I'll Be Here For You, page 1
Introduction
After an accident in eighth grade, she was blind. Every day was a struggle for her as she tried to adjust to life both at school and at home. As soon as she entered high school, things had changed for the worse. She eventually decides to remove herself from the bullies that surround her daily and be homeschooled. That is, until she met him.
He was born deaf, but when he was six years old, he received a cochlea implant that allowed him to hear. Even after the ten years of speech therapy where he had to teach himself how to hear, Alex prefers to stay in silence and only communicates with the world when necessary. Life seemed dull to him as he was stuck in between two worlds of silence and noise, not knowing his purpose or place in society. That is, until he saw a girl with a walking stick in the hallways.
They weren't made for each other. Although the very presence of each other gives them new hope and strength, things are difficult as she thrives by using her hearing, while he shies away from the sound and uses sight. Without being able to communicate easily, they must learn to overcome the barrier of the silence between them, which is easier said than done. But aren't the struggles worth it to be with that one person that means everything?
Chapter 1
A single walking stick tapping the ground filled the hallway with its sound, the laughing and the endless chatter stopping as it approached them. The clicks of the object striking the ground prompted the whispers to start all around it, empty phrases hanging in the air.
"She's all alone."
"Poor thing."
"Freak."
I was not a freak.
My walking stick hit a nearby shoe and I muttered a small apology. The minute I sensed the pungent smell of too much perfume filling the air, I knew a simple apology wasn't enough. I didn't have to have eyes to know that Cora Burton, head cheerleader and classic bitch was standing in front of me.
"What the hell, Louisa! Are you trying to kill me?"
I ignored her, moving forward past the lockers that I knew surrounded me on both sides. I could sense the other students' eyes on me, trying to gauge my next move. I wanted to scream at them to leave me alone and find entertainment somewhere else, but that would only attract more attention to myself. Besides, there was always a crowd around Cora, so no matter where I tried to hide, her and her posse would always find me.
A vise-like grip snatched my hand from the air, forcing me to drop my walking stick on the ground. I could feel Cora scowling at me, looking down at me with utter disgust, "Are you deaf too, Louisa? Next time you don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you. Do I make myself clear?"
I stared straight ahead, not turning my head towards her. She wasn't going to get whatever the hell she wanted whenever she wanted it. If she had a problem with me, then she could tell me without the entire school holding their breath as they watch our conversation. She had screwed with me one time too many, and I was done.
"Go to hell, Cora," I said as I bent down to pick up my walking stick.
That was the wrong answer.
I heard the whoosh of air as she moved her hand, but it was too late for me to react. Cora's hand came down across my right cheek, causing my whole face to move with the motion of the slap and turn to the side. My cheek stung and I bit back tears, trying to not let the whole school see how much it affected me. No one should get away with physically assaulting their peers in the hallways, and this wasn't the first time Cora rose a hand to me. But what could a blind girl do to a person who could see my every move?
The hallway burst into energized conversations.
"I heard this wasn't the first time that Louisa got slapped! What did she ever do to Cora?"
"Why does she even go to this school? She doesn't have any friends and she just gets bullied all the time."
"Aren't there special programs for the blind anyways?"
"I heard she couldn't afford to go to those fancy schools and get help adjusting after that accident."
"Shut up! She's walking this way..."
I ignored all of them, continuing my pilgrimage down the high school hallway, finally coming to the end of it as the chatter ceased. I slipped into my classroom, my walking stick hitting the desks to alert me of their presence and avoid them, even though I knew where they were anyways. Sliding into my desk near the middle of the classroom, I pulled out my earbuds and shoved them into my ears, blocking out the rest of the world with music.
This was the only method that worked on separating me from the real freaks, people like Cora. There was no reason for her not to like me, she just simply didn't. And when Cora doesn't like something or someone, she would go out of her way to show it. I was constantly reminded of that every day.
I felt a small tap on my shoulder, the girl to my left, Alyssa Shaw, signaling that class was starting. Sighing, I took the earbuds and put them back in my backpack, tuning in to the lesson.
"Alright class, pull out Macbeth and flip to his soliloquy in act five scene five." Ms. Jensen's feet padded across the hallway as she addressed the class, pacing around the room. "Macbeth's words in this scene 'Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage', what do we make of that? What is he implying through this passage?"
There was a rustle in the front of a classroom as someone raised their hand and started speaking, "I think that he's trying to say that he's acting as something that he's not, and regrets the decisions that led him to this point." I recognized the voice as belonging to Lulu Gibson, Cora's right-hand girl and the second in command of the cheerleaders. I rolled my eyes, thinking of the smug look on her face that must have appeared after her answer.
I raised my hand. Ms. Jensen called my name and I stood up, talking to the class, "What Macbeth is saying is that he is simply just another pawn being controlled by fate throughout his entire life. Through all the struggles and challenges life throws at him, he can't seem to break the cycle of fate. He is stuck, a meaningless hostage of someone else's entertainment." I sat back down slowly, muttering the words "just like me" as I moved back to my seat.
- o-
"Mom, I can't do this anymore," I threw my hands up as I sat down at the dinner table in exasperation.
"What do you mean? I thought things were going great for you at school."
I glared at her. We had this conversation yesterday. And she had already forgotten about it. Although between her constantly working and raising the other two kids in the house, it wouldn't have been too hard for it to slip out of her mind.
"They hate me because I'm different from them. I can't just magically cure my blindness! How am I supposed to stand up for myself or not be ridiculed when I can't even fight back?"
"Honey," I could feel the hot tears trailing down my cheeks, my mom noticing my grief, "I'm not sure what you want me to do about it. I can't just move to send you to a different school, I don't have the time or energy to send you to teach you myself, and I don't have the money to pay a tutor to homeschool you every day. I tried talking to your teachers and the principal, but it's your word against all of the other students in that school."
I sighed, looking away from her, "I know that, but they're lying to protect their precious queen bee."
I could feel my mother's gaze on me and I squirmed in my seat, "Can you stay there one more day while I try to figure out what our next move should be?"
"You said the same thing yesterday," I said, still not meeting her gaze.
She paused, obviously trying to recall the conversation that we had. I could tell the wheels clicked in her brain when she said, "I just needed more time to figure it out. Please, honey, one more day?"
Keeping my eyes turned to the floor, I nodded slowly.
"One more day."
I had only told a ground breaking one person at 7:30 am that today would be my last day at school. I didn't know what was more impressive; how fast the news spread to the entirety of the school or how fast Cora and her lackeys formulated a plan to make it the worst day ever.
By 7:45 the entire school found out, the news spreading like wildfire. When I went back to my locker at 7:50 to grab my books, I found out that Cora was already at it making my life a miserable hell. She trashed my locker, covering the outside with a sticky substance that I later found out was maple syrup. It seeped through the holes at the top and now coated my books and school materials. But not all of them, the books that I needed for my first period class were missing.
Leaving the locker and the mess that accompanied it, I went to my first period class. The teacher scolded me for not bringing my textbooks, since she didn't have an extra copy of the brail edition and no one else could share with me. I sat there, having a hard time understanding the lesson. Because of this, the teacher thought that I wasn't paying enough attention, so she tried to ask me questions that I didn't know the answers to, which made it worse.
Chapter 2
We were supposed to read a document about the Meiji Restoration that took place in nineteenth century Japan. Before class, I didn't even know what the Meiji Restoration was.
"Louisa, can you please explain to me how the restoration of imperial rule in Japan had a positive effect on the country?" Ms. Burke asked me, waiting expectantly for me to answer.
I waited for a couple of seconds, trying to see if anything would come to me before I gave up and shook my head, "I'm not sure."
I could feel the heavy stare of Ms. Burke making the hairs on my neck stand up as the classroom filled with silence. If Ms. Burke though
"See me after class, Louisa." Ms. Burke said with a sigh, continuing with her lesson as if nothing had ever happened.
After the longest four-minute talk of my life with Ms. Burke trying to explain why I couldn't understand the lesson, she finally released me so I could rush to my second period at the complete opposite end of the school. Before I even got there, I knew it would be hell.
Second period was the class that I shared with Cora, making it always the worst part of my day. Cora would always find some new way to torture me or pick on me in front of the entire class. I thought at one time that the class was always sick of her ways when one of the students told her to knock it off, but she kept pushing and he just left the matter alone. Today was no exception.
She called me a slut. In front of the entire class. First of all, I was not that type of person. Second of all, who just says something like that during class? And it wasn't until later that someone finally took pity on me and told me the rest. Cora took some sort of red ink and wrote the word slut all over my books. That explains all the snickers from the rest of the class when I tried to read for class without noticing the bright red letters staring right back at my face. Never in my life had I felt more humiliated.
I practically tore out of second without even hesitating to make sure I knew where I was going. If I was going to bump into something, so be it. At least it would mean that I would be away from Cora and all of the people laughing at me.
I was wrong. I ran smack into someone in front of me, and I scattered their papers everywhere on the floor.
"Oh my goodness, I am so sorry. I know I should be more careful..." My hands raced frantically across the floor tiles to put the pile back together and help the person that I ran into.
No matter how many times I apologized, the person in front of me didn't even say a word. The silence was filled with me practically talking to myself, every word coming out of my mouth like another mistake. It made me feel so much worse than if the person would've yelled.
After apologizing yet again, I continued walking to third period, a little slower this time and more cautious so I didn't make the same mistake of running into an unknowing student. I made it safely, but as I attempted to sit down into my seat, someone pulled out the chair from under me, and I fell hard. I knew it was one of Cora's cheerleaders, but I was too upset from them picking on me all day to care. While I waited for the break to end, I shoved my earbuds in and blasted my music, completely ignorant to my surroundings. Like they say, ignorance is bliss.
Everything was fine until the end of the period, when someone, again probably one of the cheerleaders, stole my walking stick and hid it somewhere in the classroom. With the teacher gone to go to the restroom, I had to stumble around, waving my hands in the air like a lunatic while looking for it. The teacher finally came back when the transition time to get to my fourth period was over. We found the walking stick, and I was late to fourth period.
I rushed to class, trying to explain to the teacher why I was late, but he still handed me a detention slip anyways. I sat in the back of the class, trying to act invisible to the rest of my peers. The rest of the period went without incident, until at the end Lulu 'accidently' tripped and spilled water all over me.
"Jesus! Watch it, Louisa!" Lulu practically screamed in my ear.
"I wasn't even the one that tripped you." I muttered, meaning it to just be heard by me.
"What was that?" I could almost sense the smile tugging at the corner of her lips. What was her problem anyways? She wasn't the one who was soaked with water.
Instead of engaging with Lulu, I speed-walked out of the classroom and headed to the cafeteria, and to say I was done by lunch was an understatement.
I had been humiliated, pushed around by Cora and her posse so many times today that my head hurt just trying to recall them all. I had tried to just keep my head down, but that clearly wasn't working. Instead, it only seemed to give them more access to try new things, to see how hard they could push before I would break. I knew that it wouldn't take long at this rate.
I knew the bathroom was on my way to the cafeteria, so I paused when I came close to the area and slipped into the room. I took in a shaky breath when I realized by the silence that there was no one in the restrooms, probably everyone standing in line to get their food. When I took a paper towel and dabbed it on my soaked clothes, I couldn't hold it in anymore. I broke down.
My tears flowed freely off of my cheeks, pooling on the counter of the bathroom sink. Why did these girls hate me so much? What did I ever do to them?
Every move that I made seemed to be a mistake. If I talked back to them, the things they did would just get worse. If I never said anything, then they would just continue bullying me until I couldn't take it anymore. Every second of every hour that passed while I was in this school was torturous as I tried to rack my brain for what they would do next. Sometimes, my brain couldn't even comprehend the stuff they did half of the time.
Which brings me back to my original question. Why did these girls try to make my life as miserable as possible?
When I heard the bathroom door slowly creak open, I frantically swiped at the tears that surrounded my eyes. I sniffled once, trying to clear all the evidence that I had been crying, and turned away from the door to not show my face.
The door clanged shut. "Oh my god, are you alright?" A girl asked me, rushing over to where I was standing.
I didn't recognize the girl's voice, and knew immediately she wasn't in any of my classes. A part of me was ashamed to let a stranger see me as a mess in the bathroom, but at the same time, I was glad. It was the first time that someone had talked to me today without a condescending attitude. No, instead she sounded concerned.
I nodded, trying to play it off as not a big deal. "I'm fine." I said, lifting my walking stick to try and shuffle around her and make a quick escape. Although her warm voice made me feel infinitely better, I didn't need her sympathy.
"You're Louisa, aren't you?" I stopped in my tracks, listening to the girl who didn't lace my name with venom when she said it, "I'm just..." she trailed it off, shifting the weight of her feet, "I'm so sorry that this keeps happening to you. You don't deserve it."
"No one does." I stated, not turning around.
The girl continued, hardly missing a beat, "I know that it's your last day and all, but I would love it if you come ate lunch with me and some of my friends. Cora can be a bitch, but that doesn't mean your last day has to be entirely miserable." I could sense the hopeful smile radiating off her face. I liked this girl.
Chapter 3
"Okay." I said, turning back around and giving her my best smile. Sticking out my hand in her general direction, "We haven't really met. I'm Louisa, and you are?"
She took my hand, smiling as she spoke her name, "It's Maeve, but everyone just calls me Mae. Nice to meet ya!" I thought she winked, but I didn't know for sure.
"Nice to meet you, Mae." I said, her positivityand kindness infecting me.
I sat down at the table where Mae's friends were and was barely able to form the word hello in my mouth when she started to introduce me.
"Everyone this is Louisa," she said, her hand waving around in the air. "Farthest to your left is Clara," she paused, waiting for her to say hello so I could get a chance to hear her voice. "To the right of her is Noah and farthest right is Finn."
I nodded, smiling, "It's nice to meet you all."
Some of the names that she said I remembered from my classes. I recognized the girl Clara as the girl who sits in the front of my precalculus class and is wicked smart. I've heard that she was a little bit of a nerd, but that was probably just because she just straight A's and acted like it was easy. Noah was in my second period with Cora, chemistry class, and he was the one who told me about my ruined books. I felt the heat rise to my face in shame. He probably thought I was so stupid.
