Page 31 of Beginning Fate

I took a step forward to put a little distance between us so I could hear what was being said.

“I think what you all want to do is great. But I'm sorry to say that I've accepted a new position and won't be teaching here this year.”

“What?” Denny asked. “Are you serious?”

“I am. I wish you'd all shown up sooner. There simply wasn’t enough interest in ASL this semester to justify keeping the program.”

I signed what she said to Kylie who became visibly upset.

“But you said there would be kids here who studied ASL.”

“I know what I said. That's what they told me.”

As we went back and forth discussing it, everyone stopped and watched us.

“Are you deaf?” the professor asked Kylie.

She started to make an inappropriate gesture. I could see it in her eyes. I clamped my first two fingers against my thumb in warning. Pausing, she rolled her eyes and simply replied, “Yes.”

“Thank you,” I quickly motioned to her.

“Are you going to be attending Archibald Reynolds this semester? Or just here with your family?” Professor Jones asked and signed.

“I'm enrolled here.”

“And you all want to learn ASL?” she asked while continuing to sign for Kylie's benefit.

“Yes ma'am,” Oscar said. “All of us.”

“Will you require translation for classes?” she asked Kylie.

My sister shrugged.

“We don't know yet,” I explained for her. “She’s very good at reading lips but college courses may be too fast paced or if a professor teaches with his back to the class, then she might require assistance. I was assured this wouldn't be a problem.”

“I heard rumors last semester that we were getting a deaf student, but no one confirmed that with me. When I saw my class registry, I was disappointed at such low attendance this year.”

“We didn't know to sign up for it,” Mark said.

“I didn’t even know I'd want to learn it until we met Kylie yesterday,” Jett said.

Professor Jones smiled at them proudly.

“I don't know if it's too late or not. Let me put in some phone calls and see what we can do.”

We left there trying to stay optimistic, but I could see how defeated they all looked.

“Guys, don't worry. Lauren and I can teach you the basics so you can all talk to Kylie,” Denny said.

“Lauren is a great teacher,” Kylie signed.

“What is that first sign? Is it for you?” Denny asked. “It sort of looks like Mom only with an L.”

I smiled so broadly my cheeks hurt. “Only a deaf person can give you a name sign. That's mine. She was eight when she gave it to me, claiming I was like a mother but Lauren, so she took the sign for Mom and did it with an L and that’s become my name.”

“That's so cool. What's mine?” he asked Kylie.

She laughed and shook her head.

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