• My name is Eric Reid. I go to school and I have a job. I have a mom and dad. I have a dog named Stover. I also have my closest friends: Sarah and David Tillman, Percy Hartson, and Jennifer Larsen. I’m not really a physical person but I’m not a thinker either. If anything I’m a combo. I’m the kind of person that has his hand in everything (figuratively speaking, of course). I started my school’s book writers’ club and have the fifth best grades in the school (I’m tied with six other people). Not that I’ve ever cared, but I have my own arch nemesis; that goody two-shoes, Jakob Keins.
    My day started like any other, except that it was the most dreaded day of any teen everywhere: the first day of school. Sarah, David, Percy, Jennifer, and I were sitting on the bus as near to each other as possible. We were talking about normal stuff. Well, they were, but I sat looking outside with my sandy blonde hair blowing from the small wind coming and rushing past quietly. My backpack was on the floor next to my feet. Thankfully the heater wasn’t on or else my feet would’ve been very, very sweaty. Every once in a while Percy or Jennifer would pull out one of my headphones and ask me a question and I’d just shrug, smile and say, “I don’t know.”
    “It’s a miracle with this one,” says David pointing at me and smirking at his twin. Then Sarah agrees and goes back to reading any one of several books she could be reading at the time. Once we get to school, it’s our first steps off the bus as sophomores, as second year high school students.
    “Thank God we only have to deal with this P.O.S. high school for three more years,” remarks Jennifer with mock enthusiasm.
    I sign that I agree and can’t wait to close the proverbial “time-gap”. Oops! I forget to mention that I’m mute, didn’t I? I guess that my “saying” I don’t know earlier was a little misleading but I didn’t mean to. Thank goodness we’ve been friends since we were kids, I think to myself, otherwise they wouldn’t know how to respond to my signing. We all grew together in a small town in Arizona. Percy, Jennifer and I were the first ones in the group (having started kindergarten together) and then Sarah and David showed during first grade. Having never met before Sarah and David, the only twins we’d ever met, seemed like aliens.
    As we walk toward the front doors, look at each other and smile weakly; we know what we have to do next. Once we’re through the doors, all we can here is droves of students laughing, yelling or just talking loudly in general. Again, as we did last, we walk toward the office. Almost tripping three times and having my new purple shirt tugged on several didn’t help us get to the office, but it was good to see familiar faces. Finally, we get to the office, but there’s one more obstacle: The Line. The Line was, as we liked to call it, the always inevitable overflow of students waiting to get their locker numbers and combination on a Post-It note attached to a piece of paper with he class schedule on it.
    Like last year, we did the smart thing and waited for The Line to thin out. Five minutes passed by and we stepped up to Ms. Albams’ desk; she beams when she sees us. She has to, it’s her job. Ms. A gives each our papers and says, “You’re very welcome,” with a bright smile after I sign “thank you”. The five of us walk outside to the courtyard and sit at one of the picnic benches.
    “So who’d you get for first, Eric?” David asks plainly. I already know who I got for first period.
    “Percy’s mom,” I sign back.
    Percy raises his hand for a high-five and says, with a Cheshire Cat grin on his, “So do I! Up top!” I give Percy a fiver and notice that our lockers are, quite miraculously, very near each other. I snap my fingers to get their attention and then sign the new-found information to them.
    Sarah shrugs and says, pointedly, “Look at this though. Lunch has been shortened by ten minutes.”
    “What,” David starts, “little sis’ want more time to read?” David says things like that every time Sarah starts to “whine about not being able to read more”, as David puts it.
    “Hey, Eric,” said Jennifer, “what do you have third?”
    I new there was going to be another schedule related question coming my way. I nonchalantly passed schedule around the table to show them who I have for which periods. Even though I’m mute I don’t have to take any SpEd (Special Ed) classes.
    “Classes start in five minutes,” came the crackly, radio voice of Ms. Albams.
    “See you later guys,” I signed quickly. Percy and I ran to homeroom and reached the door with two minutes to spare.

    “Hello,” Mrs. Hartson said as we snuck to the back of the classroom. We waved to her and sat down. “What took you boys so long?” Mrs. Hartson asked simply, “I would expect this from you Percy; but not from you Eric.” At this everyone in the classroom started to laugh at Mrs. Hartson’s fake sternness.
    “Sorry,” we signed in unison.
    “Maybe next time you’ll be here before the first bell,” Mrs. Hartson said with a playful smile. She loved the first day of school. Percy honestly (well maybe not honestly) thinks his mom is some kind of sentient robot from outer space.
    Almost immediately after the bell, Mrs. Hartson started to assign us our study partners for the year. Just like last year Percy’s mom gave me a little leniency and let me work on my own. Well kind of; she paired me up with Percy, but he barely does anything.
    Before class was over, Mrs. Hartson gave each of the students (Percy being the only exception) a class syllabus. “Get it in before Friday and you get a prize,” she said with extreme delight.
    “We have five minutes before second period. What do you want to do?” Percy asked as we stepped out the door.
    Just to annoy him, I signed back, “I don’t know. What do you want to do?”
    Right as he was about to huff and puff and blow my house down, David put his hand on Percy’s shoulder. “Calm down bro,” he said quietly.
    I signed to him: “Why are you whispering?” Then I saw why; not three meters away was Vice-principal Rogers. I waved but he turned a cold shoulder and walked away. “‘I work here so that I can promote discipline’,” Percy mocked with a laugh. I rolled my eyes and David slapped him in the back of the head.
    “We should go,” I signed quickly.
    Shoulders dropping, Percy replied, “Alright.”