stepped in front of us.
"Why was she listening to music if she's deaf?"
she asked with a wide grin on her face. She practically
screamed the question so the others would hear. I tried
to ignore her, but she followed alongside and repeated
the question, punctuating it with a louder "Huh?
Well? Huh?"
Finally. I stopped and turned on her. The others
drew closer. "You're a very cruel person, you know
that," I said.
"Cruel? You're weird. Why did you bring her to
a music store?"
"Because she's never been to one!" I screamed
at her. She took a step back. "She's your age and she's
never heard music. She didn't even see a music store
until recently and she wishes with all her heart she
could be like you and be like them." I said. Gesturing
at the group behind us. "She was pretending, all right?
She was just pretending that she didn't have any
disabilities at all."
"I still think that's stupid," the girl replied,
angry now that I had made her retreat,
"That's because you're stupid. Its a shoe that fits
and fits well," I said. "Now just leave us alone. Go
back to your own deafness."
"Huh? My own deafness? What's that supposed
to mean?"
"Figure it out," I said, and moved Echo
forward,
"You're weird! Nuts! Freaks!" the girl shouted