Don't speak

Grace felt not only terror, but horror as well as the teacher told her to walk up to the stand and tell the class about herself since she was the new kid. She just wanted to die right then and there. Nobody cared about what Grace was like. She has been in school with the kids in her other school for years and nobody in the last school has ever said more than a few words to her and she could already tell that the people in this class probably wouldn't even bother to talk to her.

Grace walked up to the stand slowly as eyes drilled into her head with annoyed stares that kept telling her to hurry up.

They would laugh at her and make comments about what Grace would say. Grace would be a joke to them. Her mother had always told her not to care about what anybody else things, but that's easier said than done. It would also be easier if she didn't have to go up in front of the class.

Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump.

Grace's heart seemed to sense her terror and as if it was taunting her, kept getting louder and louder as she walked up to the front and turned to face the class. She didn't remember what she was supposed to say or do, she looked to the teacher, who had her eyebrows raised and made her right hand do a spinning motion that said to go ahead and talk. Grace tried to at least get an excuse to come out of her mouth, but she couldn't form coherent thoughts, the panic in her mind pushed her excuse out of her head.

Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump.

Stop it! Grace thought to her heart, but unfortunately for her, it didn't get the message.

Grace crossed her arm over her stomach and grabbed her other forearm. Grace looked at the opposite wall with widened eyes. Her small frame was shaking and she felt the perspiration on her face. Her mouth was dry, she couldn't talk. She couldn't say anything nor could she do anything. It felt as if she was just thrown into freezing water. All she could hear was her heart.

Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump.

Grace clutched her ears, trying to drown out the sound.

She heard a noise, at first it was one voice then it was more voices and soon it was a whole crowd of voices. At first she couldn't figure out what they were saying, but then she seemed to be pulled out of the water she was in and she could hear them all too well.

The voices were annoyed with her.

"If you don't have anything to say then just sit down!"

"Yeah! What's the matter? Are you mute?"

"Come on! If you aren't going to say anything, then don't waste our time."

Oh, how she wished she could move, but staring into everyone's frowning faces and rolling eyes and heavy sighs, she just couldn't seem to move.

Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump.

Grace's breathing seemed to be panicked and shallow. Her heart just wouldn't shut up!

Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump.

God, help me, please. Grace pleaded silently in her head.

As if God, himself, had heard her calls, the bell's shrill shriek rang out.

The voices seemed to be in a hurry to get out of the room, but one voice seemed to get closer to her.

"Grace, are you okay?" said a voice older than the taunting voices Grace had heard earlier.

Grace looked up to see her new teacher, whose name Grace hadn't heard.

"I'm fine," Grace said in such a weak voice that she was surprised that the teacher heard her.

"How about you go to the nurse? You don't look well," said the teacher, concerned for the teen's well-being.

By now her heart had quieted down so Grace gave a quiet nod and slipped out of the classroom, towards the nurse's office.