A Silence Full of Sound

Chapter 1

I don't remember much before the world went dull.

I remember the birds and waking up to their beautiful song. I remember walking down the street and hearing the cars whiz past. I remember walking downstairs on a Sunday morning and hearing my mum blasting music as she sang and danced around the kitchen making breakfast.

Now I don't hear the melody of the birds. I don't hear the rumble of the engine as the cars drive past. I don't even hear the music or the sound of my mother's voice.

I don't hear anything.

When I was 6 years old my family and I were in a car accident. My mum and dad and brother got away with minor injuries; a broken arm or a leg, but me? I came away with a head trauma and a loss of hearing.

Flash forward 11 years and here I am, laying on a mattress in the middle of a new room scattered with boxes crammed with old memories, dreading the events of today.

Today was my first day at a new school in a new town, in a 'new life' according to my mother. My first day of Senior year, and I'm alone.

Senior year is not the year where you're supposed to make friends, it's the year you're already supposed to have them.

Making friends was never easy for me. I mean, obviously the whole not hearing part was the main reason, but I never seemed to get along with people. They couldn't understand the reason why I wouldn't speak.

When I lost my hearing, I just stopped talking. I had years worth of speech therapy treatments, but nothing helped. I didn't want to speak, I had no reason to. What was the point in talking if I couldn't hear my own voice?

My brother interrupted my thoughts when he walked into the room and waved to get my attention. I'm used to people waving or tapping me, what's annoying is if they click in my face. That's just rude and unnecessary and makes people who are hard of hearing feel as if they are 10 centimeters tall.

"Riley, you okay? You got to get ready we're going to be late!" He signed to me whilst attempting to pull me out of bed.

My brother is my best friend. Being twins, we share everything. Back in our old town we had the same friends, we had the same room, and we shared all of our time together. He was the only one that was really there for me after the accident.

Neither of us really remember what happened that day, so we don't really speak about it. But that's okay because we both acknowledge that it happened, and just tried to move on with our lives.

He's always felt sorry for me though. He hides it well, but I can tell. I found him once crying in the bathroom, muttering to himself. Somehow I knew it was about me.

My whole family had learnt sign language when I became deaf. My speech therapists had introduced me to sign language, and I picked up on it quite quickly. The same with my mum and brother, but for my dad it was a lot harder. I think it's because he struggled with knowing that I wouldn't be able to hear him talk anymore.

Pouting, I sign "I don't want to go" He gives me a look as if to say 'get over yourself' and then nods at me and leaves me to get ready.

I don't know what to wear. What do you wear that makes the 'new girl' blend in and not stand out? I'm making a difference this year. I'm not going to be the 'deaf girl'. I'll just be me. Well, as 'me' as I can be. No one will know that I'm deaf until I'm ready to tell the world, and that won't be yet.

I quickly pull on a sweater and some joggers and fix my hair so that it looks presentable. I put a little bit of makeup on, and I'm dashing down the stairs, dodging unopened boxes along the way.

We had only moved in a week ago, and still hadn't managed to unpack everything. The important things were out, like the phones, our special light activated doorbell and a majority of the furniture, so we weren't doing too badly.

I waved at my brother to get his attention.

"Sammy, let's go" I signed, using the nickname I had given him at a young age. He had been watching tv whilst waiting for me.

"What have I said about calling me Sammy?! It's just Sam" he signed back.

"Whatever, Sammy" I signed, knowing how much he hated it.

We walked to our new school. I had never learnt to drive after the accident. Getting in a car still scared me to death. Sammy had somehow got over it with time, and he had bought his own car after he got his licence. But he never pushed me to drive with him and he would always walk with me to school so that I wouldn't be lonely.

I honestly don't know what I would do without my brother.

We arrived at the school and the size of it took my breath away. It was so much bigger than our old school back home. But that must mean there's more students, and this made me nervous. More people to not speak to, but more people to help me blend into the crowd.

We walked into the reception area and were immediately met with a short, blonde woman who was too energetic for this time in the morning.

"Hi! My name is Allison, how can I help?"

My lip reading had got better over the years, and as long as people were facing me, I could pretty much keep up with what they were saying. That was the way that I was going to get through this year, without anyone knowing that I was deaf.

Sammy knew how I felt about not wanting the world to know, and we had argued about it for ages. "If they can't accept you for who you are Riley, then they aren't decent people" Sammy had told me. But he didn't get it. "You're different, Riley." But that was the point. I didn't want to be different. I didn't want to be treated differently. I just wanted to be normal, just for once. Needless to say that Sammy had lost that argument.

Sammy said something to the receptionist but I didn't watch to see what it was. I looked around, staring out of the reception door and looking through the corridors.

My attention was drawn back to Sammy as he slammed his fist on the desk.

"No, we have to be in the same classes!" I read his lips as it looked like he screamed it. The receptionist, Allison, looked shocked as if she had never dealt with a student that screamed at her like that. "There's nothing I can do, I'm afraid. Your schedules just don't match up-"

"That's not good enough!" Sammy yelled. The vein in his neck pulsed like it was about to burst.

I grabbed his arm and gave him a look of 'it's okay, I'll be fine.' I mean, I can't rely on my brother all my life, can I?

Sammy looked reluctant at first, but then his face eased and he nodded at Allison. She seemed relieved and gave me a smile and a nod. I returned the gesture and went back to staring out on the corridor.

People walked past, chatting and laughing with each other. I wish I could do that.

I was watching the other students until someone caught my eye. He was standing at a locker opposite the reception, watching other people go past. He was people watching, just like me.

He must have felt me staring because within that moment he turned and looked straight at me. I briefly smiled at him. His green eyes glinted with curiosity as he just looked back at me.

Sammy tapped me on the shoulder getting my attention. "Here's your schedule. I'll meet you outside your locker at lunch. Promise me you'll be fine?" He handed me my schedule and my locker number and combination. I nodded, promising him that I would be fine. He nodded and smiled at me, and indicated that the bell had rang as he walked out the reception to the first class.

I hoped I would fine anyway. First day, here I go.