quiet.

I have two boys that won't speak.

They are both in different classes and I don't think they are connected at all, but neither one of them has said a word all year. They don't speak to kids and they don't speak to teachers. They don't speak at all. In fact they don't even really look at me when I call them for attendance. They don't really do work and most of the time I don't even notice them there. The other kids taunt them sometimes, but mostly they leave them alone.

At the end of the first quarter one of the kids, Darius, showed up with his mom. She wanted to know why Darius was failing. "Did you know that Darius doesn't talk?" I asked her. "Shit, is he still doing that?" She responded. I asked her if Darius spoke at home. "Not really," she said "he mostly just stays by himself."

The other boy, Kiara, is in my 6th period class. Yesterday he spoke for the first time. "Terry Stone just got beat up by a freshman" He said quietly. "Terry from this class?" I asked him. He nodded. "What happened?" I asked. He looked away. I guess that was all he was ready to say.