhat, and people were crying softly. There was the occasional shout of "Mom! Dad!" au "Are wewe ok?!" But the screams still echoed in my ears. None of my Marafiki had been killed au hurt, thankfully.

"Hecate," a voice said. It belonged to Raven. I couldn't bring myself to look at her. I squeezed myself tighter. She sat down inayofuata to me, and put her hand on my shoulder. jogoo and a woman I assumed was their mother stood off to the side. "Are wewe ok?" she asked. I couldn't get myself to songesha my head even a centimeter. She pursed her lips, then patted my shoulder. "I gotta go... Sorry. I'll see wewe later." jogoo waved kwa as they left. Everyone else had already left.

"Hecate!" I heard Mr. Stueck shout. I didn't look to see where he was. Both him and Mrs. Stueck were there.

"Hecate! Are wewe alright?!" she shouted. She wrapped her arms around me, and I almost fell over. She sighed. "Let's go, Sweetie." They had to nearly drag me out of there. I noticed the senior that had picked on us a while zamani glaring at me, along with a couple others. The alleged shooters had already been caught and arrested, but I knew what they were thinking.

They thought I was behind this.

The car ride was mostly silent. Mrs. Stueck kept asking me if I was ok, but I didn't even acknowledge her maswali with the slightest nod au shake of my head. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her look at me pitifully, but I kept my focus on the rainy scenery passing us kwa in the car.

When we got home, Amica and Amory looked at me, worried. I ignored them and went up to my room. In this silence, the echoed screams grew louder, and the gunshots rang in my ears. My moyo picked up, and my trembling racked through my body. I picked up my pillow, and stuffed my face into it. I screamed, trying to be louder than the the ones in my head. I screamed and screamed, trying to get it all out.

But it stayed with me throughout the night.