Silence, Absolute Silence

Chapter 2: Candy Caine

I looked at her in empathy. I am a silenced being but she wouldn't know if I hadn't told her. There will be no more years of discrimination and neglecting people as I for if I wanted to tell her something her frail ears could not sense the misery I felt. I was so happy, but I had to go home as I got in my car with my sister who was majoring in sign language. My mother greeted me in the car "How was your day, Emika?" I signed a response with Candy in mind. My older sister Emily translated "I...was walking to the...car...when a girl complimented... my hair, she was very... kind, her name was C-A-N-D-Y" my mother was shocked. At my old school no kid would dare come near me because they knew I was mute, rumors spread that I was stupid, shy, gay, goth illiterate etc. They thought I chose not to ever speak. I wear dark clothes to mask my shame. No one believed there was anything beneath it. My mother began asking questions and as always I would sign it then Emily would translate. My sister has always been my support since birth, she has been majoring in sign language since high school. Taking after school and summer classes. My next few days were murder for me! I barely knew Candy at all, she just complimented my hair, I couldn't even say thank you, and I just left. On Monday I was so excited to go to school and see Candy. After my first class I looked everywhere for her all around the campus when I finally found her by the gym. I waved but she didn't see me. I went to the group she was hanging in, and while I tried to get her attention, she looked at me lovingly my thoughts were polluted with the dirty looks of the surrounding people. She scolded them and gave me a hug. "Man, you're acting like you never had a friend before." I looked ashamed, she quickly took it back "OH, I'm sorry! I need to think before I speak." The people around her criticized me and one girl took her aside and whispered to her "What is wrong with you, that is the weird emo girl. Why are you even letting her look at you?!" Her kind face turned into one of anger "Why wouldn't I let her look at me?" "Duh, it will damage your social status, you finally got to the top of your game, a girl like you is lucky to get to hang out with girls like us I mean with your... you know... condition."WHAT DO YOU MEAN LUCKY?! Just because I'm deaf, I'm an alien to you guys?! I think that you guys would be the lucky ones to have a friend like...uh..." I had never told her my name. Well, I could never tell her my name, I took a pen from her backpack and spelled out my name on my hand "Emika huh? YOU GUYS ARE JUDGEMENTAL AND RUDE AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY I USED TO HANG OUT WITH YOU GUYS!" "Uh, what do you mean 'used to'?" "I DON'T WANT TO SURROUND MYSELF WITH PEOPLE LIKE YOU!" she takes a moment to compose herself "Come on Emika, let's go" I follow her to the food court but, I still feel the guilt from the hateful stares of the people behind me. "Do you want something, I'll buy?" I point to something on the menu taped up to the window "I'll have the pretzels please." she takes them and pays and we walk and talk together, but naturally, she did all the talking "Sorry about that back there they can be rude sometimes, don't worry about them, so how did you end up mute like that...wait...I have some paper" she opens her back pack and pulls out a notebook and a pencil and hands it to me, I wrote down all the details, of the accident, and that took A LOT of paper.