Gift of Sound

Later that afternoon, everyone that was considered an oddball or outcast by most everyone in the school, those who happened to make up the school’s only biker gang, met up under their tree as they always did. Since Andy had both CC and Sammi in all of his classes, he was able to find his way back out of the brick-and-concrete Hell he’d endured all day, though it would still take a while for him to memorize the hallways so he could move around the school without a guide.

Once they’d met up under their tree, they all asked each other how their day had been so far. The rest of the guys smiled slightly at the grin that lit up Jinxx’s face when Andy translated Sammi’s answer, which was that her day had been awesome with someone to translate things for her. They were all glad to see the couple so happy, especially since she’d always seemed so down without any of them knowing why.

They all still agreed to go back to Andy’s house to do their homework and get to know each other, as they’d done this morning. Upon walking out to the junior parking lot, he noticed four other bikes stretched out in a line only a couple spaces over from his. They were all Harleys, though they varied from touring bikes to sportsters, and each one suited its owner’s personality. Jake and Jinxx both had Road Kings, which almost looked too big for them to handle, Ashley was straddling a Dark Custom Cross Bones, and CC owned a Nightster. All of them were black, except for obvious things like exhaust pipes, with personal touches on them.

Jake and Jinxx had a Grim Reaper guitarist surrounded by a flock of birds on theirs, Jake’s surrounded by crows, Jinxx’s surrounded by ravens. Ashley had a pin-up girl on either side of his tank, which bespoke his player nature. And lastly, CC had what appeared to be a pair of drumsticks crossing a bottle of Jack, which had a snare drum in the foreground, on either side of his tank. Only Andy hadn’t customized his bike in such a way, but considering that he hadn’t had the time or money yet, it wasn’t that big a deal to him. Just the fact that he had the solid black Heritage Softail that he’d dreamt of for several years now was good enough for him, even if it didn’t have a personal design on the tank.

“So we’re all going back to your house?” Jake asked, having to yell from his parking space.

“Yeah,” he answered, signing everything to Sammi. “You’ll get to meet my mother.”

“All right. Lead the way,” Ashley told him.

With a nod, Andy kicked up his kickstand and fired his bad boy up.

The rest of the guys followed suit, although they were awed by the beautiful purr of the Softail beside them, especially when mixed with the various roars and purrs of their own bikes. All of them had their helmets strapped to their heads, their bookbags in their saddlebags, and were waiting patiently for Ella and Sammi. The two girls usually went home with their boyfriends after school, so they also had to get their helmets on before mounting the back of the bikes.

“Ready, Ella?” Jake asked.

She flashed him a quick thumbs-up.

Jinxx went through the same procedure, glad that his girlfriend could read his lips since he now knew she was deaf, and she did the same. All the guys flashed a thumbs-up at Andy, signaling that they and the two girls were ready, and with a nod, he put his bike in gear and took off. He could tell by the excess roars behind him that they were all hot on his heels and didn’t get lost.

It wasn’t long before they turned down into his new neighborhood, which he’d find out soon enough housed their homes, as well. When they got to his driveway, they all slowed down and stayed by the curb until he got his bike in the garage, then pulled up into it one-by-one. Jake and Jinxx were parked side-by-side with Ashley and CC parked side-by-side behind them. The two up front held the bikes upright while their girlfriends crawled off, although the two in the back dropped theirs down on their kickstands and started pulling their helmets off their heads.

“Okay, guys. There’s a certain way you have to enter the house,” he said as they joined him on the front porch.

They all stood there silently, waiting for him to tell them.

“Because my mother’s deaf, I stomp on the floor in the front hall three times when I get home so she knows it’s me,” Andy explained. “You need to take your boots off and leave them out front, at least until you meet her, and walk on the balls of your feet very lightly. Otherwise, she might get confused and think someone’s trying to hurt her.”

“That’s doable,” they all agreed, sitting down on the floor and steps to pull off their boots.

While they were doing that, he signed the explanation to Sammi since he’d momentarily broken his characteristic behavior, so she’d know what was going on.

I need you to take off your boots and leave them outside, at least until you meet my mother, and walk very lightly on the balls of your feet, he signed to her. It’s customary for me to stomp on the floor three times in the front hall when I get home so she knows it’s me. If there’s anymore stomping footsteps than that, she might think someone’s trying to hurt her.

Okay. Just gimme a sec once there’s room to sit down, she answered.

Nodding, he opened the door and had them file in one-by-one as they got their boots off, where they waited in the front hall. He stayed outside on the porch with Sammi until she got her boots off, too, not just because he didn’t want to leave her alone like anyone but a gentleman would, but because he feared for her safety since she was a deaf-mute as well.

After the second girl had gotten her boots off, he gestured for her to go in ahead of him and everybody made room for him to pass through. Since he was so skinny and it was easier for him, he was the only one out of the group who left their boots on so he could make the vibrations of his stomps stronger. He walked on the balls of his feet, barely making a sound to those who could hear, a vibration to those who couldn’t, until he was a couple steps away from everyone. When he felt he was far enough away to avoid stomping on anyone’s toes, he lifted his leg up and stomped on the floor pretty hard three times in a row.

Moments later, a pretty woman with blonde hair and equally icy-blue eyes came down another hallway that led to the dining room and master bedroom. There was an extra room at the very end of the hall that was used as an office, and it was likely that she’d been in there working, as she normally was, until she felt the vibrations of her son’s stomps through the floor. She immediately flung her arms around his neck and gave him a hug, laughing silently as he wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her around.

How was your day? she signed as soon as he put her down.

It was awesome! he signed in return, a huge grin splitting his face. Mama, these are my new friends, Jake, Jinxx, Ashley, CC, Ella, and Sammi. Like Sammi had earlier, he finger-spelled Jinxx’s name and pointed to each of them as he signed their names. Like you, Sammi’s a deaf-mute, and when I saw Jinxx having trouble understanding her earlier, I offered to help him learn how to sign.

That’s so sweet of you, Andy. And it’s Sammi who’s the deaf-mute, right?

Yeah, Sammi’s the deaf-mute. Everyone else can hear and talk, like me. He turned to the group behind him. “Guys, this is my mother, Amy.”

They all waved at her, not bothering to speak since they knew she was deaf.

Hi, guys. It’s so wonderful to see that my son has made some friends, Amy signed, grinning.

“What’d she say?” Jake asked.

“She said, ‘Hi, guys. It’s so wonderful to see that my son has made some friends’,” he answered, blushing at her comment. We’re gonna do our homework real quick before I even try to teach Jinxx the basics of signing.

Okay. I’m gonna go back to my office and finish up while you guys are doing that if you don’t need anything, his mother signed.

We don’t. If we do, I’ll let you know.

With a smile, Amy retreated back down the hall she’d come from when he stomped on the floor, and he told them she was going back to work. This sparked questions as to how she was able to work if she was a deaf-mute since she couldn’t hear or communicate normally. He explained that she was a graphic designer and communicated with her boss via emails, which left her able to work from home, as they all headed into the semi-spacious living room.

Before they got started on their homework, he headed to the kitchen to get himself a glass of Pepsi and offered everyone else something to drink, as well. The rest of the guys except CC also had Pepsi, the latter having Wild Cherry Pepsi, and the girls both wanted Mountain Dew. Jake and Jinxx followed him to help grab the glasses while everybody else got settled and got out their homework.

Once everybody was settled, it didn’t take long for them to fly through all the homework they had, which wasn’t much to start with since it was the first day of school, especially with seven heads all put together. After they finished, they packed up their bookbags again and the guys all went to grab their boots and move them to the front hall while Andy went to get his mother. She’d just finished up for the day and shot off what she’d accomplished to her boss, so she headed for the kitchen to get a glass of Mountain Dew of her own before joining the group of teens in the living room.

So it’s Jinxx who’s trying to learn how to sign? she asked after putting her glass on an end table.

Yeah. He didn’t even know Sammi was a deaf-mute until I told him this morning, Andy answered. He just thought she was mute.

How did he not figure it out? Amy asked, her face twisted into a confused expression.

She never told him, and because she never spoke, he thought she was just mute since she can read lips pretty well and always wrote him notes, he told her.

So what made her deviate from her norm this morning?

I guess she couldn’t get to her notebook or something and was forced to sign. He shrugged.

That’s exactly right, Sammi jumped in, nodding. I couldn’t get to my notebook and since he’s been trying to learn how to sign, I just chose to sign to him.

And since Andy knows how to sign, he figured out that you were at least mute, right?

Yes, ma’am. He tapped my shoulder to get my attention when Jinxx guessed that I’d said I had to go to the bathroom, but didn’t wanna go alone, since he didn’t know if I was deaf or not.

Well, my son and I both will be more than glad to help him learn. Amy smiled at her. Being a deaf-mute for longer than all of you have been alive, I know the challenges and how much it sucks.

Thank you so much, ma’am! We’re so grateful!

Just call me Amy, or Miss Amy, if that makes you more comfortable.

“So what all did they just say?” Jinxx asked, somewhat confused since he’d only caught about half the conversation.

“My mom was curious about how you didn’t realize Sammi was also deaf and what made her deviate from reading lips and writing notes this morning,” Andy answered, signing everything he said so the two women were kept in the loop. “Then Sammi and I explained how you found out, and my mom’s on board with helping you learn how to sign.”

“Thanks so much, ma’am,” he said just as courteously as his girlfriend had since he didn’t yet know their surname.

You can drop the ma’am and Mrs. Biersack, Jinxx, she signed, having to finger-spell both their surname and his name.

“What’d she say?”

“She said, ‘You can drop the ma’am and Mrs. Biersack,” he translated.

“That’s your surname? Biersack?” Ashley asked, trying not to laugh.

“Go ahead, Ashley. Laugh to your heart’s content,” he said with a scowl.

“Sorry, I can’t help it. It’s almost as unique as my name,” he chuckled, blushing slightly.

Andy merely gave him a confused look.

“My surname’s Purdy, spelled P-U-R-D-Y,” the tanned teen explained. “Along with my first name, it’s unique enough on its own. The fact that people think I’m pretty rather than handsome doesn’t help.”

“Neither does the fact that you look like a girl!” CC chortled.

“Hey, can it, Coma!” he snapped playfully.

“Your surname’s Coma?” Andy asked, looking at the first out of the group that he’d met.

“Legally, it’s Mora, but I put a guy in a coma one time by fighting back when he attacked me.” He shrugged as if it were no big deal. “Everyone started calling me ‘the coma causer’ after that, even though I hadn’t meant to hit him that hard, so I started calling myself Christian Coma. CC came later, after my little sister had too much trouble with it.”

“Ah, I see. And I didn’t know you had a little sister,” he said.

“Not very many people do. Casey’s only four, so I don’t really like bringing my friends around her too much.” He scowled slightly. “She’s too damn smart and inquisitive for her own good, so I don’t want anything like Ashley making a perverted comment in front of her to happen.”

“You just don’t wanna have to get out of explaining it to her, or worse yet, actually explain it, right?”

“Exactly. That, and she’s not in the best of health, so it’s usually best if her visitors are limited.”

“What’s wrong with her, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“Our mother was raped, which was how she was conceived. She contracted HIV from her rapist and accidentally passed it on to my sister.” CC’s eyes clouded over with tears for a moment. “My father thought she was a cheating whore and beat her to death right in front of me when Casey was six months old, then shot himself. I have to leave her with a nurse while I’m at school since I’m her legal guardian.”

The entire time they were conversing, Andy signed everything they said to his mother and Sammi out of habit.

“Jesus. I’m so sorry,” he told him. “I wouldn’t have asked if I’d known it was anything that serious.”

“It’s okay,” he said quietly.

“Yeah. That’s how you can tell if CC trusts you or not,” Jake jumped in.

“CC doesn’t tell just anyone about his past and current family life,” Jinxx explained. “He only tells people he trusts, although that’s still not the full story. Don’t worry, though; he’s told you this much the first day you met, so he’s bound to tell you the full story sooner or later.”

Andy merely nodded his head and promised not to ask any more questions.

Shortly thereafter, he had the entire group engaged in learning how to sign so they could communicate with people like Sammi. Jinxx really wanted to learn, as he admitted they lived together since they were both eighteen and it would make every aspect of their relationship so much easier. The rest of the gang were just as enthusiastic because they knew it would make communicating with their friend, and now his mother, so much easier if they knew how to sign as well.

Amy and Sammi mimicked his motions as he taught them how to sign different words and short phrases, which they caught on to pretty quick, although they couldn’t speak like he could. They kept teaching them single words and short phrases until around six, which would’ve given them about three hours after they’d finished their homework since school let out at two in the afternoon.

Because it’d started getting dark and they were all on bikes, they decided that they needed to hit the road so they could get home safely before complete darkness fell. CC was the one he was most worried about getting home safely since he was his little sister’s legal guardian, but he was still worried about them all. He got each of their numbers and programmed them into his contacts, asking them to text him once they got home or were dropped off, as it were in Ella’s case. They all promised to text him as soon as they got home while they put on their boots and strapped on their helmets. Once ready to go, the group grabbed their bookbags and headed out the front door, waving as they headed to their bikes.

Andy and Amy both stood on the front porch, waving and watching them as they pulled out of the driveway and roared off down the road, one-by-one. Ashley was the first one to leave, his taillight fading into the distance as CC got ready to leave, though the roaring of his bike stopped not too far away. The hyper one was the next to leave, ready to get home to his baby sister so he could spend some time with her and relieve the nurse who babysat her. Jake and Ella left after him, Ella’s arms wrapped tightly around her boyfriend’s waist, and Jinxx and Sammi were the last, the second girl’s fingers looped through his belt loops instead.

They were really nice, Andy, Amy signed once they were back inside and all the glasses they’d used were in the dishwasher.

Yeah, they were, he agreed, sighing softly. I was kinda scared when I first met CC since I hadn’t talked to a soul yet when he walked up. That, and because he’s so hyper.

So how’d you guys meet then? she asked curiously.

He noticed my bike when I rode in, and the way I ignored everyone’s stares when they realized I’m a biker, he answered, snickering. That, and he knew my bike was an ’07 Heritage Softail before he even asked.

I couldn’t help but notice that you guys seem to look similar, too.

Yeah, that was one of the first things I noticed about the entire group, even the girls. They all dressed similarly and did their makeup about the same. Except for Sammi, considering that she’s a deaf-mute like you, we all listen to relatively the same music, too.

Oh, really? She had a sad smile on her face when he told her that.

Yeah. Ashley’s favorite band is KISS, Jake’s is a combination of Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath, Jinxx’s is Metallica, CC’s is a combination of As I Lay Dying and Slipknot, and Ella’s is Lacuna Coil. You already know mine is a combination of KISS, Mötley Crüe, and The Misfits.

I get the feeling that Slipknot and White Zombie are a lot heavier a style of metal than most of the others, Amy told him.

They are. They’re almost what you’d call “death metal.” Well, Slipknot is, anyway. I’m not too sure why CC likes them so much.

The rest of them sound like what I’ve heard called “eighties hair metal,” while Lacuna Coil sounds like they’d be described as goth metal.

Actually, that’s exactly what they are. KISS, Poison, and Mötley Crüe are all eighties hair metal, Ozzy, Black Sabbath, and Metallica are just heavy metal, and Lacuna Coil is goth metal. He smiled proudly because of his musical knowledge.

I wish I weren’t deaf so I could hear all of these bands for myself and make my own judgments. She sighed heavily.

I know you do, Mama. But look at it this way…at least you don’t have to experience the ear-rape of gangsta rap, which isn’t music at all. It’s just noise. He made a face of tortured disgust as he signed that.

Ear-rape? That’s a new one on me, son. Her shoulders shook in silent laughter.

Basically, gangsta rap makes me feel like someone is violating my ears in such a way that no one should ever be violated. Rape is exactly that: by definition, it’s unwanted and non-consensual vaginal intercourse. Therefore, ear-rape is as close to a description as I can get.

Laughing, the pair continued signing to one another when their hands weren’t busy as they prepared and ate their dinner. By the time they were done, Amy was yawning heavily, which told him that she hadn’t slept well the night before, so he shooed her off to bed and said he’d clean up the kitchen. She was hesitant to let him clean up at first, considering that she was used to doing it, but he assured her that it was fine and to just go to bed so she could get some rest.

Andy sighed himself as he rinsed out the dishes and loaded them into the dishwasher, which he’d run in the morning before he left for school. His keen hearing allowed him to hear his mother shuffling around down the hall as she got ready for bed and eventually settled down. He was glad to know that she’d at least gone to bed as he told her to do, but that didn’t necessarily mean she’d be asleep any time soon.

Once he was done cleaning up the kitchen, he turned off all the lights downstairs and headed upstairs. He’d come back down and check on his mother after he showered, a routine he went through every night, and make sure the baby monitor he’d hidden in her room was working so he’d hear her if she woke up in the middle of the night. He always checked on her before he went to bed and any time he thought he heard her moving about in the dead of night since he loved her and didn’t want her getting hurt. It just showed that, even though some thought him cold and heartless because he didn’t talk much, he really did care.

By the time he’d showered and gotten his boxers and Batman pajama pants on, he was exhausted, even though it was only eight. Part of that exhaustion was from being physically active all day, since he was signing almost nonstop for his mother and Sammi, but mostly because he himself hadn’t slept well the night before. He managed to scrape up enough energy to go back downstairs and check on his mother, whom was sleeping soundly in her room, then trudge back up the stairs to his own room. The moment he got his door closed and locked, he headed over to his bed and flopped down, sighing in contentment. In an uncharacteristic manner, Andy was out like a light the moment his head hit his pillow.

Notes