Harmonious Hearts 2018--Stories from the Young Author Challenge, page 7
“No!” she writes, pen digging in a bit more than usual. “we’re just friends. he’s sleeping right now, milo kept him up late last night studying. he’ll never notice we’re here until he wakes up. do you want to learn some words in sign?”
This is her opportunity to display what she learned in an attempt to impress Haile. Cael takes a breath, allowing a moment for it to pass through her body, sucking some jitters with it, and then smiles and begins to sign.
“You’re beautiful, I wanted to tell you.”
She stumbles over a couple of the signs, but not horribly, and not enough that they don’t invoke a rosy blush over Haile’s cheeks and cause her smile to grow ever larger, hands moving in the air for a bit in excitement before returning to the notepad. She takes longer to respond, pen stuttering after every few words, causing Cael to bite her lip and hope she wasn’t too forward. She thought this was acceptable in college, that the games of high school were over, but now she’s not sure, and the delayed response kills her slowly until Haile hands the notebook back.
“you too, cael,” she has written. “it was so cool of you to learn some sign for me! wow. i was thinking i’d teach you basic greetings today, if that sounds all right.”
It reads like a stream of consciousness, endearing in the best way. Cael finds she doesn’t even care that Haile didn’t address the romantic implications of the statement, just basks in her approval.
Haile claps her hands together in excitement and gestures to the paper. Cael has a feeling that it means something to the effect of “Let’s begin!”
As it turns out, the odd salute-like gesture means “hello,” and the universally accepted wave means “goodbye.” She learns “nice to meet you” as well, along with several other phrases that Haile deems important. She also learns that Haile loves art and math, two seemingly opposite disciplines, and that she can do equations Cael cannot even comprehend. She paints as well, although that is evident from the canvases spread throughout the room with paint caking the frames. Glenn somehow sleeps through it all, soft snores traveling across the room and a brief snuffling from time to time. All that’s ever visible of the boy is his messy clump of hair, and it seems to become curlier in his sleep.
“He must have been really tired,” Cael attempts to convey, the notebook now covered in scribbled descriptions of greetings and abstract words. She starts with Glenn’s name, one of the signs she remembers clearly, and then creates a mix of charades and gestures to convey sleep. Haile nods as if she understands and signs Milo’s name with a knowing smirk. She flattens her left palm and uses her right to move her splayed fingertips resting on the palm, hand slowly closing until it reaches her forehead and all of the fingers of her right hand touch. After, she points at books and mouths “learn,” which Cael is fairly proud to figure out after only a few seconds of staring.
Anna has been sleeping as well, nose pointed toward the door but nonetheless a picture of rest. She’s like a magnet. Cael can’t help but look at her, and she feels a content expression dawn over her features at the sight of the large dog.
For a moment she visualizes Haile and herself, studying on her bed, Anna curled up behind them, head resting on the pillow. It’s a nice picture, one so domestic that Cael doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and yet it doesn’t sound so taxing if she gets to spend more time with Haile.
Haile hands her the notebook again, having somehow found a blank page.
“want to come to lunch with Glenn and milo and i tomorrow? we’re going to some new coffee-bar thing, and we could teach you some more. it would probably be easier with milo there to translate, anyway.”
No notebook is needed to translate Cael’s energetic nod. She wants to inform Haile that she likes it when it’s just them, that Milo wouldn’t make it easier, but that’s for another time, because now she’s just been invited out by the prettiest girl she’s ever seen, even if her friends are going to be there. And besides, her friends aren’t too bad. She’s nearly grown fond of Glenn, entirely through his snoring and hair, which she supposes says something.
Either way, things are looking up.
“HOW CAN you not like bagels?” Milo appears positively scandalized, his whole body tilted away from Cael in faux disgust. “Bagels are the food of the gods for lowly, struggling college students like us.”
Glenn snorts, signing something quickly, which Haile laughs at. Milo flips him off and then remembers Cael’s existence and translates.
“He informed me that we are exactly three days into the semester and it’s too early to be struggling. A completely biased and unfair assessment, if I do say so myself. It’s never too early to struggle. It’s college.”
“Completely unfair,” Cael agrees. “College is designed for struggle. But I still don’t like bagels.”
“I was following you there for a second,” Milo says, voice drawling and monotone as usual. “But then you lost me when you disgraced the only acceptable breakfast food.”
It’s fascinating, watching his hands move in a language she cannot begin to understand. She can tell that the emphasis on the signs are different from the emphasis on the speech directly preceding it, and she wonders, not for the first time, how he manages to keep it all straight.
Haile signs something in return. The only words that Cael recognizes are “good” and “bagel”; since bagels had been the highlight of their discussion for the past five minutes, she picked up the sign.
“Apparently they’re good with butter,” Milo says, gesturing to Haile when he speaks. Glenn contributes something with a grin.
“And Glenn likes them with jam,” Milo says, none of the fondness fading from his voice. “Strawberry jam,” he corrects quickly at another insistent sign from Glenn.
“Did anyone actually understand the math from today?” Cael asks, because Analytic Geometry is the one class they’re all in excepting Sociology, which means that they have classes together Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Five minutes into the lecture, she was already horribly lost and trying to decide if she even knows how to add or multiply, much less anything presented in the class.
Haile nods, a smile breaking out over her features. She signs something that causes Glenn to groan and Milo to make a face.
“Haile’s wrong,” he announces to the table at large. “That was not easy, and certainly not enjoyable.”
Glenn is already signing, face twisted into a look of disgust that morphs into confusion. Milo nods in agreement before translating.
“It seems that Haile is the only one here who retained anything from the lecture. Which also means that it’s her job to teach us the rest of the year.” At Cael’s questioning glance, he elaborates. “Every semester we all get together on Saturdays, and whoever’s good at a subject teaches the rest. So Haile’s usually in charge of math, I’ve got psychology and philosophy, and Glenn is our savior in history and science.”
He turns to Glenn and signs something. Glenn makes another face and replies. Haile nods along to whatever point he’s making, eyebrows furrowed and hair fluttering with the movements of her head.
“It’s hard to keep up with the professor in Geometry,” Milo says as Glenn signs. “It—there’s a lot of motion, a lot of chaos, and Milo can’t interpret fast enough a lot of the time because—the professor never stops fucking talking.”
Haile’s signing yes as Glenn speaks, Cael remembers that motion, and then Milo takes over speaking for her when Glenn is done.
“Yes, in Microbiology the professor doesn’t make a lot of sense, and he’s always turned away from us, so I can’t even try to figure out what Milo misses. That man is an asshole.” Milo speaks for himself in the last sentence, scowling at the apparent thought of their microbiology professor.
“Are you all in all of the same classes?” Cael asks curiously, because that seems odd considering the different tracks they’re all on. Milo nods, though.
“It’s easier for me to just interpret for them right now, and it’s mostly general classes anyway, so it works out for all of us. The college doesn’t really know what to do with Glenn or Haile, so when they found out I learned to sign because my mom is deaf, they stuck us all together. It’s also why they let Haile and Glenn room together, even though the dorm isn’t co-ed by room.”
Glenn taps the table to gain their attention, frustration evident on his face. Milo nods and speaks when Glenn begins to sign.
“It’s like they see us as without sex—not capable of intimacy or something. Just because our ears don’t work doesn’t mean the rest of us doesn’t.” It’s apparently a sore subject for Glenn, as his features become a picture of controlled anger.
Haile places a hand on his shoulder and signs something, and he responds. Milo translates with a laugh.
“I know we’re both gay, but still. It’s the principle.” Milo falls silent and signs something back, probably somewhat of an inside joke because both Haile and Glenn laugh. Cael doesn’t inquire into it. She does, however, latch on to the declaration that Haile is, in fact, interested in girls, which is suddenly the best news she’s heard all year. It’s too perfect, really—a beautiful girl with an adorable dog and great friends, and she likes girls.
“Do you want to study with us on Saturday?” Milo asks, in a brief moment where he has lost his usual smugness. Cael jumps at the chance.
“Yeah, that would be great. Where should I meet you?”
Milo reaches down to feed Anna a bit of toast, earning himself a playful slap from Haile and a firm reprimand.
“Their dorm is good. You any good at English?”
THERE’S SOMETHING to be said for setting your ringtone as different from your alarm sound, especially when the phone rings in the middle of the night.
Cael would have ignored it and written it off as a telemarketer, except the contact name reads “Haile” and Cael jolts into a sitting position and answers it, praying that something bad didn’t happen that would cause someone to call her on Haile’s phone.
“Hello?” she responds, not sure who will answer, but all she receives is silence and then the ominous click that signals the end of a call. She’s already a split second away from clicking Callback when her phone chimes with a text.
Haile <3
sorry i woke you! it was the only way i was sure you would notice my text and i need your help. anna is gone and milo isn’t picking up, and neither is glenn, and he isn’t in the room. can you come and help me find anna??
Cael scrambles to type back that she’ll be there as soon as she can. Thank God her mother sleeps like the dead, and thank God she finally got her own car a short month before. It’s laughably easy to exit the house: the floor doesn’t squeak and the door doesn’t slam, not like in all those movies she watched about teenagers sneaking out to go to parties while she sat at home on the couch with her mom. At the time she envied them, but now she’s not so sure, because it’s raining and seems to be getting darker by the second, and driving seems like an especially perilous pastime. Still, she can’t even dream of not showing up on campus for Haile, so she turns onto the road, rain beating down on her car and headlights seeming far too bright in contrast with the darkness seeping over her.
The campus is less than a half hour away, a bit more with how overly cautious Cael is being due to the rain. She wants to careen to the campus as quickly as possible, and her fear of crashing is the only thing holding her back. A few cars pass her, and her immediate reaction is to wonder what in the hell they’re doing out at three in the morning, disregarding that she too is out at three. She wonders if they question why she is out like she questions why they are.
God, she’s worried. Anna. What if something happened, what if they don’t find her? It’s a chilling thought, one that grips her with fear and refuses to let go, even when she pulls into the parking lot in front of Haile’s residence hall. The parking lot is full, as it should be; it’s the middle of the night, and fuck, Cael doesn’t know what to do. She can’t enter the dorm, not without a key card that she doesn’t have, so she texts Haile a short message informing her of her arrival.
It’s only a moment later when Haile bursts through the doors, makeup smeared but composure mostly intact. She looks utterly drained, and yet her eyes are wide and looking around the parking lot.
Cael’s phone dings.
Haile <3
she was gone an hour ago, and she’s not anywhere in the building. can you call her? i think maybe she escaped and she’s on the grounds somewhere. walk around with me?
“Of course,” Cael says aloud, nodding to accent her point. She calls for the dog, and when no dog arrives, she walks after Haile, who has motioned for her to follow. The rain hasn’t let up at all. She’s already soaked, her hair sticking to her scalp and the back of her neck. Grass concedes to puddles of water as they walk on it, and she’s beginning to hope that Anna is lost on the path somewhere and not back in the woods behind the campus, not the area Haile keeps nervously eyeing as if she doesn’t want to mention it. At least the path is lit by failing excuses for streetlights; the woods are completely shrouded in darkness, and the trees seem nearly menacing.
“Anna!” Cael calls for what seems like the hundredth time, hoping the dog will come running to them, tongue hanging out and somehow looking smug even though she’s a dog.
No such luck.
She taps Haile’s shoulder and signs Glenn’s name, accenting it with a questioning expression. She hopes it makes sense that she’s asking if Haile ever found Glenn. Haile shakes her head, and for the first time Cael notices small tear tracks that originate from her eyes. She’s shaking too, shivering in the cold and looking around for her dog that doesn’t seem to be anywhere to be found. The forest seems more and more like a distinct possibility, and yet it’s the last thing Cael wants to consider.
“Anna! Anna, come here!” Cael calls again. Only this time, a sound emanates from beside them, from inside the brick that comprises Dorm C.
The bark of a dog.
“Haile!” Cael says, tapping her shoulder with a sense of urgency she wasn’t sure she was capable of mere seconds ago. Haile whips around to face her, expression twisted into a mix between questioning and hope.
Cael gestures toward the building, fingerspelling to Haile. A-N-N-A. Haile brightens, pointing at the building and then repeating Cael’s spelling, this time considerably faster and without the noticeable pauses as Cael tried to think of the correct handshape.
They speed up, moving toward the building that is completely silent except for the bark that Cael had heard. It’s dark as well, understandable at three thirty in the morning on a Thursday. Haile flashes her card, which evidently works for all the dorms, unless she has one for when she visits Milo, and they push the doors open. Cael calls for Anna again, hoping no one wakes up and asks why she’s there. The dog barks again, just a few rooms down the hall, and she moves toward it in a modified walking-running motion that carries her until she stops in front of the door the dog is evidently behind.
“Milo,” Haile signs, staring at the door. She looks hurt and a bit surprised, which is enough for Cael to infer that this dorm room houses none other than one Milo Smite.
Haile yanks open the door and reaches out to flip on the lights, hands falling to rest on her hips as she takes in the sight in front of her. Milo is asleep in the bed on the right side of the room, and in his bed, covered in what appears to be rainbow food coloring, is Anna, who has perked up to look at them. Her tail wags, conveying her excitement, and although Cael knows she doesn’t do it on purpose, it’s a little funny when it hits Milo square in the face.
“What the fuck,” he mutters, eyes opening to find out what woke him. Haile stalks over to the bed, eyes fiery as they set sights on Milo. She signs something, motions sharp and concise, gestures painfully precise. The boy sits up, eyes still cloudy with sleep. He responds, his gestures sluggish and large, as though he hasn’t woken up enough to care.
“Hey, what the fuck is going on? Why did you take Anna?” Cael finally asks, fed up with whatever excuses Milo is sure to be using. He shoots her an annoyed look but switches to English, voice just as subdued as his signs.
“We were trying to get Haile’s party ready. She wasn’t supposed to notice until Glenn got back to bring her to it.”
“Why is the dog rainbow?” Because honestly, that seems like a pertinent question right now.
“For the party,” Milo says, as if they are both so incredibly stupid he cannot understand it. Haile is staring at him, lost, because he hasn’t bothered to translate any of his words for her.
“The dog is rainbow for Haile’s coming-out party. She came out to all of us this time last year, and Glenn and I thought we would throw her a party. To remember it. Except you weren’t supposed to find out at three in the fucking morning.”
Haile has given up trying to follow the conversation and instead elected to sit on the bed with Anna and run her shaky hands through her fur. Cael doesn’t quite know what to say. She doesn’t know Milo well enough to truly yell at him, but at the same time, she can’t believe he took Haile’s dog without even asking.
“Where’s Glenn?” she asks instead. Milo sighs, ignoring Haile’s signed question, which seems like a complete dick move.
“He’s getting shit for the party. He should be back by now; he might have gone to his room.”
Haile shoots Milo one last dirty look and slides off the bed, Anna jumping off after her. She approaches Cael, and before she can even question what is happening, Haile presses a soft kiss to her lips. After she pulls away, she signs something, and Cael desperately looks to Milo for a translation, which he grudgingly gives.
