Lead the Way

when you tell a blind person to see for themselves

When you tell a blind person to see for themselves

Chapter 1

I stare at the decaying building in front of me already dreading the day ahead.

A new school, again.

It's the same thing every damn time. Introducing myself at the start of the day, being seen as the weird goth kid because of my fondness for black clothes, the kid that barely talks or is overly sarcastic when they actually do. And just when I think I'm getting used to it and slightly fitting in were moving again. The life of a military brat, amazing isn't it?

Making friends is pretty difficult when you don't stick around long enough to form any meaningful friendships.

The friends I do have are people I play with online sometimes or the occasional lab partner but other than that I'm pretty much the definition of the word loner. Being an only child doesn't help matters at all.

I'm still standing outside the school, hating myself more than usual. Fuck it, the sooner I start the day the faster it will end. I give this school about 5 months tops before we leave yet another place behind again.

As soon as I enter I can already identify all the high school cliques. The jocks who all don their matching letterman jackets pushing a scrawny looking kid into the lockers. Over to my right is the plastics of this school already sussing out the new kid, aka me. Their cat-like eyes inspect me and are unsurprisingly disappointed in what they find.

A few other groups are noticeable, you know the usual; the rebels off to the corner with their leather jackets. The band kids with their instrument cases they seem to haul around with them everywhere. The potheads, of course their eyes already bloodshot red, it's surprising that their even at school to begin with. You gotta love high school huh? And despite all these groups I'm yet to find the one I belong too.

Looking down at the school map posted on the board in front of me I realize I'm completely lost.

Where the fuck is the school office in this shithole? Ahh fuck it, I say for the second time today already, so what if I'm late.

I take my time drying my shirt in a nearby bathroom and then end up walking around aimlessly, if a teacher finds me then I'll bother. Just when I'm turning a corner I bump into something or someone I should say and feel a cold liquid all over my front. "What the fuck?" I'm already pissed, sleep deprived and now soaking wet. "Can you watch where your fucking going?"


"I didn't get any on you did I?" I hear a small voice utter guiltily.

"What don't you see for your..." I trail off as notice the white identification cane in her left hand as well as the dark sunglasses on her face finally registering in my brain.

"Shit your.. you," I had just told a bloody blind person to watch where their going than told them to see for themselves. "I'm so sorry, I didn't see... I mean I didn't mean to.. too?" Wow I really need to work on my social skills. I look up in embarrassment and almost lose it as I see her holding in a laugh.

I'm about to snap at her when she beats me to it, "it's times like these when I really wish I could see the shock on people's faces,"

I can't help but laugh at that momentarily forgetting my anger. "I'm really sorry," I say finally able to get the words out.

"It's okay, I didn't get too much on you did I?" she asks nervously her hand playing with the string thing on the end of her cane.

I look down having completely forgotten that the whole front of my shirt was dripping wet. "It's nothing that I can't dry off in the bathroom, it's fine," Don't think you needed that much detail you weirdo, I scold myself.

"Your new aren't you?" she asks.

"Is it that obvious?" she's blind and she noticed I'm new, how much do I really stick out here?

"Most people in this school get too weirded out about the whole blind thing for a conversation to last this long," she says with confidence, surprisingly. "Your probably looking for the office yea?"


I nod forgetting she can't see it than muttering a yes out of embarrassment.

"I'm not the best person to help but it's somewhere that way, I think," she says gesturing behind her.

I smile again, "Thanks. Uhh your probably late for class now," I say suddenly realizing how empty the hallway is now.

She laughs again "one of the perks of being blind, the teacher here take too much pity on me to put me in trouble. I'll be fine. Good luck on your first day,"

I smile again before walking off. Though I can't help but turn back and watch her walk away her cane lightly tapping the ground in front of her.