Give Me a Sign(45)

I pull out my left hearing aid as well and toss them both into the Otterbox. The music is blaring so loud I’m still able to hear the beat.

While I can tell there’s a song playing, what I hear is more subdued, faded. Some of the melody, none of the words. My brain is no longer trying hard to search for the lyrics. I’m embracing the beat, which, amplified by the movement of people around me, shakes the floor beneath my feet.

Despite my hurrying back to the dance area, Isaac has been pulled into a circle with a bunch of campers, so I find a spot next to my cabin group. Honey signs something to Mackenzie, who then signs to me, “Some of the girls need to go to the bathroom. We’ll be right back.”

We communicate despite the loud environment, with no leaning forward, no asking “what,” and no hearing aids. To some degree, going without them is a vulnerable experience, but it’s also liberating.

Someone taps my shoulder. It’s Isaac. He’s taken his ridiculous braid down, but I notice he’s slipped my purple hair tie around his wrist with his camp bracelets. He reaches for my hand and pulls me close once more. He nods back toward my backpack. “Okay?” he asks one-handed.

I turn my head side to side to demonstrate.

He tilts his head, confused. “You took them out?”

I nod, unsure what his reaction will be. “For now.”

Isaac reaches up and brushes my hair back behind my unencumbered ears.

“I feel strange without them,” I say slowly, staring into his dark eyes.

He lets his hand linger at my neck for a moment before bringing it back to his chest to sign with a small shrug, “Just different.”

The tempo drops because, of course, Bobby stuck a slow song into the mix. Isaac reaches his arms out to me. I crash forward into his chest for a tight hug. This ballad has less of a beat. The ground beneath my feet is steady, but I lean against Isaac and feel his heart race.

He has me so confused. Would it be too much for him to admit if he likes me or not? This is totally a romantic moment, right? There’s no way I’m misinterpreting this. Is it really that hard for him to communicate his feelings? Or at least stop toying with mine?

I’m so absorbed in the moment that it’s startling to realize some kids are watching us. No one else is dancing to the song. But my arms are around Isaac’s neck, and his hand is resting on my back. I’m not going to let anything ruin this moment.

But of course the next song on the playlist is the chicken dance.

We’re immediately torn apart by our attention-seeking campers, while Bobby laughs about his song selection. Great.

Isaac gives a wide apologetic smile. “See you after hours?”

If nothing else comes of this time with Isaac, at least this will still be a summer to remember.

Chapter Sixteen

Back at the cabin shortly after the dance, the campers are so exhausted that they crash into bed immediately at curfew. I stifle a yawn myself, but I’m reenergized as soon as I change out of worn-out athletic gear and into nicer shorts and a real bra （outside-world clothes）。 I wear my hair down, tucking the sides back with bobby pins. And finally, I do my face with light makeup, the usual for a typical day out with friends, much more put together than my standard camp fare.

Ethan catches me on my way back from the bathhouse. “Where ——？”

“Sorry, I don’t,” I say, pointing to my ears.

“Oh, you don’t have your hearing aids in,” he says and signs. “Did you get my text?”

“Not yet, my phone is in my bunk.”

“All right, we’re meeting in the parking lot in ten minutes.”

Mackenzie’s already dressed and on her way out. I grab my phone to read Ethan’s text to all the counselors and hurry so I can catch up.

Ethan: Heeeey everybody, meet in the parking lot for another camp tradition

Jaden: FREDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDYS

I text Simone as I leave the cabin.

Lilah: Hey Simone, what’s all the hype about Freddy’s?

Simone: It’s a bar down the road. Cheap beer, decent food, the owner loves when counselors come to visit.

Lilah: Oh . . . I’m not twenty-one

Simone: Nah this place won’t care, you’re good

I’ve never been to this kind of bar before. At least I’m not the only one underage.

All the counselors stand around the parking lot waiting for Ethan to confirm that Gary and the nurse are all set for duty tonight.

It’s jarring to see Isaac with his hair combed back and a casual short-sleeved button-down. But it confirms for me that I’m not seeing him through “camp goggles”—this guy is attractive. I hide my smirk when I catch him giving me a double glance as well.

Ethan finally strolls over and unlocks the camp’s twelve-seater van. He takes the driver’s seat and turns around to look at us. “Everybody, click in,” he says and signs. He turns on the ignition and the radio blares.

I’m squished in the very back between Simone and Bobby. The van bumps along the rough gravel road. I reach out and hold on to the seat in front of me. As Ethan drives, he makes conversation with Natasha in the passenger seat, signing with one hand and looking to his right. Which feels safer than when he signs with Isaac and Jaden using the rearview mirror. But Ethan doesn’t swerve a single time on the quiet country road, and we make it to the bar in one piece.