TEST, Mom signed to me when I looked back at her. A-U-D-I-O-G-R-A-M. Getting a copy of my last test from years ago was no big deal. It would just take a day or two.

Mom kept her attention fixed on Nadine while she spoke before signing to me. What she signed just about knocked the air out of my lungs and made me grab at the arms of my chair for support.

“There’s a wait list for interpreters?” I said out loud.

A LOT O-F DEAF STUDENTS APPLY RECENTLY, Mom signed to me while Nadine started talking a mile a minute. THAT GOOD, BUT NOT A LOT O-F INTERPRETER HERE FOR EDUCATION RIGHT NOW, AND—

I stopped Mom mid-sign, holding up a hand. “Wait a minute. If there’s a wait list for interpreters, how long will it take me to get one?”

My brain was firing off questions faster than I could get my hands to sign, so I was stuck using my voice.

Nadine went palms up, a bit anxious now as she looked back and forth between me and Mom. “Maybe . . . ?”

Mom’s eyes widened at whatever Nadine told her, and she both said and signed, REALLY?

HOW LONG? I signed to Mom, my nerves jangling.

Mom signed back, DON’T KNOW. I HOPE SOON.

“So . . . so . . .” I licked my lips a few times, my mouth uncomfortably dry now. “What does that . . . ?”

Nothing was happening the way it was supposed to. Not having an interpreter available right this instant wasn’t the end of the world because fall semester didn’t start until the end of this coming August. But I didn’t want to wait a whole semester to start college.

HEY, Mom signed at me. YOU OK?

FINE, I signed. ALL DONE NOW?

Mom signed, WAIT. She spent a few more minutes talking with Nadine before she signed, OK, ALL DONE.

Nadine escorted us out of her office and waved us off with a courteous smile, but I chose to ignore that. Mom started signing to me again on our way back to the car, but I couldn’t pay attention. What if I had to withdraw my application from Cartwright because there was no available interpreter for me? What if I had to wait years?

Anger didn’t really seem like the right word to describe what I was currently feeling. This was a lot more complex than that.

There were thousands of Deaf people out there like me wanting to get into college and expand their education. Yet suddenly there weren’t enough interpreters to go around? This wasn’t sitting right with me. Chances were I was just jumping to conclusions here, but I had this unsettling thought that maybe it was because nobody expected Deaf people to actually go to college.