A Key To Hope

Chapter One

            Micaiah's POV
                   I turned my cochlear implants off, closing my eyes. I took a deep breath, and then opened them, watching myself in the mirror as I went through the routine. Left, back, right, back, left, pirouette.......And then Dad came in. He was trying to not distract me, but he kinda failed at that. I stopped, and he turned a little pink.

      "Sorry. Can you hear me?" He signed, and I turned my implants back on.
      "Now I can. What's up?" He smiled slightly, running a hand through his hair.
      "Your mom texted, and she said that dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes. You about ready to go?" I nodded, sitting and unlacing my slippers and trading them for my boots. I put them in my bag, pulling on my jeans and hoodie over the leotard. I tossed my bag in the backseat, climbing in the front beside dad. I was almost sixteen, the youngest person in the Key family....And the target of a lot of nasty comments from my siblings, and sometimes my cousins. I was the closest to my dad, who helped me with the art stuff I did. Apparently, I got that from him, and I was the only one.

      "How'd the audition go?" He asked, turning onto another road.
      "It went really well. And we already found out our parts." We stopped at a light, and he turned to look at me. I chuckled slightly, smiling.
      "I got the lead. I'm going to be playing Clara." He whooped, and I winced, turning my implants off as the feedback screeched. I whacked him in the shoulder, signing to him.

     "Too loud!" I frantically signed, and his eyes widened.
     "Sorry." He signed, and I turned my implants back on. We were doing The Nutcracker the week before Christmas, and I had gotten the lead role of Clara. We got home, and I took a deep breath. Emerson's boyfriend, Andrew, was here for dinner as well. He was one of the people who made the most comments about my deafness. I grabbed my bag, pulled my hood up over my head, and stayed close to my dad as we went in. Bella was on the couch, and she made the least comments about it.

      "Hey, how'd your audition go?" She asked, an almost hopeful look in her eyes.
     "It went well. I'll tell you guys at dinner. And dad, you may not say anything." Then, I heard the doorbell, and headed for the front door.
     "Wow, she actually heard it this time." Andrew snickered, and I gritted my teeth, blinking back tears. I opened the front door, finding my aunt and uncle, Collins and Riley, and my cousins, Blake, Ciera, and Daniel.

     "Hey, Caiah! How'd your audition go?" I smiled at my uncle, who had a large, covered cake in his hands.
      "I'll tell you all at dinner. Can I help you with filming the next video?" Then, I heard another snicker.
      "That's about all she could do with the way she talks." Blake muttered, and Daniel chuckled. Aunt Riley gave her oldest son a death glare, grabbing his arm and pulling him close, quietly scolding him. He muttered a sorry, and then headed on in, followed by Ciera and Daniel. I shook my head slightly, and Collins and Riley followed me upstairs. I turned off my implants, sitting down with my Hunger Games book, and I completely disappeared from this world, and into one where I was with the characters, running, fighting, and trying to survive. Then, about twenty minutes later, dad tapped my shoulder, and I looked up.

       "Dinner's ready. Your mom's been calling you for a couple minutes." He signed, and I nodded, getting up and turning the implants back on.
      "Okay. Sorry." He smiled slightly, and I followed him into the dining room. I was in between dad and Andrew, so hopefully nothing would happen during dinner. I sat down, and Andrew nudged me.

      "How did you not hear your mom? Oh that's right. You're deaf." He hissed quietly, and Dad glared at him.
      "If you are going to keep treating her that way, you aren't going to be welcome here." Emerson crossed her arms, giving dad a look.
       "Are you kidding me? Not welcome here? What, are you saying he can't come anymore?" Mom looked up from the steak she was cutting.
       "Emerson, I'm shocked you're actually okay with him treating your sister this way." She shrugged, taking a bite of her mashed potatoes.
       "It's a free country. He can say what he wants." A shocked silence overtook the table, and mom shook her head.

       "I'm disappointed in all of you. And that includes Blake, Daniel, and Ciera. You were raised better than this. I understand it's difficult for you to understand what's going on for Micaiah, but you need to be kind. I've seen what happens in a family that doesn't care about or stick up for each other, and trust me, it's not good. I nearly committed suicide more than once because of it. I've seen what it's like when it feels like the whole world is against you, and that's what you're doing. Now, we are going to drop this subject, and I will not hear another word about it. Am I understood?" There were silent nods all around the table.
       "Good." She said, and I took a deep breath. Andrew still slipped his hand under the table where I could see it, and flipped me off. Then, aunt Riley spoke up.

      "How'd your audition go?" I smiled, shutting out my older sister's boyfriend.
      "Really well. I'm going to be playing Clara." There was a quiet cheer around the table, and uncle Collins held up his Coke.

      "Here's to Caiah, our prima ballerina in training." I giggled, and everyone else copied him. The rest of dinner went by without incident, and later, I sat in my room, staring off at the trees behind our house. I just wished people could understand what life was like for me.