Read Online Rise of the Fallen 1 - My Soul to Keep by Sean Hayden - Free Book Online

teacher,
nice guy for a troll.”
    That earned me a short burst of her musical laughter and I smiled.
They needed to make a recording of her laugh and play it for the criminally insane.
I’m sure they would be cured within a week.
    We made it up the stairwell without her falling. I sighed with relief
when we made it. I won't lie, I was worried. The strangest thing about the whole
situation was the reason for my fear. I was more afraid she would get hurt than
that the whole school would see me drop the blind girl down the stairs. Luckily
everyone already started first period and the stairs were relatively vacant. I probably would have dropped her if I had to maneuver her through a torrent of students.
    Mr. Johnson had his back to the class and furiously scribbled archaic
algebraic equations on the green blackboard (why are blackboards green?) like some
sort of magic spell. I know it’s just numbers, but when I looked at it spread out
in all its glory, it looked more like Sanskrit or Cuneiform than math. Either way
it hurt my head.
    “You’re late, Mr. Sullivan. Please take your seat,” Mr. Johnson said
without turning around. Apparently he didn’t get the memo about getting a new student.
    “We have a new student, sir.”
    He turned and gave me an annoyed look before realizing she was blind.
The depth of her handicap hit me. How would she do her home work, take tests, follow
along on the blackboard? I hated algebra with a passion, but at least I could see
it. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for Jessica.
    “Welcome to our classroom Ms…”
    “James. Jessica James.” I stifled a giggle and vowed to start calling
her Jessie. It became sort of a moral imperative.
    “Shut up,” Jessie whispered out of the side of her mouth. She must
have heard the beginnings of my laugh.
    “Well, there just happens to be an empty desk next to Mr. Sullivan.
Why don’t you sit there and we’ll get back to the lesson?”
    I nodded at Mr. Johnson and took a tentative step toward the pair of
desks in the middle of the room. Jessica felt the tug of my arm and took a step
to match mine. Maybe this would be easier than I thought. I walked her to
the opening at her desk and as soon as her cane clanked against the metal leg, she
reached out with a tentative hand and felt around. I could imagine what the wooden
top felt like to her soft hand. When she reached the edge, she waved her hand around
the empty space of the chair. She gauged the space and slid neatly into the empty
spot leaving me to gawk at her for a few minutes before I realized she was listening
for me to leave. Realizing every set of eyes in the class were watching me staring
at Jessica, I did just that.
    I slid into my desk, pulled my book out of my backpack, and opened
it to a random page. The sounds of Mr. Johnson’s chalk striking the board were the
only ones in the classroom. I took a quick peek at my new friend and I saw her tilt
her head away from me like she listened to the mathematical equations being drawn
on the board. She gave a little smile, I sighed at the cuteness of it, and she smiled
a little more. Embarrassed, I paid attention to the board.
    Johnson stopped writing and stepped away from his equation. He looked
around the room for a victim, I mean volunteer, and I slid as low in my seat as
possible. I shouldn’t have moved at all. Teachers have vision just like a Tyrannosaurus
Rex and only see movement.
    “Mr. Sullivan, why don’t you come up to the board and show our new
student the ease at which you can solve the equation?”
    “I’d rather not, sir. I planned on explaining everything to her so
she knows where we are…”
    “I’d rather you did. Up here now, please. You can explain to the whole
class exactly what you’re doing.”
    Undercurrents of laughter spread through the room and forced blood
and heat to rise into my cheeks. I gave a little sigh, resigned myself to my doom,
and made my way to the front of the class. My hand shook as I