Ratbags and Scallywags [bxb]

Chapter 4

A gentle prod on my shoulder roused me from my sleep. I sat up and leaned my weight on my elbow, rubbing my eyes. Mum was standing beside my bed looking down at me, lips moving fast as she spoke on the phone. I couldn't guess who'd be calling at seven in the morning, and why she had to wake me for. It irritated me, but before long, she cradled the phone between her cheek and shoulder as she relayed the message to me.

Mum brought her fingers together, signing individual letters of a name.

The letters were: C.H.A.R.L.I.E R.A.S.C.A.L. That damned name.

"Uncle wants him to tutor you if he agrees," she signed. "Is this fine?"

I sighed, feeling my head cave in around me until I slumped forward, massaging my scalp. What a loaded question for this early. I let out a big yawn, feeling the vibration in my throat, stretching my arms up, and feeling my back click. Some of the tension went away, making me feel better.

"Aubrey," Mum signed, bringing my attention back to her. I barely remembered what she said. All I wanted was to go back to sleep.

"Fine," I answered, groggily waving her off. The fact that I could pretty much hear my own voice made me wince, making me look up at her apologetically. I was too loud. I signed back, "I don't care. I'm going back to sleep."

"You won't go to school?" she asked.

I didn't even know where she might've gotten that ridiculous notion from. In four whole years, when had I missed a day of school? She was dressed in a white blouse and black pencil skirt, dressed to the nines for her work at a local jeweler. Her hair was pinned back neatly, while I was sure mine looked like a crow's straw nest. Sometimes it amazed me that I was her son.

Pointing at my clock, I signed, "Too early. Let me sleep."

I gave a dismissive wave and rolled back over into my bed, burying myself under the covers. A movement on the bed caused it to dip slightly, making my heart jump with surprise. The cover above my head moved just a little bit, but I felt Mum's hand stroke the top of my head. Then I think I felt her kiss that same spot. I didn't move or respond, slipping into a peaceful sleep.

The vibration of my bed alarm jolted me awake, signaling that it was time to wake and get ready for school. It was a pleasant forty-minute sleep in that I would have preferred to have gone uninterrupted. I reached for my alarm clock, missing it. I closed my right eye, focusing my vision on the button. My hand hovered over either side of it a few times.

Four years had already passed since my accident with Grandad, and yet I still couldn't get a proper grasp on what Dr. Preshi called depth perception. Things like turning off an alarm or picking up a pencil were embarrassing, never getting any easier. It was too embarrassing. Mum and Dad also refused to let me walk to school because of it, saying one miscalculated step was all it would take.

But what had Mum said about... Charlie Rascal? The boy whose voice was so overbearingly loud and obnoxious that ninety percent of the time I had to remove my hearing aids just to drown him out. And sometimes I could hear him even without them. It was a quiet, tunneled, watery sound. Like we were trapped in a cave, or inside of an ocean. Just him and I.

Considering I couldn't hear my own voice without hearing aids or by submerging my ears in bathwater, that was saying something.

He exhausted me, but I appreciated the sound.

My lack of concentration did little to propel me on with my morning task, being lured back by the ongoing vibrations. Snapping out of my thoughts, I stood up, paid more attention to the button, and hit the off button in one go. I smiled to myself. Success.