EmPATHETICally Blind (A skinny love story)

Chapter 7: Chuck Taylors

 Matt's POV:

It's weird how some simple things that have absolutely no meaning to anyone else, could mean the world to you. Like to other people, it's just a manky old boot on top of the hill. To Harry, the Weasleys, Hermione, Cedric and Mr. Diggory, it was a portkey. 

        Or an empty bottle that you saved from a first date. A gum wrapper with a phone number on it.

Or in my case, it was my beat up old Chuck Taylors. God, I've been wearing them since I've stopped growing, which was a long time ago. They were well worn, and were just barely held together by different colors of duct tape. But they were the shoes I played every soccer game in. They were important to me.

I added an empty coke can to this collection in my closet, carefully feeling around for some of the things to make sure they were still there. Things got lost ten times faster when you couldn't see them even if they were right next to you.

        "Matt, how ya feeling? First day of school tomorrow." My dad's voice came from the doorway. I straightened up and walked over to my bed, plopping down on it and picking up my phone next to me. 

        "I don't know. Okay I guess. It'll probably be the same as last year. Listening to my friends, listening to lectures, reading old braile text books." I say.

        "At least you don't have to do homework. Oh suuuuure don't give the blind kid homework, make the dyslexic do all the reading." Carter's voice came from the doorway. I smirked, and I heard a small smack which means dad smacked his head because of his jibe at me. 

        "One of these days Matt, we'll find a way to get you to see again. One of these days." My dad said quietly from the doorway. I clenched my teeth together. Whatever, sure. That's what my doctor told me after he told me I was blind. One of those no duh moments actually.

Did it sort of take control of my life at first? Yeah. I ran into pretty much everything. It was so humiliating having my mom hold my hand everywhere we went. Then I got Bubba, a seeing eye dog. He helped a lot, barking if I was about to run into something, letting me keep my hand on his head. 

Now after having it for a few years, it's just like learning how to walk really. You're clumsy at first, you run into stuff, you fall, but now it's almost as if I've been blind my whole life. But I still remember colors. I knew what my family looked like, I knew what the sun and the sky and the birds looked like. 

        I frowned again and decided to call Emilee, just so I'd have someone to talk to so I didn't work myself into a state. Ya know, the ones where if you thought too many negative things, they just all started piling in like a flood, and suddenly you were crying, panicking, envisioning horrible things about to happen to you. 

        "Call Emilee." I say into my phone. 

        "Calling." The female voice replied. I waited a few seconds, listening to the tone, then she picked up.

        "Yahuh?" She asked, her mouth sounding full of food.

        "Did I call you in the middle of supper?" I asked. What time was it? I heard a few odd sounds and then her going "bleh."

        "No, I had my grinder guard in. I grind my teeth when I sleep. Did you need something?" She asked me. I thought quickly. Would it be weird to say that I just wanted to talk? Then I remembered something.

        "Oh, yeah. You know my mom like, paired us up for tomorrow. I'm supposedly in all your classes to show you around." I say. I heard her snort.

        "Did your mom not know that would be a case of the blind leading the blind? No offense or anything." She said, but then recovered quickly. 

        "I sure as hell make enough jokes about it, I don't care if you do. And yeah, mom didn't realize we'd just be wandering around the halls." I say, lowering my voice so mom didn't hear me. I didn't want her to think I was just sitting here badmouthing her. I knew why she paired us up. Emilee needed a friend in this town and to mom, I was the sweetest kid on the planet. Yeah, about as sweet as a sour gummy worm.

        "You're quiet. What are you thinking about?" She asked me. She always asked the weirdest questions. What I was thinking about, favorite spot on earth, food I liked but yet didn't like.

In case you're wondering, the middle school soccer field and jalepeno poppers.

        "Gummy worms." I answered. She laughed.

        "Those sound really good right now actually." She says.

        "Yeah. Walk with me to get some?"

        "Its 11:00 at night doofus. Our parents would kill us."

        "All the more reason to do it." I don't know why I was saying this. Why did I wanna walk around with her around a town she barely knew? We'd get lost for sure. But something about being around her made me want to do crazy, impulsive stuff, just out of the blue.

She was quiet for a moment, and when she spoke again, I could hear the smile in her voice.

        "Those better be some amazing gummy worms." She says into the phone.

        "Meet you outside my house in two minutes?" I ask. 

        "Yahuh." She says. Then I hear the click of the tone. 

Quiet as a mouse, I reach into my closet and slip on my Chuck Taylors.

They still fit.