A World of Her Own

Chapter 14

Liora parked at the church and she and Katelynne hopped out. She scanned the parking lot for Jason and Christina. People milled around the parking lot, laughing and talking. Two large buses were parked on the side, waiting to transport them to the apartment complex where they would be doing the volunteer day. Liora didn't see them so she headed with Katelynne to the buses. Then she heard Christina's voice as she came barreling towards them. "Hi, Liora! Hi, Katelynne!" Christina wrapped them both in bear hugs. Liora felt like laughing as she always did after Christina's enthusiastic welcomes.

"Jason is already on the first bus holding seats for us. He sent me out to look for you," explained Christina.  She led them to the first bus where Jason was holding two seats in the back. Christina and Katelynne took one seat while Liora slid in next to Jason. He smiled and Liora smiled back. She had been a little worried after their talk on Sunday that Jason would behave differently but he treated her the same as he always did. Liora did her normal routine for the week of seeing Jason and Christina during lunch and then after school at church. Ranga was also the same as ever, if even a little more excitable. He talked nonstop about the fall festival, how his costume was coming and the upcoming party at school. Liora listened attentively, marveling at how far he had come. He was starting to remind her of Christina in his personality. He had quickly shed his shyness and was now rushing towards life with the utmost enthusiasm. Everything was fun and exciting. He had gotten the hang of using his Assistive Listening Device and thought it was the coolest thing ever. 'Cool' was now his favorite word and he used it at every opportunity. His hearing aids were 'cool', his class at school was 'cool', his costume was 'cool'. Liora now left the reading sessions feeling slightly like a whirlwind had hit her. But she loved it. He always lifted her spirits whenever she saw him. She wished she could have the same joy towards life that he had. Even though she was helping him with his reading, she felt like she was learning more from him about embracing everything and everyone in her path. She loved hearing all his stories and often wished she could have been more like him when she was younger.

"I know you are going to have a great time today." Jason's voice cut into her thoughts. Across the aisle, Liora noticed her younger sister smiling at her. Katelynne had grilled her when she came home from the beach. Liora had opened up to her sister and told her everything that had happened. She didn't share all the specifics of what Jason said, wanting to protect his privacy, but she let Katelynne know that Jason had told Liora he liked her. Katelynne was overjoyed. Liora was glad to have her sister's support. She couldn't remember the last time she had talked so openly and honestly with her sister. Liora usually made the excuse that they lived different lives but now she saw how much her sister wanted to be her friend. And Liora was startled to realize that she wanted to be closer to her sister. She had shut everyone out, including her own family and she was tired of it. She found that as she let people in, they cared about her more than she thought.

Liora realized Jason was still waiting for a response and she smiled at him. "Thanks. I think I will have a good time as well." They chatted about what had happened over the course of the week, about classes and Jason's tennis matches and Liora's time with Ranga. They kept the conversation light and fun. The church bus wasn't the time for any sort of intense conversation and the noise that surrounded them made it difficult for Liora to hear anyway. 

The bus pulled up to a large, sparse apartment complex and everyone piled out. The area was neat and well-kept but there were none of the amenities that Liora saw at more upscale apartment complexes. There was no pool or tennis court and instead of a playground, there was a large dusty courtyard. Kids ran around, laughing and playing. Adults from the church set up tables with various supplies- cleaning supplies, school items such as paper, pencils, erasers, crayons and colored markers and various other essentials for home and school. The women in the church headed to to an empty apartment to set up English classes for the women in the community. Sme of them went door to door announcing the classes. Christina and Katelynne ran to the courtyard to play with the kids. Jason looked at Liora. "C'mon." He nodded towards a group of teenagers. Some of them were obviously from the church wearing Christian T-shirts and crosses around their necks while others appeared to live in the complex. "I'll introduce you to everyone."