Ailith

1

Once again, the sounds of horns honking wakes me up before my own damn alarm. However, unlike previous times I have been woken up, I was able tune out all the the noise I heard.

Before hand, it was awful. It seems like I live in some city with all the horns honking, but it's the complete opposite. I live in a suburban town outside of Philadelphia, around a good 30 minute drive if traffic is good to us. 

A normal human being would be unable to hear such sounds, but about two weeks ago, I woke up to the sound of a car crash, jolting me out of bed. It was around 6:30 am, and I remember rushing to my parents room and asking them if they heard the same thing. When they told me they had no idea what I was talking about, I went to look outside, only to find nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, it was very quiet. I then turned on the news, only to see that there was a breaking news story about a crash on the turnpike bridge going from New Jersey to Philadelphia.

It doesn't end there, though I wish it did. During school, I would hear everything around me, from the people who were racing on the track in gym class to even something as simple as a pencil dropping in a completely different classroom. It was complete and utter hell for me; I felt like I was going crazy. Eventually, I was able to shut up everything around me and focus on what was happening in the moment. It was almost like I had normal hearing again, but every morning, I had that wake up call from morning traffic to remind me that it has not gone away.

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Groaning, I finally got out of bed, accepting the fact that I was not going to be able to go back to sleep. I did my usual morning routine before going downstairs to get my breakfast. As I ate my food, I texted my best friend, Thomas, telling him that I was on my way to the bus stop. He promised to bring information regarding the issue with the hearing. I had to know if I was becoming some sort of freak or if this was normal for someone.

I honestly have to deal with enough as a teenage girl, so to add this onto my list of more things to angst on...well, let's just say it's not what I signed up for...along with everything else.

As I approached the bus stop, I saw Thomas waiting there for me. I ran over to him, anxious to see if he had any information.

"Hey, big ears," he said as I finally got to him.

"Shut the fuck up," I said, giving him a slap on the arm, "You know how much of a hell this has been for me."

"I know, I know," he said, "Just teasing you, kid."

I smiled. As much as we made fun of each other, it was all in good fun. Thomas and I have been best friends since middle school after we both found out we had mutual taste in music, especially this band named The Misfit Machine. Their music just kind of spoke to the both of us. I was too "goth" or "emo" to be considered part of the popular crowd, and the goths and emos felt I wasn't goth or emo enough, so I fit in no where. Thomas knew how I felt, and we've been friends ever since.

He was also the only person, besides my parents, who knew about what was going on. However, unlike my parents, he actually does his best to support me. Don't get me wrong, my parents are trying as well, but they have enough bullshit to deal with that I don't think they want to worry about this. They will just brush it off as if it was just another "teenage thing."

"So, what have you got?" I asked Thomas.

"Well, unfortunately, I have not found anything about your Superman hearing..." he said.

"Figures," I grumbled.

"BUT," he said, "There are people who are known to have some really sensitive hearing, and are able to hear things that most people cannot hear. So, maybe my dearest friend, that is what you are going through."

"I don't think it happens overnight, though," I said, "And I don't think people can hear like some animal."

Thomas just shrugged. "Hey, that's all I could find," he said, "Unless it turns out you are somehow a new, real life super hero, which would be pretty badass if you asked me."

"Me, a weird girl who also has the mouth of a sailor, a super hero? Nah," I said, "You'd have a better chance of meeting Axl Dean than have me be a super hero."

"Hey! We have that possibility this Saturday!" Thomas said.

"We've already tried that whole stalking thing, Thomas," I said, "Remember that we are king and queen of uneventful."

He rolled his eyes, about to come with a comeback, when the bus rolled up, taking us to our little hell. When we boarded the bus, Thomas continued our conversation about seeing The Misfit Machine real soon and the possibility of meeting Axl Dean, their lead singer, but my mind was off somewhere else. Thinking about what Thomas said earlier, I began to think if it was possible that I was gaining something important, something that could change not only my life, but everything around me.

Whatever it was, I hoped that it was not for the worst...