Chapter 2

Behind Dave, came one of the most beautiful beings that I've ever seen in my lifetime .he was quite short, around a foot shorter than myself .he was healthy looking, as though he takes very good care of himself, yet is not one of those who focus their world around fitness, those who put fitness into their daily life-his mane of fire looked untameable as it elegantly swayed as he moved, looking like a flame as it stood on his head, pointing in all directions. he was pale but he was no paler than me. His skin was painted with delicate orange freckles. His facial features were quite baby-like, he had an adorable button nose with plump, pink lips. he wore an oversized striped black and white jumper which exposed his left shoulder, with the strap of his bag holding the other side up, black jeans covered his legs and were accompanied with brown combat boots, I liked his style. It was hard to tell if he was fashion conscious or if he was just dressing for comfort. It looked comfortable. I didn't fail to notice that a leather bracelet adorned his right wrist, holding charms which were far away to make out correctly.

What's wrong with him? There is always something wrong with them. They can't help it. Of course, they can't the bitter taste of a curse is sweet for none who tastes it. His name begins with an "M", I can predict that as it is also the letter, which is inked into my palm, it looks like a "W" to most who see it, but it is definitely an 'M'. It was then I noticed that his glassy crystal optics seemed to wander around the room with no set intentions, no regard to what he was looking at. My Gaze drifted to the door where he had just entered and there stood a white, almost new looking, guide cane.

He's blind...That's a new one. I wouldn't particularly say that this was something 'wrong' with him to be honest, It's quite surprising. Perhaps I'm lucky this time, I'm sure that I'll be able to get to know him and adapt my behaviour to be considerate of him. By his grip on his bag and the nervous twiddling of his thumbs it seems that this may be more challenging than what some people may make it out to be, he's nervous, unsocial, someone who comes to university for the qualification and not to have the 'prime student experience' like most of the other students. I'm determined to get to know him, not that I've found him I can't lose him, he's not like the other ones whom I've had to try and connect with, he's different to them. In this case, it would be my fault if I fail. That's something I'm fantastic at, failing. I've done it many, many times and I'm quite an expert in the field of disappointment and failure. Sometimes I think I'm just unlucky and then I kick myself and remember that it's the laws of attraction and I don't deserve love or happiness, and then I kick myself again and the thoughts go back to the laws of attraction. For those who don't know the laws of attraction is basically a Frisbee, send out good vibes and good things will come. For me however I may as well be a war siren, sending out noises of distress and causing destruction.

"Hola la clase" Sang Dave as he addressed the contents of the room "This is a mister Maddox Miller and he'll be joining us for the rest of the course!" His enthusiasm dripped on every word with a massively cheesy smile on his face. Maddox told you it's begin with an 'M'. Maddox stayed stood at his side as he held his arm around him, I presume this is because he couldn't see too well. His cheeks were dusted pink with embarrassment at the very few but powerful stares that he was being pelted with, I'm not embarrassed to say that I was one of them. he was directed to a seat right beside me, thank you fate now I can mess up even quicker. I couldn't concentrate throughout the entirety of the lecture, my focus was completely on Maddox, his laptop was stationed in front of him, and he was one of the fastest typists I've ever seen. His pale hands glided over the keys as he wrote notes. I assume that he had some sort of text-to-speech programs installed on the device. I was getting a little bit anxious at the end of the four hours; we're going to be going onto phonemes on Thursday. For those who don't know what phonemes are it's kind of like syllables and there are around 44 of them, it's the break-down of speech and the symbols are sometimes quite difficult to remember. The reason that I'm anxious is that I'll probably need to talk more with Maddox, it's not like I've talked to him before but still.

The clock chimed 4 and it was ready to go, I don't think I'll go to the library today, I think I'll just go home and read one of my favourite books. I can't say that without feeling like a nerd, even I have to admit that sounded weird. I was grabbing my bag from under the desk when I felt something collide softly with my arm, I turned my head to see Maddox. he hadn't noticed as his bag skimmed against my exposed skin, nor did he notice my gaze as I watched him stumble to the front where the white guide cane stood. The cane had a black grip, four black rings –presumably where he could fold it if he wished to- along with a sphere at the end, to roll across the floor and bump into any obstacles that could be in his way. As I was leaving the room Dave came to me with a cheeky smirk, patted my shoulder and said, "Good luck mate", again he is supposed to be my teacher. By this time, it was only him and I in the room, everyone was desperate to get out of there. I took this opportunity to take a small walk around the halls, finally deciding to actually go to the bookstore and one of the little cafés on my way home.

The walk there was short and not so sweet, but the bookstore is one of my favourite places, I had a lot of those, so it isn't hard to qualify. I simply adored this bookstore. The store was run by an elderly couple of 67 years old whose names are Jessica and Thomas Coal; I'd like to say that we'd became good friends considering the amount of time that I spend in here. The bookshop itself was outstanding, yet insignificant, which made it outstanding. It is called riveting reads bookshop and was on the corner or a not-so-busy street, it got a moderate amount of customers despite its location. Jessica and Thomas made everybody feel welcome, whether they're a reoccurring customer or not. The store had a magenta sign at the top of the door, holding the name of the shop in big italic white letters. A list of opening times was on the glass window, accompanied by many loved book characters such as Alice, Willy Wonka, the Gruffalo, the hungry caterpillar and many more. The interior was decorated like a woodland, brown carpets and green walls which held bookcases in the designs of large trees. There were a few large round tables in the far right with a seating area on the far left. The tables were big enough to fit around five people whilst the comfortable chairs varied in size, shape, and textures. There were bean bags, sofas, large pillows, and some ordinary stools where adults would usually sit when they read to children. Of course, there was the desk with the cash register –or till if you don't like Americanisms- stands, usually alongside one of the owners. The books were arranged in genres per tree-shelf and then into alphabetical organised authors, and alphabetised again, if possible, they were always in the right places.

The authentic bell chimed above the door as I entered and waved hello to Thomas, whom was on the phone. A brisk walk led me to the "new releases" section, in hopes that I would find something new. They get new orders in about three times a month, I didn't care to remember the schedule as that was quite unimportant. I skimmed the spines, reading "a love lost", "forever alone" and "how to live a happy, single life" .... how cheery. It was hard not to find books like these among the shelf, of course these were the adult books but surely the authors of today do not feel so bitter about the feeling of love. I had given up any chances of finding an interesting read as I heard a voice from behind me "looking for anything specific? I know those are so delightfully positive." Jessica chuckled. I spun around, nearly knocking her over as she stood with her arms crossed. She must have seen my troubled expression as she reached past me to pick up one of the novels "why did my lover leave me?" I couldn't answer the question. "uh" was all that left my mouth and she chuckled again, examining the paper in her hands. "I know that you aren't one for romance (which was actually quite untrue, I just didn't buy them from here) but even you must feel that the authors of these books must be feeling really down, here I think I have something you may like." I stared at her in doubt as she walked away from me, quickly going to follow her once I realized that she intended me to follow. She went to the desk and pulled out a very new looking book, it still being wrapped in the plastic thing that all reserved books are covered in. The book itself had an artificial look of worn, the front was of a brown leather texture, the spine was obsidian with golden inscription of "love's battles". There was no name on the spine, which was unusual for such an object. I turned the book onto it's front as I observed the back.

"Love's battles By A.N. Onymous Love is one of the hardest things to gain, but once you have it You know you can't lose it. This love is one of the strangest, most unpredictable love stories you'll ever read, a battle of wit, an army of emotions and a list of orders come to Fight. Will the couple win the battle? Or will they crumble from the war?"

This book looked refreshingly strange, although I would say that no book is ever alike another, it had an aura of mystery around it. Especially since the author didn't put their name, though if that is their name, I would be slightly shocked yet impressed. I was staring at the book for a good three minutes before I turned to Jessica and asked, as politely as I could in a way which showed my interest and desperation to find out what was inside the covers, "how much?" Jessica just smirked at my expression with a twinkle of amusement in her eyes. "For you? free" I thought it too good to be true, I was loaded with money that I had saved over the years –not that she'd know that- but I found it hard to deny the nagging feeling in my chest as I went to decline her kind offer. "I couldn't possibly..." as my politeness was interrupted by a heartfelt chuckle and a warm smile, she beamed at me" for someone as kind and as wise as yourself to not have had a single relationship I dare say is unheard of, you need a little guidance towards your goal. Maybe this book could be your guiding angel."