Truly Blind | p. parker

v • unexpected support

"Out! Out of my apartment, NOW!"

You practically fell down the stairs of your front porch as your mom slammed the door shut behind you. Catching yourself on the railing, you gulped in freezing air as you could hear her screaming at your dad inside.

Not wanting to stick around, you shouldered your backpack and high-tailed it to the subway station.

Your mom wasn't insane— well, not clinically anyway— but she had issues. Most of them were with your dad, and frequently you were caught in the crossfire. Today they had been fighting about who had left empty eggshells in the carton. You had no idea who had done it, but knowing your parents, they would bicker about it for days.

You were glad you had school and tutoring to keep you away for a few hours.

The morning breezed by, and by lunch you were in a better mood. MJ and Betty had really taken you under their wings and had invited you to sit with them at lunch every day this week.

"Have you seen the forecast for tonight?" Betty chatted while unwrapping her sandwich. "It's supposed to snow. Isn't that great?"

MJ sniffed, unconcerned. "Maybe they'll cancel school."

You bit into your hamburger and almost gagged.

"___, we told you the lunch here is terrible. Why are you eating that?" Betty wrinkled her nose.

"Yeah," MJ said. "Be cool like us. Bring your own sloppy, room temperature sandwiches." She raised her's up for a toast with Betty.

Betty rolled her eyes. "My sandwich is all superfood."

MJ muttered, "Oh, here we go again." For only you to hear. You suppressed a smile.

"I have whole grain bread; a homemade goat cheese spread; peppered avocado; organic, graze-fed chicken breast; and homegrown tomatoes." She glowed. "My family believes in the natural state of things."

The look on MJ's face as she bit into her peanut butter sandwich made you laugh.

Just then, someone cleared their throat behind you. "___?"

You turned in your seat and your hands went cold. It was Ned.

You bit your lip. You still hadn't told your friends you were tutoring Peter. What would they say if they found out? Nothing good, you thought. No one liked Peter very much.

"Oh, hey." You said awkwardly.

Ned smiled. "Peter just wanted me to come tell you that he's still planning on today after school."

You frowned. Peter had never once confirmed a tutoring session with you. May was the one who texted you.

You glanced behind Ned and saw Peter alone at a table chewing a burrito.

"Uh, are you sure?" You looked back at your friends who wore surprised looks on their faces. "I mean, normally we just... go with it." You internally facepalmed. Now you would be the laughing stalk.

"Oh, yeah." Ned assured you. "He just wanted to make sure you were still on board."

You nodded slowly. "Yeah, okay...."

Ned then did a poor acting job as if he were just noticing the girls behind you. "Oh, hey, Betty."

The expression on his face told you the truth. Peter had needed no such confirmation. Ned had simply wanted an opportunity to talk to the girl you chose to sit by.

"Hi Ned." Betty smiled back.

MJ mimed puking behind their backs.

"So, I was wondering if you'd want to... maybe go to the movies this weekend?"

Betty's face lit up. "For real? Oh my gosh, I would love to!"

"R-really?" Ned stuttered. "Okay, great. Can I get your number?"

You looked on as Ned and Betty finalized their plans, and then it was just the three of you again.

You thought that maybe the drama would wipe away your footprints, but as soon as he was gone, Betty locked eyes on you. "Spill." she ordered.

Reluctantly, you explained to them about how you tutored Peter after school most days. You sat still when you finished, your tray of uneaten food looking ridiculously unappetizing.

"Why didn't you tell us?" MJ asked.

You shrugged. "I knew it wasn't cool. Didn't think you guys would want to hang with me if I were spending time with the disabled kid."

"Are you kidding?" Betty demanded.

You glanced up at her.

"Peter is friends with Ned. Ned, ___. Have you spent any time with him? He's so cute." She explained as if this were the most obvious conclusion.

"What she means to say," MJ intervened. "Is, why would you think that's not good enough for us? Peter obviously needs help. I've seen his grades in English." MJ hesitated and looked down at her food as if bracing herself for what she would say next. "What you're doing is cool."

You looked up at her. "You guys really don't mind?"

MJ gave you an incredulous look. "Does it look like it? Plus, why should you care what we think? Be you."

Your heart warmed. MJ went back to eating her sandwich but Betty was far from done with you.

"Do you think Ned would care if I wore a blue blouse to the movies? Has he ever said that he likes that color?"

You bit your lip to stop from smiling and glanced over to Peter's table again. Ned was ginning and talking excitedly while Peter listened and dipped his carrots in dip.

You gratefully took a handful of chips MJ handed you and popped them into your mouth. Maybe this wasn't such a bad thing after all.

___
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