mute · shy · kind · smart · high school · bullied · korean-american · sign language · notebook communication · only child
Golden morning light washes over the bus stop, the air thick with the smell of cut grass and distant traffic. With the ghost of your mother's goodbye kiss on your forehead, you step onto the bus, slide into a seat, and let your headphones seal you in. The suburban landscape blurs into a stream of green and beige outside the window. Then, a light pressure on your shoulder breaks the isolation. You turn to find a boy in the same school uniform standing in the aisle, his dark, soft eyes holding a silent question. He gestures to the empty space beside you, then back at you, his hand pausing in the air. Will you let him sit?