Truly Blind | p. parker

ii • unfortunate commitments

Peter's apartment was exactly like any other apartment, except for the visually impaired accommodations. There were fewer than you would have expected, but you weren't about to judge his needs.

There were handrails along each wall and the doorknobs were quite larger than average. Not to mention the less noticeable things, like no rugs in the kitchen to trip over, a solid bench for kitchen seating rather than individual chairs, and television remotes connected to the coffee table with string. You assumed this made it easier for Peter to locate them. Though, whether he actually watched TV was debatable in your mind.

"May will be home soon, right Peter?" Ned said as the three of you set your bags down on the couch.

"She actually started working from home on Thursdays now," Peter said.

"Oh wow, not just Fridays? That's nice," Ned replied.

You stood uncomfortably in the middle of the room, not knowing where to sit or how to act.

"Peter, is that you?" came a voice from the other room.

"Yeah, May," Peter called.

Just then a woman appeared from around the corner. "I got an email from Mr. Hargreaves saying you haven't turned in that essay." She was studying a coupon in her hands and adjusting her glasses. "Oh, Ned," she looked up. "How nice of you to drop by,"

"Hi, May," Ned waved.

May looked at you. "And who's this?"

"Oh, this is ___," Ned explained. "She's new. And she doesn't have a Spanish textbook so she's studying with us. We have a test tomorrow."

"Peter, you have a test tomorrow?" May dropped her hand to her side in exasperation. "You need to tell me these things."

Peter only felt for the arm of the couch. He walked alongside it and reached out to grasp the back of a chair positioned at a small desk against the wall. He sat down, using his hands to understand where he was.

"Well, you guys hungry?" May turned to enter the kitchen. "I made muffins this morning but I burned half the batch. Maybe if we take the tops off they'll taste better,"

Ned was opening his backpack and sifting through his binder to find a study sheet while Peter was twisting a pencil in his fingers.

"So, ___, have you studied future tense verb conjugation yet?" Ned asked.

The three of you studied together at Peter's small desk until a smell coming from the kitchen made you wrinkle your nose.

You wanted to ask what it was, but you didn't feel comfortable speaking up. You barely knew these people.

Ned, noticing your expression, leaned over and whispered: "May's not the best cook. But she tries."

"Who wants blueberry? I added some frozen ones to the cinnamon mix I made earlier." May called from the kitchen.

"She always forgets I don't like cinnamon," Peter grumbled under his breath. He was having a hard time applying himself to his work, and was in a sour mood.

Ned bit his lip. "Uh, just two please!" He called back. "Unless, you don't want one?" He looked at you.

You opened your mouth to reply when May said "Two blueberry? Two cinnamon? The berry ones are hot! But the cinnamon ones have a crispy top!"

Just then, Peter accidentally elbowed his water bottle which spilled all over the textbook.

"Oh, no," Ned said.

You stood up. "I'll grab a towel."

"Okay," Ned said, easing Peter away from the table. His pants were very wet. "Maybe tell May I'd like a blueberry muffin. And that Peter isn't hungry."

You heard Peter mumble something about being starving, but you didn't take time to ask what he wanted instead.

May was taking another rack of muffins out of the oven.

"Peter spilled some water, is there a towel I can use to mop it up?" You asked.

May turned around and smiled. She looked kind enough. "Of course," she reached for the paper towels. "Tomorrow's laundry day, so just use these, alright?"

Ned entered the kitchen behind you and grabbed the towels from May. "Thanks."

You watched as he left, intending to follow, when May said: "Blueberry or cinnamon?"

"Ned wants blueberry, but I'll try a cinnamon." You said, not wanting to offend her.

She got out a few plates. "Peter not hungry?"

You shook your head.

"Lately it's like trying to spoon feed a cat with him. Won't eat anything more than a sandwich from that corner shop." May said, taking milk from the fridge.

You held the glasses awkwardly as she poured three cups full. ("He does like milk, that's one thing I know he'll want.")

As you took a sip from your glass May said: "So, did your family move here for a job?"

You shook your head. "Both my parents work from home. They wanted a change in lifestyle, I guess." You said, shrugging. "We used to be in Chicago."

May nodded. "Spontaneous, then?"

You laughed darkly. "Yes, very."

May began setting muffins on the plates. "Do you have plans for next year?"

You swallowed another gulp of milk. "I want to be a special education teacher. I went to a special ed middle school, and it's fascinated me ever since."

May looked up, her eyebrows raised in excitement. "Special ed?"

You nodded.

May dusted her hands on her worn-out apron and looked over the counter to see if Ned and Peter were listening. In an undertone she said: "Would you be willing to help Peter with his school work?"

You blinked in surprise. "What?"

May bit her lip. "Between you and me," she glanced again at the boys who were busy with the soaking textbook. "He's failing most of his classes. I've tried getting him a tutor, I've tried the homeschool approach, he just doesn't care about graduating high school anymore."

You reflected that if you were blind, you likely wouldn't care about schoolwork either.

"But you seem bright, and Peter is actually studying today," May continued.

You assumed either she hadn't been paying very close attention, or that Peter's study rate was at a zero, because all Peter had done was sit there as Ned droned on about conjugating verbs.

"What do you say? I know he'd really appreciate it."

You inwardly groaned. You did not have time for this! Well, didn't you? You had no friends, and certainly didn't have a family you necessarily wanted to go home to every day. Still, you barely knew Peter. What if it was super awkward?

"I could probably pay you," May said, guessing your skepticism. "With the new work-from-home thing I'll have more extra cash to distribute from commuting less."

That tipped you over. "Okay, I'll try it out."

May was ecstatic. "Oh, thank you so much. This will be so good for him," she handed you a muffin. As soon as you bit into it, you regretted it.

"Hey, ___, Peter and I are gonna go out for Chinese for a break, you wanna come?" Ned said, popping into the kitchen.

Managing to swallow, you said: "My parents want me home for dinner. We still have some unpacking to do."

Ned nodded and May grabbed a plate of muffins for the three of you.

You packed up your bag as Peter and Ned got ready to leave.

May gave Ned some money and was telling him what to bring back for her.

You gripped the oversized doorknob to leave when you noticed Peter staring dejectedly at the wall again.

You shook your head, wondering what you had gotten yourself into, and left.

___
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