NOLA [On Hold]

It's 2030 and the main threat has been neutralized in the dispute between Iraq and the US. After regaining control, thousands of troops are sent home for a job well done in serving our great nation. Among the crowd is a "mute" 23 year-old Montrell St. John, a New Orleans native who is seeking to return home after 5 straight years in the service. Looking forward to going home, he missed the smell of the Bayou, the taste of his mom's famous Gumbo, and in general the people who allowed him into their hearts when he was a 6 year-old orphan.

As an orphan from France, he never really adapted to the American language, causing him to be mute 90% of the time and seen differently in the eyes of many. That percentage reduces to 70% depending on who's he's talking to however. It's no wonder he's elated to be finally going home to the people who understand him the most even without one flick of the tongue.

Unfortunately, a lot has changed for his adoptive Haitian family during those five years and Montrell's homecoming couldn't have come at a worse time. Will the army vet get sucked into the tension? How has things changed? How will it resolve?

This is NOLA. (New Orleans, LA)