See Me, Hear Me

Chapter 3

What's wrong, Junnie?" Juno turns to his mother, observing her hands as she signs to him. He shakes his head, continuing to play with his cereal. Are you sure? You've been toying with those Cheerios for the past three minutes," Jhene expresses concern, tilting her head to study her son with a worried look on her face. Juno nods his head once more, despite being troubled by several concerns - his sister, school, and his feelings for Solange. He had already come to realize that he liked her, yet he was uncertain about how to express his feelings to her.

He gazes downward at his dampened cereal, emitting a quiet exhale. His eyes fixate on the pallid milk. Jhene extends her hand to clasp her son's, arm Juno's gaze to meet hers, a faint smile gracing her lips as she silently articulates. "Junnie you know you can talk to Mama about anything? If something is wrong tell me." She lets him know as Juno reads her lips wishing he could hear her voice. Juno nodded his head. Although he was unable to express his feelings to her, believing she might not comprehend them, there remained a possibility that she would. Given that she was similar to him, he wondered if she could offer him advice.

"I'm trying to ask this girl out on a date, but I don't know where to take her. I don't even know if she's interested in me in that way," Juno communicates with his mother using sign language, and her eyes widen with surprise. "Oh, look at my baby! Throughout all your school years, you've never once mentioned having any girlfriends; this is quite unexpected!" She signs back with excitement, clasping her hands together, while Juno's face flushes with embarrassment.

He waves his hands, signing with embarrassment, "She's not my girlfriend, but I am interested in her." "Why don't you ask her about her interests? I can't offer much advice because the only man I've ever been involved with is your father, and he didn't leave me much choice by cornering me against the locker and claiming me out of nowhere," Jhene signs back to her son, noticing his shocked expression. She gestures reassuringly, "He wasn't forceful or anything, Junnie. That man was just very direct; he knew what he wanted and never hesitated to go for it."

Juno smiles, wishing he could emulate that certainty, to know what he desires and pursue it relentlessly. It reminds him of the guy who struck up a conversation with him at school on Friday. His confidence was palpable in his body language and the way his smile punctuated every sentence Juno noted. Juno smiled to himself, reminiscing about the entire class period they spent chatting. He was a cool dude and his name was Malik, and he told Juno he was from Houston TX, age 19, grade a senior like Juno. Juno finds him interesting and hopes they can become good friends.

"Thanks, Ma, I appreciate it." Juno smiles, signaling to her that he will consider her advice. She was able to assist with one of his issues, but he couldn't confide in her about Alicia; it would only cause drama between them. Besides, his mother was astute and would likely discern it eventually without him having to mention it. Jehne smiles as she stands up from the chair, pushing it in before walking towards the hallway that leads into her and her husband's bedroom. Juno watches her silently from behind before standing up with his soggy cereal and heading toward the sink.

As he rinses the bowl and places it on the right side with the other dirty dishes, his phone vibrates in his pocket. Juno lets the water run until the milk and soggy cereal are flushed down the drain. Once the sink is clear, he activates the garbage disposal, resting his hand against the sink to sense its vibrations—the only indication that it's operational. When he feels that the waste has been eliminated, he switches off the disposal, and with it, the vibrations cease.

Juno extracted his phone from his pocket and tapped the screen, which illuminated at his touch, revealing a text message from Solange. A subtle smile crept onto his lips as he clicked on the message to open it. "Do you want to join me at the State Fair on Sunday?" He read the text again before responding, "Yes, um... are you asking me out?" A wave of embarrassment washed over him as he attempted to retract the message before she could see it, but it was too late. Laughter, represented by emojis, appeared on her end of the conversation, followed by her reply. "Call it whatever you like, Bug, but it won't be just the two of us. I've also invited your sister, my oblivious stepbrother, and the new guy from school."