Greyscale

Gasps of amazement rang out around me at the brilliant rainbow which stretched across a blue canvas. My lips drew together as I gazed at the grey strip which everyone in the class was looking at. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. I could recite the colours in my sleep, but they remained more foreign to me than a baby learning to speak.

"Colourful, isn't it?" The boy sitting next to me commented, still staring at the rainbow.

I cracked a wry smile. "Yeah, colourful." Not that I knew what that meant, anyway.

"So what's your name? Mine's Ethan by the way." He said, glancing over at me with a playful grin on his lips.

"Emma Thompson, short for Emerald."

"Like the colour of your eyes." I stared back at him before nodding. I'd been named after the colour of my eyes, which I couldn't see. My fingers twisted together under his gaze.

A pause stretched out between us before he spoke again. "Since you're new to this school, do you want me to show you 'round a bit? After all, you're stuck next to me for this class, might as well get to know each other." He winked, drawing a faint blush from me.

I nodded. "S-Sure. Thanks."

---

"Can you grab me the blue pen on the teacher's desk? I accidentally flung it there." Ethan whispered.

"Um, sure." I looked at the desk and swallowed. Why did the teacher have to have so many pens on her desk? I silently cursed Ethan's habit of spinning his pens. I glanced back at him before grabbing the closest pen, which nearly slipped from my sweaty palms. A gulp got stuck in my throat as he stared at the pen.

"Emma? This is a...red pen." I cursed under my breath. He reached around me and grabbed the right one while I sat there in silence. "Did you go colourblind? I'm pretty sure it's not blue anyway." He said teasingly. I flinched slightly.

"Yes." It came out as a mumble.

"Sorry? What'd you say?" He shifted closer.

"Um, I...I'm colourblind." I hid my face behind a curtain of black hair.

"You're colourblind?" Ethan stared at me. "But...you can see colour." He broke off, cringing, and scratched the back of his neck. "I-I mean, the other day, when we were looking at the rainbow..." My eyes stayed glued to the floor.

"Emma..." I continued to stare intently downwards. "Are you actually..."

"Are you colourblind?" I tried to swallow past the lump in my throat, past the gradually building frustration in the pits of my stomach. I thought of how similar this was to the many times people in my life have found out. It was always the same. I could already guess what would happen next. Illness repulses, I've learnt.

Finally, I couldn't contain it any longer. "Yes! Yes, I am. You're right. I don't know what colours are. Haven't since I was born. So what? Does it matter? Are you going to see me differently? Go ahead! Are you going to become like everyone else? Staring at me with...pity." I spat out the last word. "Well, go screw your pity and charity. I don't need it." A pause followed and I looked up. My eyebrows lifted slightly in surprise to see Ethan staring at me, not with pity, but sadness.

"Is that what you think, Emma? You're still you. I'm not going to see you any differently. Anyone who sees you differently doesn't deserve your attention."