A World of Her Own

Chapter 3

Liora was deep into another Nancy Drew novel when she was startled by a tap on her shoulder. She winced, thinking it was the librarian coming to chide her for eating her lunch. Food was not supposed to be brought into the library, though Liora did it nearly every day. She had been careful to hide in the back corner, hoping no one would notice her. She was a bit disgruntled to have been found out.

When she looked up, she saw to her surprise that Jason was standing there. Did he track her down in the library? Her cheeks reddened but she remembered her resolution to be more open. When he indicated the chair in front of her, she nodded, giving her assent for him to join her. She was bewildered when she realized that he looked uncomfortable. Jason had always seemed at ease with the world around him and she had never seen him at loss for words. He chatted just as comfortably with the Principal as he did with his friends on the tennis team. She had even seen him joking around with the janitors.  A feeling of trepidation came over her. Why did he want to talk to her?

Jason cleared his throat and his cheeks reddened. "Hi, Liora. I...uh....well, I wanted to ask you a favor. It's totally fine if you say no. I don't want you to feel pressured at all." Jason hesitated and then blurted out, " You have some trouble hearing, right?" Liora's face grew redder. Jason hastened to add, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to make you uncomfortable. This isn't any of my business and you can tell me to go away if you want. No hard feelings. It's just that my church runs an after-school camp for kids that have recently immigrated here. There's a young boy from Indonesia who recently lost some of his hearing. His parents aren't sure how to help him and the volunteers at the camp are having trouble communicating with him. He can speak some English but he's really shy. I wondered if you would be willing to talk to him. He needs help reading and I know you like to read....." Jason's voice trailed off and he shifted in his seat uncomfortably. 

It was on the tip of Liora's tongue to tell Jason 'no'. She hadn't realized that he knew she was hard of hearing. She always wore her hair down, covering her hearing aids. She thought she had been able to hide her hearing loss pretty well. Apparently not.

Then she thought of the little boy. He was probably lonely, even lonelier than she was. She couldn't imagine being a little kid in a new place far away from everything she knew and was familiar with. Liora had often dreamed of running away to a new place but that was a choice that she wanted to make for herself. She wanted to have the freedom to leave and start over but that was her own dream. No one else had decided that she needed to leave everything she knew and loved behind. She wondered if this boy's parents could communicate with him. Liora had been hard of hearing for as long as she could remember and her parents and siblings still had some problems communicating with her. She imagined the confusion and insecurity that little boy was experiencing, having recently lost his hearing and struggling to communicate while having to adjust to a new culture and a new environment at the same time. Liora felt a wave of compassion envelop her.

"Okay, I will do it. I can help him with his reading and talk with him. And I can help his parents make an appointment for him with my audiologist. Does he go to Pineview Elementary? The speech therapist I went to is still there. And Dr. Bronsky, my audiologist, can help make sure he gets what he needs to do well in school, whether hearing aids or anything else."

Jason's face cleared. He smiled in relief. "Thanks, Liora. I'm glad you can help. I know they will really appreciate it. That's really nice of you. And I hope I didn't embarrass you with my questions. Can I get your phone number? I can text you the directions to the church and the time the camp meets. I help out there as well when I don't have tennis practice. I will be there today. I will let the other volunteers know you are coming and they can introduce you to Ranga and his family."

Liora gave Jason her phone number and he quickly texted her the address and directions to the church. It was close to her home and Liora knew she would have no problems getting there. "Text me when you get to the church," Jason said. "I will introduce you to the volunteers that work in the reading camp. I mostly help the kids with their math but I can join you and Ranga if you want. I've met him before so he knows me a little bit. It might make things more comfortable."