More Than Ears

Moving Day (1)

Okay, first, this is something I was interested in writing and am currently working on just now.  I have no idea what is going on and this is the "rough" draft so please let me know if you see any errors.   Enjoy!  Also, a dedication to Da_craZii_gUrL for my cover picture.  Thanks!

************************************************************************************************************

Moving was always a hassle.  Not just because of the boxes and the packing or the new neighbors and schools.  Well, Kristin did not like it and neither but it was much harder for her siblings.  Anja (pronounced: An-ya) was older and Deaf, Bruno was younger and Deaf.  Both children were actually adopted by her parents but, then again, her parents were also Deaf. 

The new house was fine, about the same size as the last one but in another state.  It matched all the others on the street: double story, brown, stucco, small patio, two car garage.  The road was pretty quiet.  Well, it had been until the moving trucks had come lumbering down.  Now it was back to the quitet suburban life the street was used having.  Sometime soon the neighbors would be coming over.

Her mom stuck her head out the back door.  Kristin, have you been back here the whole time?  Where is your sister? she signed.

I don't know, has she picked a room yet? she replied.

Yes, now you can get set up.  We need to find you boxes. A smile crossed her face then.  Her family was abnormally organized.  The boxes were clearly labled.  Not just quick words like "kichen" but more helpful phrases like "Kitchen plates and pans" or "Bruno summer clothes".  When the boxes had been taken out of the moving van they had been further organized into piles by room or person.  As was expected of a teenager, Anja had the most.

The house was a swarm of activity.  One person was going up the stairs as someone else was carring a box to a more accurate location.  No one held still for long: long ago they had learned that if something was in the wrong place you had better not stand around but fix it before Mom gave you a worse task.  Anja flew down the stairs, her black ponytail streaming behind her.

Mom, I'm hungry.  Can we have pizza?  I found our room! she signed, her attention broken, on the top floor, at the end of the hall.  It's the biggest one.  I gave Bruno the small one but his has a better window.  Come here, I will show you how I want to divide it.

Pizza?  We don't have the VRS* (Video Relay Service) set up yet. After we your beds ready we can go for lunch.  Maybe Italian?  I've had enough pizza. her mother replied.  Anja made a face.

Fine. Anja signed before dragging Kristin up the stairs as Bruno's blonde head came bobbing down.  He continued to say something as Anja and Kristin planned how to decorate their room. 

Even though it was supposed to only be a little while the family went out for lunch over two hours later.  Everyone was famished.  They spent even more time riding around the nearby shopping centers trying to find a decent resturant. It felt like a long time before they settled on a generic Subway.

"Hello, welcome to Subway.  What would you like?" a bored teenage boy with red hair intoned as they approched the counter.

For the most part the family could just point at the food they wanted but occasionally this method would not work.  The father, Robert, did his best to speak but his voice was usually too muddled for the boy to understand, as he had stopped practicing when he graduated college years ago.  Instead of continuing to struggle, Robert turned grabbed a peice of paper and wrote out his instructions clearly.  Reading them, the boy obliged.