have you lost your voice?? {dan}

[SIENNA PORTER]

“There is one thing I do every day,” Sienna told her sister Saylor about two hours ago, “and that is hop on a bus and get off at the second to last stop and explore wherever I have happened to end up.

”

Saylor had sighed and must’ve very visibly rolled her eyes because Sienna could feel that even over the phone. “Yeah, alright. Just don’t latch onto the first guy you see, okay?”

To which Sienna had made an offended noise, stuttered out some indignant response, and hung up. Whatever! It wasn’t like she fell for every pair of pretty brown eyes, or each heart melting voice, or any spared glance. She had a lot more restraint than her older sisters realized, and someday Sienna would prove that. Today was not that day. Really, she didn’t give even half a damn about it. So what if she had a lot of love to share, and that her number one way of doing so was by falling head over heels for someone new each day? She’d simply burst otherwise! She’d explode into glitter and heart shaped confetti, and nobody (least of all her) wanted that!

Especially not since she was wearing one of her favorite pairs of shorts today, along with a really neat shirt that said how good a mood she was in (though she didn't get the number sign?), and some of her coolest bracelets; what better way to meet new people than by showing off the sort of things you liked on the clothes you were in? For all she knew, whoever she met on the bus would also have a thing for Adventure Time and My Little Pony. It was easily what she loved most about her sense of style, despite how often her sisters insisted she toss her wardrobe and let them take her shopping for clothes more her age. Pass! They wore, like, skirts and jeans. And besides, she’d grown up wearing a lot of their hand-me-downs, and she did not want anything more to do with that.

Her walk from Baum Academy was a short one, as usual. She was used to the route by now, and the people she saw on it. You’d be surprised by how often you could see one person in all of New York City. Sienna had begun to know her as ‘the umbrella lady,’ because no matter the weather, she always had an umbrella. Sometimes it was a thick dark one, or lacy and pastel, or large and clear. It was pretty neat how many different kinds she had, and Sienna always gave her a smile when walking by. As if it wasn’t cool enough meeting strangers on the bus, she really enjoyed meeting them at the bus stop. It was always an opportunity to get to know somebody before she decided if she’d actually want to sit next to them.

Today, there wasn’t anybody at the bus stop. Which meant she’d just missed it. Which was fine, really. So she sat for awhile longer, humming quietly and twirling a strand of hair around her finger. There wasn’t anything interesting to do on her phone, seeing as she still had one with an actual keyboard. Hand her a smart phone and laugh when you see the look of confusion on her face. And then the bus pulled up and she stood, making the normal routine of getting on and using her pass and searching the seats for somebody interesting. Her eyes landed on a boy who might have been a bit younger than her with sandy brown hair and a sort of familiarity to his face. That was all she needed.

Hurrying to sit down beside him before the bus started moving, she only hesitated a second before sitting down. Perhaps too close for comfort. She turned to face him, smiling with what she was sure wasn’t too crazy of a look. She’d learned to work on that when the first person she’d ever sat next to immediately got off the bus. “Hello! I’m Sienna. Can I sit here?” Yes, so despite having done this a few times already, she still hadn’t learned bus etiquette.

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[DAN KAPLAN]

What was he buying, again?

#fuck.

Oh! Ice cream! Andrea wanted ice cream. She’d finger-languaged the flavor she’d to him #shutup #itworks, but he totally couldn’t remember. He racked and racked his brain, trying to bring up the image of what her hands had been doing, but…nope. #idiot. He was just so used to having a written record of things people told him that he literally had no recollection of the specifics of their conversation, except that she’d asked him to go to the 7/11 and get her a pint of ice cream.

Well, #whatever. He’d just like, get whatever looked good. She wouldn’t know the difference, would she?

Wait, #shutupDan. That was literally the worst idea ever. He couldn’t trick her! That would be totally wrong on like, so many levels. #idiot. He’d just have to text her and ask her. Except, with his luck, she’d be like, sleeping, or in the basement, or doing something where she didn’t have phone service. #Shit, this had been a terrible idea.

He stared out the bus window, watching the city go by, when he felt a pressure on the seat next to him. He turned to see a girl, about his age, who looked like she was saying something. She seemed pretty like, adamant about what she was saying too #nojudgment. Dan rolled his eyes and pulled his phone out, opening the notepad app, and typing resignedly.

Ho hum. #hearingworldprobz.

It’s cool that you’re talking to me, but I’m deaf. Can I help you?

Well, it wasn’t pretty, but it had to be done. So many times breaking the stupid ice had given him ample practice at swallowing his pride. It was basically routine. He handed her the phone, feeling the familiar shudder as it passed from his hands. He really needed to remember to wear his headphones on these things.

Though maybe she’d have an ice cream flavor she could recommend. #souvenier.

Outfit

[SIENNA PORTER]

Uh.

Wow, he. Just… took his phone out. And, like. Totally ignored her?? Okay so yeah, she’d dealt with rude people before. It was to be expected when you just sat next to complete strangers on the bus. But he hadn’t even grunted in response! She at least got that before they put up that invisible wall. God, jeez. How rude! Maybe she would have been better off moving.

Before she knew exactly what was happening, too caught up in her own mind, he was actually handing his phone over. She took it, responding as one usually automatically did when being handed things. What… what the hell was she supposed to do with this??? Her eyebrows knitted together and her smile turned into a frown. Her phone still flipped open and had a keyboard. She’d never understood the point of the touch screen phones. How did people even do it?

“Uh. What do you—

” She finally took a minute to actually look at the screen and found that he’d typed something. Oh … Oh!! Shit, he was deaf. Ohmygod, she was a horrible person. She’d assumed so quickly that he was just some asshole. But he wasn’t. Or at least, she guessed he wasn’t. He’d been pretty straight to the point in that little message, but being blunt didn’t make him an asshole. “Wow, jeez, I’m—[/color]” What was she doing?! He couldn’t hear her!

Swallowing a little nervously, Sienna shot him a glance and then looked back to the phone. This was probably one of his only ways of communication, then. And she had to be careful. Like more careful than she’d ever been in life. Shit. Fuck. Oh God. Holding the phone in a careful death grip, if that was a thing, she slowly typed out a reply. Slowly as in one letter every five seconds. “Ohmygod, what the hell. How do people even do this?[/color]”

Every couple of letters, she hit one she didn’t want, and she didn’t find the delete button until she was half a sentence in. No point in going back now, though. “God damn, where is Savannah when you need her.[/color]” Her older sister had taken sign language all through high school, and she was hoping someday to be some big fancy translator. Sienna could really use that right about now. What had she even typed? Deciding she couldn’t do any more damage than that, she handed the phone back and mouthed ‘I’m sorry’ at him, as if that could make up for the disaster she was being.

Wow uhj I’m likew reallynskrry I’m sienna I was juats wondering if j could sit here. How the fuck do you dothis ohmygod

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[DAN KAPLAN]

And she was still trying to talk to him.

Well, that wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. It usually took people a few minutes to catch on. Sometimes Dan liked to play a little game with himself, where he tried to gauge people’s intelligence based on how quickly they were able to adapt themselves to the whole #deaf thing. Some seemed literally unable to grasp the concept, and continued to gabble away in his general direction, as if talking more would just like magically restore his hearing or whatever #stupidity. Others would grab his phone, or pull out a notepad, without missing a beat. It probably wasn’t intelligence so much as like, familiarity with the fact that not being able to hear was actually a real thing that like, real people had, or experience with people like him, even, but still. #funfunfun.

Well, she seemed to be #kinda catching on. Oh, she was holding his phone like a lifesaver or something, like if she dropped it the world was going to shatter into billions of pieces. #classic. He would’ve told her that, being a competent high school reader and all, he’d probably be able to get the gist of her message even with typos here and there. But #ofcourse, he didn’t have his phone, so that was a #nogo.

He practically chuckled when he read her message. He nodded approvingly, patting the seat beside him and scooting closer to the window. Had she like, never typed anything with her thumbs ever in her life? #huh.

Never used an iPhone? #lol he typed, handing the phone back to his new seat buddy for the next few blocks, at least.

Glancing from Sienna to the window, he couldn’t help but think about all the days he’d spent wishing he could live literally any life but his own, and how this wasn’t one of them, because at least he got a few perks like this one. He got to see people at their worst, their most panicked, most frantic. He got to see the reality of their psyches, their humanity, in ways that normal, hearing people couldn’t.

[SIENNA PORTER]

This was a little embarrassing. It usually took quite a bit for Sienna to feel even a tiny bit mortified, but she’d managed to make a total fool of herself in the span of un minuto. Not only had she continued to talk to him, but she’d had to (and would continue to have to) communicate using a touch screen phone. A touch screen phone!! She wanted to wail in agony, ever one to be dramatic. Why couldn’t they all just go back to the ages of flip phones? Or even those bricks! She’d take one of those over a smart phone any day.

Still, the little nod was encouraging enough and when he moved over so she could sit, she felt as if a victory dance would’ve suited the situation. Maybe once she was off the moving bus. She worriedly nibbled on her bottom lip, wondering what he was thinking. Probably that she was an idiot or a child or something like that, for not even knowing how to use the space button. Seriously, why hadn’t she thought about this? Her sister had a touch screen phone, but she was sure Shiloh would rather die than let Sienna touch her phone. The girl was attached to it at all times, it was ridiculous.

The bus slowed to a stop just as the boy handed his phone back over. Oh man, had it been that obvious? She gave him a nervous smile. He hadn’t introduced himself yet and she cleared her throat a little, as if that would help. Wait, what… what was with the number sign? Why did he decided to stick it in front of the ‘lol’ like that? At least she knew what that meant. Though he hadn’t actually laughed out loud, so her confusion at this point might as well have been palpable. Once people had finished walking off and on the bus, she started out a reply so as not to be jostled. God forbid she drop it and have to pay him for repairs, or whatever.

Haaaa yeah no. My phone stilj dlips open. What’s tour name by the way? And why’d you use that nimbef sign/?

At that point, she couldn’t decide which answer she wanted first. Names were great and all but a reason for the seemingly unnecessary sign was her top priority right now. And if these phones were so damn smart, why didn’t they autocorrect all her words?? Seriously!
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