خوشگذرانی برفی

CHAPTER FIVE

Snow fun

More snowballs flew past my face. Then I saw someone come out from behind a white tree. It was the man from the shop! It was Jim!

I laughed and quickly made a snowball. Then I sent it through the air.

But Jim moved so quickly to one side the snowball hit a tree behind him. So I started to make another snowball, but before it was ready, Jim threw a new one at me.

I laughed again. Then I ran behind a wall and made lots of snowballs. When they were ready, I came out from behind the wall. But Jim had made lots of snowballs too, and soon I was very wet.

After a few minutes, I was laughing so much my stomach hurt, just the way it does when I’m laughing at parties with my deaf friends.

When I looked up at last, I saw that Jim was standing quite close to me. I also saw that something was wrong. He wasn’t smiling now. He was looking at me. I remembered how he looked at me in the shop and I knew it was the same now. He was waiting for me to answer him. But I couldn’t.

I looked into his face, waiting for him to speak again. After a while, he did, and this time I watched his mouth very carefully. There was an outside light on the side of the house. Anyway, the snow all around us made it almost as light as day.

‘What’s your name?’ he asked. This time I knew it was very important for me say something.

‘Sam,’ I said carefully. ‘My name’s Sam. Samantha.’ Then I told him: ‘I can’t hear what you say. I’m deaf.’

He looked at me for a very long time, and I wasn’t sure if he understood. Then he smiled. ‘Can you lip-read, Sam?’ he asked.

I nodded. ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Usually.’

‘Then lip-read this,’ he said, moving his mouth carefully. ‘The time for talking has finished. Get your snowballs ready!’ Then he ran away and went back behind his tree. Before I could move, snowballs were coming through the air again.

I ran back behind my wall, laughing. My first snowball hit him in the face. But he sent one back which got me on my face. The snow was cold and wet in my eyes, but I didn’t mind. I was happy. I knew Jim was throwing snowballs at me because he liked me.

Sometimes when people learn about me being deaf they’re very careful with me. I feel like I’m a piece of expensive glass. It’s difficult to be friends with a piece of expensive glass. But Jim wasn’t careful with me and I liked that.

Soon I was very hot. But I didn’t want to stop. I wanted to throw snowballs at Jim all night. But after about five minutes, Jim stopped. When I looked over to see why I saw his mouth was moving.

But he wasn’t looking at me, he was looking at someone behind me. I turned and saw a girl standing near the house. It was the girl in the red dress. The same girl who opened the door when Ron and I arrived at the party.

She was saying something to Jim and she didn’t look happy. She wasn’t smiling and her eyes were cold. As cold as her legs in the short red dress.

Jim started to walk across the snowy grass. When he got near to me, he smiled and looked into my face. ‘I’ll win next time,’ he said, then he went inside with the girl.

I stayed on in the garden for a few minutes more, but it wasn’t much fun now. You can’t really throw snowballs at yourself.

When I went back in the house I found Ron in the kitchen.

‘Sam You’re still here,’ he signed. ‘I was looking for you.’ He looked at my wet clothes. ‘What happened to your jumper?’

Before I could answer I saw Jim on the other side of the kitchen. The girl in the red dress was talking to him, but he wasn’t listening. He was watching me and Ron speaking with our hands.

Ron saw who I was looking at. ‘Have you been outside with Jim?’ he asked, and he smiled when my red face gave him my answer.

‘I’ve been with Jim and about a hundred snowballs.’ I smiled as I signed the words.

Ron laughed. More people came into the kitchen and he moved closer to me. There wasn’t enough room for him to sign now, so he spoke carefully. ‘It’s very good to see you, Sam,’ he said. I like London, but it’s not so much fun without you there’.

Ron is like my brother. So when he kissed my face, I knew it was the kiss of a brother to his sister.

But I didn’t know if Jim knew that.