Through My Eyes

Chapter 1

Adelaine

"Don't leave me here," I plead for the billionth time.

My legs are stuck to the seat like they've been coated in Elmer's glue. I havn't been this nervous about starting school since my first day of kindergarten. "Don't leave me here", my five-year old self had begged my mother. Somehow 12 years later, my attitude towards going to school hadn't changed much. That was, granted that when I was starting kindergarten, I wasn't joining Perkin's School for the Visually Impaired. All that was fancy talk for blind school. And I didn't want to go to blind school.

"Addie you're being ridiculous. We've been sitting here for almost 10 minutes and you're just being stubborn", my poor mother says, exasperation clear in her usually patient voice.

"I'm not going to go and you can't make me. There's no point in me going to school anyways." I cross my arms haughtily across my chest.

My mother lets out a huff and gets out of the car and gets out of the car. I hear her door close and a few seconds later, my door is pulled open.

"Adelaine Elizabeth Porter. Get out of the car right this instant", my mother says firmly. I do commend her patience because had I been in her place, I would have grabbed my waist and pulled as hard as I could.

When I make no move, she tries another approach.

"I'll get you Olive Garden for dinner."

I let out an angry breath before dragging myself out of the car. I know food bribery was a low way to go, but I knew I had to get out eventually and when I'm already going down, why not go down with food.

"Thank you", says my mother, clearly relieved.

I continue to scowl as she hands me my backpack, takes my arm, and slowly starts leading me towards what I assume is my school building.

"This is all your fault." I mutter under my breath. Technically the blame should probably go to the drunk guy who thought it would be a good idea to run his car into mine in the middle of the highway on New Year's night, which was the reason that a month later, I was in blind school instead of East Wood High.

My mother ignores me as she leads me up a ramp and ushers me through a door. 

"Please try to act pleasant." she whispers in my ear.

I have absolutely no intention of being pleasant but for my mother's benefit, I wipe the scowl off my face. I'm definitely not smiling or anything, but at least I won't scare people away. Well, I don't care if I do.

"Katherine", I hear my mother say and I hear the clicking of another women's shoes nearing us and am ambushed with an alarming amount of floral perfume.

"Mrs. Porter. And you must be Adelaine, of course. I'm Katherine but you can call me Katie."

"It's wonderful to see you again", gushes my mother.

A moment of silence passes and my mother nudges me in the ribs. Oh yeah, I'm supposed to say something polite. We had gone over this at home. Etiquette.

"Yeah" is the nicest thing I can think of.

My mother sighs.

"I'm sorry about my daughter. She hasn't been the cheeriest person of late." my mother says discreetly, but not that discreetly. I resist the urge to snort. I was blind. Did she really expect me to be cheery?

"Oh that's understandable considering the circumstances. We make it our goal to awaken students to make them realize that they're as much as a part of this world as everyone else..."