Blind Intention

He didn't look anything like she expected.

 

Physically, he sort of fit the mental image she'd painted thanks to her mother's detailed descriptions of the boy. His surprisingly dark chestnut colored hair flowed down in length to his ears, askewed as if he'd been running his hands through it in frustration. Perhaps he had been. Countering his brownish colored hair were his once emerald green eyes, now slowly turning a pale green. Though they were now fading in color, a gleam that probably shouldn't have been there lighted them, though technically they weren't supposed to be. The coloring of his eyes proved that what her mother had told her about him, aside from physical descriptions, was correct, and that she was in the right place. 

 

His attire was that of the average male teen. Slightly baggy jeans, ripped at the knees in a few places, a loose but fitting t-shirt with an eccentric design plastered on with the words Miami Ink stretched across the top in cursive. He wore socks since he was at home, no shoes. While he stood, his gaze trained on the floor, she caught a glimpse of the silver stud pierced in his left ear. Mentally, she winced. She'd never wanted to get her ears pierced, even when she was younger, fearing it'd hurt too much. The way he stood, the air around him, poked and prodded at her judgment. He seemed like a jerk to her.

 

She knew better than to judge people based only on sight, but she couldn't help not thinking it. His hands were jammed into his pockets, his posture lazy and uncaring, eyes still glaring at the floor.His brows were furrowed slightly, confirming the glare. Her own hazel colored eyes, bright and sharp, flew over him once more before her gaze flittered over to the woman standing infront of her, yapping away and seeming oblivious to the fact Aurora hadn't been listening to her. Slowly, she picked up on what the older woman was saying.

 

"...and I doubt there'll be much of an issue, my dear. I've already talked with him. You two will be studying in the dining hall." She paused; Aurora supposed to take a breath since she hadn't seemed to have done so yet. The woman belonged under the fancy category. She wore a suit fitted for a lawyer--even though she wasn't one--which instead of pants had a skirt. The whole outfit was a creamy color. Aurora wondered how the boy, Connor, had gotten away with wearing what he did.

 

"Alright." Aurora muttered, Connor's eyes flickering up to her. She practically froze in his non-seeing gaze. His mother clasped her hands together and told Aurora to follow. She did just that. Glancing over her shoulder, she found Connor following, much to her surprise. Well, he was the reason she was here, but she figured he'd need...help walking around. Then again, he did live there, despite the home's size. The house was three stories tall and who knew how long, sporting an outdoor and indoor pool the size of her bedroom. She recalled how Connor's mother had said dining hall. In her house, they had a dining room.

 

"Right in here, my dear." She heard the woman say, calling her 'my dear' again. She despised it when people called her names such as 'dear' or 'honey', or some other little name, especially when she hardly knew the person. And she hardly knew Connor or his mother. She was only here as a tutor, twice a week, for three months. As if she had nothing better to do. No sarcasm. She really had nothing better to do but sit and home and do homework or watch tv or read. Even so she wasn't looking forward to this job. From the boy's quietness and glaring, and the way his mother brought up doubting there would be an issue, meaning there could be, Connor didn't seem the friendliest. Plus, he was very intimidating, at least to her. Just with him following behind her she felt nervous and could barely walk straight.

 

They reached the dining hall which really did look like a hall. Only with a long dark-wooded table lined with a few chairs on both sides, then one on either end, opposite each other. The table was bare save for the leafy plant sitting in the very middle which seemed to be in need of water because of the dull brownish color burning at the edges of a few leaves. Connor walked past the two and sat down in one of the chairs near the left end of the table with exact precision. His mother let her gaze linger on her son for a moment as he shifted into a comfortable position before turning, smiling briefly at Aurora, and then leaving the two alone.

 

Aurora filtered her weight from her right foot to her left, the two text books in her hands suddenly feeling a few pounds heavier. She hated that she felt nervous. She hated how Connor acted as if he cared for nothing and hated the situation he was in. Why did he have to act that way? It only made her more nervous.

 

A small sigh escaped her and she walked over to him, setting the two books down. She hesitated for a moment then seated herself. And then she was suddenly unsure of what to do. Connor hadn't really moved much. His hands were rested on the table and he gave no sign of recognizing her presence. Aurora hesitated again, and then moved one of the text books over to him that read Trigonometry on it with Braille underneath. She pulled the other book, an exact copy, minus the Braille, to herself before pausing. She had no idea how she was going to teach a blind guy Trig. Sure, she was good at the subject, excellent according to her teacher, but she didn't know how to teach it to someone. Above all, someone who couldn't see. 

 

Frowning slightly, she decided to get on with it, figuring she'd go with the flow, whatever flow that was, and opened her book to page 194. "Um...Page 194." She muttered, and Connor suddenly came to life, flipping through the pages until he reached 190, pausing to let his index finger glide over the page number at the bottom before he flipped past the last few pages. He was motionless again, leaning back against his chair. And she'd wondered if he needed help getting to the right page...The book was strange, hardly any numbers, they having been replaced by the Braille code. Aurora understood a bit of it, but she was glad she brought her own copy.

 

"This is stupid." Connor said abruptly, causing Aurora to look at him in confusion at the sudden comment.

 

"Wha-"

 

"This is stupid." He repeated, turning his gaze on her, eyes narrowed, as if he could see her. It was unnerving and she felt cornered, although the hall had plenty of space. "It's stupid that you're here. It's stupid that you people think I need tutoring." He shot coldly. Aurora wasn't sure about what 'you people' meant, but she was guessing his teacher, his mother, and her, though she hadn't vouched for tutoring him.

 

"You are failing..." She muttered, miraculously finding her voice. The statement earned a scoff. Connor folded his arms across his chest and turned his blinded gaze on the wall across from them. 

 

"And your point?" He drawled. "Maybe I don't want to learn useless things like Trigonometry." He replied harshly, spitting out the word 'Trigonometry' with venom. She wanted to retaliate and say that Trig wasn't useless, but thought better of it, finding it pointless. The conversation was pointless. She was here to teach him and he'd just have to deal with it. Besides, he was seventeen yet he was sounding and acting six. It looked like he was pouting with the way his arms were crossed and how he had his head turned in some other direction. She settled with turning back to her book instead of making a snide remark, reading aloud the title of the unit she'd be going over with him.

 

"'Trigonometric Functions of Any Angle'." She read, just above a whisper. Connor grunted and leaned over the table, once again letting his fingers fly over the Braille in such a pace, Aurora began to believe he was trying to rush, hoping to make this session go as fast as it could and blow her off. It wasn't going to happen. He had to suffer a whole hour and a half with her. He sighed and leaned back again, crossing his arms more relaxingly over his chest.

 

"I already know this." He muttered and she snapped her head over to him.

 

"You do?" She questioned, confusion evident in her voice. He gave her a 'do-I-look-like-I'm-kidding' look, which he was very good at. "U-um...Ok...How do you--" 

 

"Know it? I'm not an idiot." He answered, scoffing again. "This crap's easy." He added, but quieter. Now Aurora was completely lost. He was failing. If he was failing, how did he know the material? She found herself instantly asking him this, his lips curling up into a smirk in response. It was sour.

 

"It's not hard, and I already learned a lot of it before. I'm failing..." He paused, inclining his head to the table again. She stayed quiet, waiting for him to finish. She believed she knew what he meant by 'before'. "Because...of this stupid Braille thing. I'm still learning." He admitted loathingly. She could hardly believe him with how quickly he'd read over the first explanation on the page.  

 

"You're still learning?"

 

"Numbers at least." He answered, still avoiding looking over at her. From what her mother had told her, he was newly blind, which was probably why he still made gestures he would if he could see, why every movement made it seem like his eyesight hadn't failed. A pang of sadness hit her. He didn't seem to take being blind well, either.

 

"I-I see..." She mumbled. He turned his head to her again, arching a brow at her before narrowing his eyes.

 

"And that is why you aren't needed." He announced casually, though his tone was hard and cruel. For some reason, the statement hit a little closer to home then she'd expected. Jerk, she thought. She frowned at him and stared at her book.

 

"Then what are we going to do for an hour and a half?" She asked, her tone a bit harsh now as well. He stood.

 

"Go home." He told her and she gaped up at him. He was going to get rid of her, just like that? When he didn't hear her move, his glare deepened. "Go home." He repeated, his gaze zeroed in on her. "I'll deal with my mom." She didn't move for a moment, a bit shocked from his sudden dismissal. Then, she slowly got up, collected the two books, and let him lead her to the door. Once she was outside, he promptly shut it behind her, leaving her on the porch still in a daze. She hadn't said one word.

 

Author's Note

Was originally an assignment for my Creative Writing class that I did at the last second. I wound up rushing the ending, but this is my currently edited version. =] But I'm still not sure if I like how I wrote it or not...

Reviews

[Terra Hart]

This is good! I really want it to continue, but your last update was in 2009.... will you continue it?
-Terra