Lauren.
Lauren?
Lauren!
"Lauren?!" Oh! That's someone talking to me...
I look up at the short and rather stumpy Braille expert.
"Are you focussing?" Her surprisingly whiny voice says as she hoists her hands onto her rotund hips. "This is very important, Lauren. Focus and dedication are key," she adds pompously.
I suppress a roll of my eyes. "Sorry, Edna. I was with the fairies..." I say in a bored voice.
You could say I was actually dreaming.
About Jason.
Daydreaming...
"Well, get your head out of the clouds and tell me what this says!" She orders, poking viciously at the card paper with small bumps.
I sigh and close my eyes, running my fingertip along the bumps.
"The sky was blue and clear?" I guess as I gaze up at her.
She glares for a moment, probably deciphering the tone of my voice.
"Excellent. Keep going," she says, passing me to some other girl.
You'd think I was the only person here...
You'd think wrong.
Apparently people all over this darn town and its surrounding towns have Cone-Rod Dystrophy.
Must be something in the water.
Huh, that's probably it...
"Lauren, get to it..." Edna warns as she passes by again.
I mock her in my mind in a voice she doesn't even have.
Cow.
Running my fingers over the small bumps, I read the page quickly. I guess I'm picking this up pretty quickly, too.
"Lauren, right?" A dark skinned boy with a scar across one eye, making it stay closed says.
I look at him as he smiles over at me. "Yeah, that's me..."
He holds a hand out, "I'm Allen, nice to meet you." He says, flashing a row of shiny white teeth.
"Oh, hey Allen. Gnarly scar you've got there..." I say with a small smile.
He chuckles, "yeah, I was riding down a hill when I realised my breaks were non-existent. I had the choice of jumping off or riding into a freeway of fast cars." He explains, gingerly running a hand over his scar. "I chose the jump. Anyhow, I jumped into some rusty old pipes sticking out of the ground. The doctor says the infection from the pipes is going to take my other eye sight."
I instantly feel bad, "oh man, that sucks!" I say, showing a sympathetic smile, "guess I'll never ride a bike again!" I add, trying to make light of his debacle.
Thankfully he too, chuckles, "yeah, right? Anyway, figured if I want to be a journalist, I gotta be able to read sometime!"
I find myself proud and happy for him. "Oh, wow, a journalist! That's excellent!"
He chuckles but waves off my compliment, "what are you going to do?"
I shrug, "To be honest, I haven't got a clue. I always wanted to be a kindergarten teacher... All those little kids, happy and laughing?" I say longingly as I look by him, daydreaming again. "That's my scene..."
Allen ticks his tongue, "I don't quite know how that'd work but you know what they say... Where there's a will, there's a way." He turns back to his page of Braille and continues his reading.
