Lend Me Your Hand

Chapter 2

           Aysah's mom dropped her off at home then left for work since she worked the night shift. Her mom would be gone until midnight, so Aysah would be left alone. Daylie made her way into the room, and Aysah smiled as she racked a hand through her curly, black fur, at least she wasn't completely alone. She let Daylie into the backyard for her to run around for a bit. As she sat on the patio, Aysah scrolled through her phone.

         Like always, there wasn't much there. Her sister, Lily, had a posted a couple new photos of her with her sorority sisters. Her curly hair was done up in a bun on the top of her head, glitter shimmering under her eyes. Aysah liked the photo then closed the app. She jumped as Daylie began barking at the fence.

          "Daylie," Aysah shouted. "What are you barking at?"

          Daylie continued barking, and Aysah looked up. The neighbor's calico was perched on the top of the fence, sitting impatiently. As she walked over, the cat began slinking away across the connecting fences. When the cat was gone, Daylie stopped barking.

          "Come on Daylie, back inside," said Aysah as she opened the backyard door. When Daylie didn't immedicably follow, Aysah shook a bag of treats to get her attention. Daylie ran inside, and Aysah gave her a couple of treats as a reward. She sighed before rummaging through her backpack for her laptop and sitting down on the coach. She checked the course syllabus of each class and wrote down each due date in her planner. She wrote in pencil, not pen, just in case.

          ASL 1 class had a project coming up in two weeks; speech had a project due at the end of the week. It was the first week, and they already had a project. Aysah could feel the burning in her chest, and she took steady breathes as she continued to write.

          It'll be fine. She told herself. If I write it down, I'll be able to keep track of it.

          She was taking four courses, ASL 1, Speech 1, Appreciating Art 1, and Health 1. ASL 1 and Speech 1 were on campus classes while Appreciating Art 1 and Health 1 were online. She read through the materials sections of each class; art was the only one without a textbook. She wrote down the ISBN numbers of each book and checked the online school store. Her ASL 1 book was $100 for a used copy. Aysah herself didn't have the money to pay for the book from a different online store, so she would have to use her financial aid.

           She added the book to her cart then searched for the speech and health textbooks. Both books had online links for a discounted price. Aysah figured she didn't need the physical books for those classes anyway. She checked out with a grand total of $350. Why was college so expensive? The book links expired at the end of the semester, so she wouldn't even be able to use the online textbook after that. It almost felt like a waste of money.

          Aysah desperately wanted to start the assigned reading, but she couldn't. She kept staring at the computer screen intently, trying to soak up the words, but nothing seemed to be getting through. She read the words again and again, until she just couldn't focus. Her brain must be tired; she would try again tomorrow.

          She wrote herself a note Pick up ASL book tomorrow. Start Health and speech reading. The adhesive note was left on her computer as she stepped away from coach. Daylie was asleep in front of the door to her parent's room. She checked the clock on her phone, 5:30. Her Dad would be home soon. He worked as a computer technician at the same hospital where her mom worked. He had the day shift, and her mom had the night shift. It made things difficult when they couldn't see each other, except in the early mornings and late nights. The difficult work schedule didn't apply to most weekends. Every five weeks her dad had to work Saturday nights, and once every month her mom worked a random Saturday morning.