༻✺༺

Chapter 6 | ❝ Of course I mean it. ❞

Monday, September 10th, 2018 - 11:24 a.m.

AFTER ALMOST TWO complete days came and went, Zach's anxiety hardly ceased. He had quickly become paranoid of people, no matter who they were due to the incident occurring the previous Saturday. Zach was on the top of his guard more than usual, and it was for a valid reason. He simply had no idea who to trust and who to put on his "must avoid" list, which was quite short. Jaylen's name was at the top of the metaphorical list.

Zach's nervousness progressed into him becoming more easily startled at anything in particular. Whether it be his sister desiring extra help with homework, his mother asking him about his day, or even if an object fell from its place onto the floor, Zach would flinch. Sudden noises never used to bother him much until his condition was taken advantage of.

He was grateful for his parents not asking any safety questions when he arrived home on Saturday. During the three hour span between the pool incident and walking through the front door, his clothes and hair had completely dried from the sun's warm and comforting rays. The only question given to him was if he had a satisfactory time, which Zach responded honestly with a yes. He had met a new friend, Harper, and that was more than enough.

Good people were difficult to come across in places such as Oceanview High, where the popularity hierarchy and social statuses were the most important things to the pupils. Not many people were interested in creating genuine friendships with one another and sustaining an upbuilding relationship lacking toxicity. Popularity and how well known you were was the top priority to most students in that particular school.

Zach could feel his heart lurch at the sound of the agonizingly loud bell signaling the end of class. He never knew when to expect it, and amongst his fears of being in a toxic and harmful environment, it was not helpful. Zach slid his laptop into his bag and slung it over one shoulder as he waited for a clear path to exit the room. He listened to the footsteps of his peers in order to determine whether his safety was justified.

After he deemed it safe, Zach exited his classroom and began on his journey to the cafeteria. He paid extra attention to detail, letting his light perception, which was the only minimal sight he had left, do the work for him. He was barely able to distinguish light from shadow, which unnerved him, but what was left of his vision helped him somewhat enough to remain out of the way of his classmates.

Before long, he arrived in the lunchroom and sat down at the table he claimed as his own. He did not mind the solitude. In fact, Zach was used to being alone by then. As he sat down, he remembered how Harper told him after walking him to Trigonometry he would meet him at lunch. Zach trusted his new friend, but did that mean he should believe him? After all, a lot of people went back on their word.

Luckily, Zach's thoughts were put to rest when a familiar voice sounded from across the table. "Hey, Zach!" Harper exclaimed. "I hope you don't mind, I brought two of my friends along."

"Hey, Harper." Zach followed the sound of Harper's voice until he was faced in the correct direction. A friendly smile was upon his expression. "Of course not. I don't mind at all."

"Wow, he actually showed up," the rather insecure boy thought to himself.

Before Zach knew it, the trio was seated at the table once filled with silence. Zach enjoyed speaking to people, but he never quite knew how to. Especially around new people, he felt a bit anxious to say the least. Harper had shown him nothing but kindness, but anyone can wear a mask upon their exterior. The saying "don't judge a book by its cover" came into play more often than one would think.

Harper began introducing his two friends. "So, Zach, Mason is on my left," he explained, putting Zach's condition into perspective. "He thinks he's funny but his jokes are kinda lame.

"Hey-!" Mason interjected. He had an offended look plastered upon his face when Zach started to laugh a bit.

The boy sitting to Harper's left seemed to be a cheerful person. His looks matched his bright personality along with tanned olive skin, dark brown eyes, and jet black hair. Mason appeared to be an easy person to speak to with his friendly face and outgoing nature—similar to Harper's.

Harper continued on with his introduction. "Sitting next to Mason is August. He's not much of a talker, but once you get to know him, he'll open up."

August quickly looked up from the floor and peered at Zach through his thin, black-rimmed glasses. His brown eyes reflected through the prisms of his spectacles as he brushed his chestnut brown hair out of his face. August shyly waved but was abruptly interrupted by Mason gently elbowing him in the arm, likely to remind him of Zach's inability to see his gesture.

"Uh, hi," he quietly spoke up after the realization hit him.

Zach was more than happy to greet the both of them. "Hi, Mason. Hi, August," he replied with a happy wave. "It's nice to meet you both."

"You too," Mason returned the favor for both he and August, his usual cheeky smile adorned on his handsome face.

The four of them began to have their lunch in the midst of a casual conversation. Zach felt himself begin to easily fit in with the other three people at his table. The only person who was not speaking a word was August, who had his nose stuck in a leather journal and a pencil in his left hand. He seemed to be more occupied with his notebook than his lunch which was to the side.

Mason was also a bit quiet while Harper spoke. His dark cacao eyes drifted every so often to glance at whatever August was writing in his journal. Either way, August did not seem to mind, even tilting his notebook for Mason to see his work. It was obvious that the two were close.

"Anyway, the three of us always sit together at lunch," Harper continued on with the conversation he was practically taking charge of. "We thought you'd like some friends since you're still new here and a lot of the people here are jerks."

"I really appreciate it. Thank you," Zach replied with a sincere smile.

Harper cocked his head to the side in a bit of confusion. "There's no need for a thank you. Friendships should be given—no catches, no nothing."

"You mean it?"

Zach's question of confirmation, as innocent as it was, caused Harper's smile to falter. He was unable to comprehend why someone would be so cruel to another human being. There was no point in bullying of any sort-- hitting, punching, words, and even manipulation. Harper never understood the purpose of tearing someone else down for their own benefit.

"Of course I mean it," Harper assured him followed by Mason and August chipping in with their own words of agreement.

"Alright, enough sappy talk and let's have an actual casual conversation," joked Mason, which caused a bit of laughter amongst the table of newly found friends. He turned to Zach, who was quiet. "So, what classes are you in this semester, Zach?"

Zach hesitated to think it over before coming up with his answer. "I'm taking AP Biology, Trigonometry, AP Government, Literature, Business, and Geography. How about you?"

"I'm in Algebra II, PE, Spanish II, Economics, AP Chemistry, and Physics," Mason replied with a smile, but it quickly turned to a frown after a sudden realization. "Darn, we don't have any classes together."

"Bummer," Zach agreed with a matching expression of disappointment.

Harper decided to chime in with his own schedule. "My classes are AP Biology, AP Calculus, Spanish II, Economics, AP Psychology, and PE."

"Wow, three AP classes. You must be smart," commented Zach in admiration.

Harper seemed to find his response amusing. "I'm not the genius here; August is," he declared, causing the boy's eyes to dart upwards and lock onto Harper with a "please don't" expression. Nonetheless, Harper continued onward, "He's in four AP classes and Spanish IV and he already has his college applications completed in September."

"Doesn't make me smart," August mumbled since he refused to take the attention given to him for his intelligence.

Mason playfully elbowed him again, which caused August to mutter an "ow." He was self aware of his overachieving nature, but unlike a lot of others at Oceanview High, he refused to admit how hard he was trying to get into an Ivy League college. August was also planning on taking a couple of college classes during the spring semester of his current year, which was his last before graduation.

"He's just being humble and a bit timid," Mason explained while August returned to writing whatever it was he was working on in his notebook. "I'm sure he'll be over-the-moon excited and telling us about his success when he gets into Harvard next year."

"If," was August's simple correction.

"Oh, come on!" retorted Mason with an expression of disbelief. "If you don't get in, then it's impossible for anyone else to."

"I think you'll definitely get in," Zach added on truthfully.

Even though Zach was unable to see it, August gave him a bit of a surprised look. He seemed to be rather shy about being the topic of conversation as he rocked back and forth on his chair. August hardly touched his lunch either since he was preoccupied with his thoughts and writing in his leather notebook which he had closed and was sitting on the table.

"Thanks," he quietly acknowledged Zach, a flicker of a smile finding its way onto his face. "...And by the way, I think we share the AP Government class if you want someone to sit with."

Zach's smile instantly grew wider with the offer. "I'd love that!" he confirmed enthusiastically. "I usually sit in the front of the class near the door if that's okay."

August nodded. "Fine by me."

"And you can always hang out with me in AP Biology," Harper added on with a bright look. "That class is boring anyway."

"Agreed," laughed Zach a bit.

The rest of the lunch period passed by through miscellaneous conversations. Zach was relieved to be getting along with his new friends, Harper, Mason, and August. The first two in the listing were the most talkative by far, bringing up random subjects to keep themselves entertained. On the other hand, August was almost completely silent. He hardly pitched in a word, but no one minded his quiet nature.

Before long, the bell rang to end the best period of the day for everyone. The whole cafeteria seemed to dread the idea of having three more classes before arriving home to receive some well deserved rest. That was what it was like at Zach's table. The only one who did not complain about going to another class was August, who kept himself quiet, checking his phone for any texts.

Zach did not even have to ask to have company on his way to Literature. All three of his new friends accompanied him without any questions asked. Their unspoken excuse was to continue on with the conversation they all were having about various topics. To Zach's surprise, everyone seemed to leave him alone for the time being. Maybe a friend was all he needed.

The four of them bid farewell before splitting ways. Zach arrived at his Literature classroom while Harper and August accompanied each other to their next class: Economics. August had broken apart from the group about halfway through the walk to arrive at his Spanish IV class in a punctual manner. Zach found himself sitting down at his desk with a relieved sigh, thankful he had people to keep him company for once.

He took his laptop out of his backpack which was leaning up against his chair and placed the electronic on his desk. Zach flipped the lid open until it was about ninety degrees to his knowledge and typed in his password. The screen lit up with his school notes, which were ready to be added to. He hardly noticed another's presence join him from the desk to his left until a familiar voice nearly startled him out of his preparatory mood.

"Hey, Zach. It's Kelsey," the blonde answered Zach's before the inquiry was being thought of to execute.

Zach's faded blue, unseeing gaze drifted towards Kelsey's hazel eyes looking back at him with a hint of concern. "Oh, hey, Kelsey," he replied with a bit of surprise.

His attention instantly turned to her rather than his laptop. Zach was curious about what she had to say. He knew Kelsey was nice, or at least in his perspective, but she never seemed to take much interest in his existence. Zach would not blame her if she was embarrassed to speak to him. She was a popular girl, after all.

The words out of her mouth were the last he expected to hear. "I wanted to apologize for what happened on Saturday," she explained in a quiet tone. "Jaylen had no excuse for his actions. I know he did it on purpose."

Zach blinked at her once, and then twice before responding, "It isn't your fault. It's okay."

"It was at my house so I share some responsibility," Kelsey continued to speak. "I've already spoken to Jaylen about it and he apologized as well, but I figured it would be better coming from me. I hope that's okay."

"It isn't a problem at all. Thank you," Zach assured her, his usual smile returning to his dimpled face.

Kelsey found Zach's grin to be quite contagious, her own lips curving delicately into one. His positivity while living in such a dark world confused her. She did not exactly live in a pessimistic world herself, but she wondered how Zach resided in one filled with simplicity and grace. Kelsey then eyed his laptop on the desk in front of her. A thought hit her that would be worthy of a conversation starter instead of remaining in awkward silence.

"I don't mean this to be an offensive question, but can I ask how typing on a computer with a sight impediment works?" she inquired as respectfully as she could. Kelsey did not want to cause Zach any offense.

Instead, he smiled. "I actually have the keyboard memorized. My little sister helped me with that," Zach noted while shifting the laptop a bit towards her and pointing to the keys. "My mom also found this keyboard cover online that has braille on each key in case I forget which one is which."

Kelsey appeared to be genuinely interested. "Wait, but how do you study them?" she asked with a bit of a puzzled head tilt.

"Either my sister helps me, which she does often, or I can highlight the things I need to study and use text-to-speech," Zach explained to her thoroughly. "It isn't as difficult as it seems, actually. The only problem is organizing the notes."

Kelsey nodded, beginning to get an idea. She was intrigued by everything the boy in front of her was expressing to her. Frankly, she did not know how to continue on with the conversation without feeling awkward or guilty for asking questions about his condition. Blindness was something which interested her, but Kelsey did not want to take advantage of him for research.

Research. The very word gave Kelsey a thought that would be a perfect compromise.

She shifted in her seat a bit uncomfortably. Kelsey contemplated several ways to express her thoughts to Zach. She did not know him very well at all, so she had no idea how he would react to her proposition. Either way, it was worth a shot in her mind.

"Zach, I was wondering something and was hoping you'd be okay with it," she began hesitantly.

The boy next to her was quizzical to why Kelsey appeared to be nervous. "Why wouldn't I be okay with it? What is it?"

"Well, I was wondering," Kelsey dragged her words on a bit. "I have a research paper that I need to do for AP English and still haven't thought of a topic. Do you think I could ask you some questions about blindness? I find it to be an interesting topic and my teacher said I need one in-person source."

Rather than seeming offended by her question, Zach's response was the complete opposite. His eyes, as faded and discolored as they were, lit up instantaneously. He looked like someone who had discovered the last cookie in a cookie jar with the excitement his expression held.

"No way—that's awesome! I'd love to!" he answered happily without hesitation.

Kelsey beamed at his reaction. "Alright, it's settled then! Did you want to maybe meet sometime this week to work on it?"

"Sure, that sounds great," Zach confirmed, unable to wipe the cheesy smile off of his practically starstruck face due to the gesture.

Before Kelsey was able to say another word, the Literature teacher, Mr. Richardson, walked into the room. He set his papers and books onto the table and sat down at his desk. The class internally groaned. Literature would have been an interesting subject if Mr. Richardson did not make it boring with his monotone voice and lectures that would never end.

"Good afternoon, class," Mr. Richardson greeted the room of students. "I hope you all are looking forward to today's topic of different types of poetry."

Zach could feel himself sigh quietly at the dull tone of his teacher as he droned immediately into a lecture about poetry. Instead of concentrating completely on the lecture, he let his mind wander to different places. No matter how much he attempted to pay attention, Zach's mind went down a different path—more specifically, why Kelsey would choose his condition for a research paper.

He felt flattered to be asked to accompany someone, even if it was only for a school project. Maybe he could make a new friend out of Kelsey's research paper. She seemed nice, after all, and it would not hurt to try. Then again, Jaylen would be a problem if their paths ever crossed. He despised Zach, and he had no idea why that was so.

Either way, Zach refused to let Jaylen get in the way of a friendship waiting to happen. He was in a sour mood most of the time, but Zach knew it was not his fault. He was simply living his life and Jaylen was getting in the way of it without reason. Zach did not want to blame Jaylen's actions on jealousy. There was nothing to be envious over when it came to Zach.

As the day passed on, Zach still was unable to get Kelsey's offer out of his head. He knew it was a golden opportunity to make a new friend, but why him? Zach was the only blind person at Oceanview High, however Kelsey could have chosen a much simpler topic. Why sight impairment all of a sudden?

Zach chose not to question it any more. There was no point in doing so.

When he heard his mother call out his name at the end of the school day, he rushed himself to the car. Zach could already hear his sister in the midst of a riveting conversation with their mom about something she found interesting—most likely from school. Hayleigh enjoyed school. Being the ball of sunshine she was, she always found something positive to speak about. Zach attempted to have that ability, but it was easier said than done.

Zach opened up the front door of his mother's silver vehicle and sat in the passenger seat. He set his backpack on the floor mat between his shoes and was immediately greeted by his mom and sister in a positive nature.

"Hey, Zach! How was your day?" Mrs. West asked when her son was settled.

Zach appeared to be in a cheerful mood already. "It was good, Mom," he replied honestly. "I made some new friends today."

"That's great!" his mother exclaimed at the same time Hayleigh piped up, "What about me?! I'm a friend!"

"Yes, you are most definitely a friend, Hayleigh," Zach chuckled a bit.

Hayleigh appeared to pout from the back seat. "So, you have teenager friends now?" When Zach nodded a bit, she continued with a frown, "Does that mean you won't have time for me?"

"Of course I'll have time for you, Hayleigh. I promise." Zach turned around in his seat in the front to face her.

Hayleigh's green eyes blinked at her brother. She seemed to be in a happy mood once again as soon as Zach reassured her. She loved attention from her older brother, even if it was just a little bit.

"Yay!" she cheerfully chirped with her radiant smile. "Can I have a guitar lesson when we get home? Please?"

"You don't even have to ask."

Hayleigh began hopping up and down in her seat when she heard Zach's response. She loved learning guitar. Even if she was not exactly the most talented at it, she adored the instrument all the same. It was something she called a hobby, even if the guitar belonged to Zach. Hayleigh had access to the instrument any time she wanted.

The turn to Huntington Avenue came before anyone knew it, and a minute or so later, the three of them arrived home. As soon as the car was put in park, Hayleigh dashed out of the vehicle and into the house. Zach smiled when he heard her racing footsteps down the sidewalk, up the porch stairs, and through the front door.

Zach took a hold of his backpack and put it on his right shoulder as he exited the car. He simply followed the driveway to the sidewalk, and the sidewalk to the porch where the front door lay. He entered the house and headed up to his room immediately. The twelve stairs leading to his room always caught him by surprise since he was still getting used to his new house, but after holding onto the railing and tediously stepping up the stairs, he made his way to the top.

His room was the second door on the left in the upstairs hallway. From the sour sound of the untuned guitar not far away, Zach knew Hayleigh was already in his room attempting to play. He did not mind at all, though. Hayleigh was very trustworthy and gentle with his guitar. Sometimes he thought his little sister played his own guitar more than he did.

"Hayleigh, let me tune that for you," Zach requested of her as he stepped through the doorway.

Like Zach's apparel, his room was a mixture of several neutral colors. The walls were his favorite color: faded gray, his bedspread was dark blue, and the rest of his furniture was either black or gray. Even though he was unable to see it, he loved his room.

Hayleigh held the wooden instrument out towards him. "Sure!"

Zach took his guitar, which was a gorgeous dark mahogany in color. He set it on his lap, letting the groove of the wooden body fit onto his right leg. His left hand drifted towards the silver tuning pegs and Zach began to play each string and tune by ear, adjusting the appropriate tuning peg as needed. When he was sure everything was tuned properly, he tested the pitches with a simple E chord, which progressed into him mindlessly fiddling around with the guitar in fingerstyle patterns until Hayleigh interrupted him.

"My turn!" she exclaimed with a giggle.

Zach carefully passed the guitar back to Hayleigh, who eagerly took it with a smile. She put the guitar, which was too big for her, onto her lap. The small girl then proceeded to play a chord she knew, strumming the six steel strings repeatedly until all of the strings were clear and unmuted. Hayleigh grinned toothily, expectantly waiting for her guitar lesson.

"Let's begin," expressed Zach with a kind smile.

༻✺༺