The Test

I knocked sharply on the door of Mr Wentz's office before pushing it open about one-third of the way.

"Ah, Gabe," exclaimed my headteacher, "I'm not quite done with William, could you just stay there for a moment? Unfortunately, there are only two chairs in this small office..."

I nodded and took a step back, so I was standing in the door frame. Mr Wentz had fully returned his attention towards William.

"That's all you need to know," he seemed to conclude, "William, you're okay to do this, right? Come on, I know you'll be fine."

William rocked forward on the edge of his seat, chewing on the frayed sleeve of his school jumper as he considered the mystery request, but after a few long seconds, he nodded slowly but deliberately.

"Thank you, William," responded Mr Wentz, "You're free to go back to class."

Picking up his possesions, William made his way towards the door before stopping abruptly to give me a sudden stare. It took me a moment to read what he was trying to convey, but I responded as fast as I could.

"Physics is in Room 8 today, but I've think you've missed that, so English is in Room 14," I explained, before stepping out of his way as he pelted out of the office.

"He's gone. Now, Gabe, take a seat," muttered Mr. Wentz, pointing to the tattered gray armchair where William had sat only moments before.

"Uh, so what have I done - "

"Not you," interrupted Mr. Wentz, "William. Has he ever spoken?"

"Nope," I shook my head, "Sorry."

"Never? Not once?"

"Nope."

Mr Wentz looked a little crestfallen, but it seemed as if this was the answer he had been expecting.

"Gabe?"

Mr Wentz was looking me dead in the eyes now.

"Uh... yes... sir?" I mumbled.

"I've known you since you were just eleven, and I know you're a pretty persuasive person. Assertive, definetely. Maybe even a little on the forceful side."

"Maybe," I shrugged.

"But Gabe, how persuasive are you?" Mr Wentz spoke painfully slowly, emphasizing every last detail as he pushed the question into my hands.

"I... I'm not really sure..." I tried to answer, but I had no real response. By this point, Mr Wentz was on the edge of his seat, seemingly ready to leap up at any given moment.

"How far do you think you could push someone?"

It finally clicked.

"Are you suggesting - "

"As I said, Gabe, I've known you since you were eleven," interrupted Mr. Wentz, "and I'm damn sure you can get almost anything you want. It's not a bad thing, really, you've just got the good social skills. It's endearing how convincing you can be sometimes, and the amount of trouble you've scraped your way out of is really something..."

Mr Wentz paused for a second, shuffling through stray paperwork before speaking again.

"...but point is, you're persistent and people like you. It's in your blood, in your core character - you can make anything work for you."

"I suppose so."

"Gabe, you can make people change their minds in a flash. You talked me out of expelling you, for God's sake, and I have to admit that I'm a rather stubborn man. If you can do that, then you can get William Beckett to talk!"

We stared at each other in shock for a moment.

"What?" I gasped, tripping over my words as my voice rose in pitch, "You're relying on me to fix something that professionals, child psychologists, doctors couldn't fix? William can't talk, it's just not going to happen, no, no, no!"

"When kids feel scared, they become quieter. They start to isolate themselves. I know this, I know from my years as a teacher."

"Yeah, but - "

"When you're alone all the time, you start to forget how to talk, and once you've forgotten something, it gets scarier and scarier. But really, all you need is practice."

"i... What do you mean?"

"Just think about it for a bit, Gabe."