Jonathan Goldstein

Brandon thinks about his prom a lot, and the improbable path that led him to it, which began when he was just a little kid.

Second, Brandon tried too hard to fit in.

Like the time he shaved a Nike swoosh into the back of his head.

I just thought, like, sports, that's cool.

So it made your head look like a running shoe.

Finally, Brandon was a CODA, a child of deaf adults.

His family attended a deaf church and spent a lot of time in the deaf community.

He says he was brought up with different social norms.

So what does that mean?

Like any examples?

Then, in middle school, Brandon's parents divorced.

There was less space for him, less attention paid to him.

He drew inward.

And for the most part, Brandon succeeded in going unnoticed.

Until the spring of his senior year.

Brandon was sitting at the back of a classroom during a free period, eavesdropping on a conversation from across the room.

Some classmates were talking about prom, and among the group was a girl named Allie.

She was going on about what a great night it was going to be, how excited she was.

Brandon had no intention of going.

He hadn't a girlfriend or any prospects for a date.