The Sound of Love

Chapter One

           'I love you Derica. I am going to miss you like crazy, but I have to do this.' I sign quickly to my best friend, all the while my eyes filling with tears. I see her hands move, but my eyes are so teary that I can't see anything but a faint blur. 'Could you sign that again? I didn't really see it.' I sign as I wipe my eyes with one hand. She rolled her eyes but smiled sadly at me.

            'I said that I understand and you don't have to explain yourself to me. I only wish my parents would let me come with you. You'll have to video chat with me every night.' She signed again patiently then reached over to give me a constricting hug.

            'I will miss you sister.' I signed then pulled her back into the hug only this time, I clung to her waist even tighter. Even though Derica and I weren't sisters, we were close enough to be. We had both met each other when we were three years old, and had been inseparable ever since.

            'You have no idea.' Her hands moved, then she reached up to brush her tears away. I could count the times I had seen Derica cry in the past thirteen years on one hand. So yes, I did have an idea. She was the one person in this world who could actually understand me; who knew exactly what I was going through. If it wasn't for her, I honestly don't know how I would have survived these past few years.

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            I watch through the window as Miles Academy disappears behind me. I'm going to miss all of my friends, but I think it's best that I go to a normal high school. I mean, what will keep me separated from them when I graduate? I need to learn how to interact with other people. So if you were wondering, I'm deaf. I can't hear anything... I've read articles on why I'm deaf, but they're pointless; they won't help me get my hearing back.            Tears slide silently down my cheeks as I argue internally with myself in the back of the taxi I was driving home in. I ask myself that question. Every. Single. Day. Of. My. Life.
            Why?
            I wish for once, that I could be normal... Actually, I wish there was some magical potion I could drink and then the day after I took it I would wake up with perfect hearing. It's actually kind of funny, most teenagers want fancy computers and music players, all I want is to hear. I guess it's true that we all want what we can't have. I wasn't always this way; whenever I was eleven I was a normal kid. I could play piano and violin beautifully... And then I got a concussion whenever I was involved in a car wreck. Goodbye, hearing. I'm not completely deaf, but I'm profoundly deaf, meaning the only sounds that I can hear are really loud ones, such as a gun going off with me in the same room. I don't really consider that hearing. Do you?

            I pressed my forehead against the ice cold window as I stared at the disappearing sun. Crap. You aren't supposed to look at the sun, but it's just... Impossible not to, you know? I sigh and shut my eyes, thinking about how my new high school might turn out. Would it be the same as my old one? Yeah, I know... fat chance. There was also the factor about whether or not I'll speak. I have the ability, but only basic things. I'm very insecure about speaking because I cannot hear myself; I'm afraid I could be making a fool of myself. I fell asleep to hundreds of thoughts buzzing around in my head.