Freaks: Year One

Let Me Help You!

Alabaster slowly opened the book, and looked at the words on the page before him. The page looked like a jumble of words that he couldn't decipher, not to mention it was a bit blurry as well.

He didn't understand why the words appeared like this. Did they do that for everyone? His sister, who was eight, seemed to read, and write just fine so that couldn't be it. It was only him who had this problem. His mother constantly complained about it, about how stupid he was. Reading should've been easy, but it wasn't.

Not to him anyways.

And he didn't know why.

His parents just told him he was stupid.

Which was true.

I mean what ten year old couldn't read or write properly? His sister was eight, and she could do both perfectly.

"Do you want help?" Whispered Adelaide sensing his frustration.

"No Adelaide." Alabaster said. "I can do it myself." He would be frustrated, but he had to. He needed to learn how to do the basics before he went to Hogwarts, if he didn't...he would just have to make sure no one knew.

He continued to look at the words on the page, not processing anything. The words got all twisted, he didn't get what he was seeing, it was all a blur. He hated it. "Nan ittha sai alathe." (I can't do this.) He murmured.

Adelaide looked over. "Onnku theriyum amma onna innum English passai sonna, paillkodam ke." (You know mother wants you to speak more English for school.)

Alabaster sighed. "Enna ke theriyum - I mean I know." He was just frustrated. He always slipped into Tamil when he got frustrated or upset, it was just an odd habit.

"I can still help you." Adelaide told him. "I don't want mother to get mad at you, I know you're trying." Her eyes were full of understanding, and pity. He didn't want pity. He just wanted to be able to do simple things himself. He loved his sister, she was understanding about it all, but he wished there was a way to fix himself. "It's just - Adelaide, how am I going to go to Hogwarts next year if I can't read, or write properly. Everyone is going to know I am stupid."

Adelaide was quiet for a moment, thinking. "Well I could always read your textbooks to you."

Alabaster looked at her. "You're not going to Hogwarts with me though. Not yet."

"I mean before. When you get your textbooks I can make a summary of the content, and read it to you before you go off to Hogwarts." Adelaide said. "You have a good memory, I am sure you could remember some things."

Alabaster bit his lip. "Maybe, but-"

"We still have time." Adelaide said, trying to reassure her brother. "And who knows, maybe Hogwarts will have something to help you."

Alabaster sighed. "I hope so."

"But in the meantime." Adelaide took the book from his hands. "I can read it to you."

Alabaster shook his head. "But if mother finds out-"

"Amma kandapudiku mattangu, ne vaya muddikontha irratha. Let me help you!" (She won't find out if you keep quiet, let me help you!) Adelaide said angrily.

Alabaster just let her take the book. Adelaide had a bit of a temper, and you didn't want to anger his little sister. "But-"

"Let me help you!" She repeated.

He sighed giving up, there was no point in arguing with her. "Okay, but-"

"Look, we have the same book." Oh he is at the level of his eight year old sister, nice. "If I read quietly, everything will be fine. I don't want mother to use the discipline curse on you, because you can't read this book." She opened it. "Because even though you have a problem with reading, I hate seeing you in pain because of it."

Alabaster was thankful for his sister. He understood why his parents disciplined him due to his problem. He should have been able to read, and write like every other person in the world. To everyone he was stupid. So he understood why he got treated the way he did. Adelaide was different though, she didn't understand his problem, he didn't either, but she tried her best to help him. His parents had originally done that too, until nothing seemed to be working, and they just deemed there was something wrong with him.

So Adelaide read the passage to him a few times to give him time to memorise it, so when their mother came down he would hopefully be convincing enough when he read her the passage himself.

His mother stared at him with slight suspicion when he finished reading it to her. He put down the book, and hoped it was good enough. "Good..." She said slowly. "Did your sister help you?"

"No mother." Said Adelaide. "I read my own book."

Their mother looked sceptical, and was about to say something when Atticus started to cry again from upstairs. "Can't that baby ever be quiet?" Their mother grumbled as she went up the stairs again. She turned to them again halfway up the staircase. "You better have not lied to me, or else you'll both be in trouble." And she left the two of them alone.

Once Alabaster was sure she was out of earshot, he turned to his sister, and said in a worried low voice. "See, now we're both going to get in trouble, not just me. I told you you shouldn't have helped."

Adelaide shrugged. Their mother hadn't found out they were both lying so there was no harm in it. "We are done with reading for the day anyway, now it's writing." She went over to the cabinet, and pulled out some parchment, ink, and two quills. "Here." She handed it to him. He lay out the parchment, and quill in front him, and slowly dipped the quill in ink. They were supposed to write a summary of the book they had just read, and luckily he could, it would just take a long time with a myriad of spelling mistakes.

The daily routine was reading, writing, piano (which he enjoyed, he was actually good at it, and he found a sense of calm with it), French, and numbers. Numbers were easier for him to understand than letters, and he did enjoy learning another language.

"Wednesday has a D in it, remember?" Adelaide pointed to the date at the top of the parchment. "And an E after the N."

"Oh, um sorry." He scribbled it out, and rewrote it. Wednesday didn't sound like it had a D in it, it sounded like it went straight to the N.

Wensday.

...That was not the point.

"It's fine." Adelaide continued to write on her own parchment.

Oh how thankful he was for his sister.

She seemed to be the one who understood. Even Alabaster had trouble understanding his problem, but Adelaide didn't hate him for it (he didn't think his parents hated him for it, he hoped not), she tried to help him through it. She didn't seem to ridicule him for it, which he was thankful for.

She looked over. "You spelt the word pronunciation wrong." She indicated the word. Alabaster wondered how she was such a good speller. "It is the letter U, not the letter O. Maybe when you go to Hogwarts they will allow you to use a spell checking quill..." Alabaster nodded at this. "But for now, I think you are going to be fine."

He gave her a small smile. "Thanks."