One - Raymond I still remember the day when it all started. September 27th. It was a little while after sophomore year started, and Raymond was new to our district. Apparently he’d been holding curiosity in for about a month; curiosity about me, that is. Since I (unfortunately) found myself having to be watched most of the day, he asked my supervisor, Mrs. Harlow, if he could talk to me. A fairly awkward entrance, and a rather irritating one on my part. I remember Mrs. Harlow asking him if he knew sign language, but he didn’t, so I had to write to communicate with him. I introduced myself via paper and pen (I had a notepad with me at all times, in case things like that happened). But, it’s been so long since all that happened. Whenever Raymond was taking a car home, he’d stop by the curb and talk to me for a bit. It was nice to have a friend like him, but that was so long ago. It’s April, and I could not, could not believe what happened today when he came over to talk. It was probably the most shocking thing I’d heard in my life. Raymond looked me in the eye and blushed a bit, looking around to make sure nobody would hear him. (He even asked Mrs. Harlow if she could tune him out for a bit.) “Pearl, I… I think it’s fantastic that you’ve made it here, that you never seem to give up. You’ve told me about how you strive for good grades, despite everything, and I…” He cut himself off and lowered his voice to a whisper, just loud enough for me to hear. “I was wondering if… we could… do something together, just the two of us.” I had to think twice. This can’t be, I thought. We were always just friends. But that was my head speaking. My heart badly wanted to say ‘yes.’ Was I… in love with him? I tried to push the thought away, but I couldn’t resist the feeling. I hated to admit it to myself, but I was in love with Raymond. It was the strangest thing I’d felt since ‘walking’ into that classroom in third grade, not knowing anyone and not understanding how to pull through. So, I nodded. It was the easiest thing to do. He looked at Mrs. Harlow, who had been talking to someone else, much to both of our reliefs. I began writing on my notepad. I think I might be in love with you, I wrote. He looked at me and smiled a lopsided, but cute smile. I smiled too, knowing that maybe, just maybe, this would all work out in the end. He turned to me just before walking away and said, “We could go to your place, and I could meet the rest of your family. I think they’d love to find out that you’re not so lonely anymore.” Of course, I scribbled. Raymond walked away. When Mom came to pick me up, I started writing down the ‘news’ after she helped me into the car. When we got home, she asked me how my day was, just like usual. I began signing, “I’ve got news to tell you.” She nodded. “What is it?” I showed her my writing. So, there’s this guy called Raymond (he’s new to the school this year) and he sometimes talks to me while I’m waiting for you to pick me up. And ever since we met, I had this feeling when I was around him. But, that’s not the crazy part. He… He asked me if he could visit our place, and my head was telling me that could never be… but my heart said yes, and the easiest way to go about it was… to… accept it. We both wanted each other, and I hope you’re okay with that... Mom looked shocked, but she seemed at least a little happy for me. I think I understood. No mother wanted their child to love somebody more than they loved her, but at the same time, they knew it meant that their son or daughter always had someone else to reach out to, and that they’d be less lonely in life. “So when does he want to come over?” Mom asked. “Not sure,” I signed. “But I can ask him within the next week.” She nodded and I headed over to my room (yes, our house is only one story) to work on some homework before worrying about the Raymond stuff again.
