Did he hear my voice

Jenny ran around the house screaming in delight. “I am going to live in the same state as Mahomes.” Her father seemed a little surprised at her initial excitement. He knew she liked the Chiefs. she had routed for them last season, but he had been expecting a different reaction, The move was going to be in a month. Jenny’s life went on as usual. She went to school and talked on the phone with her friends. Her friends came over after school, and nobody said anything about Kansas. Her father wondered if she had told any of them. She had spent most of her childhood here. The school year ended. It was time to start the pack for the move. Jenny was silent as they packed her room. She was silent as they packed her bike, and sold the trampoline. Her father had a party to say goodbye to all their friends, it was at a neighbor's house. Jenny was pretty quiet at the party. He thought maybe she was disengaging herself from the area, because she was leaving as if she was psychologically saying goodbye. A pretty mature thought process or so he thought, but when they returned home to the empty house, she started to cry. On a piece of note paper she scribbled, I do not want to move to Kansas. I do not want to be alone in an isolated town. She tried not to let her father see it, so she quickly tore it up and threw it in the trash. Both of them were silent. The moving van had left while they were at the party. Jenny looked lost in the empty house, she just wanted to get past this moment. It was breaking her heart. She went and climbed into her father's Jeep. He followed, ignoring his own pain of separation. Both of them had been happy here, and both of them put on a show of being brave.

The jeep was a larger jeep with comfortable seats and a lot of space. It would only be about 16 hours and they would start their new life. Jenny had no questions about Kansas or the friends her father had there. She would be a freshman in high school and she would know nobody.

She instead tried to focus on the only good thing about the move. A man she most likely would never meet Patrick. She talked to Alexa, breaking the silence in the car. “Alexa tell us about Patrick Mahomes” Alexa was full of information about this young quarterback. Her father smiled realizing that they would be going to a few football games. They had never gone in North Carolina, but he knew it would make the transition easier. As the sky started to darken Jenny fell asleep. When she awoke she was in a hotel bed in a strange state. She changed into her night clothes and went back to sleep.

Jenny had to admit it was sort of fun making waffles in the lobby of the strange hotel. It was an adventure if her thoughts stayed in the present. They had flavored syrup like Ihop, maybe this would not be so strange, and foreign.

Jenny and her father spent the rest of the drive talking about Kansas. It was going to be an adventure.

She looked at her new house. It had a big porch, in fact it looked too big for the two of them. She thought of the country song, “I’m not old enough for the rocking chair”. But there was no rocking chair on the porch, just the furniture which had been in their old backyard. Jenny smiled it was nice to see things that were familiar. They did not have to do things like their new neighbors, or at least how she expected them to be. She looked around for kids, a high school, something that would make her feel she would fit in.

All the house was furnished, but three rooms. Jenny’s father told her that she got to select her room. One room was in the center of the second floor, no windows and most likely not soundproof. She selected a medium-sized room at the back of the second floor. It had a porch room attached. She felt like she was dreaming. She had never imagined she would have a room like this. She wanted to help arrange the furniture but her father said no, but she did get to decorate her walls and fill her dresser and shelves. And of course. they set up their electronics.

Jenny kept hoping that a neighbor would come and introduce themselves, but nobody knocked. In fact. there were not that many houses. Even when they ventured out to the market. On the way to the market, they discovered a local restaurant. The parking lot was filled with cars, Jenny asked if they could eat there instead. Everybody there seemed to know each other, they all looked over Jenny and her father. The patrons did not turn and stare they continued talking but the man and his daughter felt their gaze. The middle-aged waitress asked them if they were passing through. Jenny’s father responded that she had just moved into a house on Cherry Street. The waitress seemed surprised but welcomed them to the area. She had heard that some computer expert and his daughter were moving into that house. He smile “Yes that’s us” he replied. The waitress filled them in about the high school, and where the nearest Walmart was. Jenny wanted to know what there was for a teenager to do around here but she stayed silent and let the adults talk. Then all of a sudden she thought she heard something about Arrowhead stadium. She smiled it was not that far.

Days passed since that dinner, people started dropping by the house. Jenny’s father hired a lady named Barbara to help around the house. He started his job and did not want to leave Jenny alone in the house, she was not yet 16 and did not know the area. Barbara just did everything Jenny wanted, but Jenny missed her friends even though she presented a brave front on Facebook. She had posted pictures on Facebook and instagram. She had explored the area with her camera. one of her pet passions. No. she did not use her phone for pictures.

The days followed a familiar pattern. Her only in person friend seemed to be Barbara. She had met nobody her age. And then all of a sudden something happened, her father invited a young man over for dinner. They talked about football. He was affiliated with the Kansas City Chiefs, he asked Jenny if she would like to watch and take pictures at the football training. She quickly said yes and asked when she could go, Her father explained that the young man was going to be staying at the house for the week, and would be taking her to work with him for a week. Jenny did not really understand why. Something about mold. They were doing something with his house. Jenny felt happy for the first time in weeks, photos, football, what could be better?

The man dressed very formally for work, Sort of like the dressed-up hosts on tv. She wondered if he was negotiating a contract or something. But she was not here to ask questions, she was to stay out of the way and take photos.

She gasped when she saw the size of the stadium, she had never actually been to one. Wake Forests stadium did not seem this grand. She figured within the week she would take pictures of the building as well.

She had charged her battery the night before, and brought some new camera cards, She felt a little embarrassed that she didn’t know all the players by sight. Instead, she looked for good shots, although by the time the week was over the other players were teasing Patrick that they thought the female photographer had a crush on him. She had to laugh because it was true. By the end of the week. all she wanted to do was come back and do it again but the man's stay at their house was ending. He would be staying with them for the weekend but then he would be returning home. Jenny had planned to spend the weekend putting her pictures on her computer and to her surprise. the young man offered to help her.

He was very helpful. She loaded the photos, and then he did wonders. He sorted the photos by players and labeled the photos with the players' names. He thought they were very good and offered to buy some. Jenny smiled inwardly squealing in delight. He put her on a site where she could sell her photos. He also set up a payment account so customers could pay her. Jenny found herself wishing she could do this instead of going to school. but when the young man asked her what she would want more than anything else, she wasn’t quite sure what to say. Instead she asked him what he was doing here. he laughed ”Oh I’m a sports lawyer. But you don’t want to do that” “ What are you going to do with my photos?’ “Some are for the promotion of my clients and the other ones are for my children. They are always asking for photos of my clients. "Unfortunately my pictures don’t catch the excitement of the game". I know this wasn’t your wish but could you go to other locations with me to take pictures. I would buy the photos off your site. Your father said it would be okay. Jenny stammered, Then the young man continued “I would pay all the traveling expenses, and no you would not miss school. Jenny felt as if she had finally found her voice, and this young man had heard it.

When he left she checked her computer. He had paid thirty dollars per photo and it was being printed and mailed by the website. He had bought 12 photos. To Jenny, that was a lot of money, and through the photos. her voice had been heard. People were learning about silent Jenny