The Mute

04 | four

Melinoë Brewer

"Hey! Kiddo! Over here!" Dimitri yelled from his car. I made my way through the mob of students and their parents as they brought them their things for their dorms. I managed to get through the crowd without being touched and gave myself a mental pat on the back for accomplishing that.

"Your mom got caught up at work, but she should be home when you get back," Dimitri patted me on my head. "You have a therapy session, right?"

I nodded.

"Okay, we'll head over there in a second. We're just waiting for Isaiah to come to pick up his things," Dimitri sighed.

"Ok," I signed.

"Wassup, people," Isaiah hollered, startling me.

"Hello, all your stuff is in the back," Dimitri tapped the side of the car.

"Damn, straight to the chase, I see," Isaiah chuckled.

"Mel has a therapy session to go to," Dimitri smiled at me.

"Oh, ok. I'll get my things, then," Isaiah sighed.

"It's ok. Take your time," I signed.

"It'll only take like twenty seconds, Mel," Isaiah opened the car door. I hated the special treatment and attention I got. It felt unfair. But my mom and Dimitri give Isaiah a lot of attention, so I don't know why I feel guilty. Once Isaiah grabbed all his boxes from the car, Dimitri offered to help him bring them to his room. Isaiah said it was fine, but Dimitri helped him out anyway.

"Alright, kiddo, we'll be back in a couple of minutes. Stay by the car, please," Dimitri advised.

I nodded. I wasn't going to leave the car in the first place, but I guess he just wanted to make sure. A minute goes by when Bree walks up to me.

"Hey, Melinoë.....right?" Bree smiled.

I nodded.

"I just want to tell you something quickly," Bree exclaimed.

I motioned with my hand for her to continue.

"Ace is mine. You got that mute? Stay in your place. Ace will never like you," Bree scoffed.

"I don't like Ace that way," I signed.

"I don't understand hand language," Bree rolled her eyes.

I sighed and grabbed my notebook from out of my bag. I quickly scribbled down what I wanted to say because I wanted her to leave.

"Oh, okay, good," She smirked and walked away. Thirty seconds go by (yes, I've been counting) when the guy from earlier that Ace saved me from walked over. Great.

"Hey, uh, sorry about earlier," He scratched his head.

"It's ok," I wrote in my notebook.

"I'm Hunter, and you're...........Melinona?" Hunter guessed.

"Melinoë," I wrote down.

"Oh, that's a pretty name. How do I say it?" Hunter asked.

"Just call me Mel," I wrote down on my paper.

"Ok, Mel, I'm having a party on Friday at my dorm. You should stop by. My dorm number is twenty," Hunter smirked.

"Do I seem like a person who would go to a party?" I quickly wrote down.

"Oh, yeah, the no touching thing," Hunter sighed.

"Hey!" Ace exclaimed, coming over with Selene and another guy. "Hey, Melinoë, how are you?"

"I'm ok. What about you?" I signed. I knew Ace came over to check on me, considering what happened between Hunter and me earlier.

"I'm doing great, thanks for asking," Ace smiled.

"Is she deaf?" The other guy mumbled to Selene.

"No, she's mute," Selene sighed. "Mel, this is Jay, the biggest clown in the world."

"Hey! You're not wrong, but she can learn on her own. Hi, I'm Jay Reyes," Jay grinned.

"Nice to meet you," I signed.

"Nice........meet... Oh, nice to meet you too," Jay nodded.

"Since when do you know sign language?" Selene arched her eyebrow.

"I learned some from going over to Ace's house," Jay replied.

"Ah, makes sense," Selene smirked.

"Um, you guys interrupted our conversation," Hunter crossed his arms.

"It was barely a conversation," I signed. Both Ace and Selene chuckled.

"What? What did she say?" Hunter asked.

"Nothing," Selene cleared her throat. "Anyway, I was going to go shopping this weekend, and I know you don't like big crowds, so I thought we could hang out at your place and shop online! Is that okay?"

I nodded with a big smile on my face.

"Oh, that sounds chill. Can we come too?" Jay asked.

I nodded.

"What about me?" Hunter smiled.

"Won't you be tired from your party the day before?" I wrote down in my notebook.

"She's right," Ace laughed.

"I should be able to pop by...." Hunter glared at Ace.

"Well, that would be-" Ace was cut off.

"Hello, teenagers surrounding my car," Dimitri smirked.

"Hi, Mr. McHale," Selene smiled.

"You've become quite popular, I see," Dimitri smiled at me. "You have somewhere to go, so say bye to your friends."

I waved bye to everyone. Isaiah kissed me on my hand while Selene and Ace gave me a high five.

"Bye! See you Saturday!" Selene waved.

"What's happening Saturday?" Dimitri asked.

"My friends are coming over," I signed.

"Ah, ok," Dimitri smiled.

.

.

.

.

"YOU ARE HAVING FRIENDS OVER?" My mom exclaimed.

"Sorry, I can cancel-" I signed.

"NO, NO, IT'S OK! You finally have friends to invite over!" My mom smiled.

I sighed with relief and gave her a half-smile. I didn't know whether to be offended or happy that she's so excited.

"I have to go get snacks and drinks. Do they have any allergies? Do I have to make any meals for them? Like breakfast, lunch, or dinner? Never mind, just tell them to come over early, and I'll make every meal. Even snacks," My mom rambled.

"Did I make a mistake inviting them?" I signed to Dimitri.

"Probably," He replied.