For The Sake of Science

Chapter 2 - A Silent Storm

They sat in the room for an hour, talking about the end of their freshman year, their plans for the upcoming school year, and teasing each other with inside jokes. Cole sat beside Emily on the floor, leaning against the bed that Casey, Star, Ian, and Matt occupied. James and Amanda were practically snuggled on the couch, grazing hands. Amanda's reading lantern cast a cozy glow over the room. The clouds outside had only grown darker, but no one seemed to mind. It was nice to be away from home and off the noisy bus. Rarely did they have time to just sit and talk.

Emily heard the warning beeps from her hearing aids, signaling the battery was low. Star, who had been sitting above her, noticed the blinking yellow light.

"Ugh," Star groaned.

"What's wrong?" Ian asked, rubbing her arm.

"My hearing aids are about to die, and I can't charge them because of the power outage," Emily sighed.

"Oh, I didn't even think of that," Amanda said with a frown. "How long does it usually give you from the first beep?"

"About twenty minutes. They're five years old, and the battery doesn't hold a charge like it used to." She normally used a mobile app to monitor them but had to rely on manual settings without her phone.

"Hopefully the power comes back soon," Cole offered gently.

"Hopefully."

Emily had been born hard of hearing into a fully hearing family. They didn't know sign language, nor how to navigate the world with a deaf child. A Deaf mentor from their small Baptist church taught her ASL when she was young. She'd been prescribed hearing aids at four. After her mentor passed away when she was seven, her parents never looked for another. Instead, they enrolled her in community college ASL courses throughout middle school. She was the youngest in the room by at least a decade.

Eventually, she attended a Deaf summer camp in Washington, where she finally felt like she belonged. But the friends she made lived in faraway states, and it was hard to stay connected. This summer, she'd chosen to skip camp for the Keppel's internship—an exciting opportunity, but one that made her feel more isolated than she expected.

Everyone at her private school knew she wore hearing aids. She was social and confident, so people tended to forget. With her devices, she caught most conversations—but in loud or dim spaces, it became overwhelming. Without them, she could hold her own in the right setting, but tonight wasn't one of those times. She hated relying on others, even friends like Star who knew enough ASL for casual chats but not the deep stuff. She missed her Deaf friends. For the first time, she wondered if she'd made a mistake by coming.

"Want to go see if we can find someone who has a charger?" Matt asked, reading her expression better than most.

Emily sighed, then nodded. "We can ask Yates about the bus."

She dug out her janky charger—a Frankenstein mess of wires her dad had patched together after their dog chewed the original cord.

"We'll be right back," Matt said as they stepped into the hallway.

"I feel bad," Star muttered. "I didn't even think about charging."

"She'll probably be fine," Cole said. "They'll figure it out. I'm glad Matt went with her."

⸻

Emily's hearing aid died six feet from their room.

Matt was talking about some old lady from church who had battery-powered hearing aids. Emily zoned out. She hated the comparisons—she was tired of being linked to Grandma Kellys and Aunt Susans.