A/N Sorry for a thousand POV changes.
My life has always been encompassed in darkness, both figuratively and literally. Being born without a sense of sight sucks. Not only do you have to learn to rely on others for guidance, but everyone tries to romanticize it into perfect little metaphor about love and true happiness. My opinion? That's total bullshit.
Being blind sucks and everyone tells me to stop being such a pessimist about it, but they're not the ones living without it. Everyone gets to talk about all the beauty in what they see, and all I can do is listen to the sounds of their voice, which gets really annoying when it's all you can do.
I only found my joy in music. After a long day of dealing with my struggles, listening to music or singing in the shower was enough to bring me down from my storm clouds until I was a real human again. At least, I must have been a monster since everyone avoided me if they could. I was so pathetic that my only friend was the music teacher, Ms. Venditti. I would eat lunch with her every day since the cafeteria was too dangerous, and day after day she would try and convince me to join choir. Since she only taught the freshman classes and I was a junior now, she said it would be an opportunity to learn more with her. I had a feeling she just wanted to give me something to do so my thoughts wouldn't go to even worse places.
A kid like me, thinking dark things? Unheard of.
I mean, I did eventually join choir, so I guess Venditti got her revenge. I should tell her that sometime, she'd get a kick out of it.
My home life was okay, I guess. My parents loved me more than anything in the world, but I was secluded from everything else. They didn't want me exposed to any dangers, so I never really got to have any fun. I didn't know how to ride a bike; I had never been on a date. I had never really experienced life. Whenever I would ask why I couldn't go out to explore the world, all my mom would do is ruffle my dark hair and assure me that everything I could ever need is right here.
Even though that technically was true, what I wanted was outside these four walls. I wanted to find acceptance, and happiness, and maybe even love.
But mostly I wanted to find myself.
***
Happiness can be found in even the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light.
Okay, I know it's lame to start off each day with a Harry Potter quote, but if it works, it works. I mean, I've always tried to maintain a positive conscious. You aren't sad if you're thinking happy thoughts, right? Especially when you're stuck in a school full of teenagers that want to be anywhere but school, being the positive one always pays off. For one, the teachers love you for not complaining as much, and two, everyone seems to be jealous of you and comes to you for advice.
But school was just okay. There was nothing special or exciting about it. I had friends; I didn't run into any problems, so life was good, as good as high school life gets at least.
My real treat was after school choir practice. None of my friends were really into singing or music - at least not as much as I was, so it was a chance to lose myself in something I loved.
On a regular Tuesday, I walked into Ms. Venditti's music room at 3 o'clock to start practicing. I noticed a new student sitting off to the side. He was absolutely gorgeous, by what I could see of him. He had his back turned to me, but I could see his dark hair and figure-flattering black tee shirt and skinny jeans. All I could think was: please don't be a scene kid.
"Attention everyone!" Ms. Venditti called, her voice booming from the front of the room. She was grinning from ear to ear, her gaze flickering between the class and the new boy. "We have a new student today. Mitch, honey, stand up." He quickly rose from his seat, but he didn't turn to face the class. He offered a quick wave before sitting back down. "He's going to working with Marina to learn his part in what we've been working on. He has a lovely voice and I encourage you to welcome him like family."
