Unexpected Friendship

The Beginning

I'm walking to my house drenched in high school cafeteria food. I have chocolate milk on my hair and part of my upper black jacket. My shirt has dried chilli and my pants have part of what I assume is ketchup. It wasn't my fault by the way, it was a pair of trouble makers. I don't know their names.

I arrive to the apartment complex I live with my Republican single mother. Her name is Ruby Welch. I guess the only reason I tell you she is a Republican, it's because it describes her perfectly. She is conservative, loves Jesus and his father, and thinks George W.Bush totally won against AL Gore. Don't get me wrong, I love my mom but as everyone I can dislike her at times.

Anyways, I enter my house. I put my backpack down on the floor next to the coat hanger. I directly walk to my room, strip naked, and hop into the shower.

Thankfully, I have my own bathroom right inside my room. I'm an only child, so I have many things. I shower and see the dried milk running down the tile floor of the shower. I wash everything and get out. I open the door and get change in my room. I go for a blue sky t-shirt and regular jeans with man sandals. I leave my hair wet and don't comb it.
I'm hungry since all of my food got thrown to a black kid's face and then that kid threw the remains to the fat white kid who threw it to him. I get in the kitchen and see my mom cutting some carrots next to the stove. I open the refrigerator and get a juice box. I close the door and lean against it. I open the juice and begin to drink it.

My mom is probably talking about the dinner she is making. She turns to me and smiles, makes a salute motion as a hello. I do the same back. She then touches her knuckles and rolls them forward and points at me, "how are you?" She asks.

I nod. She knows that's my signal for "good". She goes back to the carrots. I finish the juice and put the container in the trash. I walk towards the living room and turn on the small flat screen hanging on the wall. I just leave it at a shopping channel my mom watches. It is not really amusing to watch tv or movies, I just watch to get distracted or watch funny videos online.

I see an old blonde woman trying to sell a pair of green earrings with a middle age man. The price is $55.25 for a pair.

My mom pokes my shoulder. She says something but I shrug. She sighs as she gets frustrated because she doesn't know a lot of sign language. She has been a hospital nurse for years, mostly working the midnight shifts and while I'm in school, so there wasn't really time for her to learn sign language as fast. She knows bits and full sentences and questions, but she won't never be a translator or teacher.
She points to the backpack. Oh, she has seen the pudding splattered on it. I try to smile innocently but that back fires. She signals me, "Tell me." You see she only learned the important words, basically the ones to a) tell me what to do and b) questions like "why?" "Who loves you?" and "what do you want to eat?".

I sigh and tell her everything, but of course she only catches less than that.
"So, you aren't in trouble?" She signals me.
I shake my head no.
"Good." She goes back to the kitchen.
....

I was born deaf. Never heard a bird "sing", nor my mom's voice, or N'sync. I don't know if I should be happy about the last one. I am not dumb though. I can read and write well. My mom put me in sign language classes very early. By the age of 4, I knew what was wrong with me. I didn't accept it until I was about ten. I never quite had friends, but people weren't mean. They just left me there or I chose not to talk to them. I don't want people to be my friends because they feel sorry for me.

I guess that's why I'm sort of a loner in high school. Though, I'm okay with it.

I'm in my senior year. I'm 18 years old and living in the state of Texas. Yep, Texas. I'm no cowboy though, sorry to disappoint.

My father divorced my mom by their second year of marriage right after I was born and I never have met him. I know his name and even birthday. I don't hold hate. I do hold confusion on why he hasn't bothered to send me a postcard for any of my birthdays. To him, I might be dead.

He might fallen in love with another woman or guy. Who knows. And then discovered his son is deaf. Well that's two strikes, what would have been the third?
....
Mr. Jeff is standing as he reads Shakespeare's Hamlet. I wish I can know how he sounds like, how he is interrupting the work. He throws his hand in the air so dramatically. He takes off his wide eye glasses. Then bows. I see people clapping so I do too. The door suddenly opens and a girl walks in. She has straight long black hair, thin frame, regular height, and light skin. she has an all black outfit. She must be new. She hands Mr. Jeff a note.
He says something about her, of course I can't really tell what. I can only read lips if someone is close to me. The girl begins to walks towards me with her gaze looking down. She sits in back of me. Mr. Jeff continue reading.

Soon, the class ends. I get my things and begin to walk out. Suddenly, someone pulls on my hair. I quickly turn around and see the new girl. She is frowning. She asks something, I think. I shake my head no and to try to tell her what my condition is, but she frowns even more. She flips me off and walks away. What the hell?

I walk out but don't see her. She is impatient that's for sure. She won't have any friends if she continues that way.
...

School is over. I walk home as usual. But something is different now since I look back. As I stop at a red light, I see the girl walking towards me. Shit, come on light turn red!
She stops next to me. She puts her long sleeves up to her elbows and crosses her arms against her chest. I notice she has a black shirt and jeans with a brown side backpack.
She looks at me and says "what". I open my mouth to say hi but the light changes green and she crosses the street. I do the same and go my way.

Weird, she is walking in the same direction as I am. Now she is getting inside the apartment complex as I am too. Oh snap, she is my neighbor? I live in the second floor in the first building. Though, she is walking towards the second building next to mine. Oh good, don't want her living literally next to me.

I go in and notice my mom isn't home. I go straight to my room and turn on my game console. I sit on my bed. Darn, it is hot. I decide to open my window. Don't want to mess with the thermostat.
I sit back and play a war game. I pause the game to change my shirt to be more fresh. As I am walking to the dresser on the left, I notice a window being open on the second building. It's her! I quickly dodge and crawl to the window. I only set my eyes on the window. She stops the window and opens the white curtains. She stretches and she puts her hair in a bun and turns around. She hasn't seen me yet. Man, what do I do? I need to close the window! Yes, that I should do. I stand and put my hands on the window to close it. Then suddenly I see her bare back. She is taking off her shirt. I freeze there. I never seen a girl naked or get naked.
My hear beats fast. "Move idiot!" I yell in my head.
She doesn't have a bra on. She quickly turns her head and we make eye contact. Oh shit. Oh man.
She smiles. What?
She turns around but her arms cover her chest. Her smile disappears and she looks at me again making eye contact. She looks so mysterious. Why is she letting me look at her?
Then, my door opens and I quickly shut the window down and turn. It's my mom.
She smiles, "good news. We have new neighbors!" She signals me.
"I know," I reply.