"Found it." Aasim thought to himself as he pulled a spiraled notebook out of one of his drawers. It had a green cover and seems to be in very good condition. Aasim smiles to himself as he looked it over.
"This'll do nicely." Now all he needed was something to write with. He searched some of the other drawers.
"It shouldn't be too hard to find." After about a minute of searching, he found a decent looking pencil with somewhat of an eraser. He gave a satisfied nod, and began to leave the room, when something caught his eye.
It was an old book on his bookshelf he had brought with him. He walked over to it and pulled it out of the shelf. The title read American Sign Language Dictionary.
Aasim found himself feeling sentimental. He had gotten this book because of his younger cousin, Mirai. When she was about seven, she had gotten into an accident that left her mostly deaf. She soon began learning sign language so she could communicate better, and Aasim volunteered to learn with her so she wouldn't feel left out. First, they started with the alphabet, then with small phrases like "Thank you" or "How are you?" They had so much fun learning together. Everyday he would stop by her house and practice with her. On weekdays he would go after school and stay until the afternoon, but on the weekends, he would go over in the morning and sometimes even sleep over. Day after day, month after month they would practice together until both of them were mostly fluent in the language.
Even after he came to Ericson, he would practice sign language. Preparing himself for when he'd be able to go back home. He didn't sign as often anymore, but every once in a while, he would practice the alphabet.
Aasim gingerly ran his thumb over the cover of the book. A part of him didn't want to give it away, but he knew that soon it would be put to better use.
Aasim found Louis sitting at the picnic table shuffling his deck of cards. He knew that even thought Louis still seemed happy, the inability to talk was really getting to him. To be honest, it was kinda messing with Aasim too. Ever since Louis first came to the school, he was loud, social, and boisterous-the complete opposite of Aasim. He couldn't even count how many times he and others had told Louis to shut up…and now to have that request permanently fulfilled…
Aasim looked down at the notebook and the sign language book in his hands.
"Hopefully this'll help him feel like himself again." He thought as he made his way over to Louis.
"Hey Lou." Aasim greeted as he sat in front of him and placed the books in his lap. He in his wanted his gifts to be a surprise.
Louis looked up from his cards and gave his friend a smile and a small wave.
"How're you feeling?" he asked trying to make a little small talk-something he wasn't really good at. Louis furrowed his eyebrows as he thought for a second before giving a thumbs up and a small nod.
Aasim nodded as well. "That's good. So, uh, I have something for you." Louis raised his eyebrows and cocked his head. A silly smile stretched on his face as he placed a hand over his chest. Aasim knew if he could talk, he would certainly be saying something along the lines of "Really? For me? Aww you shouldn't have!"
Aasim rolled his eyes trying to seem annoyed, but his smile betrayed him.
"Well, I've noticed you've had some trouble, you know, communicating with us, so I found this for you." He said placing the notebook and pencil on the table. Louis' eyes widened slightly as he grabbed the notebook. He gave Aasim a 'thank you' nod as he turned it over in his hands and flipped through the pages.
"And I have something else, too." He said. Louis took his eyes off the notebook to look at Aasim once more.
Aasim pulled the signing book out of his lap and set it on the table. He rotated it so Louis could read the cover.
"So, this book, I actually had before I came to Ericson." He explained. "My younger cousin became deaf after an accident, so I got this book so her and I could communicate better…and I thought you could use this too. I talked to the others and they said they're willing to learn too."
Louis looked down at the book and slid it closer to him to observe it better. He then grabbed his new notebook and quickly scribbled down a few words before handing it to Aasim.
"Are you sure? It sounds like it's important to you."
Aasim nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. This book does mean a lot to me, but at least now I know it can be put to good use instead of just sitting on a shelf."
Louis smiled. He opened the book and flipped through the pages. His face lit up when he found the exact phrase, he needed. He put his hand up and slowly signed and mouthed "Thank you."
Aasim smiled and put his hand up as he signed and mouthed "Your welcome."
Louis practically bounced in his seat as he nodded excitedly. Aasim chuckled and offered to help him learn some more phrases and letters to which Louis nodded eagerly.
The two spent the rest of the afternoon learning and practicing together.