A Secret Code

“See you at Open House tonight, Amu,” Esha shouted from the school bus window. “Don’t forget to ask your mom if I can come over tomorrow!”

- Christine Henderson

“OK!” I called back. I wished I could feel excited about my first Open House at my new school, but I was worried. What would other kids say when they found out my parents can’t hear?

And I wanted Esha to visit, but then she’d see how different my house was. My parents use a video phone so they can use sign language to communicate with callers. We also have a light on the wall that flashes when the phone or doorbell rings, and our TV is always set to show the captions. Would Esha think my house was weird?

That night, I helped my mom get my younger brother, Nikhil, ready to go to Open House. Nikhil is five and loves to talk with both his voice and his hands.

“Where are we going?” he asked, squirming as Mom brushed his hair.

“To my school, for Open House,” I answered while I looked for his shoes.

“Why do they call it Open House when we’re going to the school?” Nikhil asked.

“I don’t know,” I said.

“They should call it Open School,” he signed.

Mom smiled. “Good point,” she said out loud. Then she said in sign language, “We have to get going.”