The Fullness of Quiet Read Free Page A

day. I attempted to undress myself whilst still lying down. I was unsuccessful.
    I pushed myself off the bed and undressed, allowing my clothes to litter my bedroom floor. I scoured my room for some pajamas before eventually getting under the covers and going to sleep.

Chapter 3
    I woke up in the morning after the strangest dream I had had in a long time. Helen hadn’t come in to see me yet so I checked my clock: 6:30 a.m. I still had at least another half an hour. My mind ran over the details of the dream.
    The new boy, Joshua, had been in it. That in itself was weird; I hadn’t even spoken to him yet. I’d been kidnapped by someone and he was trying to save me. He was chasing after my kidnapper and was calling my name. I can never hear in reality so I never hear in my dreams. All I saw was his lips moving, forming the letters of my name. I tried to call out to him but I couldn’t tell if I had or not. The world was a blurry confusion around me. And that’s when I woke up.
    I decided that lying in bed wasn’t very constructive so I dragged myself to my feet and treated myself to a twenty minute shower. It was so refreshing. I shut off the water and stood there for a moment, contemplating what would happen today. I wondered whether I should speak to this Joshua kid. After all, he might be really nice and just in need of a friend.
    I stepped out the shower, toweled myself down and padded into my bedroom, still thinking about the dream. I walked back and forth between my bedroom and the bathroom as I got ready. I took my time, not only because I was preoccupied with thinking but also because I knew there was no rush.
    I’d never been a big believer in dreams meaning something. I know that some stuff triggers thoughts in your subconscious and they sometimes appear in your dreams but I don’t necessarily believe that your dreams dictate your fate to you. How could your own subconscious possibly know your fate?
    Predicting the future is impossible. I’ve always thought so. Sure you can predict the weather by measuring movement of the clouds and such but I don’t believe you can predict events. On the third of next month I will have Frosties for breakfast. Most likely, seeing as I usually have Frosties for breakfast. Honestly some people are just ridiculous.
    I was eventually dressed and ready for school and yet I still had an hour to kill. I went to go and find Helen. She was still curled up in bed. At least someone was able to have a lie in. I decided to leave her for another fifteen minutes. I went downstairs to fix myself a bowl of cereal. I walked through the kitchen door to find Daddy stood at the kitchen counter, reading the newspaper. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around him. He was beginning to look haggard.
    I signed to him, telling him I loved him. He smiled wearily at me and signed that he loved me too. I gave him a kiss on the cheek and began to make my breakfast. I paused to ask him why he wasn’t at work yet. He told me that he didn’t have to go in until ten. He didn’t know why, his boss was just being nice for once. I smiled and got on with eating.
    Helen trundled into the kitchen and gave me a cheeky smile.
    “Good morning Jocelyn. Why are you awake?” she signed.
    I shrugged. She smiled at me and went about getting herself something to eat. She plonked herself next to me just as I was finishing and began chatting away to Daddy. I began to lip read as to what sort of conversation they were having but it seemed that Helen was just babbling on about why she was looking forward to school today.
    I washed up my bowl and went to fetch my things for school. By the time I got back downstairs, Helen was still chatting away and she wasn’t even dressed.
    “Come on, hurry up. You want to get to school on time do you not?” I signed. She nodded and scampered away upstairs.
    “Thank you,” signed Daddy. I smiled. He kissed the top of my head before disappearing up the stairs so he too could get