Amy giggled; she knew what Lucy was like. If Lucy thought two people liked each other, she push until they were together. She had even done it to Helen before, and Amy. Some were disasters in the end, but Amy had dated Dale for over a year. They'd split up in the end but by High School years, that was total success.

"Won't hurt to ask I guess. I know you'll try to set them up even without our help anyway!"

"Too right I will! Those two are made for each other!"

Amy rolled her eyes, smiling at her best friend... well one of them. Her whole group was all best friends, really.

"What?"

"You always say that people are made for each other, but how many couples have stayed together after you've set them up?"

"Well, you and Dale were together for ages... Helen and Derek were together for six months - which's a record for her. But, Sue and Jack..." she sighed wistfully, "those two are truly a match made in heaven."

"Whatever you say!"

Lucy slapped her playfully on the arm, and the two of them fell about laughing. Their little group was nothing like any other; they were more than best friends. They were as close as sisters could be without actually being biological sisters - maybe even closer.

The pair walked back to Lucy's house, and was met by Helen who lived next door to Lucy at number 18 Belmont Street.

"Ah, just the girl I wanted to see!"

Helen stopped in her tracks, and eyed Lucy suspiciously.

"What... for?" She said slowly.

"We need your help." Lucy answered

"To set Sue up with..." Amy tossed in

"Jack." They both finished.

"Do I have to?" Helen asked, uncomfortable to be matchmaking her brother of all people.

"Well not really..." Lucy began

"But you know him better than us.

"And we could really use your help."

"If we're going to set them up, you can tell us anything he likes..."

"So we can make it easier to set them up before the Christmas dance."

"Which is only a month and a half away."

"Okay! Fine! Just stop the guilt trip!"

Amy and Lucy high-fived and signed 'thank you' to Helen.

"What was that?" Helen asked, obviously confused.

"What? Oh you mean this!" Amy signed it again, "Sue taught us it, it means 'thank you' in ASL..."

"ASL?"

"American Sign Language." Lucy told her, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh right... do it again?"

They did, and taught Helen the sign for 'you're welcome' too. Amy had even remembered how to fingerspell her name, whereas Lucy's came out as L-c-y because she forgot what 'u' was.

At the same time as this was going on, Sue lay on top of her bed, watching one of her tapes of The X-Files. She dreamed of working for the FBI, but doubted they'd ever let someone like her in. Her thoughts drifted from crime fighting, to her first day at her new school. If someone had told her last week that moving to Scotland would prove to be a lot better than she expected, Sue would have laughed right in their faces. But, now, her views had totally changed. She actually had made some friends for the first time in her life. Her parents had made her learn to lip-read and speak, so that she could have what they called a 'normal' life. Whatever that was. Don't get me wrong, Sue loved her parents, but sometimes her mother could be so overbearing. She pushed and pushed until Sue sometimes felt she was going to go right over the edge. Secretly, she was glad that her mother kept pushing - even if she wouldn't even admit it to herself sometimes - because, if she wasn't pushed, she wouldn't be the determined young woman she was. Her determination was part of her charm, it's what touched people's lives. Sure she had naive views on life at times, and always thought that somehow she could make the world a better place. But right now, all she wanted to do was fit in, be accepted for who she was and not made an outcast just because she couldn't hear like the rest of her classmates. And finally, that was beginning to happen.

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