Hear Me Now

by Melyssa Winchester

  So that’s how I’ve been doing things since just after my twelfth birthday.

  Anyone who appears weak is wrong and it definitely applies to these so called ‘different’ people. They’re all weak as hell and it’s my job to beat it out of them, breaking them down until there’s nothing left.

  I don’t wanna answer this call. He just saw me last weekend, lined up three fights for me, all of them I somehow managed to win. I need a break. My body is still healing from the beating I went through; putting me back into another fight might be smart for him, but it wasn’t for me. If I say no or ignore the call though, it just means I’m weak and that’s the last fucking thing I am. So as usual, I break and answer.

  “What do you want?”

  “Bout damn time you answered the phone. What else you got going on that’s so important?”

  “I don’t know Dad; this thing called school that you and Mom insist on making me deal with?”

  “Wednesday night. The abandoned farm. You know where it is right? Be there at seven. Got another three lined up.”

  So damn predictable. He’s going to have these guys beat on me, so as he says, I can turn into the man I’m meant to be instead of the pussy my mom made me and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it. Saying no, hanging up the phone, it’s not an option. Everything just goes to shit even more when I do that and trust me, I know. I’ve done it exactly one time before and learned my lesson real quick.

  “Yeah, fine. Farm. Wednesday. Seven. Got it.”

  Pushing the button to end the call, not in the mood to hear any more from him, I slide the phone back in the pocket of my hoodie and I turn my attention back to my very idiotic friend and the mess I’m gonna have to clean up.

  “What was that?” he asks and I roll my eyes.

  No one knows what my dad’s been doing with me and I’m gonna keep it that way. If I want people to know I’ll tell them, otherwise it remains my secret. I’m not sure what the hell these guys would do with the information, so for now, I’m gonna keep going about my business and keep my private life exactly that. Private.

  “Nothing important. Look, let’s just go find Ames and figure out a way out of the shit storm the two of you just brought down on me.”

  “I thought you’d be happy about it. I mean the asshole had it coming. He wants to play games with us, he deserves it.”

  “Not denying that he needs to pay, Tim. I fully intend on making him pay, but not like this. All you two did is make Daniels hard on for me that much worse.”

  God, he’s such a moron. When I first met him, the fact that he was such a muppet and followed along with everything I wanted made him an asset, but now he’s just messing everything up. If he wasn’t on the damn team with me, I’m pretty sure I’d have ditched him by now. Tim actually thinking about anything is a joke.

  “Whatever. This morning’s been bad enough, I don’t wanna think about what’s gonna happen next. Let’s just find the others and we’ll deal with this later.”

  It hits me as we make our way down the stairs and I round the corner and see my girlfriend and her friends that I just lied to him. The morning might have started off bad, but it hadn’t ended up that way at all.

  It’s all because of those brown eyes that even with all the interruptions from Tim, I still can’t get out of my head. Yeah, I’ve definitely gotta get the others on board with this. This time I’m not taking no for an answer.

  Cadence

  Going back and forth with Dillon for the entire class, it’s easy to see why he’s earned the reputation he has. The sheer amount of times he rolled his eyes alone speaks to it. I’m not exactly the biggest fan of school, but damn, this guy literally hates every bit of it and I’m pretty sure it has nothing at all to do with the class he’s in now.

  I flicked him on the arm every single time he did it and after earning the death glare the first time, he mellowed out and started smirking at me instead. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was doing it just so he could get a reaction, but having no experience with guys and how they act, I can’t be sure. If that is what he was after though, I gave it to him in spades.

  He managed to call me a bitch three more times and every single time earned an equally damning response. It was just another thing that seemed to please him. It’s like he enjoyed being called an asshole. The thing is, by the end of class, I kind of enjoyed it too.

  When the bell rang, I was more than ready to get out of there, even though I didn’t exactly have anywhere to go. I’ve been here before, when Mom’s had to come back after picking me up at school, but I never made a point of going around and checking the place out. I was braving a whole new world here and for the first time in ages, I’m thankful I’m deaf.

  I’m a new face to these people so the minute I came out of the class, I felt the eyes on me and it turned my stomach inside out. It doesn’t matter if you go to a school for the deaf or a regular high school, teenagers act the same way. I’m the new kid, which means I stand out and now everyone is interested in me. In no time at all, they’ll start talking about me.

  Yes, it’s definitely a good thing I can’t hear because I would hate to know what people are thinking about me, much less what they’re gonna say.

  As I escape through the door to the stairs, I practically race down them, eager to find a spot, hopefully somewhere on the first floor that isn’t occupied by anyone so that I can stay under the radar. If I want to survive the next two weeks here, putting myself front and center for all of these new eyes is definitely not the way to go about it. I don’t call attention to myself at my actual school. I’m not about to start here.

  The library.

  If I want a place to go unnoticed, there’s no better place in the world then there. I can hide away in a corner, pull my book from my bag and settle in to read.

  It’s only when I turn the corner and head in the direction of my salvation that I see them. They’re all sitting with their backs lined in perfect succession to the lockers and they’re laughing about something or someone, their smiles and open mouths a dead giveaway. When I see the blonde guy point down the hall toward me, but not directly at me, I notice exactly what it is they’re laughing about, or who.

  Eric Carmen.

  Another kid I know because of the amount of time my mom spends talking about him. He’s hunched over, walking down the hall at a snail’s pace and of course, these jerks are making fun of him for it. I don’t see him doing anything remotely abnormal but it seems that with these guys, even walking is a joke.

  I hate popular kids. They think because they’re on the football team or friends with the head cheerleader that they’re above everyone else. Some of them come from money, and the ones that do are even worse because apparently the money their parent’s make means they’re untouchable and can buy themselves out of any situation they find themselves in.

  There’s only one person who that didn’t work for and he’s the one I lock eyes on the minute I turn back to them.

  Dillon.

  He’s laughing along with his friends, but there’s something different about the way he is that sets him apart from the others. His laughter isn’t reaching up into his eyes. His are vacant. Like he’s only laughing in order to keep them off his back.

  Interesting.

  Pulling away from my dissection of Wexfield’s resident jerk, I turn back in the direction Eric went and decide on a change of plan.

  Speeding up until I find myself directly behind the slow moving boy, I tap him on the shoulder and wait until he slows to a complete stop and spins around to face me. Raising my hand in the air, I wave, giving him a small smile and hoping he remembers me or at least realizes that I’m not here to harass him.

  “Caddy?”

  I smile even brighter at his recognition and he returns it with one of his own. I have never been so thankful for my mother being his teacher. The way he turned around, his shoulders tensed and a look of fear across his face, I can tell he’d been e
xpecting something worse.

  That won’t be happening today. Today he’s about to entertain the new kid.

  Holding up my hand, I reach around into my bag, grab out the pen and pad and start writing. Out of all the kids in the school, I know for a fact that he’s gonna be cool with waiting. His best friend Isabelle, used to have to do the same thing, which means he’s got loads of experience with it. Finishing up what I want to ask, I hold it up for him and the minute he reads it, he smiles again.

  “Yeah, sure. You can eat lunch with me.”

  “Thank you.” I answer back, this time choosing to speak instead of using the pad.

  This is something not a lot of people know about me. I can speak. For a long time I never spoke anywhere, but after learning sign language, meeting with a speech therapist combining the two and having the world’s most supportive mom on my side, I slowly began doing it. I still don’t do it often, but when I’m comfortable, I will. With Eric right now, I feel that way. I don’t have to fear the looks I get with him. It’s the rest of the world that needs to catch on.

  The few times I’ve spoken in public, the reaction alone was enough for me to never want to do it again. So for a really long time I didn’t. I might not be afraid of people the way Eric and some of the others are, but reactions, peoples words, they still hurt me and after a while, it’s just easier to be silent and write with the pad or signing then it is to speak out loud.

  “I was wondering if you were gonna speak.”

  I smile and grab him by the hand, dragging him down the hall, not sure of my destination, but figuring if he’d been walking this way, then there has to be someplace over here where we can sit and hang out. It’s only when he comes to a stop, pulling me back with him, pointing in the opposite direction that I realize he’s got another idea.

  “I’m supposed to meet Isabelle outside.” He says and pointing again toward the front door and looking back down at me, I smile. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to do, but it beat spending it alone in the library.

  “Let’s go.”

  Dillon

  The plan is a go.

  Once we were all sitting around in the hall, I decided to bring it up. If I wanted to put it in motion the minute I got back to class, the sooner I got it out there and got everyone’s thoughts, the better. Turns out, they were more on board with it than I was and I’m the one that thought it up.

  I expected to have to plead hard with Amy, so when she was one of the first ones to agree, it threw me off. It didn’t take me long to recover though. Once everyone agreed, I started to fill them in on what I planned to do when I got back to class, but their attention was quickly taken away when Eric made his way into the hall.

  “Now that we screwed up Kayden’s car, we need to do something to this kid.”

  “What did I tell you about that? You see what Daniels did to me right? The last thing any of us needs to do right now is screw with him.”

  “It sounds like you’re going soft on us, D.” Tim jokes while I resist the urge to punch him in his throat. After the way things have gone already today, the last thing he wants to do is piss me off.

  “In your dreams maybe. I’m just being smart.”

  “Dillon’s right. What we did this morning; it’s gonna cause shit.”

  The last thing I expect Amy to say is that I’m right. It’s not like she’s never done it before or anything, but with the way she willingly helped Tim screw with Kayden’s car, I had to figure I’m the last one she’d agree with.

  “You really wanna end up in the retard class with me?” I ask him, though the question could have been to any of them. It’s time they remember who the real brains of this whole thing is. Going off on their own was just gonna breed more shit I didn’t need.

  “Fine, you’re right. We’ll leave him alone, but the minute the heats off, I swear I’m dealing with that guy.”

  I’m the one that ends up with the punishment; yet he’s the one that wants to take the little moron out. There’s definitely something wrong with that.

  “I’ll leave you a piece when I’m done Tim, I promise.” I say, pursing my lips and making kissing noises straight at him, which has the desired effect as everyone cracks up in laughter.

  “Whoa! Who’s that?” Tim asks completely disregarding my comment and motioning down the hall, the way we just saw Eric go. By the time I follow his line of vision, the person has their back to me, but there’s no denying who it is and also who she’s chasing after.

  “That’s the girl I was telling you about. The new retard.”

  “I might be willing to rethink this whole thing if they all look like her. Shit; even Isabelle was pretty hot for a mute bitch.”

  “Man, all you can see is her back! How the hell can you think she’s hot?” I ask though deep down, I already know the answer. It’s the same way I thought the exact same thing this morning. It’s because she’s gorgeous. Even with a few feet between us, it’s impossible to deny.

  “I saw her when she came around the corner, D. Shit. Now I see why you wanna screw around with her so bad.”

  No way. Him admiring Cadence like this, it’s not happening. Call me territorial or whatever, but I saw her first, which means she’s mine. I don’t give a shit what he wants to do. She’s off limits.

  “Looks to me like she’s got a thing for Eric. There goes your shot.”

  Everyone starts laughing again, but this time, I’m not feeling it. For whatever reason, I don’t like the way Tim is looking at this girl, even though a few minutes ago I was putting together a plan to screw with her head.

  I know what I’ve got to do.

  I’m not waiting until we get back to class to put the plan in action. I’m gonna do it now. Cadence is chasing after Eric; well it just so happens I’ve got a few choice words I need to say to the guy and there’s no better time than now to do it.

  Cadence

  I’m not sure what I was so afraid of.

  As soon as we make our way outside, Eric practically dragging me to the tree where I could make out a guy and a girl cuddling underneath, I felt completely at ease. Not only did the two lovebirds separate, but the girl reached out to me. It’s only after Eric says hello that I realize who they are.

  Kayden and Isabelle. I know of Isabelle the same way I do Eric. Mom comes home and talks about them a lot. I probably know a lot more than I should about these three, especially Isabelle. Because of my disability, my mom seems more protective than most teachers and she’s protective over no one more than the girl in front of me now.

  Isabelle Reagan is autistic and because of that and her inability to speak, she was bullied excessively. I can’t even count the number of times my mom came home in tears because of what the people here put this girl through. Like in most cases of bullying, it’s easy to see within five seconds of being around her that there’s no reason for it.

  She’s amazing.

  The minute we’re seated, she surprises me by signing. I know for a fact she’s not deaf; so I’m pretty surprised she’s doing it, at least I am until I see Eric’s face.

  “Our moms taught us how to sign when we were little so they could communicate with us.”

  For the first time since my mom told me I had to come here this morning, I actually feel like I belong.

  Turning back to Isabelle, responding to what she asked me, I pull my phone out of my jacket and hand it to her. Watching as she slides her fingers across the screen at a speed I’m pretty jealous of, she adds in her number and hands it back to me. Looking down at the screen, I see she’s got the messaging app open and a message for me typed in the box.

  Now you don’t have to stress over reading lips.

  Smiling, I put the phone back in my pocket and I watch the two boys talk back and forth. I can easily keep up with Eric, but it’s not the same with Kayden. From the way it looks, he just said something about liking women’s underwear. Obviously seeing the confused look on my face, Isabelle taps me on the leg and points to m
y pocket, her phone visible in her hands, signaling a text message.

  Pulling the phone back out, I look down and smile. Maybe keeping up with Kayden wasn’t as hard as I thought. He really was talking about women’s underwear, just not in the way I thought.

  Don’t mind Kay, he’s just making fun of Eric’s My Little Pony underwear.

  My Little Pony underwear? Now I definitely need to know more.

  Why is he wearing those?

  She wastes no time texting me back, which just makes me even more jealous. Is this girl just naturally gifted with everything electronic?

  Eric’s little sister, Summer dared him to wear them.

  Now everything makes sense. It also helps me lighten up considerably. I don’t want to admit it, but not being able to read Kayden, at least when I thought I couldn’t; it upset me. It’s not often I can’t keep up.

  How do you like it here?

  Not really sure yet. I miss my friends.

  Instead of texting her response the way I expect, she tips her head to the side and nods, letting me know she gets it. From everything I know about her, the only friends she has are the two people sitting with us now, so I can see how she might sympathize with me. I can’t imagine how hard it is being here without them.

  Well, you’ve got three new friends for the next two weeks. If you want them.

  The happy face emoticon at the end makes me smile even more than her words do. I definitely don’t feel alone now. I might be able to make it through these next two weeks after all.

  We stop texting and after a little while, I feel a tap on my shoulder. Having spent the time watching everyone move around outside, enjoying the slight breeze as it passes by, I didn’t even realize I zoned out. Looking up, I see Eric smiling at me.

  “Time to get you back to class.”

  I’m about to question what he means when it hits me. He’s not in the afternoon class because he takes regular classes. Another tidbit my mom shared with me in one of her many sharing sessions. Looks like I’m about to go it alone.