Matt heard him before he met him. The sound made him sit up straighter in bed and put his book aside. The tap, tap, tap of his own cane was so familiar to him that when he heard it coming from the stairwell he knew immediately what it was. There was another blind person heading towards his room, accompanied by one of the nuns.
He was curious though. Who was coming to see him? Had the nuns found him another teacher like Stick? Had they hired another assistant to come and teach him how to use a new aid or tool that could help him, like the one who had come to the hospital after his accident? He was nervous. Nobody had told him to expect anyone.
He waited for the knock, and instructed the nun to enter when he heard it, moving to sit at the edge of the bed.
"Matthew," said the woman who he immediately identified as Sister Mary Helen. The tapping sound moved into the room with her as she entered. "There's someone here I'd like you to meet," she said.
Matt could sense the other boy's presence. They were around the same age, but the other boy was shorter and skinnier. His heart was beating rapidly, like he was scared or nervous. "Who is it?" asked Matt.
"This is Andrew," said Sister Mary Helen. "He only just moved to this neighborhood and he's going to start attending school with you on Monday. He's also blind, and so his parents and I thought it might be a good idea if the two of you met."
"But why?" asked Matt. "Because I'm blind too? Am I supposed to help him or something?" He was confused.
"It would be nice if the two of you were supportive of one another, yes," said Sister Mary Helen, "But primarily we just thought that the two of you might get along. Andrew has difficultly making friends too, isn't that right Andrew?" Matt sensed that the nun had nudged the other boy.
"Uh huh. I mean, yes," said Andrew.
"Is it okay if I leave him here with you so that the two of you can talk, Matthew?" the nun asked.
"I guess," said Matt, not sure what the point of any of this was.
The nun put her hand on Andrew's shoulder and crouched down to his level. "Now, Andrew, I'm going to leave now. Will you be okay?" Matt didn't know what to make of the sister's behaviour. "Matt's just sitting on his bed, so why don't you sit down next to him," she said.
Andrew must have nodded because Matt sensed her take his hand and walk him over to the bed, then assist him as he sat. Was there something else wrong with Andrew as well that the sister hadn't told him?
She left the room, leaving the two boys alone.
"Hey," said Matt.
"Hi," said Andrew.
"So..." said Matt. "I'm Matt."
"Cool," said Andrew. "You live here?"
"Yeah," said Matt. "Since my dad died."
"Where's your mom?" asked Andrew.
"She died when I was a baby," Matt replied.
"Oh," said Andrew. "Sorry."
Matt didn't understand this kid at all. What was he sorry for? "So," he said, "where did you move here from?"
"California," said Andrew. "My dad got a new job, so we had to move."
"That's cool, I guess," Matt said. "I've never been to California. I've never really left Hell's Kitchen actually."
"What's Hells Kitchen?" said Andrew.
"Huh?" Matt asked, upset. Was this kid stupid? "That's our neighborhood."
"Oh," said Andrew. "I didn't know people called it that. Where I lived in Sacramento our neighborhood didn't have its own name."
Matt wished he could just kick Andrew out and go back to his book, but he knew that the nuns would be disappointed with him if he did. He didn't understand why they thought he would want to make a friend, let alone be friends with Andrew. He was fine on his own.
"So, do you want me to show you around the church?" he finally asked.
"What do you mean?" asked Andrew.
"You know," Matt said, "give you a kind of a tour?"
"Just us?" Andrew asked.
"Well, yeah!" said Matt. "Why not?"
"I guess," Andrew replied. Matt could sense his heart race a bit faster. Why was Andrew so fearful?
Matt grabbed his cane and stood up to move towards the door, but noticed that Andrew didn't immediately follow him. He could sense the other boy grasping empty air around the area of the bed looking for his own cane. After a moment, he found it and gripped it tightly, taking a few steps off of the bed. But he wasn't heading towards Matt.
"I'm over here," Matt said. Slowly, Andrew made his way towards him and they headed out the door.
Matt went to turn towards the stairwell, and realized that Andrew hadn't followed him. He was standing in front of the wall, unsure which way to turn and reaching out with his free hand. Matt walked back towards him and took his arm. "It's to the left," Matt said. "The opposite way from how you came in."
"Oh," said Andrew, gripping onto Matt tightly. He didn't let go as they walked towards the stairs.
As Matt showed Andrew around, he was frustrated by Andrew's fear and nervousness. He didn't understand what was wrong with the other boy. He tripped over things, couldn't sense direction, and needed Matt to guide him everywhere they went.
After a brief tour of the chapel and community room, Matt sat them down on a bench. "Did you want to explore the neighborhood?" he asked Andrew. "There's a park around the corner, and I've got enough change on me for a couple of Cokes from the convenience store."
"What?" asked Andrew. "You..." He seemed to be struggling to find the right words. "On our own?"
"Yeah," said Matt, "What's the problem with that?"
"Just..." said Andrew, "We'd have to cross the street and there's so much traffic and so many people. We wouldn't be able to."
"Why not?" asked Matt.
"What do you mean?" asked Andrew. "I..." he stuttered, "We can't see. We could get hit by a car or something could happen."
Finally, Matt realized why Andrew might be so fearful. "Andrew, how long have you blind?" he asked.
"Since I was born," Andrew said, "I came out too soon, and there were complications. My mom says I could have died."
That answer was not the one Matt had been expecting. "So you've never been able to see?" he asked.
"Nope," said Andrew.
"I don't get it then," said Matt. "What's the big deal about crossing a street? You've been doing it your whole life without seeing the road!"
"What?" said Andrew, "No way! My parents would never let me. They'd kill me if they found out. I always have someone with me."
"All the time?" Matt asked.
"Well, yeah! How else am I supposed to get around?" Andrew asked.
"With your cane! And your other senses! It's not that hard!" Matt said.
"Seriously?" Andrew asked. "You know, when the sisters told me about you I was happy that there was going to be someone else like me at the school. I thought you'd understand. But they were wrong. You're nuts!"
"I'm nuts?" asked Matt, disbelieving. "You're the one who can't do anything for yourself!"
"Duh," said Andrew, "I'm blind, remember? And so are you! Do you want to get hurt?"
Matt couldn't believe what he was hearing. He didn't understand it. His dad had never treated him differently after his accident, had always let Matt do what he needed to do, and Stick had shown him that there was nothing he couldn't do. How could Andrew have been blind for longer than Matt and allow himself to be so dependent on other people?
"Fine," Matt said. "If you don't want my help, find your own way back to where you came from!" He stormed away angrily, leaving Andrew behind. He could sense the boy's heartbeat pick up and hear him sniffle back tears but didn't care.
The next few weeks at school, Matt could sense Andrew in the hallways. The boy was clumsy, and often had a teacher or other student accompanying him. The other children noticed him, and they began to taunt him. "Hey, Mr. Magoo!" they'd yell, or "Look out for the cripple, everyone!" Teachers would tut at the behaviour, but they couldn't stop it.
The worst part of it was that the kids who noticed Andrew then began to notice Matt for the first time too. Previously, Matt had been able to quietly co-exist with the rest of the students without calling too much attention to himself. Sure, he had his sunglasses and cane and he was different, but he was also somewhat stealthy and got along well enough on his own that people didn't seem to be bothered by his presence. Now, he was the other blind kid, and that was all that mattered. They hated Andrew and so now they hated him too.
One day, while opening his locker, he felt a jab in the back of his leg and turned around to realize that Andrew had accidentally bashed him on the leg with his cane.
"Hey!" he yelled. "What's wrong with you?
"Sorry," Andrew said, turning around. His cane jabbed Matt again as he did so.
"Yeah, well you should be sorry," Matt said, fed up. "I'd say watch where you're going, but that's never going to happen, is it?" he yelled.
He could sense other kids noticing the altercation, and he knew he was being mean, but he needed everyone to know that he and Andrew weren't the same.
"I said sorry, Matt" said Andrew. "What do you want from me?"
"I want you to stop being so useless and learn how to go about your business without getting in everyone's way, you loser," Matt yelled, shoving the other boy in the chest. Andrew, not being able to anticipate the push, fell backwards and landed hard on the ground, his cane underneath him.
"Matthew!" came a yell from down the hall. "You stop that right now!" Matt, his fingers balled into a fist and his breathing heavy, could hear Sister Mary Helen stomp towards him before she yanked his ear back hard, dragging him away from the other boy. "What on Earth has gotten into you!"
"Ow," said Matt. "That hurts!"
"Well it's meant to! Come with me!"
The nun dragged Matt into an empty classroom and roughly sat him at a desk. "Now," she said, "do you want to tell me what that was all about? That behaviour is not normally like you at all! You're not a bully."
"He and I, we're not the same," Matt said. "I hate that you thought we were. Why did you do that?"
Sister Mary Helen sighed. "I know that you're not the same, Matthew. That's why I wanted him to meet you. I had hoped that you might help him to have more confidence in his own abilities. That he might see how capable you were and how much you had accomplished and that it might help him to be more independent."
"Why isn't he?" Matt asked. "I don't understand him!"
"Oh, Matthew," Sister Mary Helen said, "I know that you haven't really been exposed to many other blind children, but not everyone is like you. Not everyone has your gifts. And Andrew's had a very different life than you. Did you know that this is the first school Andrew's ever been to with other children who aren't also blind? His last school was set up for children just like him. All the books were in braille, and the instructors all knew how to help him. Put yourself in his shoes. He's been moved across the country to a strange new city, and been thrown into a new situation where he suddenly feels different, like there are new expectations being put on him. Imagine how hard that must be."
Suddenly, Matt felt terrible about the way he'd treated the other boy. He realized that he was no better than the kids who teased him. That's wasn't who he wanted to be.
"I just..." Matt started, "I just don't want the other kids to think that I'm like that. I don't need anyone's help, and I don't need anyone's pity."
"I know that, Matthew," said Sister Mary Helen. "But none of that is Andrew's fault. And he could really use a friend. Or at least one less enemy, hmmm?"
The next day, when Matt sensed Andrew in the hallway at his locker, he made his way over to him. "Hey, Andrew," he said.
"What do you want?" Andrew asked, miserable.
"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about yesterday. And everything, really."
"It's okay," said Andrew. "I am useless. I hate it here."
"You're not useless," said Matt. "I shouldn't have said that you were. You just haven't lived in this neighborhood or gone to this school the way I have. You're not used to it yet."
"Maybe," said Andrew. "Thanks for apologizing." As he closed his locker, a paper airplane flew into his head and an older boy walking towards them yelled "Hey look everybody, where's the third blind mouse?"
Andrew startled when Matt's cane somehow found itself in the path the boy was walking and he went stumbling over his own feet onto the linoleum. Matt whipped his cane around and placed it on the boy's stomach, reached over to pick up the paper airplane, crumpled it up and threw it back at the boy's head. "I'd rather be a blind mouse than a dirty rat", he said. "I'd watch yourself if I were you. Clumsy."
The boy struggled to get up and ran away.
"Whoa," said Andrew. "How'd you do that?"
"I can do a lot of things," said Matt. "I bet you could to if you wanted to."
"You think so?" asked Andrew.
"Well, maybe." He reached out and took Andrew's arm to lead him, but Andrew brushed it off.
"No," Andrew said. "I can walk by myself." And he did, even if sometimes it was a bit awkward. Matt learned not to mind.