Brietta held her breath until the first boy glanced at her, his eyes widening as he took in her identical rosy cheeks. He stops in his tracks, but the second boy behind him didn't stop until he bumped into the first boy.
               "H-Hi." The boy muttered, straying away from the steel door while he toyed with his flannel shirt. The kid behind Flannel Boy just waved, his mouth turning up into a smile. That's when Brietta noticed that his jaw was slightly crooked. 
               Brietta remained quiet, but her eyes wandered all over the two boys, prompting them to squirm under her sharp gaze.
               "A-Are you . . . in the species of non-hearing?" Flannel Boy blurted out in curiosity, and Crooked Smile hit his friend over the head, looking at the shorter boy with wide eyes.
               Brietta held back a smile as the boys wandered over to her with caution that would make it seem as though she were a time bomb —— which wasn't an improper assumption.
               "Are you asking if I'm deaf? Because I'm not." Brietta mumbled before directing her gaze over to the moon, which calmed her immensely. She detected Crooked and Flannel's footfalls creeping closer to her until two shadows appeared behind her.
               "Cool. I mean, you would be cool either way if you were deaf. Not that being deaf is cool, b-but not that being deaf isn't cool. It's on, like, the spectrum of normal. . ." Flannel trailed off as he awkwardly coughed before glancing at Brietta, who never took her eyes off the moon, but he could tell that she was listening by the smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
               A scuffle sounded behind her, followed by a soft smack and 'ow', until another voice spoke; this one deeper, "Sorry about my friend. He doesn't have people skills."
               A scoff followed as soon as he finished, "Neither do you!"
               Another scuffle sounded behind Brietta and she peered over her shoulder to see Flannel and Crooked flapping their hands at each other. A giggle bubbles from her chest and their fight–if you could even call it that–ended swiftly.
               Flannel and Crooked both look at Brietta with wide eyes and flushed cheeks, prompting her laughter to dull into a sigh.
               Flannel clears his throat, "You know, it isn't safe sitting on the ledge. It's like a really long drop if you fell, but if you did, you'd be right next to a hospital." Flannel cautioned, chuckling at his own joke, and Brietta giggled again, her face lighting up. 
               The two boys felt their hearts warm with the gentle sound.
               Brietta patted the spots on either side of her, and the two boys took it as a wordless signals to perch themselves there. Flannel glanced at her and he finally noticed her puffy cheeks that matched his, and still, he found her captivating. 
               "Why were you crying?" It wasn't him who said it, no, it was her.
               That's all it took before tears began rushing out of Flannel's brown eyes. His eyes were trained on his lap, his cheeks heating with embarrassment at the presence of the girl beside him. 
               Brietta inhaled sharply before wrapping her arms around Flannel, and soon, Crooked moved closer and wrapped his arms around the two other kids. 
               Brietta chewed on her bottom lips before pressing her head against Flannel's shoulder, prompting his breath to hitch as her tears dripped onto his flannel. "I'm Brietta, by the way. If we're going to cry with each other, we should be friendly."