The Guide Dog

Chapter 1

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

Scarlett POV

   "Scarlett? Scarlett, wake up honey." I awoke to Jenna shaking me on the shoulder. I opened my eyes to the  unsurprising darkness that I'd been staring at for the past 13 years.

I lost my sight at the age of 2. My mother had set a bottle of bleach on the counter. I was a curious child and jumped to get the oversized gallon. The last thing I remember seeing is the clear liquid rush towards me. My mother was never much of a mother. She mainly only saw me as an inconvenience and the day I went blind was her get away ticket. She claimed she would never be able to afford to raise a blind child and put me in the adoption agency. I spent years in the agency. Bouncing from house to house. Family to Family. Ultimately no one had the patience or the time to raise a blind child. Until Jenna. Jenna found me in a crappy excuse for a foster home when I was 10. Jenna, being the housewife of man who owns a million dollar company, had plenty of time to spare for me.  I've been living with Jenna and Sam, her husband, for many years now. He was recently relocated from New York to Seattle and he was barely home. Don't get me wrong Sam loved Jenna and to my surprise he loved me too. Very much. Which is why he bought us one of biggest houses in Washington, or so Jenna says. Even though the house was big, the town was cozy.

   Jenna says they don't call it a town here, but a reservation. Whatever it was, it was small and quiet. I liked it so far, but we've only been here a week. Jenna gave me time off of school to get used to being in a new place. But today, I start the reservation school and I was not ready. I didn't want to go through it all again. The sympathy sighs, people whispering behind my back like I can't here, I'm blind not deaf! And everyone trying to help me. There are some things I can do on my own.

   As if to mock my thoughts I suddenly felt like I was falling only for a second and then I hit the floor with a loud thud. New bed. Right. I kept forgetting that.

   "Scarlett! Are you alright." Jenna said sounding worried.

"I'm fine. I just got to get used to the new thing around here." I said struggling to get off the floor. I grabbed my cane that I usually kept on the head board and steadied myself. I slowly walked out of my room. Jenna didn't help me out, she did the first three days of the move but she says I've got to learn for myself. There were stairs eight steps away from my room. I learned that the hard way. The stairs went straight down into the living room. No turns or spirals. I was grateful for that. I walked to down stairs, turned right, and counted the twenty-two steps from the stairs to my chair at the dining room table. As usual breakfast was there waiting for me. After I turned twelve I was finally used to eating without any help so there was no trouble there. After breakfast, I calculated my way back to my room and to my closet. Jenna picked out my clothes for me every night and I didn't mind at all. Jenna's friends always use to comment on how stylish she dressed back in New York. I changed into my clothes with a little help from Jenna, grabbed my cane and we were out the door.

   It was exactly 12 minutes and 43 seconds from the house to my new school, given there wasn't much traffic. When the car was parked and cut off Jenna stepped out and opened my door.

Immediately I began to hear the whispers. I linked Jenna's arm with mine and we walked towards the school together.

"Oh. My. God." I heard from at least 5 people. Oh, why was it such a long walk towards the school house.

"She's blind." I heard a girl behind me whisper. I sighed out of frustration and began to bite my bottom lip. It was something I did when I was nervous.

"Just ignore them, sweetheart." Jenna whispered to me.

We finally reached the school building. Inside it was very warm and it smelled like lemon cleaner. We entered a room with an even warmer temperature and a carpeted floor.

"Hello, may I help you." We must be with the receptionist.

"Yes, my daughter is Scarlett Dupree. Today is her first day." Jenna said in a quiet voice that matched the room.

"Ah, yes. Scarlett, is she the visually impar--"

"Blind?" I finished for her. The receptionist got very quiet.

"It's okay, it's not a bad word." I assured her with a smile.

"Well, Ms. Scarlett it seems you are in our buddy system." She said in a perky tone. The what system?

"What's the buddy system?" Jenna asked for me as if reading my thoughts.

"It's where we pick seniors with all their credits and classes finished to assist our handicapped students." She explained

I hated that word. Handicap. I wasn't in a wheelchair. I didn't have a disease. I could still, walk, talk, hear, and feel. I just couldn't see. Why couldn't anyone understand that.

"Oh" Jenna said sounding pleased that I wouldn't be alone on my first day. "Well, where is Scarlett's buddy?" She asked.

"He's walking in now." The receptionist answered. I turned the way we came in to the sound of the door opening.

"Hi." A deep manly voice said to me. "I'm Paul."

"Scarlett." I introduced myself. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too, Scarlett. Pretty dress." His complement made me feel as if the day might not be so bad after all. Paul seemed like a cool guy. I guess I should say something nice too.

"Thank you. I've never seen it." I spoke the words before I thought them. Ugh! Nice, Scarlett, real nice.

There was a long awkward silence. And then it was Jenna who spoke

"Well I guess you two should get to class then."

"Um, yeah let me see her schedule." He asked Jenna. "Okay, you have Mr. Thompson first. His class starts 10 minutes."

"I guess you better get going." Jenna sighed.

"I guess so." I whispered. I turned to Paul. "Do you mind if I have a moment outside with my mom?" I asked him

"Nah, course not." He stayed inside the building as Jenna and I stood outside of the school's doors. I gripped the handle of the door so I wouldn't be struggling to find it later and already embarrass myself in front of Paul.

"Scarlett, if you need anything just call me on your cell, okay?" Sam had bought me a cool high-tech audio-phone, it's voice activated so all you have to do is speak a command.

"Okay, Jenna." I promised. A second later I was in her arms. "I love you, honey." She whispered to me."

"I love you too." I whispered back. She kissed me on the cheek and I soon heard the descending steps of her heals walking away.

Already having a grip on the door handle I swung it open and stepped back inside. "Okay Paul, I'm ready." I said. But nothing happened. "Paul?" I asked into what sounded like an empty hallway. "Paul?!" No one was there.

He ditched me. My so called "buddy" actually left me standing in the middle of the empty hallway alone. I could not believe this. How was I going to get to class? Where the hell was class? Where the hell was anything?

Like it :D ? No Like it :( ? Comment/Vote and tell me what you think

XoXo~ Scarlett