The Language of Us

Chapter One

Airports were fucking busy. That was a fact, right? It had to be.

Deanna Mercer was going to lose her mind in this crowded place. Luckily, she didn't have to stay here much longer because her flight was boarding in just a few minutes.

Dea was on her way to her summer internship in Carbondale, Illinois. She would be working as an assistant editor for The Carbondale Times until the end of July.

This internship was something interesting. First of all, it was in the one place farthest from home of which she applied. Living in Phoenix, Arizona, Dea hated the heat. She applied to several internships across the country-anywhere to get away from Phoenix, even if it was just for two months. Living in the desert your whole life can really take a toll on a person.

Dea applied for this internship in Carbondale because they were featured in the university newspaper. The advertisement offered a paid internship with benefits such as housing assistance for university students. Who would pass up that opportunity?

Plus, since Dea didn't want to live in Phoenix for the rest of her life, getting an out of state internship was a good way to explore a different city-a city she may want to move to permanently someday.

To Dea, having a paid internship wasn't a priority. She just wanted the experience mostly. But when she got the call saying her application was successfully approved and accepted, the next thing Dea knew, she was planning a trip to Illinois.

School had just let out and she was eager to get to her destination. While her friends were off to San Diego and New York City for the summer, Dea wanted to get as much experience in the field of publishing as possible. She loved to write on the side, but ever since she began university she just hasn't had the time. With her exemplary English and grammar skills, she'd make a fine editor-according to her English professor, Professor Anderson.

So, Dea had put creative writing on the back burner and had been focusing on becoming an editor since her freshman year at Kirkman University.

The buzzing of Dea's cell phone in her pocket made her stop bouncing her leg and check her notifications. A text from her best friend Sarah read, "Have a safe flight! Don't join the mile high club. You'll regret it."

Laughing to herself, Dea typed a quick reply and put her phone back in her pocket.

Dea boarded the flight and slept for most of it. The turbulence was nothing to her sleep deprived self. She could, quite literally, sleep anywhere-even on a moving airplane.

Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport was nothing compared to Southern Illinois Airport. There were people everywhere. Dea almost lost her suitcase and spent almost half an hour searching for it. It was black, which looked very similar to everyone else's suitcases on the conveyor belt. Not to mention, Dea couldn't find a signal to use her Uber app to get a ride to her apartment. She had to walk around to the other side of the airport until she finally found a strong enough signal. What airport doesn't have good wireless access?

Aside from all the trouble surrounding Dea's arrival in Carbondale, she was happy to find out that she wouldn't be having a roommate after all. When she talked to the landlord of the apartment complex she would be staying in, he informed her that Claire, her now former roommate had some last minute arrangements and wouldn't be able to room with her-which was more than fine by Dea.

The apartment was very nice. Some college students lived there, as a matter of fact. It was close enough to the local college that students could walk to and from school. It was small enough for one person, neither extremely big nor uncomfortably small, but it was more than adequate for Dea and her two month stay.