You walk into the room of your English class, the sound of people loudly chatting and talking filling your ears as you try and tune it out and make your way to your seat. Normally no one sits beside you. But today is different. Today there is a girl sat in the seat beside yours, reading a book as her hair slightly falls over her eyes, which she waists no time to tuck the stray hair behind her ear.

You sit down beside her but she doesn’t seem to acknowledge that you’re there. Curious you tap her shoulder gently, causing her to jump. You apologize for scaring her and greet her. She looks at you for a moment with a look of slight confusion on her face before she turns around and rummages through her bag and pulling out a notebook and pen, all without saying a word. You watch as she brings the pen to the paper and starts intently writing something before picking up the notebook to show the page with the words. “Hello, my name is Clementine. what’s yours?” With a doodle of a smilie face beside it.

Was she deaf?