Hello again friends,
This is chapter four. I hope you enjoy. To let you know, the School IS going to be in this story. It has yet to make its appearance... OR DOES IT? Just kidding, it's still in the story.
Anyway, thank you again to my wonderful beta, Wizard Muggle. These chapters wouldn't be half as good without you. Though, I couldn't get a hold of you for this chapter, so CONTACT ME. Seriously.
Also, sorry for the long amount of time between updates. School comes first, and that's pretty much all I have to say about it.
~Harrypotterpixie455
Iggy drove to my house, where we climbed the stairs to do our homework before the guests came over later that night. Whilst working on our math homework about three hours later, I heard the door slam.
"Max? I'm home from drama club!" Ella yelled.
"I'm in my room with Iggy!" I yelled back.
"If I come in and you two look like... you know what, never mind!" She yelled as she walked down the hall to my door. Her light footsteps entered my room a moment later.
"Goodness, Ella, whatever innocence you once had is gone!" Iggy retorted.
"Whether you believe it or not, I am only a year younger than you." She retorted. "I have been introduced to some really crazy things."
"Well-" Iggy started.
"Can we please not talk about my sister's inappropriate findings? I know you two have sexual tension to the roof, but please, this is awkward!" I complained, covering my ears with my hands. Ella let out a small chuckle, her face most likely bright red, while Iggy shoved me to the floor, muttering something about 'that's beside the point'. I smirked, knowing I had confirmed my long held suspicions; Iggy liked my little sister.
I head Ella scurrying out of the room, giving me my chance.
"So, Iggy," I began, struggling to contain the laughter that was crawling up my throat. "Ella pretty isn't she?"
I received no reply. My smile only grew wider.
"Isn't she, I don't know, funny?" I continued, "and smart? And talented?"
"Will you shut up!" Iggy exclaimed, shoving me again. I fell to the floor, clutching my stomach as I laughed.
"My goodness!" I said between laughs. "You sure are sensitive today!"
"I'm not sensitive!" He shot back.
"Really? I'm sure you wouldn't mind me going into Ella's room and telling her you like her, would you then?" I said.
"No!" He cried, putting his hands on my shoulders to stop me. I grinned maniacally. "First, don't smile like that. It's creepy. Second, shut up about Ella, would you! I don't want her to know!"
"So, you do like her!" I exclaimed. Iggy groaned in frustration as I just laughed again.
"Oh, Iggy Iggy Iggy, I had a feeling-" The doorbell rang. Sighing, I got up and hopped down the stairs, Iggy following close behind.
"Max, can you get that?" I heard my mom yell from the kitchen.
"Yea I got it!" I yelled back. I opened the door, smiling politely.
I hate meeting new people. I have to force myself through the entire process of "Oh you're blind?" "Oh, I'm so sorry!" every single time. It was like having to do the same project worth all of your grade ten times over.
"Hi! You must be here for my mother. She'll be right out." I said pleasantly. Holding out my hand, I waited for someone to shake it. A few seconds later, a warm hand was pressed into mine, shaking it firmly.
"Hello, Max. My name is Mason Jenkins, but you can call me Mason. This is my wife, Sheila, and my three kids, Nudge, Zephyr, though he prefers to be called Gazzy, and Angel."
I smiled again in their general direction.
"Nice to meet you. Please, come inside." I lead them to the kitchen where my mother was cooking. "Nudge, have I met you before? Your name sounds familiar."
"Yea, I came over once with Ella!" She said chirpily. I nodded my head.
"Mason! Sheila! How nice to see you!" I head my mom say. Her voice was gushing with joy, and It was apparent that she was happy to see our guests. Iggy introduced himself, before walking to my side. Ella soon joined as well, and a moment later to high, squealing voices filled the room as Ella and Nudge reunited.
"What do they look like?" I muttered. "Iggy, what do they look like?"
My tone had turned annoyed quickly. I hated not knowing. Not knowing what people looked like, how tall they were, what color eyes they had, or even what gender they were when I bumped into them on the street. It was one of the most frustrating feelings I had ever felt, and the worst part was that I felt it almost everyday. I had to rely on everyone else to describe to me what I couldn't. I never wasted my time going to the move theater; heck, I couldn't see the 'hot actor' or the 'amazing costar'. I couldn't see anything, nothing at all, and it hurt. Iggy muttered an apology.
"Mason is average. About 5' 9" with bushy brown hair that is starting to fade out and brown eyes. He's Caucasian, more pale than tan, and is wearing light blue jeans and a white striped polo shirt and a brown jacket over it. He is muscular, with a nice smile. His teeth are white-"
"What kind of white?"
"What do you mean, what kind of white?" Iggy whispered.
"What kind of white are his teeth? Are they pearly white? Are they faded white?" I said, annoyed.
"Oh." He said, silent for a minute. "I guess they are a pearly white. Very bright. Anyway, Sheila has blonde hair that is straight and falls to just past her shoulders. Her teeth are pearly white-"
"Don't mock me!" I hissed as he stressed pearly.
"I'm not, I'm just making it clear!" He protested, though there was laughter in his voice. I hit him on the arm, smiling. I could never stay mad at this kid.
"Continue."
"Well, before I was so rudely interrupted-"
"Shut up and continue will you!"
"I was saying that her eyes are a bright blue and that she is thin. Her height is about 5' 5" and she is wearing a black dress that is really tight to the skin especially around the chest-"
"Iggy, yuck!"
"I'm just telling it like it is!"
"God, not R-rated please!"
"Well, Max, I am a member of the male species."
"That doesn't mean I am!" I whisper-yelled at him. "Gosh!"
"Is everything all right between you two?" I heard my mom say. I forced a pleasant smile onto my face.
"Wonderful, mom." I turned back to Iggy. "Will you hurry up and finish now!"
"But I never finished Sheila-"
"Just skip her, for gods sake!" I cried, throwing my hands up into the air.
There was silence in the kitchen for a moment.
"Is everything all right between you two?" I heard a voice, that I quickly identified as Sheila, say.
"Wonderful." Iggy said, deadpanned.
"What are you doing?" Mason asked.
"I'm having Iggy describe your family to me." I said, mentally building up blocks to prepare myself for the impending explanation of my 'disability.'
"Why on Earth would he need to do that?" Sheila asked, her voice sounding annoyed and somewhat angry. It was a normal reaction; people always thought the worst of me, even though they didn't know me or anything about my life.
"I'm blind. I have to have him describe what he see's so that I can picture you accurately." I said, forcing a smile onto my face. I sighed when she let out a large gasp.
It was going to be a long night.
"Oh my dear, I'm so sorry!" Sheila exclaimed, and suddenly a pair of arms were thrown around my body. I jumped about a foot in the air, and nearly went into karate-mode before I realized it was just Sheila apologizing over and over again into my ear. Awkwardly, I tried to pat her back in comfort, before gently pushing her off me.
"It's all right, honestly. I'm used to it." I said, brushing off lint that I couldn't see on my clothes. There was another awkward silence before my mom managed to break it.
"Well, dinner is nearly ready. Let's sit down at the table, shall we?" She said, warmth penetrating her voice. It was clear that she was trying hard to impress these people. All I knew about the family of five was that Mason was high up in my mom's company's work force, and that she really wanted to impress him. I heard the soft agreements before footsteps traveled into the dining room, some hard and heavy, others light and uneven- most likely one of the younger kids skipping or running in their eagerness. I felt Iggy gently grab my wrist, shielding it behind his back, probably hoping to save me some embarrassment. He dropped me off at a chair, where I seated myself. "I'll be in the kitchen grabbing the dishes."
"Can you see me?" A small voice to my left said. I turned in that direction in surprise.
"No, I'm blind." I said curtly, trying my best to hold back the side of me that wanted to strangle whoever I was speaking. Judging by the tone of the voice though, it was probably a small child.
"What does that mean?" The small inquisitive voice said.
"It means I can't see." I said.
"Oh. So that means you can't see what you look like?" The small voice was starting to grow on me, despite the annoying pestering.
"No. But I used to be able to, until after an accident that made me blind."
"Oh...I'm sorry about that. Do you wanna know what I look like?" The small voice said with enthusiasm.
"I don't even know who I am talking to." I joked, smiling.
"Oh! My name is Angel. I'm seven." The voice said proudly. Smiling, I replied.
"My name is Max."
"Anyway, I'm gonna tell you what I look like. I have blond hair- it's straight- and it goes just past my shoulders. My eyes are blue, and everyone tells me they sparkle, but I don't think they do." She said matter-of-factly. "I'm tall for my age, and I guess I am skinny. Oh! And my skin is white. Man, this is hard."
Her voice was dubious and she seemed to be trying hard to create a picture in my mind of what she looked like. I smiled again- this girl was making me smile more in ten minutes that I usually do in a day. I was warming up to her greatly.
"Have you met my brother?" Angel said. I shook my head. "Well, his name is Zephyr, but everyone calls him Gazzy, for reasons that are pretty obvious. Hey, I know! I will introduce you to him!"
I nodded, surprised at her sudden change of a shy personality into an outgoing girl.
"Hey, Gazzy!" I heard her call. A voice across the table sounded back. It was still high- it was clear the child hadn't hit puberty- and sounded friendly, with a hint of mischief. I knew I was going to like this child as well. "This is Max! She's very nice."
"Hi," I said smiling. "You must be Gazzy."
"Hey!" The energetic voice said. "I just met your friend Iggy. He's great!"
I heard Iggy chuckle next to Gazzy.
"Thanks, bud!" Iggy said. I heard a muffled 'ugh' and Iggy's laughter filled the room.
"Get off me!" Gazzy yelled. I looked in Angel's direction for help.
"Iggy is ruffling Gazzy's hair." She said. I nodded, mouth forming an 'o'.
"All right everyone!" My mother announced as she walked into the dining room. "Here is the main dish! Steak fajitas!"
I grinned in delight. I heard the soft clink! as the dish was set down on the table. Immediately, I heard everyone diving for it. Two more dishes were set down on the table as well. Delicious smells enticed my nose, and I had to catch myself from drooling all over the table. The fajitas smelt spicy, and when I breathed in the smell, it only made me hungrier than before.
"What else are we having, mom?" I asked.
"Corn and mashed potatoes with gravy, Max." She said as took my plate from in front of me, hopefully piling food onto it. When the plate was set down in front of me, the aroma only became stronger, and my mouth watered in anticipation. The corn smell found it's way to my nostrils, it's aroma sweet, and the mashed potatoes- well, they smelt like mashed potatoes. There was only one way to describe the meal my mother had cooked up; the pathway to heaven. "Enjoy your dinner."
This was my cue to dig in. I shoveled my first bite of fajita's into my mouth, struggling not to moan in the pleasure the food brought me. Combining the spicy flavors of the fajita with that of the corn, and my life in that moment seemed to be complete.
"This is wonderful, Valencia, simply wonderful!" I heard Sheila tell my mom, and quiet agreements were heard from around the table. I was so distracted with my food that I barely heard my name being called.
"Max?" I looked up. The voice belonged to Mason.
"What?" I said, clueless to what was going on around me.
"Mason asked you a question, Max." My mother said, a hint of irritation tainting her voice.
"Oh, I'm sorry." I said, turning toward Mason, forcing a polite smile onto my face. "What did you say?"
"Where do you go to school?" He repeated, casually.
"Oh, I go to Riverview High with Iggy." I said, digging my fork into another bite of steak fajita and bringing it to my mouth. I forced myself to listen to what Mason was saying and not to the delectable taste of my steak.
"And do you like it there?" he continued. I shrugged.
"Same as any other school. Nothing really stands out, I guess." I said nonchalantly.
"A typical answer from a high schooler." Mason said, chuckling. I had to grit my teeth and smile, knowing my mom would skin me alive if I was rude to her special guests from work.
When dinner was finally finished, Sheila and Mason led their kids to the door.
"Thank you so much for having us over, Valencia. The food was incredible!" Sheila said. I heard the kids gathering around at the door as Mason tried to get them ready to go.
"Yes, really, thank you very much." Mason said. I heard a muffled Dad, get off me! And recognized the voice as Gazzy's. I figured Mason was trying to help him put his coat on or something.
"It wasn't a problem! I hope to be seeing you again soon! We must do this again." My mom said, and I could hear the genuine smile in her voice. I knew she had a good time tonight. The family of five waved goodbye, Iggy leaving along with them, going to his own car to drive home, as my mom shut the door. When it was closed and the Jenkins and Iggy were officially out of hearing range, my mom let out a large sigh.
"Well," She said matter- of factly, "I'm sure glad that is over. Hopefully I'll get that promotion now, eh?"
I laughed.
"Did you enjoy it?" I asked.
"Very much. They're such nice people."
Laughing, I said goodnight to her and Ella, and went upstairs to get ready for bed.