The novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, is about a girl who was raped at a party that was hosted by one of her friends. Melinda Sordino called the police for help. The police had intruded on a wild teen party, finding illegal alcohol at the scene. None of her friends knew that Melinda was raped, but instead was to blame her for having the party busted. The consequences for Melinda's innocent actions lead to her becoming an outcast. In the novel we learn how Melinda grieves over the rape and how she is able to speak out about her trauma. In the beginning of the novel, we learn that Melinda is starting her first day of High School. Melinda fears the bus and questions if her friends would associate themselves with her. Her bus station is the first stop. She winds up sitting alone on the bus. Melinda arrives to school, observing her new surroundings. All ninth graders were headed to the auditorium. As she arrives to the auditorium she observes her fellow classmates. She classifies them into stereotypical cliques. ( ie. Jocks, cheerleaders, nerds, geeks). She had no one to sit with. While in the auditorium she doubts herself physically and mentally. Her friends that she had bonded with in middle school had split within the different types of high school cliques. Melinda has little respect for two teachers in her life. Their names are Hair woman and Mr.Neck. Hair woman was her English teacher. She would take twenty minutes to mark attendance, refusing to look at her students. She would stare at the board, positioning her back against the class discussing required journals and reading assignments. Mr.Neck dislikes Melinda and always kept a close eye on her. It is the first marking period. Melinda arrives to the cafeteria. She learns to never bring a bag lunch to school. You never know what is acceptable when it comes to eating lunch in a high school cafeteria. Melinda wasn't sure how to order food, so she let the lunch ladies put the meal of the day on her plate. The girls that use to be her friends, look away as she looks for a place to sit down. She sits behind the basketball team as they are goofing around. She gets mashed potatoes thrown in her face. The cafeteria noticed and bursted with laughter. Melinda runs out of the cafeteria. Dashing out of the door way, she is stopped by Mr.Neck. He refuses for her to leave the cafeteria. He has always believed Melinda was trouble the moment he had laid eyes on her. She earns a demerit. Melinda begins her art class. This class brought peace to her, after her situation in the art room. The art room was filled with paint and a radio that played her favorite station. Her teacher was named, Mr.Freeman. Melinda thought Mr.Freeman was ugly and had a grasshopper body. Mr.Freeman is upset with the school board for not supplying him with enough art supplies for the upcoming school year. He writes a key word on the board. The word he wrote on the board was "soul." He believed in finding that part of you, that you have never experienced before. He shows different examples of art. The example he used was a broken globe. He wanted the student's opinion on the given art piece. He was disappointed in the students answers, believing they did not understand how to use their imagination. The students draw a piece of paper from the globe. The piece of paper they draw was their main focus that they had to work on, the entire year. Melinda's year project focus was a tree. Melinda finally makes it through the first two weeks of school. She found a person to sit with at lunch. Her name is Heather. She is from Ohio. She would Ask Melinda with help in her English class. Her friends continue to ignore her, harassing her through the hallways. Later in the novel, we learn about Melinda's mother. Melinda's mother is a working mother. She is a manager of a clothing store called Efforts. There is little information about Melinda's father. Melinda later describes her bed room. Her wallpaper is pink with