Anna Et Romy

I climbed up the stairs after Romy, praying Lux got lost in her own house and couldn't find me. When we got to his room, I tapped his shoulder so he could look at me.

"What about Lux?" I asked unsurely watching his hand enclose around his doorknob. What if his room was even more spectacular than the rest of the house, I mean, for Gods sake, Lux had a jaquzzi in her room...AND a balcony. I don't think I'd be able to contain my shock if his was equally as impressing.

Romy shrugged as I pushed my glasses up my nose.

'Will find us' He signed. He opened his door inviting me in and switching the light on. My jaw hung. His room was...normal. He had a bed, an amp and other things you'd expect to see in a normal teenage boys room. I immediately felt embarrassed. What did I expect? Oh yeah, a fountain, complete with a statue of him spitting water naked or something. There were clothes strewn across the floor, but that was just typical.

'Surprised?' He asked signing. I nodded in wonder. I inspected a poster by his bed of Coldplay. That was my favorite band...EVER. Next to it was the collage I made for him, blushing, I pointed to the band poster.

"You like Coldplay?" I asked. And then I wondered, how could he possibly know what they sounded like? Reading the confusion on my face, he smiled.

'I feel music.' at first, I thought I understood him wrong, but then I realized what he meant.

"That's how you play guitar." I filled in sitting at the desk he offered for me. He walked around his room, gathering his clothes and throwing them in a hamper. I waved to get his attention.

"Can you show me?" I mouthed. He looked hesitantly at the door, but nodded going into his dresser and rummaging around.  He pulled out a medium sized stereo and put a CD in. Bringing it to the desk and plugging it in, it immediately started to play 'White Shadows'. I loved that song. Romy cautiously took my hand and pressed it to the radio. There was that feeling again. That humming in my stomach whenever he came near. I tried not to look at him as he covered my ears with his hands. What was he doing? 

He looked at me expectantly. So I closed my eyes.

Of course, not being deaf, I was still able to hear faintly, but I did feel. The vibration of the bass traveled through my fingers, like when I went swimming, or when I went to the Wooden Animals concert. It was there, stronger than me listening to the song with my ears. I listened with my nerves and I loved what I heard. So this was what Beethoven felt? 

The song finished and I took his hands off of my ears, Romy looking at me with moss green eyes. 

'Thank you.' I signed. He opened his mouth, but closed it quickly, nodding. By now, I could hear Lux downstairs calling me. Romy, saw me looking at the door and stood up. I suddenly wished he would just kiss me. But I was hoping for too much. No way was he interested in stupid little me. Before we left the room and shut off the lights, he took my hand and pressed the palm of it to his lips. Letting go, he signed,

'Relax.'. So I did.

We met Lux downstairs, she was a bit surprised to see us together, but she didn't say anything about it.

"I swear I lost your tickets for a second, I had to tear apart my room to find them." She pouted handing me two crumpled ticketmaster tickets. I smiled awkwardly and pocketed the cards.

"That's okay." I laughed. I slipped back into my shoes. "When is the concert anyway?" I asked. Lux and Romy looked at eachother.

"Tonight..." Lux said. I stopped in my tracks.

"Wow...Uh, this is sudden." I said regaining posture, "well I'll be there." I said looking once more at Romy before I left.
*     *     *

    Mia couldn't wait. She had just broken up with her boyfriend for the 15th time and wanted to go out and party. She smeared eyeliner on my eyes and put my glasses back on since I refused to keep them off. I was hoping for a nice quiet night at home or at the pool to mull over my thoughts of Romy. But I guess not.

"You look like a babe." Mia said using the liner on her own eye, was that hygienic? I wondered as she dropped the pencil and proceeded to touch up her lipstick.

"Thanks." I replied straightening my miniskirt. I was glad that my sister had to work tonight. I lied and told her that Mia was coming over for some study time before our pre thanksgiving break tests, thankfully she bought it, slapping a "She better be gone before I get back" curfew. 

While I fixed a few flyaway hairs on my head, Mia tapped her chin inspecting me.

"Theres something wrong." she noted squinting at me with pursed lips. I froze, waiting for her verdict. What NOW?!?

"Your glasses. They've gotta go." she said snapping. I raised an eyebrow.

"Uh yeah, how about no, I can't see without them." but what she didn't know was that I had a different reason. My glasses were my safety blankie. My good night bear. These were the first pair of specs my dad got me. He was an optometrist and for years, bragged about my twenty twenty vision. But working in a darkroom kinda screws with your eyes, so he had to stop with the boasting. And start watching my vision carefully. 

I heard Everest squawk from the other room. I shakily raised my hands to my glasses. Technically, I didn't need them physically, but emotionally, they were a necessity. I took them off and set them in Mia's outstretched palm. If I was going to win Romy, maybe I'd earn a few points by NOT looking like the nerd I was.

"Let's hit it." Mia said throwing my specs in her teeny purse just in case.
*     *     *
     
     Arriving at the venue and getting in was a dream, it was as if the cab had a green light pass. And our tickets were marked so that we could be anywhere we wanted, at anytime. The band was just warming up as we huddled by the bar. Romy was nowhere to be found though. The drummer twirled his sticks in the air and surveyed the crowd. Mia jabbed me in the ribs with her elbow.

"YOU SEE THAT!?! The drummer was totally checking me out." She said fluffing her hair. God, this girl was like a cat in heat.  A girl walked by with a shirt that said sliced oranges on it. Her hair was dreaded and twisted on top of her head. I really wanted to know what sliced oranges meant and I wanted to know now...it was as if the band had a secret that everyone knew except me. I turned to Mia.

"What does Sliced Oranges mean?" I asked her quietly so noone would know that I was undereducated. Maybe they'd skewer me alive for impersonating a Wooden Animals fan. Mia pounded her fist on the bar counter to get the bartenders attention. He was a hulking man with frosted tips. He looked like a former N'Sync member.

"Sliced Oranges." She said to him. He nodded, not carding, not hesitating. "Wooden Animals had an interview where they compared their performances to sliced oranges because they couldn't think of a better description. Theyre messy and Juicy.  It became their tagline." the Bartender slid two sweating glasses of a clear liquid with slices of oranges and pulp in it. I grimaced, I hated pulp.

"And it became the drink of many clubs that had hosted Wooden Animals in their earlier days." I picked up the glass, trying to look nonchalant, but on the inside I was curious. Reading my face, Mia laughed. 

"There's no alcohol in it, so drink up." She clinked her glass with mine and took a swig of it. I followed bringing the glass to my lips and sipping.

"Sprite? And orange pulp?" I said smacking my lips trying to absorb all the taste. Mia winked as the houselights dimmed.
My eyes snapped to the stage automatically, it was like a dog whistle, Romy's song. His instrument was like the base of a house. It held everything together. And suddenly, there he was, under his own spotlight belting out his own song on bass. Being pulled in closer, I could see that he had one of his fingers pressed against the bass, so that's how he did it, he heard an entire song, through one finger. It fascinated me. Who else knew about his handicap? Did people know that that he was extraordinary?

Would they care if they knew he was deaf? 

After the last song, I was left with awe equivalent to a magician pulling a rabbit from a hat. Mia cleaved to me as we made our way backstage.

"Thank you thank you thank you so freaking much for inviting me. You're officially my best friend." My face started to crack into a smile. That was when I saw it: The Dressing Rooms.

"Wow." I said standing outside of the door. A single man stood outside of it looking down at us. 

"Anna?" He asked checking his clipboard. I nodded meekly.

"That's me." he pushed the door open, and there they were, Wooden Animals.