Communication Error (Eremin)

Chapter Three • Greetings

On his way to school, Armin noticed the same couple across the street that he'd never failed to see for almost two weeks straight now. It was reassuring to see the determined shine in the boy's eyes still there every morning. How could he stay so energetic every morning? Armin could never guess. He'd been asking the same question every day, since it just kept on surprising him that the sparkle hadn't died yet. Not that it was a bad thing. No, it was relieving and reassuring. In fact, Armin was sure it was the best part about getting up in the morning. However, there was something missing. I don't even know his name!
As he considered crossing the street and greeting himself as he walked to school, the couple disappeared, and he knew he wouldn't see them again until tomorrow morning. Unless he could find them after school, that is. Oh, yeah! He decided, with an excited jolt, that he'd catch up to them and greet himself when he leaves. He'd find the girl before she leaves and talk to her. She undoubtedly knew that boy that occupied his mind, and so he assumed that she was his only chance to meeting him. But he'd have to wait a while first . . .
    Throughout the morning, and into the afternoon, Armin's mind raced back and forth from what was being taught, to the people around him, then to, of course, the soon-to-come confrontation with the raven-haired girl, and then eventually the attractive brunet. He theorized how it would play out, how the two would react, what he would say, and the different paths the situation could take. His muscled tensed up when he'd consider the bad routes that the confrontation could possibly take. Thinking all about the situation made him zone out from everything around him, and he started to get a bit frustrated with himself for getting so distracted. Nevertheless, he knew he was going to talk to that green-eyed boy as soon as he got the chance.

Armin eyed the people around him at the end of the hallway. He could feel his chest tightening with anxiety, and he'd constantly have to take deep breaths, but he was determined and never stopped searching for a familiar head of black hair. He squeezed the straps of his backpack and shrugged his shoulders back to straighten his posture. He blinked and scanned the crowd again. Hey! he exclaimed in his mind as he spotted her—the lovely gray-eyed girl. He immediately began walking forward towards her, and reached his hand out to wave at her. "Hey! You!" he called out.
Only when she was reaching out to open the door did she stop and turn around to face him. "Oh, I'm sorry." Her eyes widened.
Armin flicked his hand at her before grabbing the straps to his backpack again. "No, no, don't be sorry." He smiled nervously. "I just wanted to catch up with you before you left. I want to ask you something."
She calmed down. "Okay. Do you want to step outside?" she suggested, passively addressing the volume inside the building.
"Sure. That's a good idea." He stepped forward and opened the door beside her, then held his hand up to let her out first. When she stepped outside, he followed and let his hand slide off the door. The both of them stood close to the end of the sidewalk, under the metal awning.
The girl met Armin's eyes casually. "What's up?"
Armin inhaled and held his breath for a moment, then exhaled. "Ah . . ." He blinked and looked away. For a few seconds, his mind went blank. "I wanted to say 'hi,'" he finally informed. "I've been seeing you and a guy walk to school together every day, and I thought you two seemed like really neat people." He ran his thumb up and down under the left backpack strap. "I'm Armin, by the way. Sorry for the late introduction."
"It's alright. I'm Mikasa." Her pink lips turned up into a smile, and her eyes sparkled a little bit. "I'm glad you think we're 'neat'." She seemed genuinely amused, which made Armin happy. "You're talking about the guy with brown hair, right? And green eyes?"
Armin smiled. "Yeah. And, uh . . ." He paused. "I wanted to ask; does he go to a different school? I haven't seen him here yet."
Mikasa nodded. "He does," she answered. "I just walk to school with him on my way here." A vibration went off in a pocket in Mikasa's backpack. She pulled her backpack to the side and took her phone out. "I've got to go. Sorry, Armin." She frowned and glanced from her phone to Armin. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
Slightly disappointed that the conversation hadn't gone much further, but glad that Mikasa seemed interested in talking again, Armin nodded. "Of course."
Mikasa said goodbye to Armin as she put her phone up to her ear. She waved at him with her free hand.
Armin watched as she eventually began to run. She was heading the way that she came to school. He was sure the brunet wasn't that way, and this certainty confused him. However, it didn't bug him. I don't know where she lives, he pointed out to himself, so I shouldn't assume that I know where she goes to get home. After she was out of sight, he stepped off the sidewalk in front of the school and crossed the parking lot on his way to the library. On his way, he pondered on how long he should be there. He knew his grandfather would start to worry if it grew dark out and he still hadn't gotten home. Until 6:00? That would get me home at 6:15, he considered. No. 5:45. It won't be dark yet then. That being decided, he straightened himself up and strode down the sidewalk.

The late afternoon sun was beating down on him and made him uncomfortable. He grumbled about it to himself for moment, but otherwise he ignored it. He knew the library was just a block away, which meant he'd be out of the sunlight soon.
"Can I stay out at the library for a little while?" he asked his grandfather on a phone call he made. Mr. Arlert had questioned the time he had in mind to leave, and, upon being corrected and agreeing to leave at 5:30 instead, he hung up.
The dark metal handle of the library front door was tugged on. He opened the door and walked inside. It was immediately relieving to feel the cool breeze on his face.
    "Heya!" Mina called as she walked past the front door with a few books in hand. "You look kinda tired."
    Armin smiled a bit. "It's hot out there." He pulled his backpack off his shoulders and hung it on his arm. "I walked here."
    "Oh, that's right. You don't drive." She placed her hand on the back of her neck. "I forgot that you usually walk. My bad." When Armin just shrugged, she smiled and asked, "how's school been?"
    "Good. I'm gonna go put this up," he told her as he lifted his arm to bring attention to his backpack. With a moment's hesitation beforehand, he turned and headed to the back room.
    "Okie doke."
    He placed his backpack into his open locker and made sure it wouldn't fall out before he shut it. Right beforehand, he realized he hadn't grabbed his phone, so he pulled it from his backpack and put it in his pocket instead. Then he closed his locker. He turned away and headed to the front desk.
    ". . . the only one left," Rico, who was sitting beside Frieda, was on the phone. She looked up and saw Armin. Noticing that he looked as though he wanted to speak to her, she held her hand up, signaling for him to wait a moment. "Yes ma'am. Thank you. B—mhm. Goodbye." She put the phone down and looked at Armin again with full attention. "Yessir?"
    Armin rested his arms on the top of the counter and leaned against it. "What can I help with?"
    Rico sat back and fiddled with a pen in her hand. "How much time do you have?"
    "Three hours," he replied and gripped his arm.
    Rico was quiet for a minute whilst thinking. "We have some new books in the back," she told him. "They're in a few boxes in the back. It would be helpful if you'd put them up. You'll have to replace a few books, since some of them have certainly seen better days. Okay?"
    Armin nodded and slipped his arms off the desktop, putting all his weight back on his feet. "Got it. Consider it done." He tilted his chin up in certainty, then left for the back room again.
    "Surely," Rico said quietly as Armin walked off.
    He entered the room and searched for the books Rico mentioned. He found them sitting in the back of the room. He pulled the top one off the stack and put it on the floor carefully as he could. Kneeling by it, he opened it and pulled the first bunch out. Getting up, he quickly grabbed a rolling cart, then placed the books on the cart. He grabbed more and put enough on the cart to fill it up, then he left the back room to put them away.
    After three hours had passed, he had just gotten into the second box. He wasn't satisfied with having to leave work unfinished, but he knew he couldn't stay longer to finish up.
    "I'll get someone to finish," Rico stated when he reported his progress to her and explained that he couldn't stay.
    He grabbed his backpack from his locker, left the back room, said his goodbyes, and headed out the door. He was a couple minutes late in leaving, which annoyed him. However, the oncoming sunset quickly distracted him. He watched the sky as he headed home. The pinks, purples, and blues altogether looked beautiful across the sky. The orange sun hit his face, so he quickly shaded his eyes with his hand. As he was squinting at the sky on his way home, he noticed in the corner of his eyes that someone was coming toward him. Blinking and looking away from the sky, he focused on the person nearing him. His eyes widened, and he felt his heart skip a beat. It was Mikasa's friend! His thin figure just about burst with excitement, but he managed to keep his expression calm.
The brunet eventually stood before Armin and looked at him. He blinked, seeming confused, yet curious.
"Hello," Armin greeted with a smile. "I'm Armin. I've been wanting to talk to you lately, but I never got the chance."
He smiled, but he didn't really respond.
Slightly discouraged, but not wanting to give up, he explained, "I'm a friend of Mikasa's. I wanted to talk to you today, so I'm glad I ran into you!"
Still, no response.
    Is he listening to music or something? he wondered. He couldn't see any earbuds or headphones present, so Armin stood there in complete confusion.
Then, he watched as the thin boy waved his hand a bit at Armin and, with a bit of a nervous expression on his face, signed something to him.
Right then, as Armin paused, dumbfounded, a realization hit him.
    He's deaf!