The Thing about Falling ✓

Ten • The Thing about First Days

Owen

I hate college.

First of all, the people suck.

Every single person, may it be some random student or even the teaching staff, boggle their eyes at me wherever I go. Their senseless eyes were glued mostly at how idle the lower portion of my body is or how the chair I use still has small wheels on the bottom of the footrests that still light up like the Fourth of July.

Well, it could be how weirdly my hair keeps going into my eyes but I highly doubt it was my physical appearance that made those people stare.

To avoid that feeling of shame and humiliation I never thought I'd feel after moving away from Mum, I kept my head down. I didn't want to look at people anymore and I am not in the mood to feel sorry for myself. I just kept pushing.

"Owen, look up for once. Their looks wouldn't kill you, would it?"

My ears perked at the sound of her voice. I tossed my head up at her and sighed.

"If this goes on for the rest of the year, it would." I answered back.

She shot me a reassuring smile as she laid a hand on my shoulder, rubbing it gently.

"Not scared of death, are you? Fine. Do whatever you want but I get to push you." She suggested, turning her smile slowly into a playful smirk.

A little hesitant, I felt my brows furrow in dislike and I looked at her inquisitive deep brown eyes.

"I don't think so, Maya." I muttered.

Tossing her dark, raven hair behind her ears, she kept walking beside me and had a skip in her step on our way out of the school building.

"I'm just saying you could keep looking down while I push you to safety or keep looking down but there's a high chance you'll run over someone's foot. You don't want that, do you?"

I looked away from Maya for a quick second to gather my thoughts.

For as long as I had been in a wheelchair, never had I let anyone aside from my parents push me. I didn't like the fact that as an independent wheelchair user, I am still in need of some sort of human assistance.

I don't need people's help. The chair's enough.

Turning back to Maya, I locked eyes with her as I swept some stray pieces of hair away from my eyes and towards the sides of my forehead.

"I could risk that."

Maya smiled yet the slightly surprised expression on her face spoke differently.

"Alright. As you wish."

"Thank you."

Orientation ended only a few minutes ago and I was itching to head back to the dorm to rest after being forced to interact with people I have a high chance of forgetting their names.

As Maya and I left the school building where the meeting was held, I couldn't help but notice how her eyes kept glancing down at me and at the same time, over at her thin, gold wristwatch.

I didn't mind it since I was so exhausted from everything that took place today. I wanted to head to my room so I could at least get a few minutes of sleep, work on some advance readings and maybe even spend some time with Athena. She's always radiating positivity and with her around, everything just seems a little bit better.

To think of it, I also promised Fitz I'd come over his room to play some video games. Quite normal for a post-First Day thing but with my lack of experience with video games since I mainly read, it was given that even without me, he's already winning.