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No matter who it came from, new judgmental gazes always prickled against her skin with the same relentless intensity as those that came before. Young and old, near and far, their judgments carried the same weight and left identical wounds. It was a constant, almost expected, part of her existence. Afterall, the brown beauty was a living mosaic of ink, with colors and designs swirling on her skin in intricate tattoos as far as the eye could see and even further.

As she signed, their eyes naturally gravitated to her hands and the ink adorning each finger in delicate lines that extended up the length of her arms.

When she walked, their eyes were drawn to her legs, and the stunning tattoos that traveled their length and disappeared beneath her dress. And when she spoke, their gaze lifted to her face, deceptively sweet in all the ways her beauty allowed, along with the golden piercings decorating her nose.

She was an affront to their delicate sensibilities, and she could see it in the way their lips parted slightly in shock, their eyes widening just a bit in astonishment.

Dream Westwood was used to this reaction. The stares, apprehension, and discontent people tried and failed to hide at the sight of her were a constant companion.

Usually, the confident girl marveled at it, musing it was the price of her individuality. Dream was never someone who cared for the opinions of others, and it was easy to write it off. Only now, at the job fair hosted by her alma mater, it felt like a heavy burden, especially on her poor pockets. How on earth was she going to get a job at this rate?

"I'll be in touch," the elderly man before her spoke, his reticent eyes lingering on her face once more before taking a final look at her full figure and the tattoos that adorned it. "Have a good evening, Ms. Westwood."

The moment his cold voice circled her ears, her hopes were dashed. Gone. Blown to smithereens. He would definitely not, Dream groaned inwardly.

It was the same reaction she had received all evening, despite how hard she tried. The saccharine smile that tugged at her cheeks was automatic, concealing the disappointment blooming in her chest in the form of two deep dimples. "You too, Mr. Norris. Thank you for your time, I hope to hear from you soon."

Lies, lies, lies.

Her face fell as soon as he walked away, and she turned, careful not to meet another gaze until she got to the refreshment table. A drink was what she needed, and badly. When she caught the knowing, pitiful gaze of her advisor, Mrs. Abernathy, standing to the side, she knew the woman had seen it all. The advisor's brows furrowed, eyes hanging low with disappointment that should have been reflected in her own.

Dream swallowed the lump growing in her throat, turning away. Would she be a coward if she went home? Was it too early to call it quits? The event only started an hour ago. Sunlight still streamed in through high windows, birds still filled the sky, and clouds sat high like fresh meringues.

It definitely was. If she left now, she'd never hear the end of it. Not from her sister, and not from her mother. Though Dream moved in with her older sister, Love, six months ago, it was as though she was still living at home. Her snitch of an older sister would definitely tell her mother, and her mother would never let her off. Her father would be forced to choose a side and, nine times out of ten, it's never hers. The man was a firm believer in happy wife, happy life. Ugh, just thinking about it was giving her a headache.

Being an adult was hard. Trying to find a job she didn't hate, taking on responsibilities like bills, and somehow making a living was even harder. It all left her so stressed, and if there was anything the free-spirited young woman hated, it was stress. Someone, anyone, put her out of her misery.

A tug on her dress brought her attention downward, away from the annoying thoughts buzzing around in her head.

Hanging onto her dress with glossy, red-rimmed eyes and puffy red cheeks was a toddler. A little girl, who looked to be no older than three or four, looking up at her with big brown eyes full of fear. As soon as Dream met the poor little girl's gaze, her nose scrunched, her mouth parted and –

"Oh no, oh no," she cooed, scooping the toddler up immediately. It was too late, her pained cries filled the room before she could stop it. "Don't cry, don't cry, it's okay, it's alright."

She held the toddler close, a soothing hand at her back as she cried helplessly. No one paid attention to Dream, there was no parent who seemed concerned a stranger was cradling their baby, and no grandparent looking for a lost little one. Who's baby is this, and why was the poor thing crying on her shoulder? Was she lost?

Dream turned back to her, inconsolable tears streaming down her face and onto Dream's dress. "What's wrong, are you hurt?" She asked, her voice laden with concern. "Are you lost? Hungry?" The poor thing didn't answer through her sniffling and tears. Oh god, what was wrong with her? Was she sick?

Dream quickly put her hand to her forehead, checking for a fever. Luckily, there wasn't one, but with the way she was crying, there would be one soon. She sighed. First things first, she needed a security guard, someone to notify the parents she's missing, if they haven't noticed already.

How irresponsible could they be? What was wrong with them? She adjusted the baby on her hip, only for her to tighten her hold around Dream's neck as if she were afraid to let go. It was then that Dream noticed her tiny fists clenching something desperately.

A hearing aid. Dream would recognize it anywhere. Immediately, things were starting to make sense. The baby couldn't hear her.

Dream grabbed the hearing aid from the child's hand, hearing the loud feedback as soon as it was free from her palm. She flinched at the sound, turning it off immediately before it interfered with her cochlear.

Now, where is the other one?

Eyes glued to the ground, Dream began the arduous search of looking for the lost hearing aid. She must have looked odd, but no one volunteered to help, too intimidated by the crying child on her arm.

By the time she found it, the little girl had stopped crying, only sniffling here and there. Her shoulder was soaked, and no one had come to claim the distressed child. Just like the other one, the feedback had been so loud, it made her do a double-take. Who adjusted these for her, and why did they do such a shit job?

"You poor thing," she hummed, placing the hearing aids in her purse. Dream knew, first-hand, what it was like to be in her position, scared, unable to hear, and with no one around to help. Considering how she had not attempted to sign, Dream wondered if her hearing loss was new, and that made her feel so much more for the poor child in her arms. "God, where are your parents-"

"Oh my God!" A panicked, high-pitched voice carried throughout the room. "Carina, there you are!"

It didn't take long for Dream to connect the dots, immediately gathering that Carina was the name of the child in her arms. The woman scurried over, officers and suited men at her back, and tried to take the child from her arms before Dream could tell her to wait. It would only startle her, she couldn't hear anything and didn't know who was trying to take her away. As she thought, Carina tightened her arms around Dream's neck in a vice grip.

"She can't-"

The woman grimaced, looking up at Dream apologetically as she interrupted her. "I am so sorry for this, I don't know how I lost her. One moment, I looked away, and the next she was gone. My boss is going to kill me. She knows better than to run around like this, I can't believe she did this."

Was she seriously trying to pass off responsibility to a child?

"When you get home, you're going to be in a lot of trouble, Carina. I can't believe you, right now, I told you time after time to stay next to me." Fortunately, the child couldn't hear the woman and her stupid words.

Unfortunately for the nanny, Dream could.

Dream raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Oh, right. Blame the child for being a child. Makes sense, right?" she replied, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Because it's always their fault when an adult loses them."

"Excuse me? Are you blaming me for this? It's completely not my fault, and I don't appreciate you acting like you know anything about the situation when you don't."

On the verge of losing her temper was a dangerous place for Dream to be. For as sweet as Dream could be, she could also be twice as mean. Looking down at the nanny, at her impertinent attitude and lack of remorse, made it much worse.

"So, your boss should feel the same too, right?" The irresponsible woman paled, and a sweet, reassuring smile curled Dream's lips. "Oh, don't worry, I'm sure she'll  be happy to take the blame for your mistake. After all, it's not like she's already traumatized from being lost and alone or anything, right?"

The nanny looked taken aback for a moment, before quickly regaining her composure, face twisting into an expression of annoyance. "I don't have time for this, and I don't have time for you. Carina, come here." When she grabbed the child again, Dream gripped her wrist harshly.

"She can't hear you, you're scaring her," Dream spelled out, uttering the words coldly. "And if you looked at her long enough, you'd be able to see that. Or didn't you wonder where her hearing aids went?"

Dream couldn't help the sharp tone in her voice, nor the way the woman paused at the slight. It was much nicer than she wanted to be.

She dug into her purse, removing the hearing aids and handing them to the woman. "Here, these were bothering her. You need to get them readjusted as soon as possible. I can take them to the specialist on campus, if you'd like."

"Thanks, but I don't need your help. I can take it, and her, from here." The irresponsible woman pursed her lips. She tried to get Carina once again, but the toddler refused to budge. "God, Carina. Don't do this to me, we're already late."

Hearing Carina sniffle, feeling her desperation, her faint heartstrings pulled. Despite her appearance, Dream was sensitive, and too sensitive for her own good. And she couldn't just let the distressed child go.

Dream couldn't believe herself or the words coming out of her mouth as she said, "I could take her to your car, it's no problem. Really."

The woman, her nanny, Dream presumed, pursed her lips. It made her young face look aged and grim as her eyes darted between Carina and Dream. Finally, she sighed, giving up completely.

"If it's fine with you, thank you." She muttered, seeming not half as thankful as her words suggested.

The walk outside was tense, the woman and the men at her side were nothing but an unwelcome presence. When they finally made it to the car, a black Mercedes Benz, Dream let out a sigh of relief.

The men opened the door, allowing Dream to strap the child into her booster seat. When she finally finished, they couldn't shut the door fast enough. She didn't even get to wave goodbye.

Christ. They act like she was a kidnapper. So much for being a good Samaritan.

Two of the men got in the front, and the others turned back to the building.

The woman sighed at her back. Dream turned, just as the woman crossed her arms. "Look, I'm sorry." The words were so unexpected at this point, Dream thought she was hearing things. "You were right, this was completely my fault. I just looked away for a second, and she was gone. I don't usually watch the kid, so I didn't expect it."

So she wasn't the nanny. Go figure. She didn't seem like the motherly type.

"Don't worry about it, I'm just glad I could help." Dream smiled, "Don't forget to get them recalibrated before you go. Her hearing aids, I mean. Bye."

"Wait," the woman said, grabbing her arm.  "Wait a moment, please?" At the odd look Dream gave, the woman released her. "You're looking for a job, right? You were at the job fair, so I figure there's no harm in saying this. But, we're looking for a teacher for Carina. An ASL teacher. Would you be interested in an interview?"

It was strange, suspiciously strange. Opportunities like this didn't fall into her lap, especially not when she looked the way she did.  She raised a thin brow, studying the woman silently before saying, "I won't say no, but why me?" She'd been nothing but harsh the entire time they spoke.

"Because she's so attached to you, and she barely knows you. Carina usually doesn't like strangers, especially women, but she was holding on to you for dear life. If nobody knew any better, they'd think I was snatching your kid." Her eyes lingered on Dream, once more, this time focusing on the intricate lines and art adorning her rich skin.  "Just, think about it, will you? My boss has been meeting with the Dean for months trying to find someone. I think you'd be perfect."

The Dean? They were arranging a teacher through the Dean? Just who did she work for? Dream couldn't help but wonder. The woman reached into her purse and pulled out a business card.  Jennifer Gonzales, Personal Assistant, it read in inky calligraphy.

"Call me if you're interested, okay?"

Dream took it.

The woman, Jennifer, got into the car. They didn't wait a moment longer, peeling off and heading further onto the campus. Probably going to the Dean's office.  Standing there in the parking lot, she stared at the business card a little longer than she should have.

She should be jumping for joy at an opportunity like this. Not even thirty minutes ago, she'd been bitching about how hard it was to get a job and this one just fell into her lap.

So why was she hesitating?