Blind

¤ C H A P T E R 1 ¤

"Keep your earphones out your ears when you're in my class. Next time I'll be the one yanking them out your ears." Mr. Mitchell said.

Aubrey didn't say anything back and Mr. Mitchell continued taking attendance.

"Radric Davis."

"Present." He responded in his thick Atlanta accent.

"Beyoncé Knowles?"

"Here." I answered quickly.

"Onika Maraj?"

No response.

"Onika Maraj!" He repeated.

He started to say something else, until he was interrupted by someone barging in the door.

"Sorry I'm late I-

"You must be Onika Maraj." He said.

"Yes sir that's me."

Damn it, it's her...the same girl from earlier.

"You're new to my class so I'll go over the syllabus with you individually. For now, you can have a seat next to Ms. Knowles while I explain this project. Beyoncé raise your hand please."

I raised my hand and in a matter of seconds I could hear footsteps coming in my direction.

Once she sat down I felt her body heat next to me, and I instantly tensed up. At this point, I was so nervous and I didn't even know why.

"I see you made it to class on time." She spoke softly and I swallowed hard.

Something about her voice was so calming and sexy. Although I couldn't see her, I could tell she was beautiful.

"Yeah...and I see you didn't." I replied. I didn't intend to come off rude but I didn't really care much for her conversation. There's no point in conversation if you can't see who you're talking to. Hearing her speak was just a reminder of how abnormal I really was.

"Are you always this mean babygirl?" She asked.

Before I could answer, I was interrupted by Mr. Mitchell.

"Would you like to share your conversation with the class Ms. Knowles?" He asked and I sighed angrily.

"My bad sir, I was the one talking. Beyoncé hasn't said a word since I sat down." She quickly covered for me.

"Ms. Maraj, I appreciate your honesty, but I'd appreciate it even more if you didn't talk while I'm trying to finish taking attendance." He spoke sternly.

She let out a deep sigh, but she didn't say anything else.

Mr. Mitchell eventually finished taking attendance and we waited for further instruction.

"So...the Winter break project is simple. You have to create a 12 slide PowerPoint explaining the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. Also, you'll be required to create a hand drawn timeline on the events that lead to the fall of the Roman Empire."

Everybody groaned, including Onika.

"You will be assigned partners for this project. As a matter of fact...whoever you're sitting next to is your partner." He said, and everybody instantly started cheering.

Oh hell no!

"It's gonna be so much fun workin' with you." She whispered, I could tell that she was smiling.

I breathed deeply, but I didn't say anything back to her.

"Alright class, there's about an hour and a half left of class time. I want you guys to start brainstorming for your project's." Mr. Mitchell stated.