KATHLEEN NOT D-O SOMETHING WRONG, Mom signed as we followed after Kathleen. NICE, she added in a nonverbal threat, pointing a finger at me.

ALWAYS NICE, I signed to Mom, resting my hand on my chest and batting my eyelashes.

Mom rolled her eyes, and I knew she was giving one of her world-weary sighs by the way her shoulders slumped. I officially lost my hearing when I was thirteen, four years ago, but I still remembered what some things sounded like, and Mom’s dramatic sighs were firmly ingrained in my memory.

The school secretary was seated behind a massive desk just inside the office, and she nodded to Kathleen when we walked in. I watched her say, “Good morning,” as Kathleen pulled open a door that led into the inner part of the main office where the principal, Dr. Rivera, other school administrators, and the nurse worked.

Dr. Rivera’s office was small and dimly lit with the blinds pulled down, which had made lipreading difficult when we met with him last Friday. I had an interpreter with me, sure, but at the same time I wanted to at least appear like I could understand what was being said. I wasn’t incompetent.

Dr. Rivera was standing behind his desk when the three of us entered his office. This time the bright overhead lights were on, the small accent lamp on his desk turned off. Standing beside the one window in the room, arms crossed and looking just about as uncomfortable as I felt, was a girl with a high ponytail wearing a dressy skirt and blouse.

I froze in the doorway. Had Engelmann assigned me a second interpreter? Or was this girl fresh out of ’terp school, here to shadow Kathleen and add to my already awkward entourage?

TWO INTERPRETER? I signed frantically to Mom. DON’T NEED TWO INTERPRETER.

Before my mom could reply, Kathleen jumped into the conversation, signing NOT INTERPRETER, pointing to the girl by the window.

The girl was wearing stylish square-rimmed glasses, but I could see her dark eyes flicking over to the door like she wanted to make a break for it but was forcing herself to stay put.

You and me both, girlfriend, I thought.

HER NAME N-I-N-A T-O-R-R-E-S, Kathleen finger spelled, still pointing to the girl.

Nina clearly didn’t know a lick of sign language, but she sure knew we were talking about her with all the pointing we were doing.

DON’T UNDERSTAND, I signed to Mom and Kathleen. WHO SHE? WHY SHE HERE?

Dr. Rivera was talking quickly now, picking up on the tense atmosphere, but I couldn’t even think of lipreading at the moment. I wanted to know what this girl Nina was doing here.