Speaking Voices

The bell rang, everyone took their seats, and the teacher, Mrs. Kennedy, began to shut the doors. As usual, Eric and Eilene showed up late but just in time to make it before the doors closed. They were dating and finding a secluded place to have lunch was often difficult. The class at first jeered and fawned but that was at the start of the semester, and we were well close to the end. Mrs. Kennedy frowned at them but let them inside to find their seats.

Another day in High School English class.

“Ok class,” Mrs. Kennedy began, “today we are going to start a unique assignment. Yes, another story.”

Oddly, the class limited their groans to a quiet lull. We had just finished another one of Mrs. Kennedy’s unique assignments, though the word she used for that one was ‘special’. She had the class write about a major coming of age event we’ve experienced. The best laughs came from Joshua’s story that laughing milk through his nose will forever prevent him from enjoying milk again. Which is a shame because he is quite fond of strawberry milk.

“We will spend the first part of today's class brainstorming ideas for the assignment. Which is to write about a conversation you eavesdropped on. The story can be true or false, but I expect all of you to write your best, as always. No more milk through nostrils.”

The classroom rings with laughter here and there.

“The rest of the class will be spent reviewing the text I assigned for reading, there will be-“

-

Are you going to tell them?

-

At first the voices sounded like a broken radio, bits and pieces and fragmented phrases. Now there are several voices that come through clearly and one female voice that is almost always present. They don’t bother much. And the conversations have made the weirdness of the whole thing worth it. Plus, girl company. Not bad for a teenage guy.

“Should I?”

-

It’s up to you. It’ll wreck the world, but some good could come of it.

-

That night, a student began the task of completing an English assignment for a High School course. He sat at his computer and looked over his brainstorming notes and began to add to each bullet point. A description of the condition, maybe how it started. The painful transition to stability, though perhaps that would be a bit too personal.

-

You’re basically telling the world you’re responsible for some notable events. And if I’m reading your intentions correctly, you even have potential proof to deliver.

-

“Delivery. It’s almost as if I’m suppose to do this.”

-

It’s nice to see you are embracing your abilities, but we remember our favorite saying, don’t we?

-

“’Don’t let it get to your head.’”

-

Don’t let it get to your head.

-

The note taking continued and soon structure for the story assignment was being developed. The length of each paragraph, the word choice, positions of emphasis, the works. Writing always came naturally to this particular student, and it was an enjoyable activity, even for homework. So, with flair, phrase, and verse he began to write a first draft.

Then scraped it.

Deleted from the computer without a moment’s hesitation.

His chosen medium of expression was not suited to such bold claims that had to be explained to the tip of fact. On top of that, this story would be read in front of the class, an afternote Mrs. Kennedy shouted out as the class departed for the day.

He decided that a more structured prose, almost a speech, would be better suited for the topic at hand. The class is accustomed to hearing flair and phrase from this student, but for such a revelation, he decided to drone out the facts and compose a narrative out of that.

Once he was finished with the draft, he edited, re-read, and felt satisfied.

It was more concise than he expected.

“Take your seats ladies and gentlemen.” said Mrs. Kennedy as she, once again began to close the doors to the classroom. And once again, Eric and Eilene just managed to duck inside and hurry to their seats before they caught a stern look from Mrs. Kennedy.

“Alright, todays the day we share our stories. Since Eric and Eilene have their backpacks open already why don’t we let them go first. Ms. Eilene, you first.”

Eilene couldn’t help but blush as she fetched her printed story from her binder and walked to the head of the class.

Both stories were interesting but largely ignored by our student. His mind was strangely blank at the daunting task before him. He was also very calm, as if aware to the danger present and that made him equally focused; possibly just as dangerous.

A trio of stories went by before one particular name was called to present.

-

Good Luck.

-

“Thanks.”

“Alright, the floor is yours.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Kennedy.”

“Good Afternoon. I found my finished story to be rather short, but I still think it worth presenting.

I’ll begin.”

A throat clears.

“I hear voices.”

Classmates whisper: “What?” “Is this a joke?” “Must be a made up act.”

“It’s true. The voices began about two years ago. At first they could be heard inside my head like a broken radio that only gets a partial signal. Garbled speech, phrases, a sentence here and there. At first, I was paranoid as all hell. I couldn’t tell which voices were real, which were in my head, and which I was hallucinating. Wasn’t long before I contemplated suicide. Here are the scars.”

Two arm sleeves get rolled up to the sound of gasps as students gaze at healed over scarring around the speaker’s wrists.

“I didn’t actually want to kill myself. It almost just felt like the logical thing to do if this was going to be my life from now on. But after a while the voices started clearing up. A few came through clearly. And a couple have hung around. One in particular, make that two.”

“But what does any of this have to do with our assignment of an eavesdropped conversation?”

A well timed question since Mrs. Kennedy was looking a little anxious.

“You see, I one day began hearing very distinct and clear conversations. I didn’t pay them any much mind since by this time I was used to this condition and in a way enjoyed it. But some of those conversations I heard in my head were actually taking place in real life.”

More whispers: “BS.” “Nah.” “Obviously a false story.”

“One day I heard in my head plans being discussed by three people to rob a liquor store that was just up the street from my house. I even heard the make and model of the car they wanted to use. Next day the store is broken into, but a nearby patrol car alerted them to flee before anything was taken. The following day the news broke that the car was totaled on a street pole. The make and model matched.”

Before any exclamations could be made the student continued, drawing a silence from both class and teacher.

“Another incident involved a teenage girl who was confessing to the teacher that was molesting her that she no longer felt comfortable with the teacher. The teacher threatened to humiliate her by revealing their secret and the girl suddenly felt scared.”

“This does not seem entirely appropri-“ began Mrs. Kennedy but was quickly interrupted by the continuing student.

“I used my condition to converse with the voices in my head soon after and I continued to ‘eavesdrop’ on the conversations between this student and teacher. But something strange happened after a time. I was somehow able to inform the parents of the girl after I ‘eavesdropped’ on a conversation between the parents about how concerned they were recently about their daughter. I felt I encouraged them to ask questions of their daughter. After some probing, the truth came out and we all heard about it on the news about how a girl in Nebraska was being groomed by her teacher. As well all know from the news, that teacher was part of a larger trafficking ring that brainwashes kids into being vulnerable enough to be kidnapped and forced into sex work.”

“Excuse me, but I have to stop you there, this is highly inappropriate.” Exclaimed Mrs. Kennedy.

“But the best is yet to come Mrs. Kennedy.” Replied the student at the head of the class.

“No, I’m sorry, I am going to have to ask you to sit down and see me after class.”

“Eric has a gun in his backpack.”

“What?” remarked Mrs. Kennedy.

“Eric has a gun in his backpack. It’s loaded and he intends to use it.”

“That is enough!” shouted Mrs. Kennedy.

“It’s true. He plans to meet with Joshua, Matt, and Simon to intimidate a 9^th grader who was admiring Eilene. I heard it in my head.”

At that point all eyes turned to the mentioned names, and a nervous sensation engulfed the room. Matt and Simon sat quiet but could be seen becoming more tense by the moment. Yet it was Joshua who freaked out and jumped to his feet.

“What the fuck are you?! How could you have known!?”

“You stupid idiot,” remarked Eric, “You just had to keep your trap shut.”

Matt and Simon groaned and suddenly all eyes were on Eric. A moment passed, then another. Then panic broke out.

“He has a gun!”

“Run for it!”

And thirty students bolted for the doors except for one. A rather tall football player tackled Eric and pinned him to the ground. Another student then reached for Erics backpack, opened it and shouted:

“There IS a gun here. Oh, my God I think its loaded.”

“Get away from that backpack!” shouted Mrs. Kennedy.

The student immediately dropped the backpack and ran for the doors, but was blocked by an incoming campus security guard who immediately moved to remove the football jock from on top of Eric.

“We got him son, it’s ok.” Said the security guard.

---

During this entire time the student who wrote this piece stood motionless at the head of the class watching these events play out. When Eric was detained and removed from the class, the remaining students still in the class came out from their hiding spots. The teacher stood stoic at these events but could not help a worried glance at the student who just averted disaster in the most unconventional form.

The remaining eyes in the room were locked on the student at the head of the class. Utter silence.

Soon, the entire school knew what had happened. And that there was a potential telepath on campus.

-

There’s no stopping it now.