Collision✔️(Wattpad version)

Confidence is key

Enzo

The next day, I went to school. I went to find Everly. When I saw her, I tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to me, and I handed her the paper; she took it, and I walked away.

I didn't want to work with someone more concerned about my deafness than me as a person. Just because I was deaf didn't mean I wasn't smart. I was smart. I didn't tell her that. It's not like she would understand me anyway since she doesn't know sign language.

I went to classes, then to lunch. I ate as the guys talked. Then someone thumped the table. I looked up.

"Can you translate for me," Everly asked the guys.

"Yeah, sure," Cade said as he shrugged.

"I don't appreciate you shoving a piece of paper in my face. I'm not just going to go off a piece of paper. It's a class project, and we are partners. You may be deaf, but you're also a jackass. Don't treat me like I'm a brainless idiot because I don't know sign language. I may not know it now, but you will teach me," she told me.

I looked at her as she looked at me with her arms crossed and no smile.

"Fine, you can come to my house, and I will teach you," I responded.

"Fine," she said as she turned and walked away, fantastic.

After class, she met me at my locker, and Cade gave her a lift to my house. He dropped us off, and we walked inside.

Mom greeted us. "Hi, honey, who is your friend?"

"Everly, who's a pain in the ass," I signed as Mom giggled.

She stood there as Mom turned to her. "I'm Rain, Lorenzo's mom. I would shake your hand, but I don't like to shake a stranger's hands."

"Okay," she said, looking confused.

"Dinner will be ready, and your dad will be home soon," she signed.

"Cool," I replied as I turned and went up to my room. Everly followed me as she looked at my mom, tripping up the stairs. I just rolled my eyes, typical.

When we got to my room, I set my stuff down, and she looked around. I took a seat on my desk chair. I waited.

She turned to me. "Can you read lips?"

I nodded.

"Can you teach me to sign?"

I nodded again.

"Okay, then teach me, and I will teach you how to talk," she smiled genuinely at me.

I looked at her. The problem was that my vocal cords never developed because I never practiced. Most people could speak with a deaf voice. I couldn't speak at all.

I turned around and started writing something. Everly watched me. Once I finished, I handed it to her.

"I can't speak because of my vocal cords never developing. I was born deaf and taught sign language. Besides that, I have straight A's and two best friends. I love my family because they are awesome, especially my mom."

She looked at me, and her jaw drops as I smirked. Her brows furrowed.

That was the thing about most of the kids at school. They figured because I was deaf; I was stupid. I was far from it.

I held up my hand and started making a letter, beginning with the letter A. She looked at me, confused. That would be difficult, but she could learn. We just needed help. So I went to the one who taught me, Mom.

She followed me to the kitchen as Mom was finishing up dinner. I tapped her shoulder. She turned to me. "Can you help me teach Everly to sign?"

"Yes," she said as she smiled. I kissed her. Mom was awesome. "But after dinner," Mom added.

I nodded, and then they heard Dad come into the house. Mom alerted me that Dad was home. I waved at her to follow me, and we greeted him. We signed to each other, and I told him who Everly was.

"Nice to meet you, Everly," he greeted her.

She gave him a small smile.

"Ooh food," he said as he walked into the kitchen. I just shrugged as I smile.

We went back into the kitchen, and I signed it to my parents.

"Everly would you like to stay for dinner," Dad asked her.

"Oh, sorry, but I can't," she said, turning and quickly leaving the kitchen, leaving us confused. Dad and I went into the living room, but she left. What was that?

"Enzo, what was that about?" Dad asked me.

"I don't know," I responded.

Mom came to the doorway. "The food is getting cold. Hurry, you slowpokes."

She turned and went back into the kitchen as Dad chuckled. "Some things never change."

I shrugged as we went back into the kitchen. We sat down to dinner, and all talked. Dad told us about the kids he had to work with, Mom told us about her new art she was working on, and I told them both about school.

After dinner, I was in my room working when a light went off. I looked up to see Grandpa.

"You know, you will burn yourself out with all that studying you're doing," he signed.

"Yeah, but the valedictorian won't be mine," I told him, and he laughed. I got up and hugged him. I love my excellent grandpa.

"Come on, everyone is waiting," he said as I nodded. We went downstairs, and there was everyone. They all greeted me, and I greeted them back. Julian and Cade went with me up to my room while the adults talked.

"How's Enzo doing," Dad asked Wade.

"Well, I'm hoping this school project works," he said.

"What school project," he asked him.

"The sociology teacher has the kids do a get to know your project for a month. The teacher pairs the kids with someone they don't know well. It's a way for the kids to get to know each other better without judgment," he told Dad.

"Antonio, we're trying to integrate the kids more to be accepting of each other's differences," Cole told him.

"That would explain the girl that was here earlier," he sighed.

They looked at him.

"Everly?" Cole asked him.

"Yeah, but she took off before dinner," he said to them a bit confused.

Cole and Wade looked at each other.

"What?" Dad asked them.

"It may be nothing, but you never know," Cole told him cryptically. Dad looked at them, as did Mom.

What no one knew was how much Everly was about to turn my world upside down. Our two worlds were about to collide on a collision course, and we didn't even know it yet.

Fasten your seatbelts. Things are about to get turbulent.