Beau took the lead—not that I minded—and jumped into the opening spiel we practiced during our study session at his place last night. I didn’t bother having Kathleen interpret this part, since I already knew what Beau was saying. He talked his way through the first slide, a compilation of pictures taken during DPN of students protesting, marching on Capitol Hill and at the closed front gates of Gallaudet.

When it was my turn, I passed the notecards off to Beau, so I’d have both hands free to sign. Looking to Kathleen, she gave me an encouraging nod and another thousand-watt smile, and my next breath came a little easier.

You can do this, I told myself confidently.

My hands were a mess of shakes through my first couple signs, but it wasn’t so bad in the end. I kept looking from Kathleen to Beau, and there was something in their expressions that kept me going.

Halfway through the slide on the media’s response to DPN, I was starting to wonder if all that worrying had been pointless. There were a few people leaning forward in their seats with interest, like Beau had done yesterday, but nobody was whispering behind their hands or trying to hide any laughter. Even if some people weren’t paying attention, at least they weren’t being snide about it.

When Beau was flipping to the next slide with the small clip he’d pieced together from the interview he found on YouTube, Jackson raised his hand and waited to be called on. I thought whatever he was going to say would be meant for Beau, but when Kathleen came a little closer to interpret, I realized it was directed toward me.

Whatever Jackson said made Kathleen hesitant. Her lips pursed, her posture going rigid. She clearly wasn’t happy with what Jackson was asking, but as my interpreter, Kathleen technically had an obligation to relay the information to me, regardless of her own personal feelings.

HOW THAT IMPORTANT FOR REAL WORLD? Kathleen signed while Jackson sat there, staring at me expectantly.

REAL WORLD? I signed, and those signs felt weird on my fingers—at least in this context.

I was pretty sure I knew what Jackson was hinting at, and I didn’t think I wanted Kathleen to finish interpreting what he had to say.

MOST PEOPLE NOT DEAF, Kathleen signed, and I kept my attention fixed on her and not Jackson. WHY THAT M-A-T-T-E-R FOR US?

I couldn’t come up with a coherent response, so I signed to Beau, PLAY VIDEO.

Beau pressed play without hesitation.

It wasn’t the interview half of the video I was interested in, but the compilation of scenes at the beginning that showed the world’s reaction to DPN and all the support that came flooding into DC for Gallaudet students from everywhere—Deaf and hearing.