Chicago Private School for the Deaf Chapter 4
A/N: Well it has been exactly a month since my last update, haha. Hope you guys enjoy :)
"Welcome to girls track, I am Coach Donald. I have been coaching at this school for 5 years, and coaching girls track for 7. I ran track throughout high school and college. I specialized in 200 meter sprints, 110 meter hurdles, and 4x400 relay," Coach Donald stands in the front of the bleachers and signs to the estimated 20 girls, including myself, seated in front of her.
A girl to my right shoots her hand into the air, and Coach nods in her direction. "Did you try out for the Olympics?"
"I was training and a month before the Qualifier I tore my ACL during practice so I wasn't able to compete," Coach Donald answers. "Now onto expectations. Starting tomorrow, everyday everyone is required to dress out, either in athletic shorts or leggings if your shirt covers your bottom. Spandex are only to be used during meets and not to be worn around school." I see a few upset faces at the last remark.
"I expect everyone to keep their grades at least 70s or above, or in other words, passing. If even one class is below a 70 you are ineligible to compete at any meet, so keep your grades up. The final and, in my opinion, most important expectation is that you will respect me as your coach and your fellow runners, from this school and all the other ones we will compete against," Coach Donald looks across the bleachers with a serious face as she tells the last rule.
"Now follow me into the locker room and I will assign lockers and give out combinations," everyone rises from their seat and follows Coach across the hall from the gym and into the locker room labeled 'Girl's Track'. Inside, red lockers line the walls and benches sit in the middle of the room. The floors are a simple dark gray concrete with drains every 10 to 15 feet.
"I will be going in alphabetical order so pay attention," Coach Donald tells us as she approaches the first locker. "Starting with Sarah Adams." I zone out for a few minutes, as I know that my last name will be closer to the end. Eventually there aren't many girls still left so I start to pay more attention to the names being signed.
"Tris Prior," I approach Coach Donald and what I guess is going to be my locker for the year. She looks at the locker number and then down at her clipboard with a list of all the lockers along with their combinations. She puts her fingernail under a set of numbers and clicks open her pen with her other hand, writing the 3 numbers on a sticky note and handing it to me.
I turn to locker 23 and enter my combination written on the sticky note, 12-36-46. That will be easy enough to remember.
After everyone is given their locker, we are instructed to go back to the gym and sit back on the bleachers to wait for the class period to be over.
Soon the lights flash and all of the girls leave the gym and go to our next period. I have my next class, health, with Christina in D hall. When I get to the classroom, Christina is already seated at a table with her backpack in the chair to her right.
"Hey," she signs as I walk over to the seat.
"Hey," she waves and moves her bag so I can sit down. I put my backpack on the ground by my feet and take a seat. "How was track?" she asks.
"Eh, I don't know anyone," I answer. Right as I finish, the lights flash and the teacher, Mrs Garza, walks in.
Just like every teacher, Mrs Garza stands at the front of the class and goes over her syllabus with the rules and requirements. The one thing different, is that our parent and self have to sign a waver saying we can watch videos with blood and other human body things in them.
Just as Mrs Garza finishes explaining the waver, the lights flash and everyone springs out of their seats to leave. Christina and I take the time to make sure the packet containing the waver is inside our folders without any wrinkles and safely in our backpacks before getting up to leave.
"Last period of the day," Christina signs as we walk down the hall to biology.
"It seems like the day has been so short," I sign in surprise. Caleb always says the first day is the worst since every teacher says the same thing.
"Maybe that means the school year will go by quickly too so we can go back to summer."
"Man I hope so," Christina and I take a right into C hall and enter the third classroom on our left. As soon as we enter, I notice that the the teacher is much younger than all the other ones I've seen today. She is tall, maybe 6 foot, with long blonde hair.
"Hello girls," she greets us as we walk in, "take any seat in the room." Christina and I go to sit in the third row on the left half of the classroom. Soon, the lights flash and the final class period of the day begins.
"Welcome everyone to Biology, I'm Ms Hightower. Well I'm sure by now that everyone has listened to 6 other teachers drone on with their syllabus and rules and suck. But I'm going to expect that everyone can read for themselves at home or on the bus or wherever, so I'm starting the year with a lab," Ms Hightower passes out the syllabus and then a lab sheet.
"This is a simple lab, viewing different kinds of cells under microscopes. The objective is to learn the basics of microscope functions and starting easy observation skills and descriptions." I look over the lab sheet and Christina and I immediately look to each other for a partner.
"So everyone can go to a lab station, where a microscope should already be set up, and start their lab," Ms Hightower sends us off.
"So I know that this knob zooms, and this one puts the image in focus, but I'm not sure about anything else," I point to the different knobs on our microscope and explain to Christina.
"Well these different lenses are to magnify to different intensities, and this is to adjust the amount of light that comes through. And that's all I know," Christina points to other parts of the microscope.
"I think we are starting off with my knowledge than others," I sign as I looks around the room to see other groups completely clueless.
Eventually Christina and I complete the lab and go back to our seats to wait for the last 'bell' of the day to release us from school.
Once the school day ends, Christina and I walk out to where Caleb dropped me off before school to wait for her mom to pick her up and Caleb to come back for me.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Christina signs as she walks to her mother's car, "I'll text you later."
I sit on a bench outside of the door we walked through and wave to Christina and her mom as they drive away. I pull out my phone while keeping an eye out for Caleb's car.
When he pulls in, I get up from my seat and open the passenger door, putting my backpack on the floor and sitting back down. "How was your first day of high school?" he asks, and I read his lips.
"Oh it was fantastic. Just the way you described it, with all the teachers handing out the same syllabus and telling us the same rules every class period," I answer with a light laugh.
"Well would you like to celebrate with some ice cream?" he looks at me with a grin.
"Of course, who turns down ice cream?" I laugh again and he turns right into a shopping center with our favorite ice cream place in it. Caleb parks out front and we get out of the car and enter through the front door.
"Hello, what can I get for you?" the cheery young lady asks from behind the counter.
"One scoop of sweet cream coffee caramel in a waffle cone please," I step aside and watch as Alice, according to her name tag, scoops my ice cream and hands it to me. Caleb steps up and orders his usual, mint chocolate chip in a waffle cone, and pays.
We leave the ice cream shop and sit in his car eating our ice cream in silence before it melts on us.
"That was a good celebration," I say as I wipe my hands off with a napkin and hand Caleb one too.
"Indeed it was," he responds and puts the key into the ignition, turning the car on and driving home.
We pull into the driveway and grab our bags, getting out of the car and walking to the front door. Caleb takes the house key on his key chain and inserts it into the lock, opening the door and stepping to his left to let me enter.
I head straight for my room and put my backpack on my desk chair, proceeding to fall onto my bed. I stare at the ceiling and the next thing I know, Caleb is shaking my shoulder.
"Dinner is ready," he signs and pulls me out of my covers. I groan and rub my eyes from the sleep. I glance at my clock 5:30 pm. I follow Caleb downstairs and into the kitchen to see my parents both seated at the table waiting for us to start dinner.
"How was school Bea?" my dad signs as I sit at my spot across from him.
"It was good, kind of boring," I answer.
"Well let's start eating then," my mother picks up the plate of chicken and takes a piece then passes it to my father who passes it to Caleb who passes it to me. We continue this until everyone is served and we begin eating.
After we have all finished, Caleb and I clear the table and rinse the dishes for my mother to put them into the dishwasher.
"Bea, can you go get the mail please?" my mother asks as I dry my hands.
"I'll be right back," I smile and exit the front door, walking down the driveway to our mailbox on the curb. I notice across the street a brand new black Jeep, it must belong to our new neighbors. The house had been for sale for months until just a few weeks before school started, a family bought it and moved in.
I take the mainly junk mail back into the house and set it on the counter for my parents to sift through for bills and such. I go back up to my room to retrieve my backpack so my parents can sign all of the papers handed out to me today.
After I have double checked that everything is signed, I go back to my room and get ready for bed. I put on my soft polka dot pajama bottoms and a plain tank top before climbing into bed, setting my alarm on my watch to wake me, by vibrating till I turn it off, for the morning. I easily fall into a peaceful sleep and dream of nothing memorable.
A/N: I just have to say that the ice cream flavors mentioned are ones from Häagen Dazs and I recommend both. They are very good, and I don't even like coffee but I loved the ice cream :) please leave a review I love feedback.