xp_logs | Maddie and Artie: Handsigns

In which Maddie signs, Artie snarks, and they end up going for a burger.

"I don't like that guy." Maddie spoke slowly, making sure that her voice followed the words she formed with her hands. That guy in question was just another one of those politico types; the ones who just wanted to hear themselves talk. "Why are we watching this?"

Artie shrugged. "Because the other options were golf, and a billiards tournament, a Roseanne rerun and Oprah." He accompanied the signs with little pictures: a golf player, a pool table, Roseanne, Oprah, because it was kind of painfully obvious that Maddie didn't have all the words. Or most of them. Or some of them.

She rolled her eyes at this and turned her attention back to her math homework, which was only slightly less aggravating than the talking head. A few problems later, and Maddie couldn't stand it anymore; she reached across Artie to grab the remote and turn to one of those music video channels. Even that Justin Bieber was better than this.

Or maybe not.

"Hey. How would you sign 'Justin Bieber needs to shut up and go away'?"

Artie grabbed the remote and changed the channel again, this time to America's Funniest Home Videos in self defense before showing her.

"Woah. Slow down there."

He rolled his eyes, letting one fall out of his head and drop on the table, because that never got old (and it was always worth practicing moving images) and repeated it, this time with captions.

Maddie wrinkled her nose; more at the captions than at the eye thing. The eyeball falling down on the table was kinda cool; much cooler than having to listen to everyone's inane thoughts. And having to wear stupid headgear until she built up her ability to block them out. Yeah, but the caption thing was annoying. "You know. I'm never going to get any better if you insist on captioning what you sign."

"Maybe if you were a little faster, I wouldn't have to?"

Eat a dick, she signed. "I'm learning."

"Your mom is learning faster."

That earned him the middle finger.

Artie clapped sarcastically before pushing his laptop away, stacking it on his textbook and exercise books. "Dude. I am so over this freaking Economics assignment. I have to do this whole inquiry thing about the Law of Supply and Demand or something this week. And it is horrible."

"Yeah. I have no idea what you just said," Maddie replied with a shrug. "But I'm going to assume that you're just as sick of doing homework as I am. School would be soooo much better without the classes and the tests and the homeworks."

"You think so now. But I did that last year and wound up with summer school."

She had no intention of going to summer school; that just sounded awful. Maddie would get her homework done, and go to class, because otherwise she'd have to go have tea with the professor. And not that he was a mean guy or anything, but she had drank enough tea to last a lifetime. One of these days, she figured, at the rate things were going, her blood would be replaced with tea.

"Well. I have no plans on going to summer school," she shrugged and closed her books. "I'll just do the rest of it later."

Artie nodded. "That's a good plan. Look, you want to go grab some burgers or something, instead?"

"Sure. Why not? I could do with a burger."

"Awesome. I'll drive." Artie left his books out on the able and grabbed his jacket. "Come on."