Feathers: Chapters 8–22

And most of all, she said, signing at the same time, there’s nothing wrong about being deaf. It’s just another language. So now you’re bilingual, Mama said. That’s a gift.

He nudged my chin up so I would look at him.

The building always smelled sweaty and the sound of kids running around the gym and game room echoed all over the place, then got all muffled—like the noises were drowning in their own sound.

Next to the rule that said no graffiti, somebody had Magic-Markered their name and a frowning face.

I felt like I’d bounce off the ceiling and ricochet all over the apartment if the snow didn’t stop.

“The feeling. It felt holy. All peaceful and quiet. All promising. It made me think that must be what you feel when you stand in the school yard reading your Bible or sit in your daddy’s church listening to him promise the whole congregation...something...something better coming along.”

I wanted to lie and say, “What’s wrong with your ignorant mouth?” but Sean was looking all happy about the girl, so I didn’t.

Trevor scowled down at the cards and said, “Man, you better get out of my face.”

“I don’t think the important stuff does,” she said. “You know—the stuff that really makes an impression. I don’t think you remember it just as it happened—but you remember the feelings you had. Good ones. And bad ones too, unfortunately.”

We stood there. Somebody had a transistor radio going and I could hear little pieces of the Jackson 5 song “I’ll Be There.”

On the news that morning, they’d talked about a draft lottery to get more guys signed up for the war that was going on and Mama had stopped frying bacon and kissed both of Sean’s ears.

Samantha was wearing a blue suede vest over a turtleneck.

“That’s blasphemy,” Samantha said.

“If the story is the truth,” Ms. Johnson said.
“But that’s nonfiction then,” somebody said.

“Hey sleepyhead,” she says. “Can you believe this sun? After all those weeks of snow?” She smiles. “Your daddy just went out to get some muffin mix. This one craves the same things you did.”