A Sea of Unspoken Things

by Adrienne Young

A lot of young artists with grand ideations of their future notoriety ended up as teachers in schools like this one or at the university level. For some people, it was a kind of settling they were glad to take in lieu of a dream that just never got closer, and I guessed that Olivia was in that camp. For others, it was a dangerous injury to ego that could poison your humanity. The same was true even for the professors at an institution as prestigious as Byron.

Hmm. Those that can't do ...

I looked at Micah. “Did you ever come back here? After what happened to Griffin?” His mouth pressed into a straight line. “Just once.” I nodded, understanding. The day he’d come to find Johnny had been the first and only time he’d ever returned. “Ready?” he asked. I nodded. “Take me to where you found him. The exact spot.” Micah started up the trail without a word, and I couldn’t tell if he was afraid for me or for himself.

Literally just explained.

My eyes moved over the trees, the sound swelling in my ears.

What sound?

There were definitely ones that didn’t show any promise or skill, but to my surprise, there were several that did.

Look at how fantastic I am!

His answer was distracted, his own mind racing.

How can she tell that?

“A warmer coat. I didn’t bring much with me,” I explained, not missing a beat. Amelia already didn’t believe me. I wasn’t going to give her more ammunition by trying to explain that I thought my brother’s spirit was communicating with me from beyond the grave.

Or more ammunition by lying. Again.

“Are you happy now?” The words repeated, and before I realized what was happening, her hand lifted into the air and came back down with a snap, striking me across the face. “Sadie!” Amelia shouted behind her. A collective gasp loosed from the crowd and I sucked in a breath, stumbling to the side and catching myself on the bumper of a car. When

Order of events

Is that what I’d been doing? Taking matters into my own hands?

Um. Yes you idiot

I could still see her hand flying through the air. The sound when it struck me.

Like the teenage girl in me still wanted to pull it all apart with a friend, analyzing the details of everything. I’d missed that, I realized.

Has she had no friends?