Deaf Daisy | #1 in #americansignlanguage

7 Superhero Daisy

Monday is weird. Everyone's stares linger on Cannon, a dead man walking, a zombie arisen from the grave. I overread in the courtyard before first period that Cannon's dad caught him trying to bury his mom in their backyard. It's like the rumors aren't even trying any more.

He gives me the not-smile as he walks into homeroom, and I know that people are watching and I'm worried about what they think. Cannon kind of has an untoward reputation when it comes to girls. If I were looking at this situation from the outside, I would not put it past him to pretend to be mute in order to bed the deaf girl, as terrible as that sounds.

He pulls out his book; he pulls out his notebook; he takes notes; he reads along. Merinda gives me a thumbs up when Cannon's not looking. I feel a swell of pride.

We walk to our next class together — there's no reason to pretend our high school careers aren't bound to each other any more, I guess. We don't plan it, we're just both going the same way five times a day. People do their double takes; they point and whisper. Cannon pretends not to notice, or maybe he's so deep in his own head that he truly doesn't see. I wonder what that's like. Because I can't hear what people may say behind my back, I'm constantly watching. I rarely remember people's eye color — I can count everyone whose eye color I know on one hand. But I can tell every smile apart.

Serena's eyes are hazel. She wears two rings on her left hand — one on her ring finger and one on her pinky — and two rings on her right hand — one on her pointer, one on her thumb. One of her front teeth sits slightly atop the other in an extremely charming way, and when she smiles, everyone in the room notices.

Merinda never wore any other jewelry besides her engagement and wedding rings until this Christmas when her husband bought her an Apple Watch with a rose gold band. Her Boston Terrier, Rosie, is her watch lock screen. Her eyes are a deep brown and she rotates between two rose-colored lipsticks.

My mother's eyes are a lighter, more speckled brown. Her smile is always accompanied by a little bit of sass in those eyes, too. She really has reached #PeakMom since she's hit her forties. She wears her wedding set on her left ring finger, and an anniversary gift topaz ring on her right ring finger.

Dad's eyes are the babiest of blues. He started losing his hair in his thirties, so he's been keeping it shaved for several years now. His eyebrows took over — they are very sharp and always give away his expression. He wears a clunky silver watch, probably cheaper brand name from Sears.

Cannon's eyes are so dark that they're almost black. Maybe they are — I've only looked into them a handful of times. His curly black hair, thick brows, and crooked nose are his most defining features. He has terrible penmanship.

He passes me a note in math. Can you explain to me how to solve this problem

I pass him my notes. Cannon suddenly looks up at Mr. Knox, so I look up at Mr. Knox, and Mr. Knox is looking at us. He must've cleared his throat or said our names. We both just look at him, and he looks at us, and then he looks at Merinda, and Merinda looks at him, and then nothing happens. Cannon copies my notes and hands them back.

We are above the law now.

We aren't above gossip.

People are talking about you and cannon. Serena signs the word for "cannon" instead of spelling out his name, and I'm inspired.

I brace myself for the worst. That tracks. What are they saying?

They actually figured it out. They think he won't talk so he's in your classes to learn sign language.

I'm... a little bummed. Guess I'm not pretty enough for them to think we're together.

Serena notices my mood change. They know he's in all your classes. So it's got to be more than that you're suddenly "together".