𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐀𝐋𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐀 𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐃𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐓𝐒 𝐒𝐋𝐎𝐖 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒, she ran into an employee leaning over the concession stand counter making out with a man. They were deep in each other's mouths. Tongue deep, touchy and all. She was sure the man, her boyfriend presumably, was being summoned to war by how desperate their kisses were.

Alyina wasn't sure how to get the woman's attention without interrupting the couple and stood idly aside. Upcoming movie posters hung along the carpet-like wall were interesting. Few were already on her watchlist.

When the motion of a hand slapping the man was caught from the corner of her eyes, Alyina knew she was recognized. "I have a customer. Move." She slapped him again, but it didn't stop his lips from trailing light kisses down her neck, muttering something. "Tony, you gone get me fired! Stop."

"You know I can't get enough of you, mi amor." That, Alyina could read.

The woman crossed her arms and pursed her lips. The strong arch in her brows appeared as though she was more pissed than she actually was, but it was enough for her boyfriend to back down.

With a groan, he pulled away merely glancing at Alyina.

The woman fixed herself quickly and tightened the thin band around her long braids, braided into a ponytail with a beaded braid on each side in the opposite direction.

"Hi, sorry, what can I get you?"

Alyina moved forward. "I'm looking for Xavier about an open position. My friend said I could come in and ask for him."

A crease filled between her brows as Alyina spoke, and by the time she finished, bounced with a gasp. "You're the one Kareem called about! Uh. . ." She trailed as she struggled to remember her name.

"Alyina."

She clapped her hands. "Yes, Alyina! I'm Karrine—" Alyina didn't catch the rest because she'd turned her head introducing her boyfriend, but caught onto Tony. It was short for something. "—He comes in a lot so sorry in advance."

The Afro-Latino man with neatly zigzagged cornrows, Tony, perked with interest the second Kareem's name got involved. He stared Alyina down as if she had a nasty zit on her face and angled herself to ignore him completely.

"I don't mind. It's none of my business what y'all do." As long as they're not constantly making out around her if she got the job.

Karrine leaned against the counter with interest. "You have an accent. Where you from?" She asked harmlessly.

An accent?

Before Alyina could explain the accent she didn't know she had, Tony interrupted her mind gathering the answer with a question of his own. "How do you know Kareem?" He interrogated.

She didn't know he was talking to her at first but heard a fuzzy sound that indicated someone was talking. Saw he was looking at her as he spoke, then put together the last of his words.

Karrine smacked his shoulder when he leaned against the counter, still staring Alyina down. "Does it matter?" She muttered.

"No, but I'm curious. Me and Kareem go way back, like brothers, but he been acting weird lately and now he's doing favors." Alyina imagined Tony's voice had a little aggression to it; rough and filled with endless judgment. "None of us has ever met the women he be fucking with. My nigga don't even waste a breath speaking on one. . . until now." His head cocked slightly, the crease between his brows conveying mild confusion. "Looking at you now, you kind of look like the woman who was posted on his story a day ago. That's not weird to anyone?"

The question was directed to Karrine, but left open for Alyina to respond if she knew the answer. She didn't. She's flattered Kareem extended the help, but why did his favor seem so out of character that his closest childhood friend was questioning his behavior? Was he different behind closed doors? Was he known as a fuck boy? Was he talking to multiple women while clearly infiltrating Alyina's mind with his constant presence?

As if her thoughts were written on her face, Karrine answered her boyfriend with a strained smile, confirming there was nothing weird about it. Reading something Alyina couldn't, Tony backed off the counter showcasing his defeat.

Karrine faced Alyina with a softer smile. "Kareem's a nice guy who helps out when he can. My boyfriend is just suspicious of everything when nothing makes sense to him, so ignore him please."

Alyina smiled a little. "I'll do my best."

It seemed Tony figured out his suspicion, but Karrine came around the counter to guide Alyina in the opposite direction from him. She only heard a loud noise and glanced over her shoulder to Tony speaking to someone on his phone. A much happier and less antagonizing expression took hold, his lips reading out 'you grimy nigga! You think I wasn't gone figure it out? Or you just wanted me to be the first to know, huh?'

An expression matched on Karrine's face who heard bits of his conversation and knew exactly what was going on through his excitement. Alyina remained clueless.

They entered the break room around back where another employee sat on his phone watching a music video and chewing on beef jerky. He nodded in Karrine's direction as they continued back into an organized office with a messy stack of papers on the desk. A mini fridge in the corner with magnets spelling out 'NO', and a huge whiteboard with the names of employees and their tasks written in organized colors.

"This is the office where. . ." Anything Karrine said after that wasn't heard. Because she had her back to Alyina writing on the whiteboard, she failed to follow along. Even after she fumbled for her transcript app, it was rendered useless when she missed the majority of everything. Yes, she somewhat heard her voice and understood the few words she said, but not enough to form an understanding. It was just a blob of noise with no distinction. She also spoke very fast which caused her words to blend.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't get anything you said after the first sentence," Alyina spoke up and her chatter slowly faltered. "Truth is, I'm Deaf. Completely. I don't know what you're saying unless you speak directly to me, message me, or write it down. If that's a problem and you choose speech, try not to speak too fast. Just normal. It might take a minute to catch on, but I'll get there."

Alyina always felt nervous when exposing her deafness to others especially to a job that wasn't guaranteed, even if said it was. It's a dealbreaker for most. It's the moment when people don't view her as a grown and capable woman, but a disabled woman who's incapable of functioning like a normal human being. An entitled disease, possibly faking it for sympathy points, overwhelming others just by asking to be accommodated.

And as a Black disabled woman, it was hell.

Instead, Karrine showed no offense. She placed down the marker and corrected her mistake by facing Alyina head-on. "Shit. My bad. I didn't know. Xavier told me little about you through his conversation with Kareem—which is a little fucked up I learned of you through our manager who ain't even part of the pack or a founding member." She apologized and Alyina could finally piece together her entire sentence. Most of it. Some was questionable. "But aside from that, he wanted me to get you set up if you arrived when he wasn't in."

The bad lighting made her yellow undertone skin appear lighter. She was already pretty light but nowhere near white-passing. Her Black features were more dominant than whatever else she was mixed with.

"As I was just saying, Xavier, the hiring manager, isn't in today. He shows up occasionally or as soon as we open until noon or on busy days. The other managers be doing whatever, so we run the place in his absence." She slowed her row when reminded once picking up the pace. Her transcript app was acting a little slow. "We team up in pairs during our shifts since someone's always blaming another. You'll be my shift partner on days we're scheduled together. Kareem would kill me if I didn't guide you under my wing."

       Heal her? Why would he heal her for doing her job? But thinking back on it, kill made more sense. But still.

"There isn't much of a requirement and everything's straightforward, plus you'll be trained and paid for training. Hours are flexible. Everyone's pretty chill and mind their own. . ." A sentence wasn't caught from turning her head to another walking in and due to poor annunciation. "I think I told you everything, but to be sure, do you have any questions? Anything I should repeat?"

"If you're acting as the hiring manager, when Xavier comes back won't he still have the final say? He won't be caught off guard by me working here and fire me, right?"

Karrine waved her hand. "Of course not. He knows you're coming in. We've hired plenty of people when there's more payroll. As long as he receives your information which you'll need to fill out by the end of the day, then he can start writing checks."

Alyina took the paperwork and pen Karrine handed and skimmed the first page.

"So, when can you start?" Karrine's question typed itself through Alyina's phone which alerted her she was still speaking.

A nervous chuckle filled her lungs. "Now if I'm being honest."

"Perfect. You're hired!"

"Just like that?"

Karrine nodded. "Just like that. I'll leave you to fill out the paperwork. When you're done come find me at the concession stand and I'll give you a tour."

𝐊𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐅𝐔𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃, like a bright star who never stopped glowing. Or talking. Not that Alyina minded though majority of their conversations were about each other rather than the job. But as she said, it was straightforward.

Alyina started getting the hang of working at the concession stand. Adding popcorn to the machine, filling slushes, taking out the pizza once the timer went off, and working the register. Many of the customers weren't difficult to handle besides an altercation where she absolutely couldn't understand this older couple. Even her transcript app couldn't understand them. Karrine easily stepped in and often did when she knew she was needed. Otherwise was working unless Alyina had questions.

"Does your boyfriend hate me?" Alyina suddenly asked. The two chilled in the projector room of a new film spending their break together. "He stares at me a lot. Even when he thinks I'm not paying attention, I know. And it's hard to ignore when someone's burning a hole through my head. Does he have a problem?"

Karrine dug into the popcorn they shared. "No, he doesn't hate you but he does have a staring problem. That part I can't deny. Usually he's staring at me though." She said. "He's just close with Kareem, always looking out for him even though he's younger than him by four years. We both are. The two practically grew up together."

"That's good to know."

If it wasn't for her sitting where the light shined most, Alyina wouldn't have followed the conversation with ease. Her effort was acknowledged and all was forgiven when she'd constantly forget and share important information when Alyina was in no position to understand. The transcript app came in handy when it didn't pick up conversations from the movie. Her processor was still getting used to the world that left her severely exhausted.

"Plus it's impossible for him to hate you. It goes against the code."

"Against the code?" Alyina repeated, her confusion evident.

Karrine paused mid-way from stuffing her mouth with another handful of popcorn and offered a stiff smile in return. "Let's call it a man code. Because of it, you are protected by all who fall under the code since you know Kareem. Like me because of Tony. Lucky us." She gleed.

Alyina saw she was uncomfortable with the subject like there was something she was holding back. Stuffing popcorn didn't help her case.

"Because he's the mayor's son?" Alyina inquired. She wanted to know what Karrine knew.

"Yes, exactly! The mayor's son." Karrine chewed thoroughly before scooting closer, though remained in the light and closer to her phone. "So wassup with you and Kareem anyway? I'm a nosy bitch, so stop me if I cross a boundary. How much has he told you?"

The crease between her brows deepened. "About what? Is he keeping secrets I should know about?"

Karrine read her expression before switching up with another question. "I mean like, y'all together or. . .?"

"No, he's—we're just friends I guess."

"You guess?"

"No, it's true. We are. We're study buddies." . . .but somehow it didn't sound convincing.

And Karrine certainly saw through it. "I feel a but coming on."

"But. . ." Her cheeks grew warm confessing something like this to someone she had just met. But given the range of topics talked about, gave her a pass. "I might find him a little interesting."

"Ooh a little?" She nudged a laughter out of Alyina. "Are we talking interesting in a likey way or. . .?"

Alyina shrugged. "Just interesting."

She hid her face like some naive girl who just told her crush she liked him. A new feeling was being experienced for the first time, especially since she'd never been in this sort of position before.

Alyina does like Kareem. He's an interesting person with a likable personality, who wouldn't like him? Anymore than that then it was best to leave it at that. Remain as his teacher and repay back his kindness by helping him reach his goal. Admitting further feelings would set herself up for disappointment.

There was still much to learn about him. Much that hadn't been introduced to her, yet everyone around him had seen sides to him she hadn't. He claimed himself as an open-book yet Alyina felt like he was hiding something from her.

It was one of the reasons why her trust in him was beginning to falter. His sweet-talking added to it. Multiple loving, vulgar, and subtle comments made from multiple women under his private Instagram account also added to it. Most wanting him to check his dm's and respond back.

Alyina lifted her head with some sense knocked into her. "Kareem seems to be very popular amongst women so I hear. I don't got time for all that drama and fighting for a spot that isn't guaranteed."

Listening with an acknowledging nod, Karrine sat up from her slouched position. She pushed her braided ponytail off her shoulder, a fainted frown on her face. "Who said the spot wasn't guaranteed?" She appeared slightly offended and Alyina felt she said something wrong.

"No one really." She played with the black material of her work shirt worn over her actual shirt. "It's just how I'm starting to feel. I don't like competing for a man nevertheless with other women. They got it."

"I'm a hundred—no, a million times sure the spot is already yours. There's no competition."

Alyina chuckled, not convinced enough. "You think so?"

"I know so." She waved off her doubts. "Fuck all them other bitches, they're irrelevant. Take your chance. Get your man. I'm positive he'll return the feelings if you give him a chance."

Her words were reassuring. She liked hearing there was a possibility of what she thought was impossible for her—a relationship. Not because of her deafness, but her lack of experience in general. A real relationship not fantasized by films she never saw herself in because the protagonist was always White and blonde. And maybe, just maybe, Kareem was interested in her for the same reason aside from needing a tutor.

They watched a bit more of the movie. A thriller by the amount of blood and screams projected. There weren't any subtitles so Alyina relied on visuals and ambient sounds and a few dialogue she picked up to help guide through the plot. Not that she needed it since everyone was dying.

"Is that what you did with Tony? Took your chances?" Alyina asked out of nowhere. She was sure Karrine had all the tricks in the book to make the first move, something which she lacked. It was a little embarrassing getting advice from someone younger than her.

"Oh yeah! Don't let Tony's cold-stone appearance fool you; he's the biggest teddy bear you'll ever meet." Karrine went on describing his teddy bear personality but Alyina caught nothing and simply nodded until her phone stopped tripping. "I used to think he was scared of women, but he was actually scared of me. We met in high school and before his growth spurt, every girl was taller than him. Me included. I was never shy or patient, and he was intimidated by that. Overthinking what he thought was best for me, which wasn't. I kissed him first. I held his hand first. I even asked him out first. He makes the moves now, but I still pull the strings in the relationship."

Great advice if Alyina was a bold person. She could be and could make the first move but she just wasn't the type. Not often at least.

"Feels like you both been together for a while. Are there plans for marriage or something similar in the future?"

Karrine made a face as though marriage was the most disgusting word to ever be created. "We're too young for that shit and mutually agreed it wasn't something we wanted since it's just a paper. He's not going anywhere and he knows I'm not either. Why waste money and people's time, you feel?"

Alyina nodded. Though she wasn't in her position, she shared the same sentiment. She wasn't sure herself if marriage was something she desired. But then again, she wasn't with someone who kept her assured their loyalty would never waver. Someone who she felt as though she'd want to spend her entire life with and who was all about her. Truthfully, it left a certain jealousy toward Karrine. Happy for her, but jealous.

Their break was over and soon after, their shift. Alyina grabbed her stuff to head out when she noticed a message from Kareem asking about her job. It was sent hours ago. For some reason, she was hesitant to answer him but did since it was because of him she was able to get the job.

It was then she spotted Karrine flagging her down like a crazy person with big waves. She probably called out her name before she remembered she was Deaf.

Alyina apologized for not seeing her earlier to which Karrine was happy to have gotten her attention now. "You have anything planned this Saturday? Me and some friends were thinking about hitting up a few clubs, and I'm inviting you to tag along." She offered.

Alyina loved clubbing! The loud music and dancing. She used to go with her friends back in Michigan, but since moving here, she barely knew people to go with. . .until now.

"I might be free. Who are your friends?"

"Just some girls I know you'll love. Tony might come since he's a bit overprotective when I go clubbing, but trust me, nothing will happen to you while you're with us. You won't even notice he's there." She assured. "I can pick you up since parking is hell and we'll save gas that way."

Alyina couldn't agree more about the parking here. It was hell. But this was an opportunity to meet more people, something she desperately needed. "I think I can make some time."

Karrine jumped with a burst of energy that took Alyina off guard. She couldn't contain her laughter that wasn't directed toward her with ill intent, but more-so a surprise. It was cute and reminded her of her cousin Elise.

"Perfect! Let's exchange numbers. It'll be a lot easier than using Kareem as our middleman." Karrine already had her phone shoved in Alyina's hand to type in her number. She sent herself a text to save her contact. "It was really nice meeting you, and I'm so happy you're my shift partner and technically my sister. I'll see you when I do."

Sister?

Alyina watched Karrine run off to her boyfriend who came to pick her up. They hugged each other as though he wasn't here hours ago, sharing a smile of genuine interest in whatever Karrine was telling him. Then Tony found Alyina walking to her car. But instead of staring like she was some foreign object, he acknowledged her presence with a nod. She acknowledged him too then got into her car.

New job, check. New friends, check. Maybe moving to Atlanta wasn't all that bad.

Alyina's phone vibrated and saw Javianna texted her an article wondering if it was about her or if she was tripping.

Her heart hammered as she played the eight-second-long video taken of her and Kareem sitting at the table back at the library during their first lesson. Kareem was practicing signing his introduction along with what he did for work, where he messed up in the middle and his finger placement was wrong. So Alyina reached over to adjust his fingers, the two of them laughing at the mistake.

Luckily her hair covered majority of her face so her identity was concealed, but Alyina knew it was her. Javianna knew it was her. The two girls who took the video knew it was her too.

She never had so much attention before nevertheless twenty thousand likes on something she was involved with. She didn't know how to react. None of the comments mentioned her name or tagged her Instagram account, but they were ripping her apart. For wearing a tight dress in the library where kids be at. For wearing a dress not suited for her body type. For not doing anything better with her hair. For laughing in a quiet place. Shaming them for throwing up signs, sending their condolences they lost another educated Black man to the streets.

It was a mess.

But the one thing Alyina definitely noticed were speculated names of women Kareem allegedly was spotted with months ago. Some comments even rumored he been with this woman—an artist under his dad's label—for a while now, spotted some weeks ago. Even days ago. Some woman they call Danii.

A bitter taste soured her tongue with emotions Alyina didn't know how to express. She'd spoken too soon.

A U T H O R ' S  N O T E

        — We all know the club is the easiest plot to progress one's relationship. Shit always happening when a club scene is written so expect some juicy stuff

— making that photoshop was hell. Idc anymore if it's fucked up somewhere. I did my best.  Never again.