Can You Hear Me? ~ Adopted by Fall Out Boy (COMPLETED)

It's Hard to Say "I Do" When I Don't

Typically the first word that crosses my mind in the morning is shit. Certainly not the best word to be crossing one's mind so early in the morning, but it's also not the worst. 

But, luckily for my sake and the kids', I can't say that out loud. Well, I could, but I don't. I'm hard of hearing. So I can't exactly hear myself talking, so it sounds weird. I typically stick to ASL, which is a language only three people here know; me, my friend Fran and Mr. Van. They are typically my translators. Of course, there are some unexpected benefits of having to use ASL. One, I don't have to go to public school, I just use online school (which is where I learned ASL in the first place). For another, I don't need many friends. Those who I do have need to be willing to learn ASL, or get used to me writing for them on a white board. 

Some of the downfalls were some bullying from the other kids here. I only had about a month to get out of here, so I handled it well. I also couldn't listen to music unless I was blasting it, so I couldn't listen to anything with curse words. It was just easier for me to listen to Christian artists like for KING & COUNTRY and Skillet, but I could also listen to a band I found called Twenty One Pilots. I had a few songs from Panic! at the Disco, Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance, but only the songs that were clean and didn't imply anything. I could read the lyrics all day though, so that's what I based my likes of artists on. 

Most of my day was spent either doing school work, reading, or helping clean the house. I enjoyed all three, but by the end of the day I was always exhausted. But today was a different story.

I woke up, like I said earlier, and the first word to come to my mind was shit. Today would be the second to last adoption day I would be a part of, and it scared me so much. 

We had them every other Friday. Between the one 4 days after Christmas and the one on the 12th of January I would turn 18 and be kicked out. In fact, I turn 18 at exactly midnight on New Year's day. Makes it easy for me to remember how old I am or what year it is.

Before getting ready for my day, I sent a quick prayer up to God that I would be adopted today by someone, preferably a nice person. Didn't matter who they were as long as they were nice. Then I began to get dressed. I just threw on a pair of nice pants and a Skillet T-Shirt. My motto for adoption day is "Show them who you are so they aren't surprised when you get home." I would think it works.

I jumped down the short set of stairs, walking into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Eve," Mr. Van signed, quickly handing me a bowl of cereal.

I grabbed it, signing a quick reply as I began to eat. The actual adoption process would start around 8. It was 7:45 and the cafeteria was full of other children. I sat down at my usual table, holding some of the other teenagers.

"Morning guys!" I signed before eating.

"Morning Eve. You think someone is going to adopt you today?" My friend Fran asked. She was 16, but someone was already starting the process of adopting her.

"I've prayed for it every morning and every night. It's bound to happen eventually," I stated boldly. The others nodded, going back to their conversations as I finished eating.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later, I was surprised to find that my age group (literally just me) was called. I guess the family was different than most. Typically I would be called in around 3 pm. It was 9 am.

Mr. Van came up to me, "This couple tours a lot, mostly because of the man's job in a band. I think you will like them," We walked into the room together, and despite almost having a fan-girl attack, I sat down calmly in front of Patrick and Elisa Stump.

Mr. Van explained the situation to them and they nodded. Usually the couple would immediately reject me, but Patrick and Elisa just went along with it.

"Tell us a bit about yourself," Mr. Van translated.

"Well, I'm Hard of Hearing, but I don't let that stop me if I can help it. I'm learning how to read lips, so you don't have to worry too much about being able to communicate with me. I'm a Christian, but not one of those 'You're going to burn in Hell if you sin' Christians. I love to listen to music, but I have to blast it in order to hear it, so I can currently only listen to songs that are clean and don't imply anything, so I listen to a lot of Christian music. Although I do listen to some of your songs, along with Twenty One Pilots and Panic! at the Disco. I love to read and write too." I sat and tapped my foot fearfully as they discussed. They turned back to me, smiling.

Reading their lips, which I was still learning, they said, "We want to adopt you."

My heart leapt out of my chest and I grinned. I wasn't sure of what else to do, I had never been in this position. They stood, and I stood to hug them as well.

Mr. Van began to speak to them, translating for me at the same time. "Because she only has a few weeks left in the system, we have the option to have you guys sign her paperwork today and she can go home with you today, if you would like."

Again, to my surprise, Patrick and Elisa nodded. I grinned, and Mr. Van sent me off to pack my stuff.

Finally free!