Blind ➵ h.s au

two

"Daddy, I'm home!" I cheer wistfully, stepping inside my house and closing the front door behind me.

He walks out from the kitchen, grinning. "What makes you so happy?"

I pretend to pout. "No, 'Hi?' No, 'Hello?' No, 'How are you Sadie?'"

He laughs, hugging me. "Hi, hello. How are you Sadie?"

"I'm good, thank you." I smile toothily. "Anyways, the reason I'm so happy is because I'm going to Harry's house tonight."

I begin skipping happily to my room, but my father grabs my arm, stopping my. The tone of his voice falls about 3 octaves. "Not so fast, young lady. Who is this 'Harry?' Does he have a reputation? What are his grades? How is his attitude towards you?" He huffs.

His lips part as he begins to ask another question, but I stop him. "Dad, relax. Harry's nice. He's a good guy, great grades, no bad reputation. Besides, Dad, he's blind."

The mention of the word 'blind' seems to make him shrink at least 5 sizes. "Oh," he murmurs, "okay."

"I'll be upstairs, Dad, getting ready."

He flashes me a quick thumbs up before smiling slightly, still a bit astonished, and heading back into the kitchen to prepare dinner. Trotting up the stairs, I dash to my room. I pull out my phone, checking the time. 4:47. Realizing that Harry never told me what time to come, I pull out the paper with his number and dial it it. Holding the phone to my ear, he answers on around the 5th ring, probably struggling to find his phone.

"Hello?" I hear his soft voice echo through the phone.

"Hey, Harry. Just wondering, what time should I come over? You never really told me during class."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. Does 6 work?"

"That's just fine! Thanks, Harold. Can I call you Harold?"

"Actually, I-"

"You know what, I'm calling you Harold," I giggle into the phone.

"But, I-"

"Goodbye, Harold! See you at 6, Harold!" I cheer, and before he can respond, I hang up, patting myself on the back mentally and chuckling. Grabbing a bag, I throw in my chemistry books, as well as some mechanical pencils and led. I grab a few possible materials for our volcano and toss them in, heaving the bag and throwing it on my bed. Feeling like I have nothing else to do, I collapse on my bed and scroll through my Instagram feed. My eyes flick to the time on my phone a while later. 5:22. My stomach rumbles and, not knowing if Harry will think to get food, I run quickly down the stairs and into the kitchen. I open the pantry, rummaging through it and managing to pull out a Rice Krispy Treat and a granola bar, and, walking back out of the kitchen, I grab a banana. I trot quickly back to my room, eating my food at what seemed to me to be the speed of light. By the time I finish, it's 5:36, and, not wanting to be late to Harry's, I slip on some Converse high-tops and sling the bag with my materials in it over my shoulder, then grabbing my purse and rushing out of my room. I hurry down the stairs.

Reaching the front door, I turn my head for a moment, shouting to my father, "Dad, I'm going!"

"Okay, sweetheart!" I hear him call back from his room. "Your mother is getting home in 30 minutes, and dinner is at 8:00 tonight since she worked the late shift. Be home no later!"

"Yes, sir," I smile, opening the door and walking happily out onto the sidewalk. I fumble through my purse for my car keys as I make my way down the driveway. Finding them, I struggle with unlocking the door. Hearing the familiar click of the car door unlocking, I place my keys back into my purse and open the door, climbing in the seat. Putting the car into gear, I begin driving, turning on the radio and cranking up the volume.

•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*

Knock knock. My fist bangs against the front door of Harry's house, or at least, so says the address that Harry had given me. The door swings open and I shake from nervousness. Harry stands on the other side, brows furrowed. I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Who's there?" He calls, swinging his cane out in front of him. I bounce back before it can hit me. "Is it Sadie?"

I giggle. "Yes, Harry. It's Sadie."

"Oh, okay," he smiles, pulling his cane back beside his large frame. He motions with his hand for me to come in. "Come on in," he invites, "and sorry if I almost knocked you out with my cane."

I laugh. "It's fine, no worries."

"Ah, you must be Sadie!" A soft voice greets.

Looking to the source of the sound, I see a small woman walking towards me, seeming to have just come out of a different room. Noticing her strong resemblance to Harry, I reply, "Yes, ma'am. And I'm assuming you're Ms. Styles?"

"Oh, please," she waves me off. "Call me Anne."

"Oh, okay," I smile.

"Alright, Anne," Harry mocks, smiling as she chuckles, "Sadie and I will be upstairs. We've got a volcano to work on." He grins widely.

"Okay, okay," she waves us off. As we reach the tip of the stairs, she shouts, "And no sex!"

Harry's face turns blood red, and I just laugh, walking the rest of the way up the stairs.