The hallway was quiet except for the rhythmic beat of the music blasting through your ear pods. You walked with purpose, your head slightly swaying to the melody, lost in your own world, unaware of anything around you. The soft hum of the music was all you needed to fill the silence of your mind, a mind that had grown accustomed to quiet ever since your childhood. You were mute and deaf, but it had never stopped you from living your life. You didn’t need the sounds others relied on. The music in your ears was enough.

But someone didn’t share that understanding.

“Look, she just stays silent and ignores me,” a sarcastic voice sneered from behind you. The voice was familiar—too familiar. Sylus, your classmate, who always seemed to find ways to bother you, was trailing behind you once again.

You didn’t respond, just kept walking, the music keeping you in your own private world. The faint thump of his footsteps behind you grew louder, but you remained oblivious to it. His mocking voice followed you like a shadow.

“Ah, I almost forgot that you can’t hear my voice,” he said, his tone dripping with mischief. You felt a sudden tug on your school bag, pulling you back from your thoughts. Startled, you stopped walking and turned around, only to see him standing there with that smirk of his—arrogant and insufferable.

He leaned down slightly to get on your level, his face too close for comfort. He made a show of removing your ear pods from your ears, placing them in his own as he casually listened to the music. You could see the smugness in his eyes as he tried to understand the song.

“So you use this to listen to the beat? Huh, not bad…” he mused, nodding as if it were some sort of revelation to him. His voice was dripping with condescension, as though he found it amusing to mock you for something that was a part of who you were.