After only a few minutes, I could tell from Kathleen’s signs that Dr. Rivera’s speech was similar to every “it’s the first day of school so let’s do our best” speech I’d gotten at Pratt. I tuned most of it out, though I did pay attention when Kathleen mentioned something about lunchtime, because . . . food. I also perked up when a couple of guys threw candy into the bleachers and a Snickers landed in my lap. It was by far the best part of my strange and stressful morning.

As soon as Dr. Rivera finished his speech, Nina placed a hand on my shoulder, pointing to the person walking toward us. It was one of the guys who’d been throwing candy a minute ago, but he had a black T-shirt in hand now. I could see the outline of a green Spartan soldier on the shirt, the words ENGELMANN HIGH printed above it. This guy was tall and a little gangly—awkward even. His dark hair was a mess, like he’d just rolled out of bed, and yet it seemed stylish in an I-don’t-care kind of way.

Smiling, the guy said something to Nina first and then he turned to me, a rush of color flooding into his cheeks as he said hello. Whatever he said next was totally lost on me given how quickly his lips were moving, so I settled for doing the universal sign for I can’t hear you—pointing to my ear and shaking my head, making sure to frown in confusion.

MY FRIEND, Kathleen signed for Nina, jumping into the introductions when she realized I wasn’t absorbing anything the guy was saying. NAME B-E-A-U W-A-T-S-O-N. STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT.

NICE TO MEET YOU, I signed, keeping it simple.

I wasn’t sure what kind of name Beau was but it seemed fancy, a name you might expect the student body president to have.

As he spoke, Beau’s cheeks went from pink to crimson while I lip-read what he was saying. The focus it took to lipread sometimes tended to make people uncomfortable, which I secretly found hilarious.

“It’s nice . . . you. Great to . . . here. I thought you . . . T-shirt? You know . . . thing and . . . that.”

I looked to Kathleen, unable to decipher all that he was saying to me.

HE BRING SCHOOL T-SHIRT FOR YOU, Kathleen signed. WELCOME GIFT.

Somehow, I wasn’t surprised to see the look that came over Beau’s face as he watched Kathleen sign to me. It was a mixture of confusion and surprise, but mostly confusion. Usually what followed what I called the look was the shouting, as if they spoke loudly enough I might actually be able to hear them. Either that or pity once the realization that I couldn’t hear sunk in.