See In Him

8

  After the lunch bell rang and the school's halls had settled, Kennith shut off the device and pulled his book back into his lap. It had actually been calming to work in a silent room. He didn't always mind writing educational text if it was something that interested him. Writing an English paper on philosophy was interesting and so was the biology project, which he wrote a second paper for.

  The girl was still sitting at the desk in front of his corner during lunch. Greeson had to leave, but the First Nations councillor whose office was across the hall normally kept the room open during lunch for anyone who wanted to use it as a quiet workplace. Some ate their lunch there, like the girl, but Kennith hadn't brought one. He didn't like eating at school. Usually, it was because he was angry at his mother and holding one of his hunger strikes. "What are you reading?" the girl asked suddenly. Kennith's fingers paused on the page. He could hear the girl's plastic lunch container hitting her desk. She was waiting patiently, chewing, not seeming to understand that Kennith would rather die than have a conversation. He pondered the idea of ignoring her, but he couldn't bring himself to be so rude. "Nicomachean Ethics," he replied. The black hole book hadn't been the first one he grabbed when he reached into his bag.

  "What's that?"

  "It's Nicomachean Ethics."

  She scoffed playfully. "Of course, silly. I mean what kind of book is it? I've never heard of it."

  "Philosophy." He was trying his best to answer in such a way that she wouldn't be able to continue any conversation. He could hear her chewing. When she swallowed, she asked, "You're reading a book on philosophy? Cool. Why?"
 
  "Because I like it."

  "Why?"

  "You're not very good at being quiet," he blurted. She only chuckled. "I like talking. How old are you?"

  "Seventeen."

  "So you're about to graduate, then? I'm Lucia."

  "Yeah."

  For a moment, Kennith had the silence he needed to focus on his book. But the bubbly personality of the girl sitting in front of him couldn't be contained by the sandwich in her mouth. She swallowed and asked, "Is it easy to read braille?" Kennith had never been asked such a question before. "Sometimes. It's especially hard when someone is talking to you." But Lucia only giggled, that big blob of dark hair waving around. When he looked at it, her hair blended into her dark skin. It wasn't as dark as Aja's, but it was still a color that made Kennith satisfied. The head that poked out of her bright yellow sweater looked huge. "How long did it take you to learn it?"

  "A long time. It's frustrating, mostly."

  "I wonder if I could be good at it."

  "Just read a fucking book. Why are you so interested in reading things that you obviously can't?" Kennith, although he often allowed his short temper to suddenly get the better of him, felt guilty for snapping at the girl. "Cause I got dyslexia. Can't read for shit, like, at all. So unless you can give me a new brain that will help me read..."

  "Here," he snapped, fishing into his backpack and thrusting his interstellar text at her. "Try this. I'll tell you if you're reading it right."

  "How the hell am I supposed to know if I'm reading it right?"

  "What are the first sets of dots?"

  Lucia flipped pages. Kennith waited impatiently. "Um... like, it's just one dot in the top corner. Then there's a space before three vertical ones."

  "Sounds like an A, at least. That's your first letter."

  "What about the three vertical dots?"