The classroom door creaked open, and Mrs. Keagan didn't have to look up from the papers she was grading to know who it was. "Back so soon, Mr. Howell? Shouldn't you be back at your room about now?"

"I-I would be at the l-librar-rary, but you w-wanted to s-see-e me?" Dan was lucky he was having at least somewhat intelligible today, and that it was his professor he was speaking to and not another student. There was no one around to mock him, and he knew all too well that the taunting only ever made the stuttering worse. He sat down on one of the chairs and waited patiently for a bit, until he started to really worry about how he did on his paper. He was waiting for the feedback on his memoir piece he'd been asked to come for. "Was- Was it that b-bad?"

Mrs. Keagan wanted to assure him that it wasn't, but that wouldn't be a total truth. She dug through the pile for his paper and handed it to him. "Why don't you read it over yourself and tell me what you think I should give you for a grade."

Dan nodded uncertainly and looked at his paper –a paragraph, really. The prompt was a struggle he'd overcome, the same as the entire class. He wrote about his struggle concerning his stuttering.

FREAK – Daniel Howell

I pretty much gave up speaking when I was thirteen. By then it had become all too clear that people couldn't understand me and weren't going to take the time to try, so there really wasn't much of a point. When I was younger, I made myself believe that it was something I'd grow out of –I hadn't spoken for the first time until I was nearly three years old, so I figured I was just a late bloomer, so to speak. But I'm twenty years old now, and it's gotten no better over the years. A while back I had the chance to go to a speech therapist, but by then my hopes at normalcy had long since shattered, and I turned it down. That was the only period where my parents could afford that kind of thing. I suppose I'm condemned to freakdom forever.

Dan nodded as he finished. "I-I guess a b-B?"

Mrs. Keagan scoffed quietly and took the paper back. "I would say maybe a D, at best. For one it's much, much shorter than the five hundred words I asked for. And it was meant to be written about a struggle you've overcome, whereas this just seems you're admitting defeat. You're usually such an excellent writer, Daniel. I actually look forward to reading your compositions, and honestly, I'm a bit disappointed. This is just… uninspired."

Dan bit his lip; he could accept that, though his parents might not. "I-I guess I-I couldn't come up- up with someth-thing I'd overc-c-come."

The professor nodded slowly and put the paper back in the pile with the others. She leaned forward on her elbows, looking straight at Dan, silent for a long moment. Dan scooted away, worried she might be trying to stare into his soul. "I'm going to email you a link this evening. When you get the link, just click and watch the video it sends you to.

"W-What's it of-f?" Dan didn't like speaking this much, worried that someone on the other side of the classroom door would overhear and laugh.

"My nephew's been making videos on the internet for a few years, and I think you should check out a few of them. I have a feeling you'll be able to relate on some level."

Dan nodded quickly and stood to leave. He avoided making eye contact with anyone as he moved down the familiar hallways and stairs. He went to the dining commons and ate his lunch in peace, and did some studying in the computer lab downstairs. It was all routine for him, and sometimes lonely, but he convinced himself that he didn't need people around when humanity was chock full of inherently dickheaded people anyway. He'd tell himself that he was better off on his own.

That night when he got back to his room, his roommate scowled at him as always as he went to sit on his bed with his laptop. He ignored Tim and put his ear buds in to listen to some music for a little while. He needed to drown out the day with some of his favorite songs.

Dan hadn't realized he had fallen asleep with his music in his ears until he woke up and it was suddenly dark out. He looked around to see that he was alone, and sighed in relief. This was much how he preferred it. He went to Tumblr to scroll through his dashboard for a while. The internet was such a welcoming place when the real world was not.

A notification popped up with an email from Professor Keagan. Dan had almost forgotten about what she was sending him, and opened up the message, clicking the link to a YouTube video that was apparently uploaded pretty recently. He clicked full screen and waited for the ad to pass.

On the screen was a young man about Dan's age, sitting in a tastefully colorful bedroom with a bright smile on his face. Dan smiled too and waited for the boy on screen to talk, but he never did. Instead, he was rather animated through a story being told completely in text at the bottom of the screen. Dan frowned a little, confused, and hit pause. He looked in the video description for some kind of explanation.

Hi! So if you're watching my videos for the first time, I'm deaf-mute so sorry for any confusion and the four and a half minutes of silence! Hope you still enjoyed ^_^ Be sure to subscribe and I'll be back again next week! Byeee

Dan tried to contain his smile. Professor Keagan had said he might be able to relate to her nephew, and she'd been right. Dan had come across many YouTubers over the years, but never one he felt such an instant bond with, even if it was kind of a stupid thing to get excited over. He'd never hit a button faster than the 'subscribe' button next to the channel name, AmazingPhil.