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Francis nodded at me, determined, and we waited for the signal. As long as we show we did it together, I'm sure they won't notice if I do a little more work. Or is that cheating?

Francis nudged me to start, and he helped lay out the letters quickly as I began to piece them together. They actually weren't hard words. Within two minutes, I figured out the first word was "tenderness."

Francis laid out the following letters, and I looked at them, trying to figure out what they could be.

"Let's see..." I spoke and signed. I grabbed one of the letters, got closer to Francis, and turned to look at him. "It might be companions," I spoke and signed. He nodded at me, face reddened, and began to arrange the words. He gave me a thumbs-up, and we both smiled at each other. We only needed one more.

He began to arrange the last word, and I looked at him curiously. "Do you know it?" I asked and signed. He began to think, and I leaned closer to look. He smiled and nodded. I think that means he figured it out.

I watched him closely as he did it and began to recognize the word more as he arranged it. "Rivalry?" I asked. We looked at the words excitedly, and he slammed his hand on the button, and it caused the table to shake.

Jesus...

The people came to us to see it, smiling at us. "I think this pair deserves the top price; they have worked well together all day and have shown great partnership," the translator pushed Francis and me together, and I tried not to laugh.

"No homo," I signed and spoke to Francis. He shook his head as I tried not to laugh at my joke. "What's the top price?" I asked them.

"Gift cards to shenanigans," they signed.

To a pub?

Well, what did I expect...

They handed us a small package with the gift cards, and I wanted to laugh. This whole situation felt like a fever dream for some reason. Some of the other pairs looked a bit disappointed, but it was nice knowing that Francis and I worked well together. Although, I know that if we were to go against each other, we would be the strongest.

I looked at him as everyone began to do other things, and he smiled. "We work well together, but I would beat you one-on-one," I spoke and signed. He laughed, shook his head, picked up his notepad, and began writing.

"All I would have to do is cover your eyes," It read. I laughed at what he wrote and shook my head. "All I have to do is take out your legs," I spoke and signed. He shook his head again and signed. "Come to me when you can register sounds," it read. I began to laugh again, and I nudged him.

"Come to me when you get good comebacks," I laughed and signed.

"Yeah? want to listen to music?" He signed. My eyes widened, and I tried not to laugh. It was surprising that he took the time to learn that; was he just waiting for a good time to use that comeback? "You are so funny," I signed and spoke. He began to laugh, and I rolled my eyes.

"Maybe you can listen to music with your girlfriend?"

"Oh wait..."

I smirked at him, and he pretended to be hurt.

I felt a sudden tap on my shoulder, and I turned, seeing Yao. He looked at Francis, a bit annoyed, and looked at me. "I am guessing you made up?" He signed. I looked at Francis, who looked at us curiously, and I shrugged. "I am debating it," I signed and smiled. He lifted a brow at me, confused, and looked at Francis again. They started talking, and Yao began to sign for me.

"Can you ask him if he wants to use the gift card with me," He asked as Yao signed. Yao looked at me, and I began to think. Francis gave me a pouting expression, and I wanted to roll my eyes so bad that I ended up making my eyes twitch as I stared at him. "Fine, but not for long," I spoke. He looked excited as I told him this, and it looked like he was telling Yao thank you.

"Are you ready to go to the next room?" Yao signed. I felt Francis still staring at me as I nodded. Suddenly, someone approached Yao and began to talk to him. Francis stood beside me as we watched them talking. I wonder what they were saying.

The man was much bigger than any of us and taller than Yao. He wore a black turtle neck, a scarf, and some slacks. "Who is this?" I asked and signed. The man looked at me, and I still saw how Yao looked nervous. The man looked at me and held his hands up.

"My name is Ivan, I am an interpreter, and we met a few minutes ago; you must be Arthur; Yao was telling me about," He spoke and signed. I smiled at this and gladly began to sign back. "That is amazing; I am glad Yao is making friends; are you here alone?" I asked and signed. He shook his head and pointed to someone. The boy saw and began to approach us. He looked around seventeen or eighteen.

"Ivan, who is this?" He signed, approaching. I looked over at Francis, and he did not seem confused; they were all signing and speaking, so that was good. The boy was blonde and a little shorter than Ivan.

"Arthur, this is Alfred; he is a student at one of the nearby high schools," I van signed. I smiled at him, and he began to wave at me. "Hey, he is my interpreter; I recently lost my hearing from A vestibular schwannoma tumor; I am still learning signs, but I have gotten better; he helps me talk to my brother, who will be here next week," Alfred smiled and signed.

This poor kid... had a tumor in his ear.

"He doesn't know sign?" I asked and signed.

"A little, but still learning; what about your friend?" Alfred signed and pointed to Francis.

"He is learning too," I spoke and signed. Francis then began to say hello to Alfred and sign, making him smile. "We are going to the pub tonight; how about you both join?" I asked and signed. Francis began to pout a little, but I ignored him. Did he want to be alone or something?

"Can we go, Ivan?" Alfred asked and signed. Ivan smiled at him and nodded. "Yes, but don't drink so much," Ivan signed back. I looked at Yao, who smiled. "Looks like we will have a full house," Yao spoke and signed. Everyone began to laugh, and we continued to stand around and talk for a bit.

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