"Oh, cut it out, Ranger Rick," Maya scoffed as she and Lucas headed for the library. "You and I both know that you would choose the knife."
"Not unless I knew something would attack me," Lucas protested. "Violence isn't-"
"So you'd choose the meat instead?" Maya snorted. "In what world will that help you?"
"You can chuck the steak at someone's head," Lucas suggested, and Maya's laugh rang out through the almost empty hall.
The two quieted as they entered the library and headed for their table, which was nestled in the back corner behind a bookshelf. They settled down on their own sides, as Maya took out her laptop, pulling up the 'lesson plan' she had typed out in the last few weeks.
"We're going to review house words and then move on to describing words," Maya explained, scrolling down to the vocabulary list. "Adjectives, stuff like that."
"Alright," Lucas agreed. "Riley says I'm learning fast; there's usually only a few things I don't understand in a conversation with her."
"Immersion is the best way to learn something," Maya reminded him. "You know how people go to France if they want to learn French?"
"The more you use it," Lucas mused in agreement.
Lucas and Riley had been on two and a half dates - he said 'half' because in between their first and second, the whole group had gone out to eat, and he wasn't sure if he could classify it as a 'date'. He supposed it was almost a double date, since Farkle and Isadora were dating, or a triple date - if Maya had been dating Zay.
"We gotta work more on conversation," Maya suggested thoughtfully. "Maybe this weekend we can all get together, make it a 'signing only' day."
"Well that may be okay for Farkle and Isadora, but Zay doesn't know much ASL," Lucas pointed out.
"All the more reason for him to learn too," Maya dismissed. "Riley and Zay have photography together, he gets more than you think." She shook her head. "He's honestly just lazy when it comes to signing. Talking is easier for him."
"Talking is easier for you too," Lucas pointed out.
"Actually, signing is easier for me," Maya admitted, and Lucas raised his eyebrows. "I've been signing since I was seven, and when Riley and I are alone, I don't talk. There's no reason for me to. There's also lots of benefits to signing rather than speaking - Riley and I can talk in public without people 'listening in', we can sign just fine in loud environments whereas hearing people would struggle to understand each other, we can sign while we eat, even when our mouths are full-"
"Lots of uses, I get it," Lucas agreed. "But I suppose it would be easier if you learn from a young age."
"You'd be surprised," Maya shrugged. "It's really about how often you use it. Riley's Uncle Josh has known Riley since she was a toddler, and that's when he first learned how to sign. But he only saw Riley a few times a year when they were growing up, so he didn't use ASL very often and it didn't really stick."
"We were talking about younger ages," Lucas reminded her.
"Josh is three years older than us," Maya explained.
"Oh?" Lucas raised his eyebrows. "You guys talk to him a lot?"
"He goes to NYU…" Maya trailed off, realizing where Lucas was going with this. "We're off topic. Let's get back to the lesson; I have to be home by 5."
As Riley entered her apartment through the front door, she spotted her mom in the kitchen, her back to the door as she washed dishes. Riley set down her bag a little harder than was necessary, knowing her mom would hear the sound.
Sure enough, Topanga turned, and smiled. 'Hi sweetheart,' she signed, her hands covered in dish soap. 'School good?'
Riley shrugged. 'Going to room,' she signed the two words, and her mom nodded, turning back to the sink.
Riley slipped out of her shoes and left them and her coat at the front door, as she headed through the apartment towards her bedroom. She plopped down on her bed and pulled open her laptop in front of her.
Neither of her parents signed very well, and she had learned to simplify their conversations. It meant she and her parents didn't talk much, but that's what best friends are for, right?
Speaking of best friends.
Riley opened her messages on her laptop and texted Maya.
Want to do homework? Come in through the window if you can
The bubbles appeared, indicating that Maya was texting back, and Riley chewed her lip in anticipation.
Can't, sorry. My mom needs me home to help her.
Riley sighed, and exited out of the messenger app. She pulled up chrome instead, and came face to face with her last tab, all about cochlear implants.
Riley wasn't so much afraid of the potential complications of the surgery. She knew that drilling a hole into her skull should sound scary, but it honestly didn't sound any different than a heart surgery, or any other surgery on a body part. That was what doctors did, right? They did surgeries. Doctors did surgeries, teachers taught, and Riley signed. They were all truths of the universe that were just inherent; they just made sense. Anything else would be unnatural.
She was more afraid of what the cochlear would mean for her. Riley had never been one to attach her identity to something, but she couldn't help but think that being Deaf was her identity. That was how everyone referred to her; that was her main identifier. She was Riley Matthews, the Deaf girl. And who would she be if she could hear?
Riley Matthews, the girl who used to be Deaf?
The girl who is pretending to be hearing?
If she lost her Deafness, what parts of her would be left?
Riley knew how ridiculous and unhealthy it was to believe that being Deaf was her whole personality. She was aware that it wasn't actually her whole identity. The problem was that, before her mom suggested getting a cochlear, Riley knew who she was.
Now, she was all out of whack.
A/N: Yep, I'm back with a chapter I wrote in a half hour because I'm desperately avoiding doing my accounting 1b homework (why anyone willingly takes accounting is beyond me).
I'm still trying to iron my Petrichor chapter because I don't really like it, but I may end up posting that later today or tomorrow, too. As for Nodus Tollens, I did the thing where you write the first page, and then you write the climax, and then you realize that you have no clue how you expect yourself to get from the first page to the climax, and-
Anyways, here's Anecdoche chapter 10. I hope to continue this story more in the next few weeks, and if I continue to avoid my accounting homework, that will probably be the case! (Pray for my grades, guys, they're gonna need Jesus)
Please review! Reviews keep me going! Reviews tell me that people are actually reading this! Reviews remind me to continue updating!
Kisses,
C