Chapter 1

First day of school, and Leigh isn't looking forward to it. Isn't Senior year supposed to be fun?

Comet jumped on me to get me out of bed as always. I waited. I couldn’t hear anything. The morning ritual over, I drag myself out of bed. The clock’s neon numbers change again. I’m not ready to face school. Another year is staring me down, and the fact that it’s the last one doesn’t help. Usually new seniors were excited to rule the younger kids. Unlike the year before where we just tried to blend in, we were now the kids to be feared.

 

I wasn’t planning on ruling anything. Comet didn’t care about my inner dilemma as he impatiently tugged my hand. There wasn’t much to do but follow him. So, with my hand in his mouth, I padded down the hall. Half-dressed and still groggy-eyed, I stood before my mother, slobber running down my hand and Comet standing proudly at my side.

 

So Mom had been yelling for me. She probably wanted me to get out of bed, but Comet just knew she was yelling. I patted his head. Good dog. Then I knocked on the wall as my usual good morning.

 

Mom turned around and looked at me with that frustrated glare that moms sometimes get. “You can talk Leigh. You know I don’t like the way you say hello.”

 

I rolled my eyes at her. She knew I wasn’t going to say anything. I never did. Not anymore. If I was deaf, I might as well act it. Blind people didn’t walk around like they could see. Why pretend I could hear?

 

“Fine, go get your dad. Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes.” I nodded and headed off for Dad. I wondered what he was doing. Maybe writing something in his new book or thinking about what he should add to it.

 

I knocked on the big wood door, felt each of the thundering steps that were my dad making his way over to the door to open it.

 

“Breakfast,” I signed. “Mom sent me for you.”

 

He nodded. “What are we having this morning? Smells like bacon.” He always answered himself. Mom said that he’d started it once his writing had taken off. It stemmed from his being his own sounding board. Now it was just a habit.

 

Already halfway down the hall, he turned back to me. “Go wake your sisters.”

 

Why was I the wake up police this morning? Dad was easy, but the twins were evil in the mornings. I stood before their door, dreading the thought of knocking, when it flew open and out ran the two little clones.

 

At ten years old, they were finally picking out their personalities and finding ways to stand out as who they were. Callie, a self-appointed princess, had already started spending an hour on her hair in the mornings. She wanted to start wearing makeup, but that was a lost cause with Mom, and Dad was adamantly against it.

 

Unsurprisingly, Maya had gone the opposite direction with her looks. She was more interested in what book she could get her fingers on than what nail polish was at the end of them. As a result, the two fought like a cat and dog.

 

It was nice to close my eyes and have no idea what was going on. Now, though, I had a day of school ahead, and I wasn’t even halfway ready. I couldn’t just close my eyes and make this go away.

 

As if in agreement, Comet nudged at the back of my leg. I smiled down at him. “Come on,” I signed, and I wondered if he understood, wondered why I even bothered to sign it when he followed me everywhere.

 

Breakfast went by much too quickly. The bacon Dad had smelled sticking in my throat when Mom said it was time to get ready. She looked at me worriedly when I stayed glued to my seat.

 

“Come one, Leigh. You’ll have fun this year.” She turned away to hide the doubt behind that. It was two years after I had shown my face as a deaf person in school halls for the first time, and I hadn’t had a fun day since.

 

The first year had been hard, harder than I had realized it would be. Mom had insisted I go back to public school. No private deaf school for me when certainly I’d get my hearing back. There were the bullies, though, who didn’t care if I ever got it back. When it was obvious I’d be deaf for the rest of my life, we went and bought Comet, which just made me stick out even more.

 

So we’d moved to another district. Mom was certain that it would make everything better. What she forgot was that bullies are everywhere you go, no matter how old you are. So, I doubted senior year would be any better than the first two.

 

Baggy jeans, a white tank top, and a halfway buttoned, black button-up shirt later, and I was running to get in the front seat before Mom decided it was a lost cause and left me. Comet settled himself happily between Callie and Maya. The whole family loved the big German Shepherd. He was as friendly as a puppy, but a hard worker. I rolled my eyes as he lay down with his head in Maya’s lap.

 

He wasn’t worried about today at all. Why would he be? He was just a dog, after all. Still, I wished he could share my pain even a little. I turned to stare out the window. Trees passed by, wind blew through my shaggy brown hair, birds sang, and I prayed for us to break down on the side of the road or the school to burn down. No, I wanted the school to burn down while we were broke down on the side of the road.

 

We stopped in the parking lot of the high school.

 

Mom touched my shoulder, and I turned to look at her unhappily. “Have fun, Leigh, and do try not to act so miserable, okay?”

 

I nodded and hooked Comet to his leash. Day one had started, and I wasn’t looking forward to it. Apparently Comet didn’t agree. He started walking forward, and I followed behind reluctantly.

 

There were kids sitting on picnic tables, and on the ground. I even watched as one girl tackled a guy who was just getting out of his car. A few people were heading into the building, but most were dreading this day just as much as I was.

 

I watched as Lily skipped up to me. I had to watch carefully as she spoke to me, but all I got was something about schedules and grades. I held my hands up in front of me. She was talking too fast for me to keep up.

 

She grinned. “Sorry. Let me see your schedule, I want to see if we have any classes together. I promised Mom I’d keep up with my grades this year, and what better way to do that than attach myself to Mr. Straight As?”

 

Lily and I had started hanging out when I’d first moved here because the school assigned her to me as my interpreter. I didn’t really need her unless a teacher called on me and refused to go on until I answered. It wasn’t very often that I volunteered answers. We hit it off in the first few weeks and had become best friends.

 

I looked over the new outfit she was wearing and nudged her. She looked up from the schedules she was holding. “Nice Gothic stuff,” I signed. “I thought your Mom refused to buy you anymore black?”

 

She rolled her eyes. “She did, but what was she going to do when I refused to pick out anything with color? She knows I’d rather go naked than wear that pink s**t.”

 

I laughed. If a blind person were to meet Lily, they’d immediately assume she was wearing bright colors and was an airhead cheerleader. It wasn’t really that she loved Goth stuff, it was just that she really hated that her mother wanted her to wear so much color.

 

“So, what do we have together?”

 

She looked down again and then back up. “English and Math, thank God. I think if I failed, Mom would probably shoot herself, or me. Or both of us for that matter.” Then she kneeled down and gave Comet an encompassing hug. “Hello, boy! Are you being good?”

 

I watched as he barked and she stood up. We linked arms and made our way inside the building. For the first time, I was actually feeling like today might not be so bad.

 

Lily and I had first hour together, and it flew by fast enough. It was the typical first day of high school. The teachers all knew that they wouldn’t get the kids to do anything, and the kids knew the teachers already knew that. So, Mr. Copley ran through his expectations in about five minutes, handed out books in another two, and gave the students the rest of the time to talk quietly amongst themselves.

 

Thirty-eight minutes later, we were piling out of his door, and I was sure that he was searching for something to dull his throbbing headache in that drawer he was so interested in. I moved through the hallway to my locker, smiling for once that I didn’t have to worry about noise level anymore. I guess there really was a silver lining to every grey cloud.

 

I felt Comet press into me, found everyone disappearing into classrooms when I looked up, and frowned. I had spent too much time trying to get that stupid locker open. There was no way I was going to make it to my next class before the next bell.

 

I glared down at Comet. He was supposed to give me a better warning. I sighed. There was nothing I could do now except head towards- I glanced down at my schedule- Physics. That completely squashed my good mood under a world of bricks, and I trudged through the now-empty hallway.

 

I already knew what Mrs. Taylor would say to me. “Do you think that you could start getting here on time? It’s the first day, and you’re already late.”

 

I thought briefly about ditching the class, but then my conscience kicked in and it kept me going. Comet nudged me again and I looked down at him and nodded, the second bell had just rung.

I looked back up and wanted to kick something. Right in front of me, not six feet away, was a door that read, “Room 204: Mrs. Taylor.”

 

Of course, I thought, of course I’d miss it by about five seconds; that’s how it always works.

 

I gritted my teeth together, walked forward, opened the door, and made my way into the classroom full of students.

Author's Note

First Chapter, First Draft. Hope it sits well for you.

Reviews

[Chris]

You put together a fair perspective.