Rrrrring! The alarm clock shattered the silence, signalling that it was time to wake up. Despite my best efforts, my lousy feet refused to cooperate. However, the moment I heard Mum's footsteps, I sprang into action. Evidently, when Mum heard my hurried movements, she must have assumed I was changing. Curious about the absence of a knock at the door, I decided to investigate. Perhaps my friend was running late so I decided to run down the stairs.

Mum asked, "Ayra, do you need lunch money?" I eagerly exclaimed "Yes!" while my brother demanded his share, saying, "I do." Mum graciously provided money for both of us. Relishing a bowl of scrumptious cereal for breakfast, I savoured each delightful spoonful. Aware of her tight schedule, Mum hastily ushered us out the door, expressing her lateness for work. I strolled over to my best friend Vanessa's house next door. Suddenly, with a loud thud, she burst out of the door, waving animatedly. I was on the brink of saying something when Mum's car pulled up, and she yelled, "You girls better hurry to school, or you'll be late," and she drove off.

We embarked on our journey to school, and I had an abundance of thoughts and stories to share. I chattered continuously, overwhelming Vanessa with my endless words but she remains quiet, which seemed to make her cheeks flush with irritation. We arrived at school on time. The bell chimed and we went straight to the classroom. Engrossed in a math lesson, Miss Blazer directed her question to Vanessa, inquiring, "What is 5 + 222?" Just as she was about to respond, a girl named Genevieve interjected with the correct answer. Miss Blazer reminded Genevieve to raise her hand and wait patiently. As the recess bell rang, a surge of excitement filled the air. I continued my verbal discourse, ignorant of the growing annoyance on Vanessa's face. After recess, we dived into more math problems until it was time to head home. Since Mum was still at work, Vanessa's mother arrived to pick us up. I had to wait at Vanessa's place until Mum returned. Vanessa’s mother served us food and I noticed that everyone was sharing daily classroom stories and views on trends but whenever Vanessa tried to participate in the discussion, someone cut her off and she became silent. While we were cleaning up the table mess, I observed Vanessa seemed a bit disturbed. I asked her but she nodded her head with no. Later, I was about to express my gratitude to Vanessa's mom but was interrupted by her hyped brother excitedly asking, "Can I get an iPhone 13 for my birthday this week?" Nervously fumbling her words, she nodded in affirmation. He erupted into jubilant screams of joy. My brother high-fived Vanessa’s brother to congratulate him. Well, my brother is already getting an iPhone 13 so I don’t know why he is all hyped up.

Mum arrived home unexpectedly early she just barged in because the front door was wide open. She took my brother and I back home. I lay down in bed and shared the day's events, realizing that Vanessa had remained remarkably silent throughout the day.

It felt as though the whole world was against her using her voice. Oh well, it’s not on me to make sure she speaks. Well, it is puzzling how she didn’t even get to say a full sentence in 24 hours. I am so grateful that it isn’t me stuck not speaking. It would be a shock seeing me Ayra Hassan not talk because everyone I meet says I talk a lot. Well, I can’t blame them because if it is more than one person that says it so it has to be true.