The sound of the school bell echoed through the halls, signalling the end of yet another school week. Elsa pushed her chair back and carefully slung her backpack onto her shoulders before making her way into the hallway.
Pulling out her phone, she checked for a text, but nothing had come through. Shrugging, she slid the phone back into her pocket and made her way towards Jack's homeroom. She kept her eyes peeled for the familiar mess of silver-white hair that she had come to know so well.
Seven weeks had passed since she had first visited Jack's house. Since then she had become a regular visitor and had spent a few hours after school every Friday getting tutored in ASL by Mrs Frost.
Her lessons had been going well. The book that her parents had ordered on beginners sign language had proved to be incredibly helpful. She had only had the book for six weeks, but had already filled it with notes that she had learned from the Frost family. She had found herself spending a lot of time going over what she had learned at home and had even demonstrated her new skills to her own family, which had helped her to retain her knowledge.
A tap on her shoulder broke her from her thoughts. Looking up, she found Jack standing in front of her with a lopsided grin on his face. Behind him, she could see his interpreter Hans watching them with interest.
"Hello," he signed, smiling at her. "Lets go."
She returned the smile as she looked at him. "Hello," she replied as she mimicked his movements. She frowned as she realised that she was unsure of the second part of his message.
Cocking her head, she looked at him. "Wait, slow down," she said.
She watched as Hans stepped forward. Tapping Jack on the shoulder, he signed something to him before turning to face her. Opening his mouth, he was about to speak when Jack stepped into his view and shot him a look. She watched as Jack signed something. She recognised the first word as being 'Stop.' Once he had finished, he cocked his head in her direction. Stepping back, Hans shot her a grin and held his hands up in defeat.
Pouting, she turned to look at Jack. He shot her a smirk and indicated to her book, which was cradled in her arms. She let out a sigh and handed it him. Taking the book, he flicked through it until he found the page he wanted. Handing the book back to her, he pointed to a sign and grinned at her.
She felt a tap on her arm as Jack stole her attention. His hands repeated the same sign from earlier. Pursing her lips, she looked over the page and scanned the demonstrated signs until she found the one that he had used.
"Lets go?" she asked, flicking her head between Jack and Hans as she sought confirmation.
"Yes," Jack replied, beaming at her.
"Jack told me that you are doing well with your signing," Hans said, signing as he spoke.
She nodded and blushed slightly. She wanted to respond, but didn't have the knowledge of how to sign all the words that she wanted to say yet. Biting her lip, she looked between Jack and Hans and dug in her bag for some notepaper.
"It's okay," Hans spoke. "If you are unsure how to respond in sign then just talk and I will interpret for you."
Nodding, she slid the paper back into her bag and faced the two males. "I am enjoying it," she said, smiling. "I'm learning a lot. Mrs Frost told me to practise my signing in front of a mirror. She said that it will help with the way that I use my hands."
Hans nodded as he finished signing for Jack. He paused slightly before responding. "It is challenging in the beginning, but worthwhile. Keep at it and you will get there," he added. "Just wait until your teachers stop talking to you while signing- then it really becomes fun."
She chuckled. "Oh gosh, yeah Mrs Frost stopped talking while signing to me pretty quick. She said that it's something about ASL syntax and grammar being different to English grammar," she said. "The sign for 'slow down' was one of the first that I learned. It is good to know for situations like the one we had earlier."
"True, don't be afraid to ask someone to slow down with their signing while you are learning, or to repeat themselves," Hans added, stealing a glimpse at his watch in between signing. "Anyway, I must go. It is the weekend, after all. I'm sure that you kids don't want to hang around here any longer. Go enjoy your weekend."
She grinned. Tightening the strap of her bag, she waved farewell to Hans. She felt a tug on her hand as Jack indicated in the direction of the front doors of the school.
Hans watched as Jack ran ahead, happily tugging on the hand of his friend as they raced towards the front door. He couldn't help noticing the change in his client. Over the last few weeks, Jack had become happier and there had been a sparkle in his eyes.
It had pained him to know that the young boy had been so lonely. He had sensed that the boy had been lonesome and depressed in his new school. He had been given a wide berth by most of his classmates. He had assumed that most of the students avoided Jack because they felt it to be too troubling to write a note, or to speak via an interpreter in order to interact with him.
It was a shame though. He had only been working with Jack for a little under a year and had developed a fondness for the boy. He had found him to be caring, friendly, intelligent and with a great, albeit cheeky sense of humour. There had been plenty of times when he'd had to bite his lip to prevent himself from laughing too hard at a wisecrack that his young charge had signed. Instead of seeing that side of Jack, his classmates had only chosen to see the fact that he was Deaf and had left it at that. Although, it had appeared that not everyone had decided to leave Jack alone.
He had long believed that his client may have fallen victim to bullying. He had caught a group of boys who would repeatedly shoot threatening looks at Jack, or who had 'accidentally' bumped him in the hallway. There had also been times when Jack had arrived at school looking visibly shaken. Sadly, as an interpreter, his role was strictly limited to translating between Jack, his teachers and his fellow classmates. He had no authority in the classroom. He had discussed his concerns with Jack's homeroom teacher, as well as the school counsellor, but he had been shrugged off. Both staff members had said that without Jack approaching them and admitting to bullying, there was little that they could do. Instead, he had organised for the counsellor to approach Jack under the pretense of checking how his experiences at the school had been, but it had been useless. Jack had simply shrugged her off and had sworn that everything was fine.
He had stopped by his family home after work that day. He'd wanted to vent his frustrations to his mother and to get her advice. His mother had listened patiently before she had signed her response. She had told him that while she understood his concern, the chances were that if Jack was being bullied then he feared telling an authority figure would lead to more trouble. Reluctantly, he had agreed. After all, his mother had spent most of her life working as a counsellor for Deaf youth. Instead, he had resigned himself to simply being there and hoping that Jack knew he could go to him if needed.
However, a few weeks ago things had started to pick up. Jack had met a friend. A new girl had moved from Norway to Burgess at the start of the school year. Word in the student lounge had been that the older girl, Elsa, was quiet and more reserved than her younger sister. She had also apparently fallen victim to bullies who had preyed on her lack of confidence in spoken English.
He had quizzed Jack on his new friend. To his delight, Jack had happily told him about Elsa. He had recalled how she had taken to carrying notepad and pen with her so that they could communicate. Seven weeks ago, Jack had told him how he had organised for his new friend to spend the night at his house. Jack had come back to school after their sleepover with his face lit up and had happily told him how it had gone well. His new friend had showed interest in learning to sign and had even gone so far to purchase her own book to help her learn.
Shaking his head, he made his way towards the school's front office where he could sign himself out. He could feel himself relaxing as his thoughts went from Jack to the plans that he had for the weekend. However, nearing the office, he could hear the sound of voices as they echoed through the empty halls.
"Oh look, it's the Deaf boy and the freak," a girl's voice spat.
Frowning, he looked up. He could see Jack and Elsa standing with their backs pressed against the wall by a dark-haired girl and a boy that he recognised from some of Jack's classes. He noticed the fear on their faces and the way Elsa's eyes moved from Jack to the two students.
"I would invite the two of you to my Halloween party this weekend, but there is no point," the girl hissed, her hand placed on her hip. "One of you can't hear the music and the other one can barely speak English. Besides, Halloween's a time when you dress up all freaky and well...you two do that on a daily basis.
He could feel the anger rising. Growing up with profoundly Deaf parents, he had seen the cruelty that some people could bestow upon the Deaf. As a child, he had been subjected to bullying. His classmates would watch him be dropped at school and would wait patiently while he'd signed goodbye to his mother. Once his mother had left, they would approach him and would wave their hands in mockery of sign language, all the while they would taunt him and would make the cruel assumption that his parents were of lower intellect. As a result, they had often called him and his older brothers stupid and had told him that he was genetically prone to stupidity.
"What's going on here?" he shouted, picking up his pace as he moved towards the teens.
He watched as the bullying girl took a step back. Her jaw unclenched and she forced a smile before she turned to face him. "Nothing, we are just talking," she lied. "I noticed that Elsa here is learning to sign and I was interested in her progress."
He cocked an eyebrow as he moved his hands to translate the girls words to Jack. He noticed how Jack bowed his head and diverted his eyes. He stole a glance at Elsa and noticed how her blue eyes were fixed on Jack
"It's funny," he spoke, his voice low. "I actually overheard part of your conversation and it sure didn't sound like you were asking about sign language."
The girl's face turned a deep shade of red. Her brows furrowed as she looked at him. "It's j...just a friendly little joke," she stammered. "Anyway, we have to go now. We have a busy weekend."
To his relief, the girl tightened her grip on her backpack and grabbed the hand of the boy and pulled him out the door. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, he turned to Jack. However, it was useless. Jack's head was down and he was focusing his attention on his phone instead.
Opening his mouth, he decided to try his luck with Elsa and to ask her about what had happened when she spoke. Picking up her bag, she told him that Jack's mum had just texted and that she was waiting for them out the front of the school. Sighing, he watched as the two teens gave him a brief wave before dashing out the front door.
Jack grinned as he made his way up the driveway of the Andersen home. He could feel his excitement building for the night of trick-or-treating that was waiting for them. No sooner had he raised his hand to knock on the front door than it opened and a beaming Anna waved him inside.
Once inside he turned to take in Anna's outfit. She had dressed herself in blue overalls with a yellow striped t-shirt and white sneakers. Her strawberry-blonde hair had been hidden underneath a short black wig which had been tied so that the ponytail stuck straight up.
"Hello," she signed before making her way to hold the door open for his mother and sister.
He watched as Anna closed the door before she reached over to grab a piece of paper and pen. 'Apologies, Jack. Elsa is teaching us some ASL, but I am not picking it up as fast as she is,' she wrote, passing the paper to him.
Bending down, he wrote his reply. 'You are trying. That means a lot,' he replied, handing the paper back. 'By the way, what are you dressed as?'
Anna pouted. Picking up a plush white unicorn toy, she placed it under her arms and grabbed the paper and pen to reply. 'I am Agnes from Despicable Me.'
"I love Agnes!" signed Emily. "It's so fluffy, I'm going to die!"
"Wait, isn't Agnes meant to be five-years-old?" he signed, raising his eyebrow as he watched Emily translate.
He watched as Anna pouted before removing the toy unicorn and tossing at him. Reaching across, she grabbed the pen and paper and bent down to write her reply. 'Wait until my father hears about this!'
Grinning, he pulled open the replica Slytherin robes that his father had bought him to reveal his black pants, white dress shirt, grey sweater and the green and silver Slytherin tie. "Draco is the best," he stated, watching as Emily turned to translate.
He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around. A lopsided grin appeared on his face as he took in the sight of Elsa. She had dressed in black pants, a white dress shirt, grey sweater and had the yellow and maroon Gryffindor tie that he had lent her. Her platinum-blonde hair had been left down. In her arms, she held her replica wand and the black Gryffindor robes that she had ordered.
"You look nice," she signed, smiling shyly.
He blushed. He watched as Emily flung her arms around Elsa's waist before pulling back. "I'm a princess, Elsa," she said.
Raising his hands, he was just about to let fly with a smart response when his mum stepped into view and caught his eye.
"Alright," his mum signed and spoke. "We need a bit less chatting. The Andersen's want to take some photo's and we need to do that before you kids leave. I don't want you out too late."
He stepped back and watched as Elsa's parents pulled out a camera and bundled their daughters into position before snapping photo's. He glanced around the room and took in the few decorations that dotted the walls, Elsa had said to him that Anna had been the one who had been behind their decision to decorate the house. On the coffee table sat a large bowl of candy, which he suspected was also Anna's doing.
"Jack," his mum called. "Come stand next to Elsa."
Nodding, he made his way to stand beside Elsa. Turning to face Walt Andersen, he slung his arm around her.
"Smile," Walt signed before turning to face Caroline Frost.
He grinned as he watched his mother speak to Elsa's dad. Her hand's signed and let him know that the Andersen patriarch had asked if he had got the sign right. He had then gone on to explain to her how Elsa had been enthusiastic in teaching her family the signs that she was learning.
"She's picking it up really well," he signed, watching as his mum translated. "Mum says that Elsa has picked up sign language even faster than she did."
Turning to face Elsa, he smiled wickedly and pulled out his wand before adopting a dueling stance. To his delight, Elsa caught on and pulled out her own wand before mimicking his stance. Together, they turned to face their parents and allowed the adults to snap a series of fun shots with them pretending to be engaged in a duel.
He felt a tap on his hand and turned to face his sister. "You know," she said, her mouth speaking the words for Elsa's benefit. "Anna told me that she used to ship Draco and Hermione as boyfriend and girlfriend."
He let out a cough and nervously rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. Stealing a glance at Elsa, he noticed that her face was as red as his. Looking down, he decided to focus his attention on re-tying his shoelace. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Anna stealing a high-five from Emily and groaned.
Elsa felt her cheeks heating up as she followed Jack into her family dining room. Taking her place at the table, she watched as Emily loudly announced to Mrs Frost that 'everyone' had thought Elsa and Jack were a couple. The young girl's hands moved fast as she signed for Jack's benefit, before stopping to steal another high-five from Anna.
They had not long returned from their first time trick-or-treating. Together, her Jack, Anna, Emily and her father had door-knocked on the houses in their neighbourhood and had collected small treats in their buckets from the household occupants.
The younger sisters, Anna and Emily, had led the door-knocking. They had eagerly stood front and centre and had yelled 'Trick-or-Treat.' Emily had then stopped to inform the amused homeowner that her brother was Deaf and had stepped aside so that Jack, Elsa and Walt could sign trick-or-treat.
After an hour and a half of traipsing around the neighbourhood, they had returned home with their arms laden with treats. Along the way, Anna and Emily had continued to bond. They had started with discussing their love for One Direction and had finished by saying how 'cute' a couple Draco and Hermione would make. To her dismay, Emily had continued to sign so that Jack knew exactly what had been said.
Jack leaned back against the passenger seat of his family car and waved farewell as his mother backed the car out of the Andersen's driveway.
He waited until the Andersen home fell out of sight and dug in his pocket to find a small chocolate bar that he'd taken out of his candy haul for safe-keeping. Unwrapping it, he popped it in his mouth and savoured the taste. He felt a tap on his arm and turned to find his mother holding out her hand. Grinning, he dug into his candy bucket and handed her a treat.
He couldn't wait to get home and unwind on the couch. Emily would be sent to bed as soon as they arrived home which would allow him the chance to relax with his mum. He was keen to go over the events of the night without his sister listening and piping up with suggestions that Elsa was bound to become his girlfriend. Instead, he wanted to hear about his mum's evening.
He had not failed to notice the sparkle in her eyes that she'd had all night. He knew without even discussing it that she had enjoyed her time with the Andersen's. When he had arrived back from trick-or-treating, the candy bowl had been empty and his mother and Lillian Andersen had shared in a few private jokes. It had been apparent to him that the two mother's had bonded and the signs of a new friendship had been evident.
He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his mother relaxing and socialising with other adults. Since his father had left, she had spent most of her time either working or at home tending to him and his sister. The majority of his parent's friends had ceased to visit after his father had left and he knew that despite her happy facade, his mother was lonely.
That was why when Elsa had invited him and his family to dinner at her home following their trick-or-treating, he had agreed. Fortunately, his mother had not been too annoyed that he had said yes to the invite without consulting her first. Besides, he'd reasoned that it would be good for his mother to get to know Elsa's own mother. Elsa had expressed that her own mother had felt lonely since moving to America. As far as he was concerned, it was a win-win situation. Set two lonely ladies up and hope for a friendship to develop.
"They are lovely," Jack's mother signed, settling back on her recliner. "I really like that family."
Jack nodded and swallowed the last bite of candy that he was eating. "They are," he agreed. "I am so glad that they moved here. Do you know that Mr Andersen even signed with Elsa and me?"
His mother beamed at him. "I do," she replied. "He was quite eager to show Lillian and me. It's just so nice how they welcomed us, Jackson."
He nodded, remembering the way the Andersen's had placed paper and pen in easy view in the lounge room and on the dining room table. The family had wasted no time in writing when their knowledge of sign language ran out.
"Don't think I didn't notice that you actually spoke tonight," his mother murmured, smiling at him.
He grinned. "I feel comfortable with them," he admitted. "They are good people."
He watched as his mum's face softened and he noted the faint traces of tears in her eyes. Smirking, he reached into his candy haul and pulled out a chocolate to toss to her.
Sighing, he picked up his phone and scanned through the photo's that he had snapped. Photo's of him and Elsa in their costumes, smiling and posing happily for the camera. He'd had one of the best nights of his life and he knew that Elsa had enjoyed it as well. Together, they had enjoyed the freedom that came with being surrounded by people who loved and cared for them.
A/N- Just a fun (well I hope) chapter where we get to learn a bit about how Elsa's signing lessons are coming along. As well as Hans as he appears in this story. Sadly there is a lot of ignorance that can exist about Deaf people. I've learned thanks to Zulka that some parents believe that their Deaf child may be of lower intellect. Some even not bothering to sign when in the presence of their Deaf family member :(.
I'd like to point out as a guest mentioned lip reading and speech therapy. My research (and please PM me if I'm wrong) seems to suggest that while lip reading can be beneficial, it is not always reliable due to similarities in the pattern of certain words/ whether the speaker is speaking clearly etc. My research suggests that it is a learned skill, and indeed there are classes that can be taken to help to learn how to read lips.
In regards to the Speech therapy- that is something I'll do some more research on. I know that in this story Jack (and Hans parents) are profoundly Deaf. Action on Hearing Loss UK classes profound Deafness as being where the quietest sound a person can hear is 95 decibels. According to Galen Carol Audio (site name) 95 decibels is the sound of a subway train approaching from 200 feet away. So that is the *quietest* sound someone like Jack (in this story) can hear.
Until next time. Keep Calm and Ship Jelsa.