John Laurens walked down the crowded hallway, making his way to his first period class. He tried to ignore the snickers of Thomas Jefferson and his lackeys as he passed. He wished, for the billionth time, that he could speak. If he could, he would destroy them. But for now, he just had to keep his head down.

"Hey Turtle Boy!" Called Jefferson. "Where's your mommy and daddy, they aren't here to protect you?" He was referring to Lafayette and Mulligan. "Welp, all the better for us!" He stuck out his leg and Laurens stumbled over it, falling on his knees.

"Hey!" Came a voice from behind Laurens. "What the hell dude?"

Laurens hurriedly stood up and grabbed his bag. He turned around and was face to face with the most gorgeous boy he'd ever seen. Long brown hair pulled into a ponytail, huge eyes the color of melted chocolate, and tanned skin. Caribbean maybe.

Jefferson smirked. "I'll see you in English, Turtle Boy."

"You okay? the new kid asked. Laurens nodded and began shoving his textbooks into his bag. He grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and scribbled: I'm mute. Can't speak. I'm okay though.

"Oh." Said the boy. "Do you know sign language?" Laurens nodded. "That's fantastic."

How about we start over? I'm John Laurens, he signed.

"Alexander Hamilton. Pleasure to meet you." They shook hands. Where are you headed? Asked John.

"Art with Mrs. Washington. I hear she's cool."

Me too! Art is my best class. Washington is the best.

"Really? I'm not that great at art. My best classes are History and English."

They continued talking and signing as they made their way to room 109, the art classroom. Turns out they had English, History, Lunch, French, and Math together as well.

Lafayette and Mulligan were sitting in the front of the classroom, nervously waiting for Laurens to enter. "I wonder what's taking him so long?" mused Mulligan.

"Maybe Thomas got to him again." said Lafayette, the fear in his voice evident. Just then, Laurens walked in with a boy they hadn't seen before. They were having a pretty heated sign language discussion.

"Well looky here," said Mulligan. "Johnny Boy's made a friend." They smiled at the newcomer as they walked over.

Hey guys! Signed Laurens. His smile was brighter than usual. This is Alexander Hamilton. Call him Alex. Or Hamilton. Doesn't matter.

The boys smiled. "Hey, I'm Hercules Mulligan. Call me Herc. Or Mulligan. And this is Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette. Just call him Lafayette."

"I'll keep that in mind." Alex said with a laugh. That all sat and took out their sketchbooks.

When the bell rang, Mrs. Washington danced in. Literally danced. She was wearing a bright purple floral skirt that went to her shins, a white tank top, and a purple cardigan. "Good morning class!" She sang. "How was your weekend? Anything interesting happen?"

Everyone started shouting random crazy things at once. Someone said something about being eaten by a bear and another said they discovered their mother was in the CIA.

"Alright, alright! Now it's time for your favorite activity of the day!" She held her arms up, waiting for a response.

"Picking something to draw!" They all cheered. "Anyone have any suggestions?"

"We could draw landmarks!" Laf chimed in

"Or we could draw our idols." Suggested Herc.

John raised his hand. We could draw what animal represents us. He signed.

"I love that idea, Johnathon! I think that I'll draw a flamingo. What about you?"

A turtle. John said without hesitation.

"Animals it is! Work will not be graded on how much I like it, but on how much effort is put in. Be creative, don't be afraid to make it ridiculous. Begin!"

They put pencil to paper. Mulligan began drawing a bear in a complicated dress. Lafayette drew an otter with a french moustache and a beret. Alex drew a seagull with a pen in its beak. And John drew a turtle. The detail was incredible. The animal's head was halfway into its shell and the shadow cast on its face made it so you could see that its mouth was stitched closed.

Half an hour later, 10 minutes before the bell rang, Mrs. Washington called, "Time! Sign your drawings and pass them to the front." She shuffled the papers. "Up first we have- Alex! Why do you feel this drawing represents you?"

"I love to write. Writing is like my therapy. I drew a seagull because it's a free bird, and I'm trying to overcome my fear of the ocean."

"Very nice. Hercules! You're next."

"I drew a bear because that's what I'm always compared to, I guess. And I drew a dress because I love to design clothing. It's not really something you'd expect a football player to do." he chuckled.

"John! You're next. Who wants to translate the sign language for the rest of the class?"

"I'll do it." Alex said. He began translating. "I drew a turtle because they are slow, silent, and timid. They're also my favorite animal."

"Thank you Alex. Very nice, John! The shading and detail in this is amazing." John blushed.

"I swear, that kid has a turtle fetish!" Snickered Charles Lee from the corner of the classroom.

"Lee, get out of my classroom." Washington commanded.

"What?! I didn't do anything!"

"I'm offended. Do you think I'm that stupid? You can expect a lunch detention tomorrow." Lee accepted defeat and slouched down in his chair. Fortunately for him, the bell rang before the teacher could say anything else.

"Wow, she's intense." Said Alex when they were out of the classroom.

"She is. You get used to it though." Said Laf.

"We all have English next together. Mr. Franklin is the teacher, and he's super strict about being late. We should get going!" Said Herc. They made their way down the hallway, unaware of the trouble waiting for them.

Authors note-

Hiya! Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. It's long but it only took me like 30 minutes to write. Mrs. Washington was asked off of my IRL English teacher. Eccentric af. Sorry for the cliffhanger!