whispers in dark corridors LOUD SLAMS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT hushed snickers, hurried glances BRIGHT SMILES AND FAKE LAUGHS Voices getting softer LOUDER soft soft SO LOUD I SCREAM shush, shush. It’s okay. NO. I PROMISE I’M FINE. Hush now, I’ll make the pain go away.. Broken pens and stubby erasers. Notebooks filled with inky words that make sense to me, only me. Photos so faded that only memories will outgrow them, memories that will too fade with time.