The Door Swings Both Ways

[arceus]

Astrid Ella Caius tied the bow, which happened to be gold, in her hair, finishing the tasks she had to do before she hit the gym for workout number 2. One advantage of the summer? More time to do the stuff you want to, and not school work. Astrid walked over to her bed, even though she couldn't see it. She had memorized the step length from her dresser to it, so it wasn't a problem at all. Same with getting to the gym. It was a walk Astrid had memorized quite a while ago. She didn't even bring her 'blind cane'. It was just a handicap to her, something to show the other kids she had weakness. Astrid Ella Caius was not weak.

After picking her gym bag, which was a battered old military green messenger bag from the army surplus, Astrid walked to the door of her dorm, and smoothed out her bright green workout top and grey shorts, (no telling how long it took to find the right braille hangers for them) And smacked her heels of her cross-trainers together. A habit she'd formed since coming to Pallet High four years ago. She'd done it on her first day, leaving to come to school. She clikced her heels like Dorothy on that movie she always heard from the television, as sort of a good luck thing. And now it was just natural. She did it before leaving her dorm every morning, and leaving the gym two hours later. She did it while leaving her sociology classroom to listen to recordings. It was just an 'Astrid Thing'.

Walking down to the gym was a breeze, so Astrid took the time in her walk to listen around her. The chatting of other student's voices she didn't recognize; some birds in the distance happily chirping to one another. It sounds like a great day. Astrid thought merrily as se continued to stroll on the path to the Gym, a path her feet had committed to muscle memory. No one called out ot the lone senior. but then again, no one usually dead. It's like they assume I'm deaf too. Astrid thought a little sadly as she felt the pathway underneath her feet switch to asphalt. She was about twenty steps away.

Once she neared the door, Astrid slung the bag, which had ben hitting her thigh ever so lightly as she walked over there, into her left hand and pushed the door open with her right. Ten steps in and to the right. Astrid mentally reminded herself as she followed the directions and entered her favorite workout room. Astrid had already memorized the machines, so she walked over to a leg extension machine and began her two hour work out.

____________________________________

Wiping the sweat off of her brow, Astrid let out a sigh as she slid the squatting bar back into place and sank to the floor. She'd made a mistake. Being in a hurry to reach her max, Astrid forgot to feel for the weight on one of the side weights she slid onto the bar. that 25lbs...was in all actuality, a 40lbs. You're so stupid, Astrid. She thought out of breath like. With that weight shift she could've killed herself, or even worse...gotten stuck in that gym paralyzed. It was enough already to be blind, but her dad couldn't take it if she couldn't move as well.

Astrid crawled over to her bag, which was directly in front of her. Sitting there, just relaxing on er bag brought a sort of comfort in, like a sedative, and soon Astrid was breathing normally again. "It was a close call. I better get back to the dorm before I actually kill myself." Astrid thought outloud as she shakily got up and grasped the worn handles of her bag. She had never done anything like that before. How could I be so careless? Astrid thought as she shook her head and tried to walk out of the room; clipping her shoulder on the doorway in the process.

When she opened the door to the Gym, one that swang both ways, Astrid her a thump...possibly someone muttering. Oh dear god, I hit a person! They're going to think I'm mad...or drunk! Astrid scarily thought as she pulled the door back and spoke to the person on the other side.

"I'm so sorry if I injured you. Anything I can do to help?" Astrid said genuinely. She needed to fix this mistake she made.

[Falda Drake]

Why did her mom insist for her to take the tour? It was boring, walking around campus letting one person do the talking and all the attention focused on them. Falda yawned, taking hold of her baton with both hands and stretching toward the sky, not bothering to cover her mouth as the group was stopped at their third place of the tour; the cafeteria. Her brown eyes looked from person to person, seeing if anyone noticed her boredom. She had failed. Everyone was politely staring at the senior, who looked as though he rolled out of bed, put on the most wrinkled outfit he could find and dash to greet the freshmen.

Okay, maybe that was exaggerated slightly, but in Falda’s eyes it was the truth. He didn’t want to be an ambassador to new students; his forced smile said it all. In all actuality, who did? She decided that if she ever became a tour guide at this high school, she would tell stories. A story about the lunch ladies, where one of the ladies’ hair nets flew into a vent because she stood too close, clogging it up and finally catching the kitchen on fire as she desperately tried to get it back. At the same time, the fire system was broke so courageously the ladies fought the fire single-handedly until it began to rain, drenching the school in hurricane-like portions of water…

Moral of the story, Falda needed to explore on her own and not have someone else tell her where things were. Only one place was worth the tour and it was probably at the end of it; the gymnasium. Most certainly the coaches were inside and Falda was determined to join the swim team. Hopefully the school had an indoor pool, since it was near the end of the season. Falda’s lips frowned at the thought that they might not even have a pool, but escape was more important at present. She slowly backed away from the group of freshmen before turning and bolting down a random walkway, her white sundress flowing behind her in the breeze. She ran a couple steps, before looking over her right shoulder. No one noticed her fleeing the scene? Falda slowed, her face twisting in disappointment as she continued to stare over her shoulder. The girl was at least expecting a chase scene, where she had to jump over brush, weave in and out of upper classmen then disappear suddenly from view. Even a “look at that foolish girl running away” would work too. But neither of her expectations came into fruition.

Her fingers on her right hand twirled the baton thoughtlessly in a circle as if it were second nature. Falda’s steps were steady and she kept a frown on her face as her eyes were focused upward. Blue backdrop with a couple white fluffy clouds that resembled bunnies and elephants, add in a couple flying birds of blue and red colors and finally the sun beaming down painted the picture of the sky above her. Yes, it was a beautiful day for the tour that she failed to find interest in. A smile crept back onto her features, admiring the beauty of the sky. Yes, it wasn’t difficult for her to get back in her usual mood.

Falda returned her eyes to ground level and found a building down the pathway that resembled a gym. At least she hoped it was the gym. She smiled at her good fortune; just take a random road and it will go wherever she needed! Falda let out a sigh, letting all her disappointments leave her mind as the baton switched hands. As she neared, Falda felt her confidence grow inside. This was her moment, expanding her swimming career past the local chapter in Minneapolis. Out of pure excitement, Falda threw her baton up into the air, letting it disappear in the sunlight then caught it in her right hand. The shadow of the gym building was coming into view and she decided on a whim, why not one more go? Once again she threw it up trying to reach the sky with it and...

The door stopped her short. It didn’t cause any damage to her, just startled her and took her attention momentarily from the baton suspended in the air. Falda’s brown eyes stared at the red haired girl that was now before her, sort of stupefied by the situation. What was she to say? This situation rarely if ever happened to her, especially when there clearly was a window on the door. Then Falda heard the clunk of the baton directly beside her which snapped her attention to the ground. In an instant she was bending over to swoop it up, letting out a series of low quacks.

"I'm so sorry if I injured you. Anything I can do to help?"

The voice turned her attention back to the girl, who had pulled the door back the opposite way. Falda smiled, straightening herself. “I’m fine. Just a flesh wound, right?” she joked, shrugging her shoulders slightly. She gripped her baton with both hands behind her, her brown eyes going up and down the girl, resting on the other’s messenger bag. A topic of interest! “Hey! I have a messenger bag just like yours. Mine came from my dad and its beige. I’m pretty sure mine has seen more miles than I’ve swum. What about yours?” Her voice was enthusiastic. This was a chance to make a new friend, something Falda didn’t have the opportunity to do as of yet.

[arceus]

Astrid tried to disregard the girl quacking, of all things; since it was probably just some mannurism or something Astrid need not know about. But, it was weird. This was the first person Astrid had ever heard...quacking; with no explanation why either. She didn't want to look dumbfounded, but she couldn't help but wonder who or what that girl was quacking at. If she was quacking at Astrid, Astrid figured sh was maybe one of those not so 'with it' people and it was better to reserve judgement until she actually got to know the girl.

“I’m fine. Just a flesh wound, right?” The girl said, and Astrid gave a slow nod, straightening out her back as she did so. She didn't know that she was so hunched over. I might've looked like the Hunchback Of Notre Dame. How silly of me. Astrid thought to herself as she felt her back muscles complaining to her. They had worked hard today, but rest was a short walk away after chatting with this girl. They could wait a few minutes.

"You sure you don't need help. I know I can't exactly see your wound, but I memorized the steps to the campus nurse's office from here and I'd be happy to walk there with you. Seems I go there a lot recently." Astrid said, then cursed herself. What a stupid thing to say, admitting that she has to to go to the nurse's office a lot. She had to go frequently her freshman year, but she had torn some muscles. She hadn't been there since the end of sophomore year, after a fractured wrist that Astrid didn't even remember how it came to be.

"Well, I haven't been there that recently, but I still remember the way." Astrid confirmed, and felt slightly more confidant in her social skills. Even though it was a lame save on her part, the girl who sounded young wouldn't mind...right? Who are you kidding, you don't even know who you're talking to. Even if she does sound quite level-headed. Astrid listened to the girl's words again, looking for and discernable qualities she could analyze later.

“Hey! I have a messenger bag just like yours. Mine came from my dad and its beige. I’m pretty sure mine has seen more miles than I’ve swum. What about yours?” THe girl said quite enthusiastically. Astrid was actually genuinely suprised at this person, her mouth slightly agape. This girl, she was a swimmer. A swimmer with a messenger bag. Astrid took this apart. So the girl was atheletic, and she favored messenger bags. Both qualities that Astrid enjoyed in a person. So Astrid replied back to her, in a more upbeat tone than before. At least, Astrid hoped it was a more upbeat tone. She was getting to actually know someone who wasn't judging her because of her blindness. Or at least, she's not saying anything about it.

"Oh, mine's from an army surplus back in Canada. I got it when I was six, it's been with me ever since, through a move to this lovely town, a divorce. It's like..well, this'll sound silly. But this bag is like the 'messenger bag reincarnate' of me. "Astrid said, before adding on something at the end that seemed important now. " If I actually died and reinarnates actually existed that is."


"I'm Astrid Caius by the way, I'm a senior here. They don't let me give tours though, you know....since I'm blind. Since I didn't recognize your voice, you are either a Freshman, or... a transfer student. I'm going to guess the first one though. I don't know why, you just seem like a freshman to me." Astrid said, sticking her pale hand out for the other girl to shake. She hoped that the quacking girl wasn't offended in any way. Astrid truly didn't believe that she was anything besides a freshman. She had that..quality that all freshman had. A new kid aura.

[Falda Drake]

”Really, I’m fine” Falda said, her voice insisting. Her head tilted slightly as her brown eyes stared at the other girl as she slowly straightened her back. The smile faded into a puzzled expression across her face. ”I’m tougher than I look and there’s no blood or anything which is probably why you can‘t see it. It wasn‘t like you plowed into me. Startled, yes but that‘s it. And you‘ve memorized the steps to the nurse‘s office? That‘s amazing! I can barely remember where my dorm room is and I was just there an hour or so ago!”

Falda’s puzzled expression continued on her face, though she was struggling between excitement and mentally evaluating the situation. Why couldn’t the girl see her through the door which clearly had a window in it? Then again, it wasn’t like Falda hadn’t ran into anyone before. It was something she tried to avoid, but it did happen if she were in a hurry. Maybe she was holding the girl up from something important? Oh she hoped not! How embarrassing to start a conversation with someone and their fish needed food! Or maybe the student was running away from an angry dragon! Falda’s expression grinned at the thought of a gigantic dragon coming out of the gymnasium…

The conversation about the bag worked! A common item of interest always struck a cord, with this girl a little more than Falda expected. Nonetheless, she was estatic and the grin was back on her face. ”Canada! I haven’t left the states, unfortunately. Actually, this is as far west as I’ve come, being from Minneapolis. Six? Really? I got mine when my dad returned from his tour in Afghanistan in Elementary school, so I was about nine.” Falda paused for a moment, thinking about it. Yes, it was about that time she supposed. If not, then it made for a good story. That’s really all that mattered. ”I treasure mine because it’s from my dad and he used it in the line of fire. It was so dirty when he gave it to me! Mom had to wash it a couple times before she let me use it. There was so much debris in it. I bet he probably dragged it through the mountain range before giving it to me.”

Realization hit her suddenly as the other student was giving her introduction. She was blind! That made sense why she hit her with the door! It wasn’t that she was being chased by a human-sized Venus fly-trap or anything. Well, the Venus fly-trap would be an interesting twist! Falda’s eyes dropped to the pale hand extended to her and with a happy “quack,” Falda took hold of it, her baton falling to her side with the other hand and shook it firmly a couple times before letting it go.

”It’s a pleasure to meet you, Astrid! Falda Drake is my name. My friends call me Ducky or Fal. You’re very smart, considering I am a freshman! I was supposed to be doing the tour, but I escaped the group successfully. Coming to the gym and seeing the swim instructor seemed more important than knowing where the cafeteria is“ Falda admitted, laughing nervously. Hopefully the girl wouldn’t suggest her to rejoin up with her group. However, she had to change subject. No way she was going back to the group! It was terribly boring and if she wanted boring, Falda would have gone to tutoring or something else school related. The occupied hand with the baton began spinning it unconsciously again as Falda‘s voice continued happily onward. ”But a senior! I’m guessing you would know more about the campus than anyone else here. Plus, I bet you have more adventures since you’ve memorized the steps everywhere. That’s actually a good idea, giving someone directions with how many steps it is somewhere. It’s like a treasure hunt!”