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LUCA
Walkinginto our first class of the morning, I feel an electric current in the air. I turn toward the desks and that’s when I see her. Our eyes meet, and she immediately starts to look away, but I still see the pink on her cheeks.
I wave to the guys to get their attention and then nod in the direction of the girl in the middle of the full classroom.
I sign to the guys, “I didn’t see her walk through the door, which means she was already in here before the bell rang. I wonder why she was sitting alone in here and not out in the hall with everyone else.”
Atlas is nodding in agreement when I turn to look at him. He and I are a lot alike, even though he and his brother, Kade, are identical twins. We both sit and observe everything in our surroundings instead of being outgoing. He is the introverted one, and Kade is a people person, always wanting to be in the spotlight and the class clown. I’m introverted because no one wants to talk to the deaf kid. The defective one. No one takes the time to get to know anything about me. Or at least no one did before these guys.
We head to the only empty seats in the classroom, none of them together but two. I luck out and get the seat behind our mystery girl.
Did I just say “our”? Well, this is going to be an interesting year.
Halfway through the class period, the girl in front of me drops her pencil. Before she can get to it, I grab it and hand it to her. I smile at her when she signs “thank you,” and my heart leaps.Someone else who possibly knows sign and who I can communicate with, besides my brothers.
I get through the lecture, but barely. The teacher keeps turning toward the board, so I can’t read his lips. Luckily, the guys have my back, so they all do a pretty good job of taking notes, and with all of them combined, I’ve been able to get through these past few years.
The years we were separated were really rough for me, and not just educationally. I was barely able to get through my classes. I had to ask the teachers to give me an outline of what we were going to go over for the whole year and do my own independent studying or I would have never made it. None of the school districts were able to afford a translator for me, so I was never able to get enough notes for the classes I was in.
Teachers weren’t very accommodating to the foster kids, especially the ones that gave them extra work. Feeling alone and being isolated is not a feeling I want to feel again or would wish on anyone. That took a toll on me. These guys saved me in more ways than they will ever know.
Feeling a tap on my shoulder, I look over, and Mateo is signing that the bell just rang.
As I’m packing up my stuff, I keep thinking about how they wouldn’t let all of us have the same courses this semester. This school only has four classes a semester. I don’t understand how they just couldn’t give us the same schedule to make it easier for all of us. They just had to be difficult because we are foster kids. We were lucky enough to get the classes that we did have together.
Mateo and I walk to History, in the opposite direction of the rest of the crew. Walking into the class, I have a feeling of dread. Dread that I’m not going to like this class, these people, the teacher. I shake it off. There isn’t much I can do right now. We head to some seats in the back and sit down until class starts.
Mr. Hubert, the teacher, stands there, never moving, so I can read his lips the whole time.
Time is just dragging on. What should I have expected though? Classes being an hour and a half long, it’s going to get boring.
Mateo taps me on the shoulder to get my attention.
“So, what did you think of that girl from first period?” he signs.
I sign back, “She seemed like a loner… I watched her when I could. Her pencil was always moving.”
“You watched her, huh?”Mateo signs wiggling his eyebrows up and down suggestively.
“Oh, shut up. You know what I mean!”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s what they all say. I think we should keep an eye on her.”
I sign back with my brows furrowed,“What makes you think that?”
“I don’t know, man. I just get this vibe from her. It’s hard to explain.”
“Bring it up with the guys after school. You know we discuss things as a group. Life is simpler that way,”I sign.
“Fine. Ugh, the teacher is saying something to us about paying attention. Hold on,”Mateo signs frantically.
Turning back around, I smile brightly back at the teacher like I know what’s going on. I was told that all of my teachers were made aware of my disability. Looking at the teacher, I can visibly see how irritated he is at us for ignoring his lecture and disrupting his classroom.
Noticing the teacher talking directly at me, I look back at Mateo and see he is conversing with the teacher, signing for my benefit.
“I was just explaining something you said in more detail. He was confused. He is deaf and is lip-reading. The school wasn’t able to get a translator, so his brothers and I always just translate for him during classes we have together,” Mateo signs aggressively to the teacher.
I shake my head and turn back around to the teacher, sighing in defeat. Why does he care? We are in the back of the room and not bothering anyone.
