Chapter 1

  Walking down the street isn’t an easy task. It’s one of the most dangerous things to do. I was struggling to avoid people and objects on my way to Pete's Coffee Counter to grab a cup of coffee. As I walked through the crowd, I could sense many sympathetic eyes on me that I forced myself not to acknowledge. I managed to make it to my destination safety with only tripping twice. For me, that’s a victory. I ordered my skinny latte at the counter. “Coming right up!” The cashier shouted. I was a little irritated at the volume of his voice. I simply said, “I’m not deaf,” forced a fake smile and took a seat. I didn’t understand why he had to shout. Some people just don’t understand my condition, I guess. I sighed to myself, glancing at my shoes. Technically I wasn’t glancing at my shoes. I was staring into darkness. My shoes just happened to be what my eyes targeted at. I should explain: I’m blind.   

   I tapped my foot against the floor, making a rhythmic tune to pass time. I heard whispering coming from near booths. “It must be hard. Imagine going through what she goes through,” a girl that sounded about 17 whispered.   “Yeah. I wouldn’t be able to read my seventeen magazines anymore,” another girl said. A bunch of giggles followed. The giggles told me that there were at least three or four people sitting there. “Can you talk about anything except for your magazines, Jill?” a teenage boy chuckled. Then I heard the first voice speak again, 

“How can you paint your nails, or put on make-up or,” she stopped with a gasp before she breathed out the words, “How can you go shopping?”  

“I’m sure you can shop, Anna,” the boy stated.  

“Yeah, but you can’t see what you’re buying. For all you know, you could be buying crap clothes. I mean, look at her clothes.” I heard some girlish giggles. I tugged on my sweater self-consciously. 

“Her clothes aren’t that bad.” It was a brand new voice belonging to another teenage boy.  

“Admit it, Ryan, she’s wearing a rag,” Jill said. Next it was teenage boy number 1’s turn: 

“Come on, you guys. She’s blind. She obviously can’t afford Gucci and all those expensive boutiques you two shop at.” Oh, so just because I’m blind, I’ve got to be poor too? I’ve just about had enough of those idiots when, “Order #315. One skinny latte!” bellowed through the room. I heaved myself up from my booth and walked towards the counter, feeling my way there with my white cane. On my way, I walked past the teenagers’ table and ‘accidentally’ knocked over a cup of coffee so that it’ll fall onto someone’s lap. I learnt that my mission was successful when I heard a scream and frantic movements. That was followed by, “Sorry. Sorry.” That’s one of the perks of being blind. You can mess up people’s lives and they’d be the ones feeling bad. I then discovered that I targeted the wrong table when I heard the choruses of laughter belonging to the group of teenagers coming from one table down. Okay, so being blind isn’t such a perk.  

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