Can You See Me/Can You Hear Me

Feeling Like An Astronaut

Ah, the first day of school. The day where you wait for your friends by the school doors and fail to remember your locker combination. Or in Evan's case, waiting for the person that will help him find his classes.

Evan sat in an uncomfortable chair in the office. He had his head down, eyes closed and cane laying across his legs. He listened to the office lady type at her computer and the phones ringing. The lady's probably freshly painted nails clicked against the keys. The office creaked open, causing Evan to look up.

The person walked up to the front desk.

"Evan," the office lady said. Evan looked over to the desk. "Connor is going to be leading you to classes."

"Connor," Evan repeated. "Connor Murphy?"

"Yes," the lady said. "Is that a problem?"

"No!" He exclaimed. "Not, not at all." Evan stood up. His cane fell. Sighing, he bent down and picked it up. He walked forward, stopping when the cane hit someone's foot. It was Connor's foot.

Connor grabbed Evan's hand. 'You ready?'

Evan nodded. Connor let go of his hand and started walking, causing Evan to reach out and grab the back of Connor's backpack. Connor instantly stopped.

"Sorry," Evan mumbled, sensing Connor's eyes on him. "It's just, if I, I don't hold onto something, I could, could lose you and get lost."

Connor sighed and grabbed Evan's wrist, pulling him along. Evan stumbled a bit as he tried to keep up. He felt eyes on him. Evan planted his feet on the ground, pulling his wrist back, and accidentally making Connor collide into his chest.

"You don't have, have to grab my arm so, so hard," Evan said. "It, it hurt. Just let me hold onto your backpack or something."

Connor grabbed Evan's hand gently. 'Look Hansen,' he signed. 'I don't wanna do this and neither do you. The sooner we get to class, the sooner the day is over meaning the end of the school year gets closer and we won't have to do this again or see each other. Don't argue with me.'

Evan stared at Connor, or tried to. Really he was looking a little bit to the left. He heard people talking and laughing as they walked passed.

"Fags," they whispered. Evan tensed up and yanked his hand back, face bright red.

"Fine," Evan agreed. Connor grabbed Evan's wrist once again and started walking.

Lunch came sooner than expected. After the hallway incident, Evan and Connor didn't speak. After fourth hour, Connor and Evan parted ways. Evan claimed that he knew the way to the cafeteria and didn't need help, which was true.

Evan walked into the cafeteria, wincing as the noise level got significantly higher. He skillfully maneuvered his way through the room, avoiding tables and students. His cane bumped into a student when he got to the line. He whispered an apology and looked down.

Lunch in hand, he made his way over to a table near the exit. He let his cane lean against the table as he sat down. He held up his chicken sandwich and took a small bite, chewing slowly. He didn't want anyone to think he ate weird, though they probably already thought that.

"Hey," Jared said next to Evan. "So who'd you get stuck with, huh? Who's the not so lucky person that has the opportunity to walk you around?"

Evan didn't look up from his food. "It's uh, it's not important." He picked at the top bun of the sandwich, letting crumbs sprinkle over the tray. "How, how was your day so far?"

"Well, I successfully found my first few classes without trouble," Jared teased. Evan furrowed his eyebrows and pushed his tray away, resting his arms on the table and laying his head on them. "And most of my friends are in them, so that's cool. But hey, if you're not gonna tell me who your guide is, I'll find out myself."

"Why do you need to uh, to know who it is?" Evan asked, his voice muffled. "It's not, it won't do you any good. And I don't even need a guide, so why does the school think otherwise? I've g-gotten around t-town without a guide, besides Charles but that's different! So why do you need to know? So you can tease me about it?"

"Relax, Evan." Jared scoffed. "That's what family friends do, tease each other. But apparently you don't get that."

Evan winced at 'family friend'. He stood up, grabbing his cane and tray and walking over to a trash can. He dumped the styrofoam tray and food into the bin. His phone buzzed, signally the end of lunch. He walked back over to the table and grabbed his backpack, slinging it over his shoulders. He ignored Jared calling after him and walked out of the cafeteria.

He stood outside the cafeteria, waiting for Connor to show up. As much as he didn't like it, he had to walk with the guide, even if he knew the way.

Five minutes passed and the late bell rang. Evan sighed and began walking. Connor hadn't shown up and he wasn't about to ditch the last few classes just because he wasn't there.

His fingers brushed against the wall as he tried to remember which paths to take and when to turn. He stopped whenever he came to a door, reading the Braille on the plate that had the teacher's name and room number.

When he found it, he was five minutes late. He tried to quietly open the door and walked in. The door slammed shut behind him. He heard everyone shift and look at him. His face burned and he tensed up as the teacher approached.

"You are five minutes late, Mr. Hansen," she said, annoyed. "Do you have a pass? Where is your guide?"

"C-Connor he," Evan stuttered. "He um. . . H-he didn't- I, I couldn't find him. He wasn't waiting for me. I'm not sure where he is."

The teacher sighed. "Alright, I will excuse this only one time, Mr. Hansen. Take your seat."

Connor didn't show up to take him to his next class. Or any of them. Even was lucky enough to not be late to the classes.

He stood outside the school, waiting for Jared so he could drop him off at home. He sat on the bench right by the doors, elbows resting on his knees and chin resting in his hands. His phone which was seated down next to him started buzzing like crazy, signaling a phone call.

Evan frowned, anxiety filling his stomach. Why was he getting a call? Swallowing the uneasiness, he picked up the phone and slid his thumb over the screen, answering the call. He put the phone up to his ear.

"H-hello?" He asked, voice barely above a whisper.

"Hey hey!" It was Jared. "So, I know you were expecting a ride home."

Oh no.

"I won't be able to give you one," Jared continued. "I forgot I had to meet with a teacher to work on math and only remembered because she caught me in the hall and reminded me. Sorry dude."

Jared hung up.

Evan sat there, phone still by his ear. He eventually put the phone down and sighed. Guess he was walking. He stood up, stretching his arms over his head. He picked up his backpack from the ground and slung it over his shoulders.

Holding his cane out in front of him, he began the fifteen minute walk home.