Beauty I Can't See

1

SCOTT

First day at a new school. I was just as scared as any other kid starting a new school in a small town would be. I was terrified.

In my old school I used to get bullied a lot. I wasn't surprised of course but I hated it. It made me feel so small. I had gone to that school district my whole education, and now, I had to start all over.

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I walked through the halls to find my first class. It hadn't started yet so there were still kids in the halls. They stared at me as I walked past them.

I found my first class and walked right in. I didn't know how long till the bell rang, but I didn't want anyone talking to me so I just found a seat in class.

A tall man, who I assumed was the teacher, walked in the door holding papers. He stopped and looked at me, "New kid?" I nodded to him. He walked over to his desk and set his papers down, "Scott Hoying, right?"

"Right."

"Nice to meet you, Scott." He came over to me and shook my hand.

"You too."

"Well, my name is Mr. Rogers. I'm your History teacher."

I nodded to him because I didn't know what to say. A few kids started to enter the classroom. Mr. Rogers walked away and started talking to another teacher outside the class.

I heard the bell and became nervous. There were kids staring at me and it made me feel uncomfortable.

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After that boring History class, I went to my locker to put my book away. I looked at my scheldule to find my next class. English. Perfect. I love English, though. I love to read and write. I grabbed my English book and searched for my class.

I sat down in a seat near the back of the class in the last row by the window. A younger looking woman was sitting at the teacher's desk writing. She looked up from what she was doing, "Scott?"

"Yes.

"You're the new kid right?"

"Right."

She came over to me and extended her hand in front of me, "I'm Mrs. Adams. Your English teacher."

"Nice to meet you." I smiled at her and she returned a happy smile back.

"Good thing for you, we're actually starting a movie today. It's called To Kill A Mockingbird. We're starting the book tomorrow."

"Okay." We exchanged smiles and she walked back to her desk.

The warning bell signaled and there were only a few kids in class. Two of which kept looking over at me and whispering back and forth. I looked over at the door as a small boy walked through. He was wearing a black jumper and tight black jeans. He looked so adorable. He had a girl on his arm who was very pretty. She whispered something to the boy and he giggled. It was the cutest thing I've ever heard.

The girl walked him over to a desk right next to mine. I noticed that the boy had a hard time getting in his desk, then I looked at his face. He was wearing thick framed black glasses. The boy was blind.

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Class started and the teacher turned off the lights so she could start the movie. The boy next to me shifted uncomfortably in his desk. He leaned back and crossed his legs. Mrs. Adams came over to him and whispered something in his ear. She walked over to her desk and grabbed a book. She came back and handed it to the blind boy. He flipped open to the first page and started to rub his fingers along the pages.

He couldn't watch the movie so he was reading the book instead. Apparently he had to read it by himself anyway because he could never keep up with the students reading aloud. The class period was ending soon so Mrs. Adams turned the movie off and the lights back on. I waited for my eyes to adjust to the light and listened to what Mrs. Adams was saying.

"Tomorrow we will start reading this book. I am quite excited for it, actually, and hope you all enjoy it." The students talked among themselves when she finished speaking. She came over to the boy next to me, "You can take the book home and read it if you want, okay Mitch?" Mitch. It was the name of the adorable boy next to me.

"Okay. Thanks so much." He spoke and my eyes widened. His voice was so beautiful. It was a little high for a high school boy, but it was marvelous. He shifted his head, and then looked at me. I guess he sensed me staring.

I looked away and he chuckled, "Don't be shy."

"What?"

"You looked away from me. There's no need to be shy. I don't bite."

"I'm sorry? I wasn't looking at you."

"Don't lie. I could tell you were staring at me."

"So what?"

"Nothing. I'm Mitch. You must be new."

"I am. My name is Scott."

"Well, it's nice to meet you Scott."

"You too." The bell rang and I walked out of the class, bumping into a girl, "I'm so sorry." I looked up at her. She was the girl that was with Mitch earlier. She was beautiful.

"It's alright. I shouldn't have been running. I was just trying to get my friend."

"Mitch?"

"Yes. Do you know him?"

"He just introduced himself to me. He's nice."

"Yes. He is. I'm Kirstin by the way." She shook my hand.

"Scott."

"Well, I have to take Mitch to class. Nice meeting you." She smiled then went into the classroom.

I got to my next class, choir. I loved choir. I love to sing so much, I'm obsessed.

I walked in the classroom, and there sat Kirstin, Mitch was next to her. They were talking to two guys next to them.

I walked over and sat on Mitch's right side next to the door. He shifted and turned his head a little towards me, "Scott?"

"Yes."

"Hi. How're you enjoying your first day?"

"I'm not. Thanks for asking."

"Why aren't you enjoying your first day? You don't like the school?"

"It's not the school, it's the people in it."

"Yeah. People here are assholes. Ignore them. That's what I do, and I'm fine. Don't let them bother you, it doesn't help you."

"Are people mean to you?"

"Of course. But, I ignore them."

"Why would people be mean to you?" Oops.

"What? You think they give me sympathy because I'm the blind kid. No. There's more to me than that, Scott." He turned his head away from me and we sat in silence.