Huntington Avenue | ✓ [PV REWRITE]

Part I: Chapter 7

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Chapter 7 | ❝ So, Thursday at four? ❞

Tuesday, September 11th, 2018 - 9:27 a.m.

❝HARPER, YOU DON'T have to walk me to Trig every day if you don't want to," Zach told his friend who was walking next to him and matching his stride.

The sandy blond shrugged. "One, I get lonely and bored, two, it's some bonding time even if just for a minute, and three, I thought it would make you feel safer," he confessed the third option in a bit of a whisper. "I can stop if you want, but I just wanna help."

"No, I like your company," Zach quickly cleared up after a small hiccup in his stride. "I'm just saying you don't need to if you don't want to."

"I don't mind at all," assured Harper confidently. It was clear he was telling the one hundred percent truth.

Zach stopped himself in front of his Trigonometry classroom. Rather than simply asking Harper if it was the correct one, he ran his index finger against the tiny bumps of braille on the sign next to the door. It was a force of habit. Since braille was the only thing he was able to physically "read," he used it whenever he was able.

Soon enough, Harper's voice broke through Zach's little bubble of concentration. "You can read that?" he inquired in curiosity.

"Yeah. It's quite helpful," Zach replied as if it was nothing.

"It just looks like a bunch of little dots to me," he commented in quite a bit of confusion. "Is each dot a different letter?"

Zach pointed to the first collection of small dots which made up the first letter of the label on the sign. "Not exactly," he started to explain. "These four dots right here make up the letter "T" and it's different for each letter."

"Ah, I see," Harper acknowledged the information and at least pretended to understand it for the sake of his friend.

Zach continued in a cheerful notion, "It's basically like its own language—but more of like a code of some sort."

Harper's face seemed to light up at the new discovery. His brown eyes became a shade brighter with the realization he was learning something new, and getting to know his friend better. He was clearly interested in whatever he was taught with the exception of certain school subjects given by teachers of his distaste.

"That's awesome!" Harper exclaimed, giving Zach a gentle and proud pat on the back.

The blind boy smiled at the gesture with a positive glint in his eyes. For once, Zach seemed to be proud of himself for something relating to his blindness. Hardly any people knew how to read braille, but it was a crucial part to Zach's school career. If it did not exist in front of each classroom, he would be utterly lost.