'Keep trying,' Kuratu said, stroking her face gently. 'You can do it, come on.'

She frowned but kept trying.
Come on...say his name Amelia, say his name. she thought to herself.
No matter how much she tried, nothing came out.

Kuratu eventually lifted a hand and put it up to Amelia's mouth. 'That's enough for now; don't tire yourself out. Try again tomorrow or so, okay?'

Amelia nodded.
'Okay...sorry. do you want to continue walking? or would you like to return home?' she asked.

'Don't be sorry,' Kuratu said. 'You decide what we do.'

'Well, it's getting late, so we should head home.' she said and they headed home.

Kuratu walked with Amelia in silence. He was proud of her for trying to talk, and confident she could do it. He just hoped Amelia wouldn't get too upset if she failed again the next day.

'I'm sorry for getting upset....'she said in sign and took his hand as they walked home.
'I was just excited to see what would happen and when nothing happened, well I was dissapointed.'she added looking at him then at the floor.

'You don't have to be,' Kuratu said. 'I'm happy enough that you tried; willingness is half the battle. All the rest is overcoming years of silence. It would be hard on anyone.'

'Well, I'm glad I made someone happy....'she said in sign and opened the door for him.
"Hello you two, you're back early."said her mother smiling from the living room.
Amelia nodded and closed the door behind them, then sat at the table.

Kuratu sat next to her. 'Always be happy with what you do, even if you only tried. There's no point getting upset for trying.'

Amelia smiled at him.
'You're right. I'm happy now...would you like to do anything?, or would you like to rest?' she asked looking at him then her mother then back at him.

'A bit of rest...' Kuratu said. 'I hope you don't mind.'

'Not at all. have a good night...' she said and smiled at him.
Her mother was reading a book when the phone rang and she ran to answer it.
"Hello?, oh...hello dear. You're on your way home now? That was fast.....The kids? Oh, they're fine...they just got back from a walk and I think Kuratu is going off to bed."said Jewel and smiled as she spoke.

'Night,' Kuratu said. He kissed Amelia's forehead gently before going upstairs and lying on his bed.

Amelia smiled and watched him leave and then walked to her mother.
"Yes, I'll be here waiting...and Amelia is still awake we will both wait for you. okay, bye."she said and smiled at Amelia.
"Your father is on his way home. was your walk fun dear?" she asked and sat in the couch with Amelia.
'Yes....we talked and had a good time.' answered Amelia.
"Well, I'm glad to hear that...tomorrow we have the parent teacher meeting, so when your father returns, you hug him good night and get some sleep. Okay?" instructed Jewel.
Amelia nodded.

It took Kuratu a shot while to fall asleep; he was thinking about what Amelia had told him. He wondered how well she was currently dealing with it. When he did fall asleep, he could see Amelia; her lips were moving, but he couldn't hear sound.

Amelia's father came home.
"I'm home."he said.
"Shhh, Kuratu is sleeping."Said jewel.
Amelia went and hugged her father good night and ran to her room and quickly fell to sleep.
"Dear, we need to sleep because tomorrow is that parent teacher meeting."she reminded him and he smiled.
"Right, what time?"he asked as he walked with her to their room.
"I think three..."she whispered and closed the door behind them.

Kuratu was awake early the next morning and dressed. He went downstairs and sat on the couch, sighing a little; he was nervous about what would happen later that day.

He told his teachers what would happen that afternoon; all of them were happy and excited to meet his new parents. He came back home and sat down, waiting for Amelia's parents, hoping all would go well.

Jewel came down with a black pencil skirt, and a white blouse on and some black heel.
"It will be okay Kuratu!"she said as she sat next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Amelia dressed in a pink dress and white flats, her hair was down and she woke her father up and went downstairs.
Her father wore a black suit.
"Everyone ready?"he asked smiling.
Amelia nodded.
"Yes dear I think we are."said jewel.

Kuratu stood slowly. '...Thanks for coming,' he began.

"No need to thank us darlin'" said Jewel as they got into the car and drove to the school.
Amelia looked out the window as she saw them approaching the school, she was amazed. They got out of the car and looked at Kuratu.
"Lead the way please."said Etienne.

Kuratu nodded. He stood up and went to the doors of the school, then led them upstairs to a classroom where a few people were waiting. 'This is for Mrs. Cardinal,' he said. 'She teaches me biology and math.'

They both nodded and Amelia looked around in amazement.
"Okay, let's go and try to make a good frist impression, okay Amelia dear?" instructed Jewel.
Amelia happily nodded.

Kuratu glanced at Amelia, noting her amazement, but looked at the door again as it opened. A middle-aged woman showed out a couple and a teenage girl, smiling and exchanging good-byes. The girl smiled and waved at Kuratu, who returned the gesture. The trio left, and the woman turned towards Amelia's parents. She beamed at them.

'Hi!' she said, coming over and holding out her hand. 'I'm Jen Cardinal; I teach Kuratu biology and math. It's great to meet you.'