A World of Her Own

Chapter 18

It was over. Liora's words had ended it. 

Steadily, she and Jason began to drift apart. Whatever had tied them together was now unraveled. Liora sometimes wondered if she could find a way to bring them back together but in truth, did she really want to? Jason plunged himself even more fully into preparing for the State Tennis Conference. He was practicing every day after school and usually spending his lunch period discussing strategy with his co-captain. Liora still ate outside with his sister and friends but the weather was getting colder. On days when it was too chilly or rainy, she opted to sit in the library. The cafeteria was just too noisy for her.

Without her normal routine of seeing Ranga in the afternoons, Liora felt adrift. Apart from the occasional text, she didn't hear from Jason anymore and certainly there were no escapes down to the beach for long talks. Liora still saw Christina but now she had become more of Katelynne's friend than hers. She was frequently over their house and Liora would often hear loud giggles coming from Katelynne's bedroom. They made an effort to include her and sometimes she would go out to eat or shopping with them. But mostly Liora stayed in her room when Christina was over. Liora knew that Christina didn't understand what happened between Liora and her brother and she couldn't bear Christina's questioning looks and her studious effort not to mention Jason when Liora was around.

Liora spent more time studying, trying to improve her grades before she transferred. Nathaly and Adriana also started becoming a consistent presence in Liora's life. The three of them texted every day. She told them everything that had happened with her and Jason and they reacted with empathy. Nathaly shared about her own recent breakup. She had been dating a guy in school but felt that he demanded too much of her time. He wanted to see her every day and would get upset when she couldn't make it. Her schoolwork and social life suffered. She finally made the decision to breakup with him. It hurt and she still missed him somewhat but she was happier now. And both her academics and social life were improving. She and Adriana agreed that Liora shouldn't spend her time waiting for Jason to come back and it was unfair for him to expect that of her. She was starting a new life. She needed to be free to make friends and discover her interests, not focused on a guy who was off having his own adventures but somehow thought she would be waiting for him when he returned. Liora felt better with their support. She knew that she had made the right decision but sometimes she doubted herself. After all, Jason had been the first real friend she had had in a very long time. And certainly he was the first guy to show interest in her. But Nathaly and Adriana quickly rejected the suggestion that Liora had any reason to doubt cutting things off with Jason. They assured her she was going to make plenty of friends at her new school and she would probably be inundated with requests for dates. Liora felt that she needed to focus on discovering herself first before attempting to date anyone. But their reassurance made her feel better.

Liora started hanging out with both girls frequently. She thought she would end up going back to being a loner after Jason stopped spending time with her. Instead the opposite happened. Nathaly and Adriana became the best friends Liora could have ever hoped for and they spent a great deal of time together.  She would meet up with them on weekends. They would take the bus and meet up with her downtown so they could all get ice cream or window shop. Or she would pick them up and they would go to the beach if it was warm enough. They talked for hours during those times, walking on the sand and sharing their hearts. Liora became part of their social circle. They introduced her to some of their other friends from school who also lived nearby and sometimes they would all hang out in a big group. Liora had always hated being in groups but she felt comfortable with these other teens. It was a mixed group of both Deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing kids, many of them from all over the world. They were sensitive to her hearing loss, as many of them were also experiencing something similar, and Liora felt like she didn't have to struggle to communicate.