Those same few weeks  were busy for Claire as well, she always spent Sundays at her parents with them and her sisters, Rachel and Robin. Robin was sure she would have an engagement to announce by Christmas and Rachel was a ballet dancer with a big recital coming up for the holidays. Claire was an art major and had been drawing nudes for class. Her instructors complimented her work although painting was her favorite form. She loved to add layers and make the painting seem 3 dimensional. But, she had lacked focus these last few weeks, ever since she has seen Chris at "The Pad". She had not seen him since and she had looked for him. She found out his name and that he was a music major. Her heart ached when she heard that fact. Her "challenge", as her family referred to it, usually didn't seem like a road block for her. She would be lying if it never bothered her, but she had lost her hearing at the age of 7 after a sever illness she caught while on vacation with her family in Africa.It was a severe virus that led to fevers and even a minor coma. Claire had almost died from her illness. But,  it was so long ago and it was never treated like a disability by her self or her family. She had had the same friends forever and had even dated. Claire had always been quiet, she was very in tune to animals and always had pets. She read a lot as well. Learning sign language was difficult at first, but now it was second nature. She never thought that being deaf would mean she could NOT do something she set her mind to. She worked at a book store in high school and most of the customers never realized she was deaf without her telling them. She wanted to attend college and live in the dorms and be the independent person her parents had raised her to be. She had never been treated by anyone she dated like she was different. She was excellent at reading lips and had even taught several of her friends how to sign. Now she felt like there was a huge brick wall in front of her.She really liked Chris, but why would he want to date her, knowing she was deaf and he was in a band as well as a music major? He obviously planned on a career in music. How would she, no, how could she fit into his life with it being so full of something she could not be part of or understand? Her hearing loss was permanent, and unless they came up with some radical treatment method that would not change in her lifetime.