Through My Eyes

Chapter 5

"Careful not to trip over the door frame", Ross tells me as I trip over the door frame. He grabs me around the shoulders before I fall.

I was at Ross's house for the first time, one Wednesday later. Usually he just came over to my house to tutor me, but today he invited me over to his house after our activity.

"Come on in", Ross says and takes my hand, dragging me in.

"Hello, dear. You must be Adelaine", a calm voice says, which I recognize as Ross's mother.

"Yes I am. Nice to meet you Mrs. Fawyer", I say, trying to sound as polite as I can.

"Call me Martha. It's nice to meet you too. I've heard a lot about you."

Ross talked about me? That can't be a good thing. I'm not exactly a gem to be around.

I awkwardly rub my neck trying to think of a reply.

"Come into the kitchen and have a snack, Adelaine", Mrs. Fawyer says and even though I say I'm not really that hungry, Ross drags me in anyways and helps me to a chair.

"Sandwiches are at ten o'clock, chips at five o'clock and drink at two o'clock", she says.

"Umm, what?" I ask.

"It's a way of finding everything", Ross explains to me. "Just picture your plate like a clock."

Intrigued, I reach my hand towards two o'clock and my clumsy fingers bump against a glass, knocking it over.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry", I cry, trying to pick it up but failing miserably.

"That's alright. I'll just clean it up", Mrs. Fawyer says and she hurries away for some paper towels.

"I'm really sorry", I tell Ross again.

"Calm down. It's just iced tea. No biggie."

"Iced tea?" I moan. That would be fun getting out of a lace table cloth.

For the next few minutes, I'm silent, nibbling on the crusts of my sandwich, even though both Ross and his mother assure me it's not my fault.

"We're just going to be in my room, mom", Ross says, and starts leading me away.

"Alright. Keep the door open", his mom calls. 

Typical of all parents to think whenever a girl was in a guy's room, they were doing stuff which required the door to be closed.

I carefully maneuver the stairs, even though Ross is holding my hand. In my house, I can practically run up and down my stairs as long as I count them. I count his stairs too. Eleven. 

I hear a creak as he pulls his door open. 

"Welcome to my room", Ross says.

"Nice room", I say, even though it's no difference to me.

"Thanks", he says and I can hear the amused smile in his voice.

"So what're we doing today?" I ask, sitting down and dumping my stuff.

"I thought we could do some trigonometry", he begins. I immediately groan. "And then I will begin my mission to show you some fun stuff to do without eyesight."

"I mean braille cards", he says when I don't reply.

"I know. What did you think I thought?" I retort.

"Never mind", he says quickly. "Now what's the formula for sin(a+b) times cos(a+b)."

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