After I grabbed my latte, I began my journey down the street. White cane in hand. Concentrating on not bumping into things and drinking coffee isn’t as easy as it looks. The wind blew my hair out of my face. My white cane searched the ground from left to right, making clicking noises as it tapped the ground. Luckily for my white cane, my ears were my white cane’s best friend. That’s one of the first things they teach you at blind school. My ears helped guide me as much as my white cane did. I’d hear if I’m walking towards someone, the sound of cars passing and much more. My biggest fear is crossing the road. I’ve never done it by myself before and I fear I never will. Trust me, I’ve tried, but it scares me shitless. Do you know all the things that could happen to a blind person if that person crosses the road? Well I do and it’s too frightening to discuss. I just took a route that remains on a side path to get to Pete’s Coffee Counter. I knew the route well because my friends and I took that route all the time.
Thankfully I arrived back at school safely. I knew it was my school because there was a sign with the name on it and underneath it, the name was written in Braille. Braille is how blind people read. You drag your fingers over the writing and literally feel the words. Di Visione is a school for the blind. The name is Italian. The school is all about our future and to make dreams come true. Sound cheesy, right? Their moto is: "The greatest tragedy in life is people who have sight, but no vision." It’s a quote from Helen Keller.
I walked into the building and made my way to the cafeteria. A wave of warmth hugged my body as the heaters made their presence. When I entered the room, I received a strong smell of different foods. I smelt mildly spicy chicken, mashed potato, hot vegetable soup, and bitter coffee. When you’re blind your other four senses intensifies. I heard the distant sound of babbling all around me. I felt my way to my table. Table 25. Our table numbers are the same as our dorm room numbers. That means that I shared a table with my crazy, bubbly dorm roommates. Once I felt my table, I took a seat next to whom I assumed was Nathan, one of my best friends. “Hey, guys. What’s up?” I greeted, as I pulled my sweater off over my head. “I’m just ganna put this in here, Nath,” I mumbled as I shoved my sweater in his backpack. He was used to me constantly stuffing my personal items in his backpack. I never have enough space in my handbag for all my things. “Where the hell were you, Hayley?” Stella, my other best friend and dorm roommate, blurted out. I opened my mouth to say something, but was interrupted.
“Wait a minute,” Nathan said. “I smell coffee. And not just the crap coffee you get at the school. Good coffee. You went to Pete’s Coffee Counter, didn’t you?” I could feel their eyes on me even though they couldn’t see me. Yep, my friends were just as blind as I was. “I don’t know. Maybe,” I said, dragging my last word on. “Don’t tell me you went by yourself,” Stella said.
“I might’ve…” I reluctantly admitted.
“Hayley!” Stella scowled. “You know you’re not allowed out of the school by yourself. You either have to go with a guide dog, your instructor, or other students.” I sighed.
“I know. I know. I just wanted to do something by myself for once. And look at me. I turned out fine.”
“If I could look at you, I wouldn’t be in this school,” said Nathan. I chuckled, but Stella didn’t make a peep. “If you want to do something by yourself, knit a jersey or play an instrument. Just don’t walk the streets alone.” I knew she was right, it was one of the biggest rules at Di Visione, but I couldn’t help it. Having to always rely on your instructor or your friends, makes one feel helpless. I just wanted to know that I could do something by myself. “Did you cross any roads?” Nathan asked.
“No and I’m not going to be crossing any roads anytime soon. By myself, I mean.”
“Well thank goodness you know where to draw the line,” Stella said.
“That line is far, far away from my reach.”
“Oh, come on. You’ll be able to cross a road by yourself one of these days,” Nathan reassured me. The sound of an active white cane was coming towards our table. Probably just someone innocuously walking pass.
. . . .