DON’T MATTER IF YOU SHOUT, I CAN’T HEAR YOU, I signed to him, maybe a little more forcefully than I should have. I wanted to make the point here, and how I was not going to take this shouting thing lying down. STUPID T-O SHOUT A-T DEAF PEOPLE.

For as much as Mr. Wells seemed completely oblivious, he understood from the agitated way I was signing I was most certainly annoyed.

CAN I HAVE SEAT NOW? I signed, pointing to the open desk beside Nina.

Mr. Wells bobbed his head as Kathleen spoke for me and quickly stepped aside so I could go sit down. I snatched a notebook and pencil out of my backpack while Kathleen went to grab an extra chair to sit in front of me again.

When I sat upright, I saw Nina sliding her own notebook across her desk toward me, and I noticed she’d scribbled something down on the front page.

Mr. Wells is a doofus. Don’t worry about him.

I fought back a tiny smile as I took my own pencil and scribbled down a response to Nina before passing her notebook back.

He’s not the first person to shout at me, and he won’t be the last. But thanks.

Nina grinned when she read my note and said, “You’ve got this.”

It was a simple statement, one I’d been told a lot in the past few weeks. But it meant just a little bit more coming from a person who wasn’t my mother or an interpreter.

Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

At Pratt, lunch had been my favorite part of the day. At Engelmann, I was pretty sure it was going to be my absolute least favorite part.

OK IF I SPLIT FOR LUNCH? Kathleen asked as I followed Nina into the cafeteria.

FINE, I signed. PROMISE. MEET AGAIN AFTER LUNCH.

SURE? Kathleen repeated.

YES, I signed again.

It was not as if I publicly announced I was Deaf—my interpreter and the signing and my hearing aids kind of made that obvious—but I wanted to have a normal lunch without having everyone stare at me or whisper about me. Having Kathleen sitting at the same table, interpreting lunchtime conversations, would kind of make that impossible.

Kathleen and I parted ways outside the cafeteria, and Nina led the way to the food line. The place was already crowded with old friends sitting together catching up on their summers. Everyone had their place and seemed glad to return to the same groups with the same friends.

Suddenly, I felt very homesick.