This book is dedicated to my best friends, for always being there for me when I needed it.

Thank you to the people, you guys know who you are. 

            - Aubrey Hussey

Here I am now.  Almost eleven years old, my favorite color is yellow, and I love penguins. I’m still in kindergarten at Spaulding Elementary. Ridiculous! All I want is for people to see how smart I am. I mean I’m not a genius, but I taught myself to read, have a pretty large vocabulary, do hard math, and have an amazing memory.        

    Anyways, right now Mom is spoon feeding a familiar taste of oats, milk and cinnamon sugar into my eager mouth. I wonder if we are still going to do those same old alphabet reviews at school today.

“All fed, kiddo,” she says softly. I haven't mastered the sound “Y” yet, but I will give it a try for the word “Yep” anyways.

“Buh,” Well, it was worth a shot.

All fed, kiddo.

Buh.

 As mom wheels me into my classroom, my teacher Miss Milford greets me with that metal-shiny smile.

“Good morning, sweetie,”

I know she doesn't expect me to answer her with words, so I try to force a smile. 

“Hey, Melody! Come on over here. We're gonna work on counting to ten on paper,” my aide Ms. Hamilton beames. At least it wasn’t the alphabet lessons.

 Mom wheels me over to where Ms. Hamilton is sitting, twirling her curly chocolate brown hair again and again, as the smell of the rose in my moms perfume and the click-clack of  her high heels slowly drift away.

Right now, I don't feel like writing down numbers, so I just look away. I love Ms. Hamilton, she’s nice, smart, always in a good mood, but I just can’t  handle being stuck in kindergarten for this many years! It’s unbelievable! As I gaze around the colorful, lively classroom, my eyes get caught on Miss Milford walking in with a boy.

He looks about my age, if not a little bit younger. Dirty blonde hair, pretty tall, hazel eyes, lime green hearing aids. He looks weirdly familiar. And that's when my photographic memory comes in handy. Well lets see, TV show? No. Was he on the news? No. Commercial? Yes! He was in so many commercials for so many different popular brands! I think his name is Samuel Henderson.  Also, I remember hearing on the radio that he had to end his career due to some kind of incident. 

    Miss Milford lays her eyes on me and half smiles.

“Kids, listen up. This is Sam. Everyone say hello.”  She announces. Everyone says hello. Sam gives a gentle wave, shyness and hesitancy in his eyes. Miss Milford goes on. “He is deaf. Although he can't talk, he can still hear alright. Everyone should be nice to him, okay? Okay.”  

“Oooookkkkaaay,” everyone says. Miss Milford pulls up a tiny chair to where I’m sitting and invites Sam to sit. 

“Sam, this is Melody. Melody, this is Sam. Is it okay if he can sit with you?” She asked. I nod and smile big, knowing the rest of the year is going to be so much better with a friend!

Listen up, kids.

    Later that day at recess, me and Sam were playing Tic-Tac-Toe at our desks. I was about to play my winning move, and win, just when he gets three of his X’s in a row. What! How! Huh?! I feel crushed. I was about to win a game for the first time in forever! I guess it’s okay though, there's always tomorrow. I shift my eyes over to see Sam writing a note. He looks up at me and gives it to me. It read:

    Do you ever feel like no one understands you because you can’t talk? I know I do.

    Of course I do!  If only I knew how to write that. I look around the room and find the three words I need: All, the, and time. I copy down the squiggly lines and curves, careful making sure they look right.  It was kind of fun! I felt free, my pencil dancing a lively tango on the blank post-it note.  I proudly revise my words, realizing how shaky it turned out. I’m still proud of myself, though. I hand the note to Sam and he hesitates to read it. A moment later, he hands back another note asking if he can teach me how to write. I use all the strength in my neck and head to nod eagerly, a big smile on my face. 

    I spent the rest of recess writing with Sam. He taught me how to write the whole alphabet! Not only that, he even taught me to write some words like cat, mat, was, and the. He also wrote me a note telling me to practice at home. And I did.

                                               A lot.

Days passed, and I was getting stronger and stronger at writing. By now, I was able to write a whole essay!

     At the moment, Sam and I are doing an addition math worksheet when a boy named Carter in my class comes up to Sam. 

    “Just wondering,” he smirks. “Why do you hang out with Melody? She’s so… still.” Uuuggghhh. Not this again. People think I can’t hear them, so they go ahead and make fun of me. But absolutely, I can hear them!  They are two feet away from me! Sam frustratedly ignores him. Then he writes me a note. After I read it, I realize that these words are probably the nicest words someone had ever told me: 

    People have been asking me mean questions like that about you ever since I came here! Melody, please don’t listen to them. They're jealous I have a friend like you. Always remember it's never the outside that shows who you are, it's the inside that speaks the most about you. You are amazing no matter what and I will always be your friend.    

    He really is my true friend. This makes me want to talk even more. I could have a conversation with people, including him.