Elias can hear the walls talk, he can hear their whispers, their groans and fears. The voices don’t turn off for Elias, especially because he’s been talking back. 

Three months ago, Elias began talking to the walls, he talked with all of his emotions, he cried and wept to the wall and also screamed at it. It was therapy for him, he could share all of his feelings to the imaginative person he thought of and they would respond back. Recently, he made the wall into the two boys in his Physics class, oh how he wished to be friends with them. Their names were Jacob and Jad, twin brothers, and the most popular kids in school. Jacob and Jad have noticed Elias before, but they didn’t bother to say Hi or Hello because why would they? They didn’t know him and weren't planning to.

Elias heard his Mother run past his door, what could she be doing up this late? Well, his Mother had been sneaking off the past three nights to visit the next door neighbor, she hadn't told Elias that she was seeing him. It was the first guy she had been with since his Father had died, thank God. She slid past the front door as Elias crept his head around the corner.

“I wonder what she’s doing.” Elias said out loud to himself. He wanted to hear a voice, even if it was his own. 

“You know what she’s doing.” A small voice responded. 

He whipped his head around and could feel the energy pulsing through him, pulling him toward his room, and shutting the door behind him. Elias smiled and stood a little straighter, he walked into his bedroom and shut the door. 

It didn’t take long for his Mother to stop talking to him, it was like he knew it was going to happen at some point. For all of Elia’s life, he had been stuck to his Mother’s side, always being told, “You stay by me if you want to be safe. There’s too much danger for you out in this world.” she would say. 

Elias couldn’t help it, but he would, he would be by her side day and night. So much that when he grew older, his only friend was his Mother. She was the person to understand him more than himself, it was like she was meant to be by his side, and for it to stay that way. But once his Mother started seeing the next door neighbor, it was like she didn’t need him anymore. If you asked his Mom, she would have told you that of course she loved Elias, but he wasn’t the only thing in her life anymore. But, Elias didn’t understand that yet. 

Elias sat in his bed, his bed faced an empty wall, his room was white and he had a turquoise carpet flooring. He was staring off into space, not a single thought passed through his mind until, 

“Hey.” A familiar voice said. 

Elias stood up, “Jad?” That once empty wall started shifting into the boy that smiled at everyone but him.

“Did you do the physics homework yet Elias?” Jad asked him. 

“No, did you?” Elias grabbed his backpack from off the floor and took out his physics folder. 

“I didn’t do it, Mr. Cherokee made no sense. Is everything okay? You don’t seem like yourself today.” 

“I’m okay, my Mom is just being so annoying lately. She thinks I don’t know what she does when she leaves and she hasn’t even said anything to me in the past month.” Elias began to feel the heat rise up to his cheeks, he was just so angry with his Mom. 

“Let’s not focus on her, Elias, let’s do our homework.” Jad said. So that’s what Elias did, he took out the sheet of paper and began to do his homework with the wall. 

After he was done with his homework, he said goodnight to Jad and got ready for bed. That night, Elias dreamed, Elias dreamed of his Mother talking to him. He dreamed about Jacob and Jad inviting him to their house to play basketball and study for Physics. He dreamed and dreamed and dreamed and he couldn’t be happier, because this is what it felt like to not be alone. 

The next morning, he awoke early, up with the sunshine he thought. He put on his nicest outfit on that morning and left even earlier than he did the past week. With the biggest smile on his face, he walked into the Physics room. 

Mr. Cherokee watched as Elias walked in, something was different about the timid kid, “Hi Elias, you seem rather cheerful today?” 

“Oh, hello Mr. Cherokee, I had a better night yesterday.” Elias replied.

“That’s great Elias! Did you do the homework from yesterday?” 

“Yes, I did it with a close friend.” Elias sat down at his desk and pulled out his folder. More students walked in all tired from their late nights, but it felt like time had stopped when Jacob and Jad walked in. Everyone began to say their hellos and as they waved back, Jacob saw something in the corner of his eye, there in the desk in the right corner, Elias; the boy who never spoke, was waving. 

Today, Elias will not be scared. If he could talk to the Jad in his mind, he could talk to the twins with as much confidence. As he slowly put down his arm from waving, it felt like fireworks shot up his arm and down, as the twins sat down two desks above him, he saw Jad turn around and look at him, “Hey Elias.” 

It felt like the world began to erupt, someone had just said hi to Elias Green. Now, he knew that he didn’t have a lot of friends, or any friends at all, and he blamed his Mother because if he didn’t always choose her, he would have had plenty of friends. 

“Elias?” Mr. Cherokee was now leaning against his island, waiting for an answer. 

“Oh-h yes?” 

“Do you know that answer to question number two?” 

“Um… velocity multiplied by the acceleration point at its highest, equals the amount of time it takes for the, um, bike to get to the bridge.” Elias said, he sank down his chair. 

“That’s correct Elias, thank you.” Mr. Cherokee turned back to his chalkboard and started writing down new equations to memorize. The whole class groaned, but Elias was filled with a new light. 

Elias’s Mother opened the front door. It was quiet in the apartment, but she could hear the tiny shuffling of Elias’s feet as he walked all about in his room. She quickly and quietly tiptoed across the living room, but before she could meet her bedroom door, she heard Elias laugh. It’s been a long time since she last heard him laugh, granted, it was mostly her fault. 

“Dude I know, Mr. Cherokee definitely has a crush on Ms. Fuller. You can tell.” Elias’s Mother stopped, was he on the phone with someone? 

“Definitely, by the way, I saw the way Alexis was looking at you. You guys would be perfect for each other.” Now she was confused, she had never seen Elias have any friends, but now there was someone in his room, talking to him. 

“Is your Mom home?” the voice asked. 

“No, not yet,” Elias responded quickly.

His Mother could not hold back anymore, she grabbed his door knob and turned it. The smell of sweat and deodorant hit her as she glanced upon Elias, sitting on his bed at the very edge, facing the wall. 

“MOM! What are you doing-” 

“Is there someone in your room?” she asked 

“N-n-n-o, why would there be someone?” Elias was standing up now. 

“I heard, I heard someone talking to you.” she started searching for someone, anyone to appear; behind the closet door or from under the bed but no one appeared. 

“Mom, there’s no one here, get out.”  

“No, Elias, is there someone here? Were you on the phone?” she saw his phone charging on the left corner of his nightstand, there’s no way he could have put the phone on the charger before she came in. “Elias, who were you talking to?” 

“No one Mom, get out.” 

“No it’s not no one. What’s going on Elias? Who are you talking to?” 

“Mom, JUST GET OUT!” Elias couldn’t handle this anymore, his Mother couldn’t possibly understand what he was going through. 

“Hit her.” a voice said, but this time it wasn’t his Mother who said something. “Hit her,” it called again. 

Elias’s Mother watched as her son turned to the wall, and started talking to it.