Chapter
1
Youth Of
The Nation
“Jordan
Taylor Hanson, get down here this instant!”
I
cracked one eye open and squinted at my alarm clock. 7:45 am. Even without my
hearing aids in I could still hear what my mother was yelling. And hearing my
full name meant that I was in major trouble if I didn’t get a move on.
I
groaned. I’d had another late night, down in Newcastle with Megan, my cousin. All
I wanted was to sleep late and get up at around ten, maybe eleven. But no,
I had to go to school.
My
name’s Jordan Hanson, but I go by my middle name of Taylor. I’m the
second-oldest of seven kids, being nearly eighteen – my older brother, Isaac,
is 20 and studies film-making in Sydney, at the Wesley Institute. Next year I’m
going to the University of Wollongong to study graphic design. My nickname
varies from person to person – everyone knows me as either Taylor, Tay or
Tayles.
I
made it downstairs, fully dressed in my school uniform, hearing aids in place.
I’m partially deaf and I often can’t hear my own voice. So I wear hearing aids,
and I also use sign language to make myself understood.
“‘Morning,
Mum,” I said, signing at the same time. I snatched the last piece of toast from
the plate on the table and dropped onto one of the chairs.
“Don’t
tell me that’s all you’re eating,” Mum said. I nodded. “Taylor, you’re nearly
six feet tall. You need to eat more.”
“I
have a high metabolism,” I argued. “You’ve been told a hundred times about it.
And I really wish you would talk in metric.”
Mum
and Dad are both American by birth, and Mum still talks in feet and inches. It
can be annoying, but I manage to live with it.
“High
metabolism or not, what’s going to happen when you go off to university?” Mum
set a bowl of cornflakes before me. “You’ll starve to death.”
“You’re
forgetting one crucial detail,” I reminded her. “Megan will be my flatmate. And
she can cook. So it doesn’t matter that I’m lousy at it.”
It’s
true – I can’t cook anything more complicated than pasta. I’d live off of it if
I had to, because I love it. But Zoë, my youngest sibling, has this weird
allergy to wheat. So Mum won’t cook pasta, although if I’m home alone I’ll boil
up some for myself. It isn’t particularly difficult.
“He
finally admits it,” Zac muttered. “Tay, that excuse of yours is getting old. Really
old.” He stood up. “I’m catching a ride to school with Cameron,” he stated.
“Taylor,
can you take your sister to school with you?” Mum asked. “I need to take Avery
and Mackenzie to school.”
Jessica
was starting high school that day. And since I have my provisional licence and
my own set of wheels – and I don’t mean rollerblades either – Mum often enlists
my help in dropping my siblings at various places.
I
nodded. “All right,” I agreed. “But she has to catch the bus this afternoon.”
“Kitchen’s
closed,” Mum announced. “It’s time you got going. And behave yourselves.”
“Would
you quit worrying?” I asked. I hoisted my Ocean & Earth backpack
onto my back and tucked my hair under my baseball cap, being careful not to
dislodge my hearing aids. “I’m not going to get a detention.”
“You
said that last year, and what happened? You landed yourself in detention.”
“It
was a misunderstanding!” I protested.
“Go
on, get going,” Mum said, smiling. “Just be careful driving to school.”
Like
I said, I have my own car. And it isn’t just any car, either. It’s a
Holden Monaro, one of the best on the market. I got it for coming first in my
class in every subject in Year 11. I even came first in Studies Of Religion, a
subject I hated and wasn’t particularly adept at. I’ve since dropped that
subject. My car is close to being my pride and joy, but it isn’t…that honour
goes to my camera, which isn’t an expensive model but one I’ve had since I was
13. Almost five years old and it still makes the grade.
- x -
“Hey!
Taylor!”
I
turned around. Aisling, one of my classmates, was waving at me from the
basketball court. I waved, then knelt down on the asphalt so as not to be
towering over my sister.
“When
the bell rings in” I looked at my watch “fifteen minutes, go straight to the
auditorium.” I pointed at a building that stood just 100 metres away. “Okay?”
Jessica
nodded. “And I want you to catch the bus this afternoon. It’s the 155 to
Northside.”
“155
to Northside,” Jessica repeated.
“Good
girl.” I smiled. “Now go. I need to catch up with my friends.”
Jessica
hooked her arms around my neck and gave me a quick farewell kiss on the cheek.
“See you at home this afternoon,” she whispered before she ran off.
I
got to my feet and walked over to the basketball court. The other thirteen
members of my class had congregated in a corner, and I joined them there.
“Nice
wheels, Taylor,” Daniel commented, spotting my car. “How much did it cost you?”
I
punched him gently on the arm. “You know that it was a present from my parents,
Daniel. Zac is so jealous, ‘cause I won’t let him sit in the driver’s seat, let
alone drive it.”
“But
he’s not even on his learner’s, Tay,” Bethany reminded me.
“Oh,
you know what I mean,” I said. “You should have seen his face when Mum opened
the garage.” I grinned at the memory.
“I
still can’t believe that this is our last year of high school,” Aisling said,
taking off her Buffy The Vampire Slayer baseball cap and smoothing down
her wavy brown hair. She tucked it under the earpieces of her glasses and
pushed her hat back onto her head.
“You
didn’t dye your hair again?” Bethany asked.
“‘Course
I did,” Aisling replied. “I lighten it, remember?”
Maybe
I should introduce you to Emerald Cove High School’s graduating class. We’ve
all been friends since our time at Emerald Cove Primary School, all except for
Aisling – she moved to Emerald Cove from Ireland at the beginning of Year 7 and
still has a slight lilt to her voice.
Marie
Faraone is the most popular girl in the entire school, but she isn’t a bitch.
Far from it. She was the one who, on our very first day of high school,
befriended Aisling and introduced her to the rest of us. She’s seventeen.
Bethany
Cartwright, also known as Beth or B.C., is Marie’s best friend. She’s close to
being the comic relief of the group. She’s also seventeen.
Megan
Lewis is my cousin. She’ll be my flatmate down in Wollongong during university,
seeing as we’re both aspiring graphic designers. She’s sixteen.
Crystal
Duckitt is Megan’s best friend. They’re nearly inseparable, and are rarely seen
apart. She’s sixteen years old.
Daniel
Miller is Crystal’s boyfriend. They’ve been dating since Year 10 and have often
been caught kissing behind the toilet block. He’s nearly eighteen.
The
Lawson twins, Katie and Kimberly, both play soccer for the school. Katie is the
captain of our star girls’ soccer team, Kimberly is the goalie. They’re both
seventeen.
Kristen
Anderson is the captain of the school netball team. She’s been a gymnast in her
past, but now studies jazz dancing outside of school. She’s seventeen.
Sarah
Reeve is Aisling’s best friend. Like Crystal and Megan, they’re near
inseparable. Sarah learned to speak Irish Gaelic, Aisling’s native language –
Aisling comes from one of the gaeltacht areas of Ireland, where the only
language spoken is Irish Gaelic – soon after they became friends, and now the
two of them share private conversations in Irish Gaelic whenever they don’t
want others to hear what they’re saying. She’s sixteen.
Angie
Cox is one of the school captains. She’s an extremely funny girl who shares the
honour of class clown with Andrew. She’s seventeen.
Andrew
Hayman is the other school captain. He’s been known to set a few practical
jokes in his time, and come the end of the year will be spearheading the
muck-up proceedings. He’s seventeen.
Mike
O’Meara is Kimberly’s boyfriend. They’ve been dating all through high school,
and I wouldn’t be surprised if they got married to each other come the end of
Year 12. He’s seventeen.
Aisling
O’Connell is the person I’m probably closest to. Not only does she speak Irish
Gaelic and English, but she is the only person in Year 12 who knows
enough sign language to be able to hold a decent conversation with me. So
whenever we don’t want people to listen in on our conversations, we talk
with our hands. She’s seventeen.
And,
lastly, myself. I’m the only deaf student in Emerald Cove High school’s
graduating class, but it’s not like that really bothers me. I’ll be eighteen in
March.
The
bell rang shrilly. “Time to hit the books,” Megan said. “Let’s go.”
We
headed off to the auditorium, laughing and joking the whole way.
