Chapter 10: Game Day

To get the whole weekend off, Ken had to work every night that week so he didn't have time for much beyond school, community service, homework, and his job. He'd done more searching for information on the blind but still didn't feel completely prepared for his date with Amanda.

At work he told Patty about Kelly dumping him for the football player and she agreed with him that it was a rotten thing to do, especially since he'd had no hint that she might not feel the same about him as he did about her. After discussing Kelly some more, they both got a case of the giggles as they found themselves in a competition adding up all of her bad qualities.

He started it off with, "She's too short."

Patty followed with, "Her tits are too big."

"Uh, Patty, I'm sorry, I'd have to disagree on that one. She'd have to be truly deformed for her tits to be too big."

"God, you are such a guy!"

"Guilty as charged... but her butt's flabby."

"I do NOT want to know any more about that... her hair color comes out of a bottle."

"She's a lousy dancer."

"Her nose is too big... didn't it get in the way when you two kissed?"

"No, we worked that out... she's really too clumsy to be a cheerleader."

"She's got horrible taste in guys."

"Present company excluded?"

Patty looked at him, calculatedly. "I don't know... the jury's still out on you." But then she laughed and he couldn't help but laugh with her.

As always, when talking with Patty, it didn't take him long to feel better.

When he told Patty about his experiences in the reading sessions and how he'd asked Amanda to his game and dance she thought it was terribly sweet and romantic. She laughed about how he'd invited her and reminded Ken about what a great guy she thought he was. He asked again why she'd never agreed to go out with him and she reminded him, "You know I'm already committed to someone... and it's beginning to sound like you might be on the way there yourself."

"Oh come on, Patty, it's not like that... well, maybe it could be like that."

"Uh huh, just what I thought. You better be careful Ken. To someone who has a heart, and a fragile one at that, you could turn out to be a real heartbreaker. Of course," she said, smiling nastily, "Kelly was never in any danger from you on that account."

He smiled sadly to himself. "No, I suppose she wasn't."

On Friday, Ken arrived at Lincoln High early for his last day of community service. He needed to talk with Miss Harris about his "date" with Amanda that evening.

"Did you know that Amanda is going to my football game with me tonight and my school's homecoming dance tomorrow night? I've never done anything beside read with a blind person before and I need some hints on what I have to do to take care of her at the game and dance? I've done some reading but all of a sudden, I really don't feel ready."

With a bit of a smile turning up the corners of her mouth, she replied softly, "Yes Ken, I've heard about the invitation, and I'd like to thank you for doing it. The first thing you need to do is stop thinking 'blind girl.' Amanda is a 17-year-old girl with the same feelings and wants and needs as any other girl you've ever spent time with. It would be a huge mistake to always think of her as fragile or limited just because she can't see, so stop thinking that you have to take care of her or treat her differently. Think of tonight as your first date with a cute girl who you met in an after-school activity.

Now, that said, there are some things you'll need to be aware of. I've got a few pamphlets here on being a sighted guide. I recommend that you take a little time to go through them so you'll be a little more comfortable. They're nothing too complicated, just information on how to help a blind person 'see' where they are going and what's going on around them."

She gazed directly at him with a serious look on her face, "You need to be aware that in the two years since Amanda lost her sight she hasn't put much effort at all into dealing with her visual impairment. We've offered her training on working with a guide and on using a cane if she wanted to. She's been offered a guide dog, and we've tried to get her to learn Braille so she would be more self-sufficient in reading and getting around. We've even tried to help her learn to use a computer like mine to browse the web, read, and do homework. So far, she's refused it all. She's living in denial. It's like she thinks this is all a bad dream, and one bright and sunny morning she'll wake up and everything will be like it was before the accident. Her eyes will be fine and she can go back to having what she thinks of as a life. Of course she's angry about her situation and that anger shows up in the unpleasant and uncooperative manner you've been on the receiving end of a few times in the last two weeks."

"Going out with you is a big step for her. It's a risk. She's showing her vulnerability. That's a first step to accepting what's happened to her. If this goes well and she can understand that there is life for her after the accident, it could well help her accept what has happened and stop fighting the people who want to help her. I suppose that puts more pressure on you than on your average 'first date', but I thought you ought to be forewarned."

Ken thought for a moment and asked, "Is this a bad idea?"

"No, It is a win for both of you. Amanda will get out of her house and do normal high school activities and you get to spend some time with the wonderful girl that Amanda keeps locked up inside her. Don't think for a moment that you've made a mistake."

"One more thing you need to think about. Amanda is going to be depending on you more than any other girl you've ever been out with. You'll have her in a completely new and unknown landscape where she has no points of reference at all... without a guide she'll be lost and frightened and angry and you are that guide. You can't just walk away from her for a few minutes to talk with the guys or anything like that. I guess that puts more responsibility on your shoulders than you might have expected, but I've come to believe that you're capable of handling it. Just have a good time, pay attention to the girl with you, and everything else will take care of itself."

He nodded his head then, picking up the pamphlets, walked back to room six to read them until Amanda arrived. After going through the one on being a guide he concluded that it really didn't sound at all difficult. He just had to remember that he had someone with him who depended on him to let them know what was coming up. One pamphlet talked about how to act when meeting a blind person emphasizing that you focus on the person, not the blindness. He got a laugh out of the comment that you didn't need to talk louder to someone who was blind. It sounded really silly but he could see that happening. He thought more about the football game. Could someone who couldn't see enjoy the game? The environment at a game can be fun to be part of - the energy in the stands, the cheering, the excitement, game food, and the band. The play on the field is all visual, though, so what could he do to help Amanda enjoy that? He thought about ways he might narrate the game for her and suddenly a great idea hit him.

He was thinking about things he'd have to bring to the game when Miss Harris brought Amanda into the room. He immediately noticed that she was dressed differently, and her hair looked cared for. It was surprising what just a change in clothing could do for her appearance. He'd noticed before how thin she was, but today, without the baggy sweatshirt, he could see that she definitely was shaped like a girl. Her hips were kind of narrow, but her waist thinned nicely, and she had small, half-peach sized breasts that were in perfect proportion to the rest of her body. The change in her hair, clothes, and even the way she stood, made it clear that with a tiny amount of personal care, she really was a beautiful girl.

"Hi Amanda. You look great today."

"Thanks, I guess. I've heard that quite a few times today and it's getting old. All I did was dress differently and everybody starts acting all weird," she said, seemingly blowing his compliment off.

"Hey, one thing I've learned is never push a complement away, No one ever gets enough of them, and we should enjoy them when we can."

She suppressed it, but he could see a slight grin on her face at that comment.

She sat down and held out the book. Ken took it but didn't open it. He wanted to talk a little about arrangements for tonight first.

"For the game tonight, you need to dress warmly and..."

Her countenance immediately darkened, "What's wrong with you? Do you think I've never been to a football game before? I haven't always been like this you know. I used to go to games and dances and all that stuff, just like everyone else. I know how to dress for a football game. If you're going to act like I'm some kind of damn baby, let's call this off now."

"Amanda, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking of you that way at all, and I certainly didn't mean it to sound as if I was. I'm just a little nervous. I figure you haven't done this in awhile and I just want it to be fun for both of us. How about I just ask if you have any questions and try to keep my foot out of my mouth?"

He could tell she was fighting hard to avoid smiling. "Ok, what time are you picking me up? I assume that you are picking me up; I could probably get my mom to drop me off if that's what you want."

"I'm definitely picking you up. The game starts at seven, so how about if I pick you up at six fifteen? That will give us plenty of time to get to the stadium and find good seats in the bleachers. Can you eat something before the game? We can go out for a snack afterward, but I hate to try to make a meal out of the stuff they serve in the snack bar, and we probably don't have time to stop on the way to the game."

"What, you're too cheap to take me out for food?" She actually smiled at that to show she was teasing him, but then her mood turned and she asked, "Or are you ashamed to be seen in public with me?"

He reached out and picked up her hand and after a slight resistance, she let him lift it a little off her lap. "I'm not ashamed in any way to be seen with you. My whole school will see you at the game and we can't be much more public than that."

Tears began forming in Amanda's eyes, "Why are you doing this? I'm sure you could find a prettier girl who isn't crippled to go out with. Why do you want to be with me? What do you want from me?"

"Amanda, the only thing I want from you tonight is for you to have a good time." He paused for a second. "Guess I want to have a good time too, but if you do, I'm sure I will. And please stop talking about yourself as crippled, you aren't, you're a cute girl who can't see, but you aren't crippled."

He reached out with his other hand and blotted her tears. "Now, let's concentrate on getting farther through this book and getting ready for tonight.

At the end of the reading session, Ken guided Amanda out to the desk and her mother. "Remember, I'll be there to get you at six fifteen. I'll see you then."

On the ride home, she asked, "Mom, after what happened on my last date, why are you being so easy about letting me do this? I've only known Ken for two weeks and even that was only in the reading sessions."

"Honey, you've been hiding in the house for two years, just letting your life go by. I'll admit that I feel a little worried about you going out with another boy, but if you are willing to take a chance, we'll take a chance too. This is a rite of passage for all of us; we can't deny you the chance to grow and learn and enjoy life like everyone else." She laughed a little. "But you'd better believe that your father and I will have a talk about alcohol with that young man before you two leave the house."

"Mommmmm... don't scare him away."

They both laughed before lapsing into their own thoughts the rest of the ride home.

When he got home, Ken quickly gathered a few things together and changed into a nice sweater in the school colors. He also put on his letter jacket for the first time in quite a few months, having just gotten it back from Kelly. He knew approximately where Amanda lived but just to be sure, he looked up the address online and printed a map of the area. Just before six he set out for her house figuring it was about a fifteen minute trip. He didn't want to arrive late and he needed to get gas for the truck on the way.

He pulled up in front of the house almost exactly on time. It was a nice, one-story ranch-type house in an equally nice, clean neighborhood. From the look of the house and area, he figured that her family was the same as his, solidly in the middle of the middle class. He walked up to the front door and rang the bell. Through the glass he could see Mrs. Jennings approach and open the door.

"Hi Ken, please come in, Amanda will be ready in a couple of minutes."

It was exactly the stereotypical greeting a girl's parent will give the guy who's shown up to get their daughter for a date. Ken composed himself for the 'meet the parents' ritual he knew was coming.

She called toward the back of the house, "Amanda, Ken is here."

As they entered the cozy living room, the evening news was on the TV, and Amanda's father stood up from his chair and offered Ken his hand. He was tall, well over six feet and towered above Ken. As they shook hands, he said, "Good to meet you Mr. Jennings, I'm Ken Webber."