Signs of Time: Ch. 1
Rosemary squinted over her Calculus homework. She was proficient at Language Arts and even Science, but anything to do with Math really stumped her.
She wondered if she could get an extension on the homework, if she could utilize her accommodations as an excuse to do so. She usually didn't like to use them; it made her feel a little weak, like she was somehow falling behind her classmates or taking advantage of the system when she used them. However, they were there for a reason, her mother would remind her, and she had every right to use them as she saw fit.
With a sigh, she set her pencil down and pushed herself away from her computer desk. Yeah, she would probably ask for that extension after all. She was going to definitely need it.
And probably one of the tutors on campus. Which meant she would have to ask for an interpreter; that was always annoying, as it made the tutoring session go by rather slowly. She couldn't help she was hard-of-hearing, though.
Just one of those things.
Her boyfriend, Samuel, was pretty good at Math, so much so he had gone into competitions for it in high school. She hated bothering him though; he was busy helping to run his father's law firm, and she liked to utilize their time together doing couple's activities.
As much as she was willing to do.
They'd been together for two years and the most they'd done is make out. But every time they'd try to get further, Rose tended to pull back. He didn't seem to mind, however. Sam was kind and patient, so she knew he would wait until she was ready.
She stood up then, stretching, and went over to her closet. Tonight, her friend Bunny was hosting a party.
Rose typically didn't like to go to them unless Sam was there; she couldn't hear the music after all, but she felt comfortable enough dancing with him as long as he held the rhythm. Unfortunately, he said that he would be busy, so initially she said she wasn't going to go at all. But why not, right? Bunny was a good friend – not very close, but close enough that they'd hung out a few times – and she was sure to see others that she knew and would be okay enough around.
She picked out a short red dress that hung off the shoulders with long sleeves, in case it got a little chilly. With that she picked out her favorite tennis shoes, black with a red star on the side, and just ankle socks for comfort. She initially put her long, curly white hair – a trait she got from her late father – in a ponytail, but decided she liked how it looked down and took the elastic out. She didn't accessorize much, or put on any makeup save for some lip gloss, and she checked herself in the mirror. Her brown eyes looked a little plain, but that couldn't be helped; she didn't know much about makeup, so she didn't like to bother.
She had an hour before the party was to begin, but surely Bunny might need help, right? And it would give her an excuse to feel out the place – and places to hide against, like walls and in the kitchen – before people got there.
Rose headed out the door, but not before saying good night to her mom; she didn't know how late she would be, and surely her mom would be asleep by the time she arrived back home. "Be careful," her mom signed, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
She was a hard-of-hearing twenty-two year old, about to graduate from college. How much trouble could she possibly get in at this point?
Rose didn't drive; not because of her impairment. People with hearing loss could drive if they wanted to. She just was afraid to get behind the wheel. So she took an Uber to Bunny's house. Once there, and after rating the driver five stars, she approached the door and knocked.
No answer.
She knocked again.
Still no answer.
She tried the doorknob and it happened to be unlocked, so she let herself in; soon people will be doing the same anyway, right? As she entered the foyer, she saw a light coming from one of the rooms, and a very familiar shadow.
Bunny had company.
Rose didn't speak; she had gone through speech therapy and she could speak if she wanted to, but it came across muffled and hard to understand. So, she decided to interrupt Bunny's fun.
She ascended the stairs, and as she reached the top, she approached the open door and was about to knock when she noticed a familiar mop a brown hair.
She couldn't help but gasp, covering her mouth, staring at the two in Bunny's bed.
Samuel saw her first and immediately flipped over to the other side, hiding himself from her. Bunny covered herself up with her blanket, clearly shouting something, but she was talking so fast that Rose couldn't read her lips.
Before she could think, Rose was turning around and heading down the stairs again, out the front door; she felt the vibrations of someone following after her, but she didn't dare look back. Once outside, she rushed – anywhere. She just didn't want to be in that place anymore. She wanted to be someplace else, anyplace else.
And before she knew it, she felt herself falling into a pit of light.
She became surrounded by other people also falling, and then they would disappear into random holes that would appear before them. Just as her heart entered her throat, a hole emerged beneath her, swallowing her up and she crashed right onto a patch of dirt.
Her head spun, the air knocked out of her. She thought she might be dying. But as she opened her eyes, she saw that wasn't the case at all. She was surrounded by people, just staring at her. They were in uniform, she could tell; button ups, white pants, boots, and tan jackets. A few were speaking, but she could tell it was murmuring as their lips were barely moving and she couldn't read them.
Then suddenly, she was being brought to her feet, and she let out a yelp in surprise. She turned to the person who now held her up; a woman with brown hair and glasses. She was smiling at her, but something in her big, brown eyes said that she wasn't entirely happy to see Rose.
She was talking to her, and her lips moved quickly but Rose could make out a familiar sentence. "What is your name?"
Rose gestured to her ear with her free hand then shook her head. She didn't want to speak in front of these strangers; she barely spoke in front of Samuel – someone she didn't want to think about right now – and the thought of doing so now sounded humiliating.
"OH," formed the woman's mouth. "You can't hear?" Rose could tell she was yelling; a lot of people do that with people who are deaf.
Rose nodded then moved her finger to her lips before bringing it to her eyes, indicating she could read lips.
"Read lips?" said the woman? "Okay! In that case – " She lifted her head above Rosemary; not that it was difficult, as she was barely five feet tall. She was facing someone, and Rose turned her head to do the same, to see who was speaking now.
It was a shorter man, black hair, with lead colored eyes. His gaze fell to Rose, hard as ice, and she felt a chill run down her spine. "We need to take her to - if we're going to - her." To what her, exactly? And to where?
The woman used her own free hand to give a thumbs up, and Rose turned to face her; she was speaking now. "—and we'll be nice, right?"
Well, Rosemary certainly hoped so.