Is It Me You're Looking For?
Birds chirped loudly, singing a song of cheer, intruding the sleep of the raven headed girl lying upon her bed. She opened her eyes, blinking quickly against her continuous world of grey, black, and white. She felt around her bad, confused as to where she was. Nothing felt familiar to her fingertips or looked familiar to her damaged eyes. The sheets were rougher than the usual Egyptian cotton she had grown accustomed to as a child, and there were faint murmurs going on that weren't familiar to her sensitive ears. A wave of panic settled in, but soon dissipated as she became more aware and shrugged off the remnants of sleep. She ran her fingers through her hair as the birds continued to chirp. "Oh, shut it, will you?" The birds, perhaps frightened by her tone, or the volume of her voice, obeyed the somewhat frustrated young woman. She sighed at the peace and blinked her eyes at the ceiling, thinking back to the weekend that she moved to the dorm she was currently inhabiting. Her parents had made a fuss over it, about how small the room and how she would come home immediately as such accommodations were unsuitable. She let her mind wash over the details of the rather embarrassing scene they had made.
Poppy Beifong clucked her tongue at the place Toph was to reside in while studying. "Oh, this simply will not do. Not at all! The place looks hideous and it absolutely reeks!" Toph sniffed the air and frowned. There wasn't a smell, at least not one her nose could identify. Mother was just overreacting yet again. Toph tuned her out as she explored slowly, trying to take everything in. Her room seemed spacious enough, as Toph really hadn't brought too many items with her. Suddenly, an arm grabbed her and started dragging her to the door. Her mother's voice rang out clear and shrill, "We're leaving. Now." Toph dug her heels into the ground, ripping her arm out of Poppy's grasp.
"No Mother. I'm staying. I chose this school for a reason. It's the one I picked out of the list that YOU made. Besides, if I stay, how will I find my soulmate?"
"Oh honey, you don't know what you're saying. Besides, soulmates are overrated. Your father and I aren't soulmates and look how happy we are." Toph raised and waved a hand in front of her unfocused eyes.
"I'm going blind Mother, remember?" Toph's dad, who had not spoken a word during the encounter, winced slightly. Toph felt the temperature drop as Poppy shot a murderous look at her, then huffing and turning on her heel to walk out. Toph's dad slid his hand into Toph's and spoke.
"Are you sure this is the school you want? You don't want to go to a college for the blind? It would be easier on you, and perhaps people wouldn't make too much fun of you. I know we put off college for a few years, but we just wanted you to be ready for such a big change." Toph groaned.
"I've been ready for years Father. This is what I want. Besides, I'm not blind yet." Toph was stubborn, and unwilling to move. Her father admired her for a moment and voiced his affirmation to her staying. He left shortly after helping Toph get her stuff in the room and left. Poppy didn't say a word to Toph and, if she were to be honest, Toph was relieved.
"Toph? Hey, Toph." Toph snapped out of her reverie and cocked her head towards the lackluster door. She swung her legs out off the bed and began to walk, feeling around with her hands as her vision swarmed and the floor swayed under her feet. This had been happening lately, another sign of her vision's impending doom. Her eyesight faded in and out slightly and she groped wildly for something to steady herself on. Sadly, she failed to realize there was an open door right as she and proceeded to hit her nose against it, causing her to swear loudly.
"Damn. That hurt." Toph heard her door open and a gentle sound reached her ears as her flat mate padded in. She felt a soft pair of hands caress her face as her nose was inspected while a small scent of rain and dirt wafted over her and a grey figure hovered in front of her. It was pleasant, and Toph relaxed somewhat. She usually wasn't one for being touched, but her memory of the weekend temporarily defaulted her defense systems to a sleeping mode.
"It doesn't look too bad. I was going to offer if you would like me to help you find your classes. If we don't leave soon, we're going to be late." Toph could only imagine how this girl could look with colour, but then again, Toph wasn't sure how she could imagine. She only knew shades of grey now. Oh, she still remembered her colours, but after the incident, they slowly started fading from her mind. She remembered the panic that settled in when she opened her eyes to a blurring world. Toph dazed back into the present slowly, mulling over the girl's offer.
"Suki, was it? I think I'd like that. Of course, that is you can keep up." Toph smirked and shrugged off the soft hands that were still on her face, Suki's framed slowly sharpening in contrast. She heard a small snort emitting from the other female and felt a small warm feeling of acceptance washing over her. She could grow to like it here. Toph turned around and began to strip, and heard a small noise coming from the other female, and a loud shut of the door. Toph shrugged and continued to change. She shrugged on her jacket and pulled on her shoes, having to take them off and switch them, per usual. She walked to her now stable door, opening it and walked out while making sure to not repeat her earlier event. She carefully spoke aloud, feeling somewhat alone. "Suki?"
"Yeah! I'm coming, just let me pull my shoes on." Toph heard some rustling, and then a door opening and shutting, with a click of a lock. Toph was somewhat impatient but biting her tongue. She didn't want to get on Suki's bad side, at least, not yet. Toph heard another soft gasp and felt somewhat confused.
"Are you dying or something? Or do you have asthma?" Toph inquired somewhat offhandedly.
"No! It's just that top goes well with your complexion! Green really suits you, you know?" Toph groaned and waved her hand over her eyes.
"I don't know actually. I'm colourblind, remember?" Suki chuckled softly. Toph had prepared herself for the pitiful apologies, but Suki had said nothing of the likes. A pleasant feeling of warmth and surprise filled Toph, but she kept her stoic demeanor. "Let's go." Toph made her way to the door and picked up her bag along with her cane. She didn't really need it, but she reassured herself that if anyone made fun of her for messing up something easily identifiable by colour, she had a way of reaching them from a small distance.
"So, your first class is History with Professor Shîláng. He's pretty new, just graduated from some backwater college. I've heard the other girls mention how attractive he is." Toph tuned her out after that, not interested in hearing about attractive men, forgetting the other girl was there, until Suki grabbed her wrist and jerked her out of her fantasy world of becoming the world champion of eating the most fried foods without becoming sick. Toph reacted instinctively, grabbing the wrist with her other hand and twisting it back, startling Suki. "Toph! It's just me!" Toph immediately let go and felt her face heat up.
"Are you okay?" Toph wasn't one to apologize, even if it had been her fault. Suki patted Toph's shoulder reassuringly.
"I'm fine. That was a pretty good move. Where did you learn to do that? And how? I mean, no offense, but…" Suki trailed off, still feeling awkward about mentioning the disability.
"Well, I had a friend teach me some basic self-defense moves. I wasn't going to let a silly thing like my suddenly useless eyes make me a helpless case. Before we could advance, my mother found out and sent him away. Couldn't handle the idea of her 'precious little baby dirtying her hands with violence.'" Toph quoted bitterly. Suki smiled out of sympathy.
"Well, I could help you. I used to be part of a fighting club. Well, not as rough as most, but we all learned self-defense. That is, if you want." Suki offered quickly.
"Really? I mean, as long as you don't baby me, we should be fine." They made a quick agreement and as Toph moved her hand to brush a few annoying wisps of hair from her face, Suki caught a glimpse of her uncovered wrist.
"I... Is that your soulmate tattoo?" Toph immediately went to brush over it with her thumb, lost in thought.
"Yeah. It is. I still remember when it showed up. I felt pain, like a bee sting, and I couldn't stop running my fingers over it for the next week. The colours were so vibrant and it made me so happy that I, Toph "Badass" Beifong, had a soulmate. Of course, now that I can't see any colour at all, I only have the memories of what it looks like, and even those are hazy." Suki blinked down at Toph, her mind tossing different ideas.
"So, you weren't always colourblind? I figured with how possessive your mother was, it was something you've dealt with all your life." Toph chuckled grimly, and tucked her loose hair behind her ear aggressively, tired of the sensation of it hitting her ear. Suki noticed this, her facial expression turning thoughtful. "Here. Sit on this bench over here. We'll have plenty of time to get to class. I'm going to braid your hair." Toph sputtered as she was led forcefully to the bench and made to sit down.
"I thought you said this morning that we were going to be late!" She closed her eyes as she felt Suki sit beside her and heard a light rumble reverberate through the air as Suki gathered Toph's long raven hair.
"I lied." Toph whistled appreciatively.
"You just keep getting closer and closer to my heart, Earth Queen."
"Earth Queen? Alright. I dig it." Suki's hands deftly worked through Toph's unruly hair. Toph took the silence as the opportunity to tell Suki her story.
"I contracted Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy shortly after my 19th birthday. One day, I could see fine and then the next everything was fuzzy and off-colour, like someone had covered my right eye with a thin layer of cotton. The doctor couldn't do anything to slow down the progress, and just recently my left eye started losing it too. I can still see some variances of dull colours, but more often than not, I see grey. I had already started learning Braille after the doctor told me there wasn't a damn thing he could do. I had to accept my eyes weren't going to get better, that I'm going to become blind as a bat soon, and I had to stop feeling sorry for myself. My mom still blames the doctor for her misfortune of having a damaged daughter. The irony in this situation is that it affects more males than females." Toph shrugged as she finished, her voice having been detached for the most part. Throughout the story, Suki's hands had never wavered from their assigned task.
"There. Your hair is finished. Not bad if I do say so myself. Come on. Let's go." Suki stood and dragged Toph up with her and they started walking in a comfortable silence. Toph mused on how Suki hadn't immediately smothered her with physical affection and tears and was thankful. Suki already had figured Toph wasn't looking for pity of any degree and if Toph had moved on, Suki wasn't going to drag her back. They soon reached the school and Suki led Toph in. They seemed to still be early enough where it wasn't crowded. Suki took her around and showed her where all her classes were, then had to leave. Toph missed Suki's comforting presence, but soon forgot about it as she walked into the history classroom. She made her way up the stairs to the top row confidently, away from other people. She was a people watcher, not a people partaker. She sat down, crossing her arms and made mental lists of people entering the room.
That one's too shy, he's too cocky. He's arrogant, she seems decent. Not like I'm interested or anything. I don't need friends right yet. Don't want to look desperate. Not like anyone would appreciate my sense of humour anyway. Where was I? Oh yeah. That guy looks like he's in and out of trouble. She's definitely a theatre geek and he… Whoa. Who is that? Normally, Toph didn't notice guys. She wasn't boy crazy, which drove her mother insane, but she can admire a guy from time to time. It seemed like now was one of those times. From what her limited vision could make out, he was tall, lean, with muscles defined lightly. He had smile lines that could be spotted miles away, and his hair was pulled up in a ponytail. Her interest was sparked, then died as she noticed her soulmate tattoo. She couldn't afford to get lost in someone who wasn't her soulmate.
"Okay guys! Hey! Name's Sokka and I'm your History Professor. We won't do too much today, but I would like to get to know you better. After all, we'll be spending an entire semester together and it'd be a shame to not get to know all of you. We'll be taking a survey and then we'll go over the syllabus. Now, remember that in this class, if you use a pen, you can only use blue or black, okay? Okay! Let's all get out a sheet of paper and prepare for the survey." Toph shrugged. She would just use a pencil and avoid all the stress of figuring out which colour was which. She dug around in her bag until she found her case for writing utensils and opened it. She groaned after a quick scan. She had forgotten to pack her pencils, and that only meant one thing: she had to chance luck and see if she could miraculously pick out a pen of the appropriate colours that were approved by the professor. She got to work quickly as sheets of paper were passed around with ten questions on them. She began to read the list and had to smirk at a few of them.
What is your full name?
What is your favourite hobby?
What are your aspirations?
What do you hope to gain from this class?
Are you a vegetarian? If so, you can leave my class.
What is your preferred weapon?
How can I make this class interesting to you?
Insert question here and answer.
Have you met your soulmate?
Would you be opposed to frequent fieldtrips to further your education and to satisfy your hunger for knowledge… and food?
Toph snickered at the last few questions and got to work on answering them quickly.
Toph Beifong
Kicking ass and taking names.
I hope to not go blind I hope to pass with a decent grade and a full belly.
I hope to learn about the very "interesting" things history has to teach me.
I most definitely am not. Meat is my only diet.
My fists?
By not being a dick and shoving all of your information down my throat.
Do I like this assignment? Sort of.
No. Not like it's any of your business.
I'd only go for the food.
Toph finished and waited for everyone else to finish taking their own sweet time and tapped her pen against her lips. She wasn't sure how to feel about this class quite yet, but she hoped all her answers were satisfactory. The Professor seemed laid-back and nice enough. She could only hope that class would not be a pain. Soon enough, all the papers were passed forward and they went over some basic stuff, and he dismissed them early. Toph left the class, and most definitely did not stare at his butt as he walked out in front of her. She most certainly kept her eyes fixated on his ponytail and not his hips as they slightly swayed. Seriously, why did his hips sway? She groaned softly and found her next class, spending the rest of the day trying to get those kind, warm eyes out of her head.