Ordinarily Normal

Chapter Five

CHAPTER FIVE

'Hi...' I say.

She doesn't reply. I think that this is quite rude so I turn my back to her again. Then she does some weird thing with her hands. She's moving them around in some strange pattern. It takes me a couple of minutes to locate where I had seen this series of weird movements, then I remember.  Racking my brains all the way back to when I was 7 or 8 and the Doctors at the Hospital taught me Sign language as they thought I was going to become deaf. Luckily I didn't, just like I didn't go blind as expected. I had remembered the sign language after all these years it suddenly came flooding back like it was seeping through my brain to the core, meeting at the middle and my brain puts it all together and I remember each and every word. I do understand why as they drummed it into me quite forcefully over and over and over again.

So I sign 'Hi... Sorry for being rude, what's your name?'

The mystery girl replied 'That's okay and Isabel Martins is my name, what's yours?'

I'm shocked that she was so polite in the way she phrased her words even though I cannot hear her tone of voice I understand that she was being polite. I think that this has to be special as I've never ever had someone speak to me so politely in these grounds before.

In the shock I stutter 'Cool, My name is Dylan' before I realise I need to sign these words. I go bright red enough to cover up that mark on my face.

After I've signed the collection of words she replies 'Dylan's a nice name.'

I say 'Thanks' thinking this is the most oddest conversation ever. I go to move away thinking she must be bored of me already as I know most people get that. It's like I'm not an approachable person. Also, well I've never before talked to a girl before.

She says 'Are you okay, I saw you take quite a punch earlier.'

When Isabel says this, I can feel myself getting embarrassed. Hang about why am I getting embarrassed it happens each and every day and I've never gotten embarrassed at the boxing session they have on me before first lesson.  With these thoughts I forget to reply so she takes a step closer and notice there's dried tears on her cheeks.

'Fine... ' I quickly answer.

'Sure...'

'Yes, I get used to it.'

'This happens often?!' She says shocked.

'Well, yeah I mean look at me...' I say sheepishly.

'What?!'

'I'm a loner, I have no friends. May I just ask who you are?'

'I have no friends either, I am the new girl here' She says quietly.

'Okay, Well are you okay?

'No, to be quite honest.'

'What happened?' I say with some care because I realise this conversation is becoming very formal for two teenagers and maybe a little awkward too.

'What do you think happened?'

'How am I supposed to know, Isabel?'

'For one: I'm a new girl so at the moment have the same ranking as a peasant to a king. Secondly, You guessed it I'm deaf and have been the whole of my life. Thirdly, I'm strictly speaking not from around here.'

'You mean... You mean I'm not the only one, you have got hurt by Timothy and 'gang' this morning too.'

She nods. I think so that is why I got off so easily this morning, they had already beaten up another person and that person was the girl standing about thirty centimetres away from my face.