3440/See Mary Run

See Mary Run
Date of Scene:	19 December 2017
Location:	Gotham City
Synopsis:	Barbara comes up with a new approach to teach Cassandra how to read.
Cast of Characters:	Batgirl (Cain), Oracle

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Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
Beating people up was a lot easier than this.

It wasn't the first time that thought went through Cassandra's head. It wouldn't be the last. She had been coming to see Barbara as often as she could, determined to learn to read finally. It might lead to being able to communicate more effectively as well. Yet, things hadn't gone as smoothly as she had hoped. The sounds just wouldn't link in her mind to the letters on the screen. They simply didn't blend together for her. The frustration began to show although she never was upset with Barbara. Just herself. For not being good enough.

Through the use of the computer program, she had begun to recognize some words but the letters themselves were still foreign. It was simply shape recognition. If the letters were C-A-T it matched the picture of the cat. But it didn't spell the word or sound like the word for her.

Each time she came back, she was more determined to defeat this foe. She arrived on time and settled into her usual spot by the computers, giving a bright smile to Barbara and setting her Little Golden Books out, for motivation.

Oracle has posed:
Barbara has been giving this situation serious thought. It shouldn't be this difficult to learn to read, even for an adult. Which triggered the thought that //well, hell. Cass's brain is wired differently.// "We're going to try something new today. Different angle of attack, all right?"

Moving to settle in to the screens they've been using for this, Barbara queues up several videos that she's been practicing with for about a week now. She's no sign language expert, but having an eidetic memory helps immensely. "Remember we talked about learning sign language?"

She sets the video to play. "We're going to try going at this a little backwards from the way most people start. Instead of teaching you letters first, we're going to relate the SIGN to a word or a letter, and see if we can get your brain to connect that way. Okay?"

When she presses the key to play the video, it's not like the previous videos, which generally are aimed at children. Instead, it's a basic adult primer on ASL. Using full signs for a word instead of spelling that word. She's chosen one that is primarily working with nouns instead of more intricate concepts.

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
As the video started, Cassandra's face showed her surprise at the tone. More adult, less child. A different approach indeed. As the figure on the screen began moving their fingers or entire hand to make a movement, it was associated with an image. The young woman leaned forward, hands resting on the desk as she watched in rapt fascination. As each sign was shown, she found herself playing it through her head immediately after while looking at the image. It was making sense!

A huge smile lit up her face as she glanced at Barbara but it was only for an instant. If she looked away, she might miss something. Leaning back, she began to mimic the movements as they played. That was her language. She understood it. The way her mind worked, she picked up and remembered a move immediately. It worked in combat. It apparently worked in this because she found herself understanding as the movements continued.

Each movement of her hands and arms was exact, precise. No fumbling as she mirrored the video instructor.

Oracle has posed:
There's always a key. Some people are visual learners, some are manipulative learners. Barbara should have known that Cassandra would need to come at this from a straight manipulation standpoint instead of leaving that bit until later. She could kick herself for letting Cass struggle for nearly three weeks with the basics. It's not the basics she couldn't get -- it was that she needed to work backward, deconstruct the signs of more sophisticated language to get BACK to the basics.

Observing quietly, Barbara settles in to do some of her own work while keeping her ear tuned to the video. She has enough signs now to actually make the next part of the lesson work when Cassandra is finished. If this is going to work, she'll be able to tell pretty fast. It's a short video, only about 20 minutes in this case.

At the end of it, she turns to Cassandra and says, "Okay... so the next part here is a quiz." We've done them before, but they haven't gone well. It's been a huge struggle. She has a set of flashcards, and she shows one of them to Cassandra. "Tell me what it is."

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
The video is watched as though it holds the secret to life itself. Cassandra never looks away and works through each sign. After it's done, she glances over at Barbara. Those flashcards. She makes a face as soon as she sees them. They haven't worked so far and the idea of them has her cringing. But no, this time was different. She actually knew what the signs meant. Maybe, just maybe...

As the first card is shown, there is the image of a boy standing there. She immediately puts her two fingers up to her forehead, as though she's tipping a hat.

Her dark eyes immediately seek out Barbara's eyes, wondering if that was it.

Oracle has posed:
The grin that lights up Barbara's face is all the encouragement that it will likely take. "Yes!" She has really high hopes suddenly that this will work. "The sign means "boy" -- the word below SPELLS "boy." So if we work on the memorization of the sign and the spelling together, once you have THAT part, we'll back up to identifying just the word, and THEN the letters of the word." It's completely sideways from everyone else's learning, but this she can do.

"Next?" Barbara brings out several more, and in each case, her pride in Cassandra grows. It's visible to the younger woman. "By God, kiddo, I think we can do this. Do you want to try the next video, or practice these ones for a while?"

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
Each time, Cassandra remembers the sign for the image. She gets them all right. A first for her and she can't help but smile like a giant goofball really. After all these weeks, she has a right to be happy about the new results. She takes special note of the word underneath the image as well. It's still a bit strange but she is getting there.

When the offer is made, she starts to point at the screen then stops herself. She motions to the evil flashcards, wanting to go through them to make sure she has them all correct before she goes onward. Only when she has gone through the entire set and gotten each one right, although one or two she hesitated since they were before she had started performing the signs herself while watching the video. Yet, she managed to get them right as well.

She motioned to the screen, twirling her finger to try and indicate that she was ready for the next set of words.

Oracle has posed:
Barbara laughs. "Okay. The next one is a little longer, and it's pure vocabulary. Since I know the words you understand are freaking huge, we could probably go a long way -- but I want to stick to the short words right now until we can get the signs to make the connection to the words and letters. Then we can work on the bigger words."

She brings up the next video, which is an hour long -- some of it is words, but some of it is actual sentence structure, much along the lines of the Golden Books that Cassandra brought with her.

She can't help the feeling of wanting to jump up and dance when she sees the light in Cass's eyes. And at one point, Barbara murmurs, "Cassandra, you amaze me." Because the young woman is truly a marvel.

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
Those words draw the eyes of Cassandra away from the screen again. The confusion is there. She can tell Barbara means what she is saying. It's written in her form and posture for anyone with the ability to see it. Yet, it makes no sense to the Cassandra. She's just her. Nothing to be amazed by. She's different and weird and damaged. Those are things that should not amaze anyone. Her lips twist down a bit as the thoughts go through ehr head but then she gives the tiniest negative shake of her head. Denying that she's amazing. Or dismissing the conversation. It could be taken as either. Perhaps it's a bit of both.

The screen is focused on again. She continues her method of actually performing the signs as they are shown on screen, relating them in her brain. When the first sentence is gone through, she actually lets out the softest of sounds. It's brief and momentary but it's there. A hint of a laugh as she feels the complete delight that she understood the words.

See. Girl. Run.

Oracle has posed:
See. Girl. Run. Indeed, Barbara has a moment to think to herself. And then she shakes her head slightly, her smile lighting up her whole face. A brief note goes out... because the pride in Cass that she's feeling is truly a massive feeling that must be shared. And the redhead merely watches while a whole world opens up for the younger woman.

She lets Cass watch and rewatch as many times as she wants. Barbara does, however, at the end of the night, ask her quietly, "One more sentence?" She signs out carefully, at the same time saying the words, //I. Am Proud. Of you.//