Snitch by Kat Kirst Read Free Book Online Page A

sounding. People pay more attention to that than what they’re saying, so whenever there is any interaction with the speaking world —over the phone or at the bank —stuff like that, Kate takes over. It’s not that her parents can’t handle it; it’s that the rest of the world has a hard time dealing with the non-hearing world. Kate’s been doing that ever since she was little.”
    I couldn’t believe I didn’t know that about Kate and wondered at the same time what it would be like not to hear my little sister talking for once. “Hey, maybe that’s why she’s so quiet.”
    “Probably. You know, she told me that when she was little she would go most of the summer barely saying anything. Out loud, I mean. Kate can sign as fast as you or I talk.”
    I shook my head realizing there was a lot more to Kate than I thought.
    “Did you talk to Seth?”
    My stomach rolled. Liz was not going to like what I had to tell her. “Yep,” I paused. “It did not go well.”
    “What did he say?”
    So I told her everything. And I was right; she didn’t like it.

 
Frenz
    Kate wasn’t at school the next few days , which was the coward’s way out but actually a good thing. This way things could settle down. Instead of concentrating on Kate and her problems, I was able to use my talents to get Liz to agree to meet up with a bunch of us at the movies that Saturday.
    Johnny, Ben, and I planned to meet up with some other kids from school, so I took a chance and asked Liz to meet us. I was a little worried that she would still be mad at Johnny, but once the two of them relaxed and started joking, they never stopped. There were about six of us and it turned out Ben “Romeo” Rodriguez’s new girl, Ashley, knew everybody from the play last year too , so it turned into a fun, easy time.
    “Actually, Liz is pretty funny,” Johnny confided in me as we hit the concession stand for popcorn. “And do you know she has some pretty amazing eyes?”
    Like I hadn’t noticed.
    After the movie we walked across the parking lot for some pizza. Johnny and Liz sat together and joked back and forth until they had the whole table cracking up. Then they started discussing the spring play and how I should get involved. I wasn’t too sure about that.
    All in all it was a great date. Yep, date. Liz and I are officially going out.
    I have never laughed as much as when I am with her, because she has a way of making everything funny. And it’s so cool that she can take care of herself. Somebody like Chrissy always has to be the center of attention, but Liz is happy just to be someplace with friends who want to cut up and have fun. She doesn’t need me to sit with her or talk to her all the time. She’s perfectly comfortable being herself. I can honestly say I have never met a girl like Liz before.
    On Monday when Kate got back to school, I was spending more time sitting with Liz than with the guys, and that was when I decided on the ultimate challenge. I was going to get Kate to talk to me and then take the plunge and ask the question I thought I already knew the answer to. The first few times we sat together she wouldn’t even meet my eyes and only would speak to Liz. But then one day she surprised me.
    “What size shoe do you wear?” Liz was asking, lining up her foot with mine. As soon as she put her arm around my shoulder to keep her balance, that old, wonderful, familiar jolt of electricity ran through my body again.
    “Thirteen,” I said. “I might even be a thirteen - and - a - half in some shoes.”
    “I didn’t know they made them that big!”
    “They can be hard to find. But athletic shoe stores usually have them.” Enjoying the Liz- tricity that was still flowing, I compared her small foot next to mine .
    “How tall are you?”
    “Six foot. I’m not done growing. I want to be six-two.”
    Liz grabbed my arm and held it out. “These are some long arms, aren’t they, Kate?”
    Kate looked at me for probably the first time