BFB High (with a continuous plot wow)

Chapter 2: A New Ally?

Leah doesn't even hold a candle to this Professor X, Teddy thought.

"Let's go around the room and say our names and uh, a fun fact about ourselves! I'll go first! I'm Professor X and I like to collect baskets!"

The whole class turned to the girl sitting closest to the door. "Wha-? Oh! I'm Isa Winther and uh... I, I'm planning on joining the cheerleaders this year." As Isa sat, the red haired girl beside her stood up enthusiastically.

"Hi everyone! I'm Ruby Gemmel! I'm also planning on joining the cheerleaders this year! I'm also really energetic if you couldn't tell! Oh, also, I think pickles are gross because-"

"Ok, Ruby, I only said one fact about yourself, but we can get back to you later if we have time!" Professor X interjected.

"Ok!"

"Alright, who's next?"

As the rest of the class introduced themselves, Teddy was busy typing up how she wanted to introduce herself to the class. Hmm, I'm pretty sure the fact that I use this to communicate would count as a fun fact, she reasoned to herself. She finished up typing what she wanted to say, finally satisfied.

Now that she had deemed her introduction speech satisfactory, she turned her attention back to the class conversation.

The strange girl next to Teddy stood up. "Hola. Yo soy Dora. Lo siento, yo no hablo Ingles."

"Uh, what?" Professor X said, confused.

"...My name... Dora. Me... no talk English," Dora said slowly.

"Uh, I don't understand much Spanish, but what she was trying to say was that she can't speak English and her name is Dora," the girl in front of Dora said.

"Yeah, that was already clear by now," said the girl who sat on the other side of Dora.

"Uh, what do I do? I can't speak Spanish either, so how am I supposed to teach her?" Professor X asked.

Teddy listened to this conversation, wishing she could jump in and tell them to stop talking as if Dora wasn't in the room. Dora seemed to understand English, and even if she didn't, talking about her in such a way while she was in the room was still rude. Teddy knew her classmates and teacher meant no harm, but being nonverbal, Teddy has experienced people underestimating her and speaking as if she wasn't in the room. Just because she couldn't talk didn't mean that she couldn't understand them. Honestly, it felt so patronizing and she really wanted to help Dora out, but she had already gotten her introduction typed out, ready to be read aloud by the AAC app.

"Oh, I know someone who speaks Spanish!" The girl in front of Dora spoke again. "She's actually a year above us but she might be able to help translate or to teach Dora English. I could ask her if she can help during lunch. "

"Hey, before that, shouldn't we give the girl sitting next to Dora a chance to introduce herself?" someone suddenly asked. All eyes turned to Teddy.

Teddy stood up, holding the phone in her hand and pressed the button to make the app speak.

"Hello, my name is Theodora Waters but you can just call me Teddy," the app read aloud. "As you can see, I use this app to communicate because I'm nonverbal."

With that, Teddy was about to sit down before she was interrupted by one of her classmates.

"Wait, no fair! She gets to use her phone in class and we don't!"

Teddy blew out a puff of air in frustration. Of course, at every school she went to, people complained that if she got to use her phone, they should too. Very few people seemed to be able to grasp the fact that without the AAC app, she would have no way of voicing her thoughts. Not to mention that when they do finally understand, they always say she's lucky she has an excuse to be on her phone. It was irritating. It wasn't an excuse. It was an accommodation! She didn't even really use any of the other apps besides the AAC app!

Frustrated, Teddy hit the speak button on one of her saved phrases. It was honestly disappointing how many times she had to tell this to people.

"As I said, I use this app to communicate. This is actually one of the only apps I use on my phone. If you take away my phone, you take away my voice."

"Sounds fake but ok," one of the guys in the classroom said casually.

Teddy glared at him but then Dora spoke.

"Teddy need... use phone. No phone... Teddy no talk," Dora said simply. All eyes had turned back to Dora and Teddy looked at her in gratitude. As their eyes met, Teddy could tell that Dora was a kindred spirit.

"Uh ahem..." Professor X said softly, trying to get the class's attention back. "Those were some very interesting facts. Now for the lesso-"

RRING! The school bell tolled, interrupting the Professor's speech. The other students excitedly ran out the door as the Professor hastily dismissed the class and bid them farewell.

As Teddy packed her stuff, she noticed Dora waiting for her. She gave a slight wave of the hand, trying to convince Dora to go without her, but the Mexican just stayed put. Finally, Teddy finished and they walked together to their next class.

"Thank you," Teddy's phone read aloud.

"De nada," Dora replied. To an outsider, it might seem like Dora still had a normal stoic expression on her face, but Teddy could see the slight smile in her eyes.

She understands, Teddy thought happily as she continued walking with Dora to her next class. I thought that my classes would be hard to get through since Leah and Penelope are in different classes... and in truth, it still seems difficult, but I actually made an ally- no, more than an ally. I made a friend.