"So today is the day?" signed Jamie between forkfuls of salad

"Today is the day" Repeated John, sharing his attention between his girlfriend and the list of homework he still had to catch up with. John had returned to school on Monday and was still behind of a ton of stuff. Being away for a week had really put him behind on his studies.

"Are you excited?" pressed Jamie wanting to hear more than just her own words being said back to her

"Why?" asked John, closing his agenda before pushing away his half eaten sandwich. He wasn't in the mood to eat.

"You're not hungry? And I just thought you would be excited about turning your implants on. You are going to be able to hear!"

"No. I'm not hungry and I'm not all that excited. I just want it to be over with"

"Oh come on! You know you're excited. Aren't you at least a tiny bit curious to hear what my voice sounds like?" Flirted Jamie, batting her eyelashes

John chuckled and nodded his head "Okay. Maybe I am a bit curious but you know my mom is going to make a huge deal out of it. She is probably going to film it."

"She's your mom. She is supposed to do those things. Have you started calling her that yet? Or do you still call her Amy"

"I've called her mom a few times now but it just feels so weird."

"Still" Jamie continued, "I think you should now that you are going to be talking instead of signing all the time. You are still going ahead with the speech therapy right?"

"Do you think my parents would let me even consider dropping that? They can't wait to stop signing. My dad especially. He has flash cards and booklets the therapist recommended we look over together as a 'family unit'. Its sickening"

"Well you can't really blame them. Up until 17 weeks ago, ASL was foreign to them. Its a hard language to learn overnight"

"Yea well it isn't like speaking is any easier. They need a reality check. Both of them"

The conversation between the two silenced and John went back to going over his homework. Jamie finished her lunch and packed her Tupperware back into her lunch bag along with her fork. She stood up from her seat next to John and zipped up her backpack, ready to leave.

"Where are you going?" John signed, taking hold of her wrist before she got the chance to storm away.

"I am going to class early since sitting here with you is obviously doing me no good what so ever"

"I'll go with you." John replied, standing up

"You haven't finished eating yet"

"I told you." John signed sternly "I'm not hungry"

Suddenly a loud crash from the opposite end of the cafeteria silenced the large room. John continued to pack up his things and didn't notice a crowd of basketball players making their way towards him and Jamie with Brad leading the pack.

"HEY HEARING AID!" Brad shouted, storming right up to John. He took hold of his shoulder and swung him around to face him.

John starred at the bully coolly and turned away, continuing to pack his bag.

"I'm talking to you" Brad continued to shout

"He can't hear you" Jamie replied sternly, crossing her arms as she silently prayed Brad would leave them alone

"You shut up." Brad ordered, pointing fingers at Jamie "John here got me suspended for two weeks and is going to pay"

John read Brad's lips out of the corner of his eye and shot up from his backpack, pushing him away from the table. "Don't talk to her like that!" John signed frantically, beginning to loose his cool

"Get away from me man. Maybe she is the one I ought to be messing with" Snarled Brad, pushing John to the side as he stormed over to Jamie's direction. She turned away and began walking but Brad caught up and took hold of the same wrist John has grabbed moments before only a lot harder.

"Leave me alone!" She screamed, watching John sprint up behind the bully.

"BWAAD!" John screamed, taking the punk's attention away from his girlfriend. Brad let go of Jamie and turned to face John who was winding up a punch. John swung his right fist squarely into Brad's right jaw, causing him to spin around once before falling to the floor stunned with a light drizzle of fresh blood escaping his lip.

"LEEV... MEE... ALONE...!" John shouted angrily. He took Jamie's hand in his and stormed out of the cafeteria, headed for the main office, as he already knew what was going to happen if he didn't.

John waited to see the principle Mr. Conners, who had already befriended John since his transition to Central. John was eventually escorted into his office where he explained what had happened in the cafeteria along with his interpreter's help. Later Coach West and a swollen Brad who was holding an icepack up to his mouth joined him. Brad's mom was called into the school first to find that her son had received yet another two week suspension. This time though, John was also at fault and had Michael call his mom all the way in New Jersey to come and pick him up. His punishment was only a three-day suspension, which included that Friday. John would be back to school on Wednesday.

After waiting almost an hour for Amy to pick him up, John followed his silent mother to their car parked outside the main entrance to the school. They jumped inside the cold vehicle and sat in silence.

"Aw yoo mad?"

Amy looked at John sternly for the longest time before saying "No. I'm incredibly proud of you. He had it coming for months and I think you gave him exactly what he deserved. However, Mr. Conners suggested I punish you so I'm taking your car away until your suspension is over. You can drive it to school on Wednesday morning. Because you weren't allowed to drive it alone without the implant turned on, a few extra days of being driven is not going to kill you"

"Fine" John signed harshly "But I don't have to like it"

"No one is asking you to. Now, onto the hospital?"

Amy drove her and her son to the hospital in a disturbing silence and hardly anytime at all since it was the middle of the day and any cars that were normally on the road causing traffic were waiting for the workday to finish. She pulled into the congested parking lot of the hospital, paid for her ticket and found a spot behind the main entrance, next to the ER. The two made their way into the building and took an elevator up to the third floor.

John sat next to his mother in the waiting room, smiling politely at patients and nurses who passed by endlessly. He eventually got bored and decided to pass the time by pulling out his phone, which his mother immediately took away.

"Come on!" signed John aggressively "The car is punishment enough!"

"Obviously not because you haven't changed your attitude since we left the school. What's got you so mad? Are you not happy to finally be able to hear?"

"It's not that Amy."

"Does this have anything to do with our idea to adopt?"

"No no! Of course not! I'm actually excited for that. I'm just nervous this is all going to fall apart. I'll learn to hear and something will go wrong… I don't know"

"Hey" Amy said, patting the hand her son was using to sign, "You are safe now. It's normal to be scared everything around you is going to disappear. You just went through the most traumatic experience of your life where everything around you disappeared. And on top of that, your father and I are taking away the one last thing that truly defines you"

"Wuts that?" he mumbled

"Your signing. We are making you dependant on your ears instead of your hands and its wrong. I'm sorry"

"Its alright. I never said I wasn;t happy about it. I just don't want to get used to this. Our family, school, speaking… just to have it disappear."

"John…" Amy whispered through tears "I'm not going anwhere. None of us are. You are safe. Now, and forever"

"Pwomis?"

"Promise" She said firmly, pulling her son in for a hug. He tightly hugged her back, before being interrupted by her pulling away as a nurse entered the waiting room to call John into a room in the back.

John wiped his eyes and stood up, holding out his hand for his mother who starred at him for a minute from a chair before happily taking his hand and following him into the back hallway.

Inside the exam room, John was seated next to a large desk with a computer and some foreign equipment he didn't recognize. Amy sat across the room in the tight corner on a stool and watched her son affectionately as he waited patiently.

"Sorry I'm late" Spoke a flustered Dr. Quine as she entered the room and sat down in the chair under the desk "I'm Dr. Quine" she said, shaking both John and Amy's hand "Are we ready to start?"

John nodded his head anxiously and looked at his mother who reassured him he would be fine by signing. He smiled and turned his attention to the doctor who was fiddling with her computer mouse.

"Okay John" She said more to herself, as she reached over John's buzz cut to turn on his implant now resting on the side of his head.

"Are you ready John?" Dr. Quine asked slowly.

He took a deep breath and nodded his head, looking at his mother one last time before shutting his eyes closed as if about to receive a needle in his arm. Dr. Quine nodded her head as well then clicked a button on her desk.

John waited in silence, not really hearing anything until a small buzzing noise started surrounding his head. He felt dizzy and nervous but kept his eyes shut anyways. As if in a trance, he heard a faint noise from somewhere in the room. It was his name, being called over and over again. But he didn't know by who because his eyes were closed.

"Open your eyes John" The voice said.

He did as he was told and slowly opened his eyes to find his mother standing next to him, speaking slowly.

"John?" Amy asked once more, starting to fear the implant hadn't worked. John's eyes flashed in her direction and he smiled in awe, finally ready to forget the past and make room for the present. All by one simple word, which he was finally ready to say and say forever.

"Mom?