Chapter Three:

If there would be one place I give credit to for saving my life, it would be the gas station about a mile away from my school. It may sound slightly melodramatic, but you've never had Mom's waffles. Even before I could drive, the junk food selection they had kept me from starving on those terrible days that Mom decided she would cook. Dad would say to her "Honey, you work to hard. I'll drive Maddy and Leo in today." Then we'd stop on the way to Leo's school and fill up on Tastycakes and chocolate.

Today isn't different. Leo practically dives out of the car before I even come to a complete stop, running inside the gas station in a flash that reminds him how fast he can be when he really wants to be. I pull my keys out of the ignition and set the alarm after I lock the doors. It doesn't matter that we're going to be like five minuets at the most, the black market for cars these days is probably a bigger moneymaker than the entire medical field. I glance at the ominous sky while I push my keys into my purse. The overcast sky looks like its about to break open at any moment, and I didn't bring my umbrella. Damn.

By the time I am inside, Leo grabbing candy bars at random off the shelf. "Hello Madelyn." The man operating the cash register greets me.

"Hello, Mr. Manzarri." I say as I make a beeline for the sodas.

"Your mother cook again today, eh?" He asks me as Leo drops his first pile on the counter. At fifty-six, his Italian accent is as thick as it was when he first moved to America over twenty years ago. You might wonder how I know so much about Mr. Manzarri, and he about us, but like I said, we spend a lot of time here. A liter bottle of coke, two packs of peanut butter M&M's, a king size pack of Kit Kats, a bag of cheese stuffed pretzels, and a package of Oreo cookies should be enough for me. At least till after school.

I take my purchases up to the counter, my heels clacking noisily against the scared linoleum. Mr. Manzarri is practicing his rudimentary sign language on Leo, which always amuses him because of the complete lack of skill he has at it. Still, it's amazing that people in our lives who barely know Leo make the effort to learn how to communicate with him. I know it makes it easier for him in those times he feels like an outsider, it really counteracts those people who act overly nice to him and try to baby him just because he can't here. Mr. Manzarri rings up our purchases and delights Leo with signing "Your total is $22.84." perfectly. I hand him twenty-five and drop my change into whatever random charity jar he has sitting there this week.

That is when I noticed the girl standing behind me in line. She was probably about three inches taller than I was, her black hair cut just above her jaw. It shot up in thousands of corkscrew curls that either was natural or she must have spent hours a day creating them. Her skin was a light olive, her eyes almond shape and green, all signs of a mix of several races that flirted through her family tree. She seemed bored and distracted as she stared out the window, shaking the iced tea she carried in her hand as she waited in line. She looked familiar, and I wracked my brain for her name, Felicity… "Felicia?" I finally remembered. "Felicia Conroy?" God I hope her name was Felicia Conroy, or I was going to feel really stupid.

She looked over at me, her eyes a mix of weariness and apathy, as if she was waiting for a blow that had yet to come. She raised a perfectly arched eyebrow at me. "Yeah?"

"You go to Hillcrest don't you?" She nodded. "I'm Maddy Cale." Recognition bloomed across her face.

"Classical Lit, right? You sit in the back and barely pay attention." Felicia cocked her head to the side. "Am I right?"

I flash her a smile, she had my description down perfectly. "That's me." Leo pulled on the sleeve to my shirt, trying to get my attention. 'Who's that?' He signed.

Felicia look almost startled when she saw Leo sign his question. "What is he…deaf or something?"

People, sometimes, were rude about asking questions, whether they realized they were or not was a toss up. It all depends on their tone of voice of whether or not I have to smack them around. Felicia's question was delivered in an uncomfortable voice, meaning she didn't want to be rude, but she didn't know how else to ask. "Yeah, he's profoundly deaf, but he can read lips, so as long as you don't talk to fast he can understand you." I reassured. Leo tugged on my sleeve again, rolling his eyes impatiently. 'This is F-E-L-I-C-A C-O-N-R-O-Y' We always made up name sign signs for people we came in contact with a lot, but when he met new people I always had to finger spell it to him. I added the sign for school and he nodded.

Leo looked up at Felicia and brought his fingers up to his throat. "Hello." He said politely. His voice was distorted and lethargic, slurring over the word. Felicia smiled down at him. "He's cute." She said to me before turning her attention back to Leo. "Hello." I would never understand why people always felt the urge to talk louder to someone who was reading your lips. It made absolutely no difference other than to make everyone around you stare at you like you were retarded.

Felicia handed Mr. Manzarri the exact change for her iced tea and then glanced outside. "Damn." She swore under her breath. I turned and looked out the window and watched as the first fat drops of rain splattered against the ground. There weren't any other cars parked outside, so I assumed she was walking and now that it was raining, she was going to get soaked.

"Want a ride?" I offered.

Felicia shook her head. "Don't worry about it, I'll be fine."

"Don't be ridiculous." I insist. "As long as you don't mind going by to drop off Leo with me, we're both going to the same place, no reason for you to get wet."

Felicia looked speculative. "You sure you don't mind?"

Leo rolls his eyes, again, sick of the byplay. 'Come on.' He signs as he grabs his bag off the counter. 'I'd like to eat this before I have to go to gym, thank you.'

I smiled and point to the car. "Come on, the prince has spoken."





A/N: Ahh...more expositionary bullshit to bore the masses. The next chapter is where one of the plots come out, I promise. Bare with me, if you will.